Minneapolis, MN
Frey’s manufactured consent: How the city failed George Floyd Square
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The community engagement process surrounding the future of George Floyd Square should have been a powerful opportunity for healing, collaboration and learning, centering marginalized voices in a city with some of the deepest racial inequities in the country. Instead, it was weaponized as a political tool for Mayor Jacob Frey, driven by flawed data, biased methodologies and an over-representation of white voices to push a predetermined agenda and bolster Frey’s struggling political career in an election year.
From the start, the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) community survey, intended to evaluate public opinions on the direction of George Floyd Square, was plagued by a lack of transparency and flawed methodology. Of the 6,946 responses, only 5,896 were considered usable, with 1,050 responses — 15% of the data — excluded without clear justification, merely explained away as “non-responses” and “repeat responses.”
Even within the usable data, the survey demographics revealed glaring discrepancies. While 70% of respondents were White, only 38% of Ward 9 residents share that demographic. Black voices, representing 21% of the community, made up just 11% of responses, while the Latino community (29% of Ward 9) accounted for only 10%. These are not just statistical anomalies; they reflect a persistent pattern in Minneapolis, where the voices of people of color are systematically sidelined or erased in public engagement.
What’s more, this survey process not only failed to center local voices but actively invited external influence. Only 18% of respondents were from the immediate George Floyd Square area, while nearly 40% came from outside the surrounding south Minneapolis neighborhoods. This imbalance became even more stark when a CrimeWatchMpls social media post encouraged trolling, leading to more than 2,000 responses flooding in within two days, many with hostile views toward George Floyd Square.
How can this process be considered legitimate when the loudest voices came from external actors with conflicting interests? The lack of respondent verification measures allowed bad-faith responses to skew the data, intentionally silencing authentic community voices.
Worse still, the Community Co-Creation Team (CCT) — meant to amplify local voices — was undermined by a built-in conflict of interest within the city. While the CCT’s role was to guide the engagement project, real power rested with the project team, led by Minneapolis Public Works under Frey. If the CCT’s recommendations didn’t align with city goals, the city’s project team could present its own proposal to the City Council, effectively dismissing community input unless it fit the city’s narrative.
A Minneapolis man who pleaded guilty to murdering a high school student in 2022 was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison on Monday.
It was the second time Cody Fohrenkam was sentenced for fatally shooting 15-year-old Deshaun Hill. He was convicted and sentenced to more than 38 years in prison in February 2023, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction and granted him a retrial based on illegally obtained incriminating statements.
Fohrenkam, 33, agreed to a plea deal as his second trial was set to start, pleading guilty to one count of second-degree intentional murder in exchange for Monday’s 340-month sentence. The judge presiding over the hearing gave him credit for 1,476 days already served.
Fohrenkam shot and killed Hill while Hill was walking to a bus stop just blocks from Minneapolis North High School, where Hill was a star quarterback and honor roll student.
One of Hill’s aunts said in a statement shortly before the judge sentenced Fohrenkam that her nephew was “full of life.”
“When he spoke, you listened. He had a soft spirit and a good heart,” she said. “Deshaun was an artist who, as you all know, he took his education seriously. He had dreams and goals. He worked hard to make his family proud.”
This story will be updated.
A man is now charged with murder after prosecutors say a robbery inside a Minneapolis apartment building ended in a fatal shooting.
Prosecutors say the man was on conditional release after being charged with first-degree armed carjacking for an incident in Minneapolis last September.
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The killing happened Feb. 24 inside the Abbott Apartments lounge area on the 100 block of East 18th Street, where police found an adult man dead from gunshot wounds after reports of a shooting.
Court documents state the victim and a friend went to the building to meet 20-year-old Abdirahman Khayre Khayre. A witness stated Khayre left the room several times and appeared to be stalling before three armed men entered and demanded property. The men were described as carrying two Glock-style handguns with extended magazines and an AR-style rifle. During the robbery, the suspects demanded a Louis Vuitton bag belonging to the victim. When the victim resisted, a struggle broke out. The witness stated that two guns were taken from him during the robbery.
The witness told investigators Khayre was handed one of the stolen guns and then pointed it at him, causing him to flee into the lobby. Moments later, multiple gunshots were heard. The witness returned and found the victim shot. Surveillance footage from other areas of the building reportedly corroborated key parts of the account, and the witness later identified Khayre in a photo lineup, according to the complaint.
PREVIOUSLY: Man Shot and Killed Inside Minneapolis Apartment Building
Authorities say Khayre was on conditional release at the time of the killing in a separate Hennepin County case involving a September 2025 armed carjacking.
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In that earlier case, prosecutors alleged Khayre and others confronted a woman in a garage near 19th Street and Nicollet Avenue, pointed handguns at her and forced her to give up the keys to a Dodge Challenger before fleeing in the stolen vehicle. Officers later located the vehicle and arrested multiple suspects, including Khayre, who was identified as the driver.
Court records show Khayre posted a $75,000 non-cash bond and was released under conditions requiring him to remain law-abiding, have no possession of firearms or ammunition, avoid alcohol and controlled substances and complete treatment.
Khayre is now charged with second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony and first-degree aggravated robbery. He made an initial court appearance Friday, where a judge set bail at $1 million. If convicted of second-degree felony murder, he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
The homicide investigation remains ongoing. Authorities have not yet released the identity of the victim. Anyone with information is asked to contact Minneapolis police by emailing policetips@minneapolismn.gov or calling 612-673-5845. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or online. Information leading to an arrest and conviction may be eligible for a financial reward.
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