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Minneapolis, MN

Former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo appointed to city housing board

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Former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo appointed to city housing board


Ex-Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo has been appointed to the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners.

Minneapolis Metropolis Council authorized Arradondo’s appointment by a slender 7-6 vote. The board consists of 9 members who’re accountable for approving the finances and for setting coverage for public housing requirements within the metropolis.

Arradondo served as the town’s police chief beginning in 2017 and resigned in 2022, a interval that included the homicide of George Floyd by officer Derek Chauvin and the unrest that adopted in Might 2020.

Metropolis council members volleyed backwards and forwards on the matter, leading to a detailed ultimate vote.

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Those that voted in favor of appointing Arradondo embrace Council President Andrea Jenkins, Council Vice President Linea Palmisano, and council members Jamal Osman, Emily Koski, LaTrisha Vetaw, Michael Rainville and Lisa Goodman, lots of whom are allies with Mayor Jacob Frey, who had a detailed relationship with Arradondo when he was chief.

Those that opposed had been council members Andrew Johnson, Elliott Payne, Aisha Chugthai, Jeremiah Ellison, Jason Chavez and Robin Wonsley.

Those that supported including Arradondo famous his upbringing in public housing.

“I feel lived expertise goes a great distance,” Vetaw mentioned in the course of the assembly. “He grew up in public housing as did I.”

Vetaw added Arradondo is “properly revered” with some reaching out to her personally in Ward 4 saying they help the addition of the previous chief.

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Jenkins mentioned she was “shocked” to see his identify up for the place however helps the addition.

“[Arradondo] believes strongly in offering housing, reasonably priced housing, public housing — all issues of housing, he talks passionately about,” Jenkins mentioned.

Nonetheless, others on the town council did not assume the appointment made a lot sense.

“I do not consider a lived expertise as a police officer will assist get us out of this housing disaster,” Chavez said. 

Wonsley additionally shared the identical sentiment, including it will be organising the general public housing committee to not present what its recipients deserve. She additionally identified how MPD has addressed the housing disaster, noting it hasn’t been on the aspect of advancing housing stability within the state.

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“MPD has been used to enact brutal and violent evictions of residents and unhoused folks from encampments,” she mentioned.

“And by appointing a former police officer, and somebody who was below management of MPD whereas [the department] dedicated quite a few human rights violations — that sends a really unhealthy message to our public housing residents and to the general public.”

Arradondo began with the Minneapolis Police Division as a patrol officer in 1989. He was been with the division for a complete of 32 years, having beforehand served in varied management positions, together with 1st Precinct inspector, deputy chief and chief of employees. He was appointed as police chief in 2017 by former Mayor Betsy Hodges after then-Police Chief Janee Harteau was requested to resign within the wake of the deadly police taking pictures of Justine Ruszczyk Damond.

Arradondo’s time period led to mid-January 2022. He mentioned on the time he now not had any curiosity in working for different elected positions similar to governor, nor did he take into account different police chief positions outdoors of Minnesota.

The Minnesota Division of Human Rights discovered by means of a two-year investigation the police division had engaged in an illegal “sample or follow of race discrimination” over a interval of a minimum of a decade, and located the town’s response to the civil unrest of 2020 to be uncoordinated, disorganized and plagued with poor communication. 

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You may watch the town council assembly under, the place the subject of Arradondo spans from the 38:50-58:20 timeslot, then the vote occurs starting on the 1:24:32 mark.



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Minneapolis, MN

Country star hit in the face onstage with X-rated item

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Country star hit in the face onstage with X-rated item


Celebrities often deal with unruly fans at their concerts, so it’s not the first time Wallen has had something thrown at him. Last year, an irritated fan chucked a boot at the country singer as they waited for him to sign an autograph. Instead of signing it, he turned to throw it away from where it came from.

I Had Some Help recently enjoyed five undisrupted weeks at the top of the charts, allowing the Cowgirls singer to take the crown for the most weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the 2020s from Taylor Swift.

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Wallen is currently in the North American leg of his One Night at a Time World Tour, performing at stadiums around the globe. He’ll be performing at shows across the US until August 9, before jetting off to Europe for a slew of more shows from August 28.

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Many of Wallen’s North American concerts had to be cancelled and rescheduled last year after the singer needed to treat vocal fold trauma, which the National Institute of Health explains is “caused by excessive or improper use of the voice”.

He was able to return to the stage a month later after being given the all-clear by his doctors.

On April 7, Wallen was arrested on three felony counts after he allegedly threw a chair off the bar roof of a six-storey building in Nashville.

A group of police officers were on the ground outside the building when the chair landed about 1 metre away from them. They entered the building and went up to Nashville’s Chiefs Bar, and staff identified Wallen as responsible for throwing the chair.

