Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis Mayor reflects on progress and challenges in 2024, looks ahead to 2025
Mayor Frey One on one 10p
In a series of one-on-one interviews with journalists on Monday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey summarized what he saw as progress in the city in 2024 as the year winds down.
Asked if there was one thing he’s most proud of at year-end as the city’s chief executive, Mayor Frey said it was “difficult to identify one single element.” before, first, landing on housing.
“One piece that we are being recognized on nationally is our work around housing,” he said.
“We’re providing people with that foundational right of housing.”
It’s a talking point that can be traced back to the mayor’s earliest campaign days. Years later, getting people into stable housing remained among his central strategies, and he was proud of the progress made in 2024.
“We’re producing eight-and-a-half times the amount of deeply affordable housing that we were before I took office,” Frey said.
More affordable housing means fewer people who are homeless, the mayor said, adding, “But if we’re talking about unsheltered homelessness, specifically homeless encampments, this is a far more complex issue.”
MPD Police Brian O’Hara has said encampments have been shooting hot spots in 2024, with nearly a quarter of incidents in the 3rd Precinct within 500 feet of one.
“Let’s get them the addiction treatment that they need, the wraparound services that they need, the culturally sensitive healing that we should be providing. Let’s do all those things, and when that service is rejected, yes, we do need to close homeless encampments,” Frey said of his administration’s homeless response strategy.
Police recruitment was another point of progress for the Minneapolis Mayor. Applications to wear the MPD uniform were up 45% in 2024 compared to the prior year, he said.
“We’ve turned a corner. We’re netting positive in terms of officers this year of 2024, and I anticipate 2025 being a banner year,” Frey added.
Asked, he also acknowledged it could be tougher in 2025 with money for those efforts slashed.
Members of the City Council’s veto-proof progressive majority said it was among many tough decisions ahead of a tough budget year, which includes a rise in the property tax levy.
“I made my objections to that budget clear back earlier in December,” the Mayor told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Monday. “Now we got to move forward.”
Looking to 2025, he said there will be a focus on improving what he referred to as “basic city services, including 911 call response.”
The planned opening of a new 3rd Police Precinct in 2025, five years after the former building burned — would be a part of that, he said.
“And we’re trying to provide a response, not just from police officers in adequate time frame – in a fast time frame, but also provide a unique skill set that is matched with the unique circumstances on the ground, whether that’s a mental health responder or a social worker. We want to get that done in the form of a south side safety center,” Frey said.
2025 is also expected to be a campaign year for sitting mayor. Frey has not officially announced, but confirmed he plans to seek re-election.
If so, he faces a run against City Council Member Emily Koski and State Senator Omar Fateh, among others.
The scene of the crash at 26th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis woman was sentenced for her role in a deadly crash that killed two women and injured two other people in December 2024.
READ MORE: Minneapolis woman charged in fatal high-speed crash faces additional charges
Woman sentenced in fatal Minneapolis crash
Big picture view:
Prosecutors say Teniki Steward drove a Buick Enclave into a bus shelter and a Ford Explorer after speeding through a red light.
Both of the women in the Ford Explorer died in the crash. They were identified as 53-year-old Ester Jean Fulks and 57-year-old Rose Elaine Reece.
During the crash, the Ford Explorer went off the road, injuring a 17-year-old boy who was waiting for a school bus.
The passenger in Steward’s vehicle also suffered injuries.
Minneapolis police said that Steward was also injured in the crash.
Steward pleaded guilty to multiple murder charges.
What they’re saying:
During the sentencing, the daughter of one of the victims had a statement read on her behalf:
“There’s nothing that can truly prepare you for the moment your entire world is taken from you. Losing my mom has left a pain in my heart that words will never be able to explain.”
What’s next:
Minnesota law requires that Steward serves at least two-thirds of her sentence, a bit under eight-and-a-half years, in prison.
Fatal Emerson and 26th crash
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, through surveillance videos from the scene of the crash and witnesses, investigators learned that Steward, driving the Buick Enclave, had been driving at a high rate of speed northbound on Emerson Avenue North.
Before the fatal crash, Steward sped through the intersection of Emerson Avenue North and Broadway Avenue North, running a red light and nearly causing a crash, the charges said.
Steward then continued to speed northbound down Emerson Avenue North, and ran another red light at 26th Avenue North, hitting the Ford Explorer, which was traveling eastbound, according to the complaint.
The Ford Explorer had been at the intersection of Emerson and 26th on a green light.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty shared the following statement:
“This was an egregious act that took Rose and Esther’s lives and injured a child waiting to go to school at a bus stop. Ms. Steward was driving at extremely dangerous speeds on city streets and narrowly avoided multiple collisions before the incident occurred. Third-degree murder charges are appropriate to hold her accountable and protect our community.”
The Source: This story uses information gathered from an Olmsted County court appearance and previous FOX 9 reporting.
A motorcyclist is dead after an early morning crash in Minneapolis Friday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said that at 1:20 a.m., a Suzuki Motorcycle going north on I-35W at Johnson Street hit the left side of the median guard rail.
The motorcycle continued north for about another quarter mile before coming to a rest on the right-hand side.
State Patrol said the rider came to rest on the left shoulder. He was later identified as 21-year-old Andrew James Neuberger.
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The Rochester Spartans boys volleyball team played its second game on consecutive nights. The Spartans beat Minneapolis Camden 3-0.
Rochester’s next game will be Tuesday, April 21, at St. Anthony Village at 7:00 p.m.
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