Minneapolis, MN

Little Earth housing complex begins $50 million renovation

Published

3 weeks ago

May 4, 2026

Little Earth housing complex begins million renovation

New roofs and better insulation. Updated appliances, new paint and security improvements. And a sense that it’s all transformative — and overdue.

More than 50 years after the nation’s only Native-preference Section 8 housing project was established, Little Earth in south Minneapolis is undergoing a $50 million remodel that will last two years and cover all of its 212 units.

The work, which started early this year, will be so extensive that some of Little Earth’s more than 1,000 residents will have to move to hotels in phases while it goes on. But most residents are looking forward to the updates.

“It’s about damn time,” said Contessa Ortley, who has lived at Little Earth all her life. “[The units] are so old that it’s good to see them coming over and having some people get in there and actually fix them properly.”

It’s the first remodel of this scale since the housing complex was founded in 1973.

“It’s just such a big deal that [it] is being invested in this way,” Joe Beaulieu, executive director of Little Earth Residents Association, said of the scale of the investment. “It shows that our people are cared for, they’re cared about, that their safety is important to us, that we want to make sure that our people have better than decent living conditions.”

The complex has a mix of units ranging from studio to four-bedroom units. Funding for the remodel is coming from multiple levels of government — federal, state, county and city — as well as private foundations.

Minneapolis is kicking in almost $23 million, making it the city’s sixth-most-expensive development project last year, when the money was invested. “[It] really is a precious resource and something that we wanted to preserve,” said Linnea Graffunder-Bartels, senior project manager of Community Planning and Economic Development for the city. “Some of the rehab work that’s going to happen now is replacing systems that have been in place since original construction.”

The Little Earth housing complex in south Minneapolis is undergoing a $50 million remodel that will last two years and cover all of its 212 units. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan Journal

Little Earth was founded in response to the Indian Relocation Act of 1956, which encouraged Native people to leave their reservations and move to cities to assimilate. That left many Native Americans disconnected from their reservations, their families, cultures, traditions and languages.

Little Earth was founded to provide temporary housing to Native Americans who faced housing discrimination, while also providing them with a culturally connected community.

“It was so new that it was loved and cherished,” said Cathee Vick, director of housing advocacy at Little Earth Residents Association. “I don’t think it was built to last as long as it has, and I do think people planted their roots because of the fight to get what they got.”

Graffunder-Bartels said the remodel became a priority after a federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) inspection in 2021 that identified urgently needed repairs and improvements. “That inspection result put Little Earth’s rental assistance funding at risk. At that point, HUD said, ‘These things need to be reinvested in, or else,’” she said.

All Little Earth rental units are eligible for rental assistance. The funding commitments from different levels of the government come with the requirement that that affordability will be maintained till 2057. The new funding will also allow the Little Earth Residents Association to continue its work with those experiencing homelessness and people with disabilities by reserving 22 units for each type of need; these units will also come with supportive services.

The remodel will take place in a phased manner, Vick said. Residents of some units will be temporarily moved to hotel units while their apartments undergo work.

The remodeling will include better insulation, new windows, repairs, new paint, new roofs, stucco, updated appliances, windows and walls, as well as energy efficiency improvements for water and insulation. It will even provide space for growing food and wildflowers.

“[It’s] amazing we got it done,” said Tom LaSalle of LaSalle Development Group. “And we have to guard it carefully, especially with what’s going on right now,” he added, pointing to funding cuts in DEI-related projects under the Trump administration. LaSalle’s organization is leading the remodeling work and has also helped put together project funding. LaSalle has been involved in the development of Little Earth housing since its inception.

LaSalle said that in addition to changing the landscaping of the project, the remodel will include culturally appropriate details such as colors, artwork, and access to more trees and wildflowers.

The project, like any housing complex, is not without its complications. LaSalle said that density is a challenge because of the number of bedrooms packed in relatively small acreage. Members of multiple tribes represented at Little Earth have cultural differences as well, making for a “difficult social project.”