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Later that month, the country singer addressed concerned fans by sharing a statement accepting fault for the incident on X.

Morgan Wallen’s One Night at a Time tour is taking him across North America and Europe over the next few months for a slew of stadium shows. Photo / AP

“I didn’t feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks. I’ve touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief’s. I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility,” Wallen wrote.

“I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe. Regarding my tour, there will be no change.”

Despite his apology, Wallen’s arrest has landed him in hot water with the Nashville Metro Council. In a 30-3 vote last month, Nashville council members rejected an application to install a billboard sign atop Wallen’s under-construction This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen in central Nashville, reported People.

Explaining her decision, Councilwoman at Large Delishia Porterfield pointed to the singer’s controversial past.

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“We want to make sure that Nashville was a supportive place for everyone, so I don’t want to see a billboard with the name of a person who’s throwing chairs off balconies and who is saying racial slurs, using the n-word, so I’m voting no,” Porterfield said.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis’ contested housing development plan plows forward

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Minneapolis’ contested housing development plan plows forward


Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other government officials celebrated moving forward with the city’s housing development plan, the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, on Tuesday.

The plan had been in a years-long court battle. Opposing organizations alleged that the city should have conducted an environmental review before approving the plan. 

The 2040 plan aims to establish more densely built and affordable housing for Minneapolis’ future development. 

“This is a day that has been six years in the making, in that when Minneapolis recognized that we had an affordable housing shortage, we recognize that we like so many other cities throughout the country needed to increase our supply of housing. The 2040 plan helped us get there,” Frey said.

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Legislation in the 2024 session clarified the bill, allowing for stalled housing projects to begin again. 

“Our legislative intent was very clear that this was a bill to end this lawsuit and to defend the Minneapolis 2040 plan,” said Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis. “We believe in this plan. We took huge steps this year to defend it and we will continue to do so as necessary.” 

Jack Perry, the attorney for opposing groups like Smart Growth Minneapolis and Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds, said their fight is far from over. They filed an appeal with the Supreme Court. 

“Almost every project is financed and it is pretty hard to finance something when the authority is based upon a 2040 plan that is tied up in litigation,” Perry said. “The mayor says they’re going forward. That’s all fine but the actual developers will have to worry about this litigation. He may not because it’s not his pocketbook that’s being opened up to build things based upon a foundation of a plan that is highly suspect.”

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The press conference celebrating the 2040 plan was held at Wakpada Apartments, a new complex that’s a product of the 2040 plan.

One of the apartment’s developers, Sean Sweeney, said the 2040 plan has allowed him to be creative and “do things that benefit the community.”

“I’ve worked in several markets around the country, and I can say without a doubt that being a developer in Minneapolis, especially now with the 2040 plan, is an absolute dream,” Sweeney said. 

The plan began in 2018. Since then, Minneapolis has invested over $360 million into affordable rental housing and homeownership programs.

“Minneapolis is being seen around the country as a leader in the affordable housing space, we’re seen as a leader in this push to desegregate cities. And we’re seen as a municipality to copy and to replicate in the work that we’re having right now,” Frey said.

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Minneapolis, MN

32-year-old charged with hiding body of Minneapolis woman

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32-year-old charged with hiding body of Minneapolis woman


A 32-year-old Iowa woman was charged on Tuesday with concealing the body of Liara Tsai, 35, of Minneapolis.

Court records show that Margot Lewis made her first appearance in Olmsted County Court Tuesday morning.

According to a criminal complaint, authorities were called to a one-vehicle crash at the intersection of I-90 and Highway 42 in Olmsted County on Saturday.

Based on tire tracks, authorities believe the driver, identified as Lewis, was speeding eastbound on I-90 when she went into the median.

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Bystanders told responding deputies there appeared to be a deceased or injured person in the car.

Inside, deputies found a body wrapped in a bed sheet, a blanket, a futon-style mattress and a tarp, court documents state. The person, later identified as Tsai, was obviously deceased and authorities said she didn’t seem to have been killed in the crash. She was cold to the touch and there was dried blood on the blanket.

Investigators later found a large wound on the right side of Tsai’s neck.

Lewis was medically cleared at the hospital and then booked into Olmsted County Jail. She did not respond audibly to law enforcement.

Lewis’ mugshot is not yet available on the Olmsted County Jail roster. This article will be updated when it becomes available.

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The Medical Examiner confirmed on Sunday that Tsai was killed before the car crash.

Monday evening, Minneapolis police and members of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension executed a search warrant of Tsai’s home on 16th Street East and found a scene “indicating violence.”

Investigators have not announced any arrests for Tsai’s death.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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