Minneapolis, MN
Did Twin Cities residents really once burn their own trash in the driveway?
In 1971, both Minneapolis and St. Paul began enforcing the rule in earnest.
A cruise along 36 miles of alleys in St. Paul in 1971 turned up only one smoking trash burner on the first day of enforcement of the burning ban. (Powell Krueger)
The practice faded away in city and suburban neighborhoods. In the 1980s, state lawmakers passed a statute that gave some farmers an exemption to burn or bury their trash as long as their county didn’t have an ordinance banning it.
A later statute, however, banned the burning of “plastics, chemically treated materials, or other materials which produce excessive or noxious smoke.”
Since that definition applies to most household garbage today, burning it is “illegal in nearly all cases, even if a county has not passed a resolution to ban it,” according to MPCA spokesperson Michael Rafferty. People can get permits to burn plant material or untreated wood, though.
Waste is trucked in before being going into a boiler and being converted into energy at the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center, or HERC, in 2023. (David Joles/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency research, burn barrels are the nation’s top source of a carcinogen called dioxin, and can also produce carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and a host of poisonous chemicals.
In Hennepin County today, a sizable percentage of residents’ trash is still being burned. Not in driveway barrels, but in a municipal trash incinerator called the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) on the edge of downtown Minneapolis. For years, environmental activists have been pushing for the center to be closed.
Minnesota is investing nearly $5 million to expand E15 availability, a blend of gasoline with up to 15% ethanol, while federal rules and carmaker guidance limit its use. FOX 9’s Corin Hoggard details what you need to keep in mind before making the switch.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis City Council to hear public comments on effort to repeal adult bathhouse ban
Minneapolis, MN
Search for permanent Minneapolis police chief has not started yet, commissioner says
Minneapolis leaders say police reform work is continuing as the city prepares to start its search for a new permanent police chief.
The city has said little publicly about the search for a new permanent Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) chief since Chief Brian O’Hara resigned more than two weeks ago.
Brian O’Hara resigns as Minneapolis police chief after report shows he interfered with investigation into his conduct
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS asked for an update alongside a new progress report on state-mandated reform efforts released on Thursday from city public safety leaders, including Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette and MPD Bureau Chief Ganesha Martin, who said they are confident reform work will not slow down after O’Hara’s resignation.
“Not at all,” said Martin. “So, Chief Peterson has been highly engaged, very open, curious, wanting to make sure to get up to speed on all the things that we’re doing.”
“The majority of the process is already in place, so I don’t think that it impacts the work that’s being done,” said Barnette.
What happens next?
Barnette also addressed whether ongoing mandated reforms could affect the city’s ability to hire a new chief. He said the work ahead is significant, but said he believes it will still draw interest.
“It’s a heavy lift, but having transformational reform that we’re institutionalizing here in the city is exciting work to do,” said Barnette. “So, I think we’re going to attract a lot of candidates. I don’t think that’s going to persuade anybody from not coming.”
Barnette said the hiring process is still in its early stages, adding that city leaders are still deciding what the search will look like.
“We’re still, we’re not even two weeks in with Chief Peterson yet,” said Barnette.
“We’re just going through, looking at what we did in the former search, what things that the mayor wants to see in this search, and then what input we’re going to get along the way,” said Barnette.
Has the search started?
When asked whether the official search had started, Barnette said no. He also said the city has not started talking to people yet.
The fourth quarterly progress report from independent monitor Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELEFA) also called the hiring of a new chief “an opportunity.” The report found “significant weaknesses” in the former chief’s review process for misconduct investigations.
Barnette said the city will begin the official search for a permanent chief “pretty soon.”
Below is a statement from Interim Chief Bill Peterson on the release of the fourth ELEFA report:
You can view the full ELEFA report below:
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