Talaya Hughes, a resident of Little Earth and an undergrad student at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, is a teen recovery coach who said she wants to help “bring culture back to our community and reconnect our youth to our roots.” She is excited by the idea of better sound insulation and improvements in heating and energy efficiency. But as a young woman, she said, she has safety at top of mind. “Before remodeling, what could have been worked on was the violence here,” she said.

Drug use and homelessness plague the neighborhood. Little Earth housing is near a large encampment under Hwy. 55, the site of homeless encampments.

“It’s difficult,” Vick said. “We don’t want our kids to see this. You can’t go underneath the bridges. You got to walk in the middle of the road.” That’s a big inconvenience for Little Earth residents with family members living in the Red Lake building nearby, or for those going to employment classes at the American Indian Opportunities Industrialization Center.

Vick added that conversations are going on about how to address “this very sensitive but needed subject” and come up with possible solutions. “Because we do need help,” she said.

LaSalle said that the remodel aims to address some of the security issues with AI-driven security that monitors cameras and alerts security personnel to any suspicious activity.

“We need to give everyone an equal opportunity, and a new renovation is good for the community, to give them a safer environment,” Ortley said of safety issues around her home. ‘“We shouldn’t be discriminated against or less valued than others.”

Source link

Click to comment

Minneapolis, MN

Overnight Minneapolis shooting leaves one man dead

Published

2 hours ago

May 25, 2026

Press Room

Overnight Minneapolis shooting leaves one man dead

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A man is dead after an overnight shooting in Minneapolis’ Bryant neighborhood.

What we know:

Minneapolis police responded just after midnight to the area of East 41st Street and Columbus Avenue South for the report of multiple shots fired.

At the scene, they found a man in the street with gunshot wounds. Officials say officers moved the injured man to 42nd and Columbus to provide medical aid but say the man was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

What we don’t know:

Investigators are now working to piece together what led up to the shooting. No one has been arrested for the death.

What you can do:

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org.

MinneapolisCrime and Public Safety

Source link

Minneapolis, MN

Fight escalates into stabbing in Minneapolis, man seriously injured

Published

14 hours ago

May 24, 2026

Press Room

Fight escalates into stabbing in Minneapolis, man seriously injured

A man was brought to the hospital with serious injuries early Sunday afternoon after a fight escalated to a stabbing.

Minneapolis police say an ambulance near Tenth Avenue South and East 26th Street was approached by a man with a potentially life-threatening stab wound around 11:55 a.m.

An initial investigation by law enforcement indicates the stabbing happened when the victim, who was armed with a crowbar, got into a fight with another man, who stabbed him, police say.

The stabbing happened near 12th Avenue South and East Lake Street, police added, saying no arrests have been made and an investigation is underway.

Source link

Minneapolis, MN

‘He was just the best kid’: Grandparents grieve 16-year-old shot and killed in north Minneapolis

Published

1 day ago

May 24, 2026

Press Room

‘He was just the best kid’: Grandparents grieve 16-year-old shot and killed in north Minneapolis

“He was just the best kid, he was so loving, that’s the biggest thing about him, he loved his family, that was everything to him,” said James Nelson.

Homicide investigation underway in north Minneapolis after double shooting leaves 16-year-old dead

James was referring to his 16‑year‑old grandson, Cordero Montgomery Jr., also known as “Junior,” who family identified as the teen shot and killed Thursday in north Minneapolis.

James and Wendy Nelson are Junior’s father’s foster parents, and consider Junior their grandson.

James said the last text message they exchanged with him is something the couple keeps replaying. “The last thing he said was ‘I love you,’ and he said, ‘I love you more.’”

They are remembering him as a loving teenager who constantly told them how much he cared.

They said the day of the incident, Junior had been visiting a friend in north Minneapolis and was supposed to take the bus to their home in St. Paul afterward.

“All I know is they were walking, and I guess he, somebody got out of a car and started shooting, and then he ran. Junior ran down the sidewalk a ways,” Wendy said.

Advocates sound alarm after teen is shot and killed in north Minneapolis

The family said he was shot 11 times.

“They must have been really mad at him, or who knows. We don’t know. We got to wait till the detectives find out. It just doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Wendy said she learned about the shooting through a text message.

“All I got was ‘Please call, Junior is dead.’ So I immediately ran out of the bedroom. I was very upset, kind of uncontrollably upset, and gave the phone to James, but [it] didn’t feel real, not until I got there,” she said.

Minneapolis police said officers found Junior outside on 18th Avenue North and performed life‑saving measures, but he later died at the scene. The family said they cannot understand why anyone would do something so violent.

“Why? He’s 16, you know. He’s 16,” Wendy said. “What would he have done that deserved to die for, and get rid of the guns?”

“He was just a kid,” James said.

Flowers now lay near the space where he took his last breath.

“It’s so senseless,” Wendy said.

The grandparents said they later learned people were recording video of Cordero’s body at the scene. Wendy said they wish people would think about how they would feel if it were their own family.

James also said they were hurt by comments online.

“Yeah, somebody on Facebook said, ‘Ho hum, just another day in north Minneapolis,’ and I said, ‘That’s my grandson, and right now it is all everything, but ho hum.’” He added, “I wanted to put a name to my grandson’s death.”

James said he needed to see an image of Junior to accept what happened. When asked if he saw an image of him on the ground, he said, “I did,” and added, “I just said, I have to see my boy.” After he saw the image, he thought, “Yeah, this is real.”

Minneapolis police said a 44‑year‑old man was also shot and injured with non‑life‑threatening injuries. The grandparents said they don’t know who he is or what connection, if any, there is to Junior.

They described Junior as a smart, respectful teenager who was thriving in a school where he received one‑on‑one attention. They said he was going to be a sophomore next school year.

“He was getting straight A’s. I mean, he is really smart and very respectful. People always tell me, ‘Man, that’s a really respectful young man you have there,’ all the time, because he was just the best,” James said.

He also said Junior loved video games and was preparing to apply for a job.

Junior often stayed with them for days at a time.

“He’d come over for weekends. Yeah, he’d stay for days. He loved it so quiet over here,” Wendy said.

She said he was also affectionate. “We were leaving one day, we dropped him off, and he goes, ‘Oh no, Grandma, you need to give me a hug,’ that’s, I mean, a 16-year-old, you know, and he always hearted with a text, you know, just amazing,” Wendy said.

The family is also carrying an older grief. The Nelsons said Junior’s mother previously lost a young daughter during a surgery.

They say Junior’s mother is too devastated to speak publicly right now, and part of why they agreed to talk was to take pressure off of her.

“We have a GoFundMe for Support Cordero to help a single mother, and she’s already lost one child, James said. “It’s really, really tough,” James said.

The grandparents also spoke about mental health and the need for more support in the community.

“People need to treat mental health like physical health. That’s what I would like to get out of this, that our community would wake up and deal with mental health,” James said.

He said he wishes people would think about consequences before tragedy.

“Try and be a better person before a tragedy happens. Just think, look at other people’s consequences, look at other families’ consequences, and just try and put yourself in their place. That could be you if you keep up this on this road,” James said.

The couple also said they moved out of north Minneapolis after gunfire near their home years ago; they said they have seen firsthand how violence affects families.

For the person who pulled the trigger, Wendy had a direct message.

“Whoever you are, you, you took a 16-year-old’s life over something probably really stupid, and there’s no reason for it, you know, get rid of the guns.”

Now, they hope justice comes soon.

Minneapolis police said there have not been any arrests or updates in the case.

MPD juvenile shooting numbers

Minneapolis police data provided to KSTP shows 12 juvenile shooting victims so far in 2026, making up 17% of all shooting victims (the percentage represents the share of all shooting victims who were juveniles).

A year‑to‑date comparison shows: