Minneapolis, MN

Lyft and Uber Might End Their Services in Minneapolis

Published

2 years ago

March 17, 2024

Lyft and Uber Might End Their Services in Minneapolis

Could getting from place to place using Uber of Lyft become a thing of the past? If you’re using it to get around Minneapolis, that’s a very real possibility. As NPR’s Dara Kerr reports, both rideshare companies have threatened to exit Minnesota’s largest city. The issue at hand is a city council bill that would require rideshare companies to pay their drivers a minimum wage.

As Kerr writes, the bill has gone through several iterations and has been repeatedly vetoed by Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey. The council then overruled Frey’s veto, with the law set to go into effect on May 1. It’s that date that’s emerged as a flashpoint, with Uber’s senior director of public affairs telling NPR that the city council had “[kicked] Uber out of the Twin Cities.” Which seems like a stretch.

This feels more and more like a high-stakes game of chicken than anything else, with the livelihoods of numerous drivers in the balance. It’s also worth pointing out that alternatives to these companies do exist — including taxis and other startups. Veena Dubal of the University of California-Irvine told NPR, “[I]f they do leave, high road alternatives will take their place.”

The conflict is one that’s long hovered over discussions of the gig economy, namely — to what extent can rideshare companies’ treatment of workers who aren’t technically employees be regulated? It’s been an area of concern for state and local governments around the country, and it’s also led to the creation of a few startups — Revel and Alto among them — that have opted to hire drivers directly.

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Minneapolis, MN

Bystanders throw snowballs at ICE agents dragging woman on the ground in Minneapolis – video

Published

6 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Bystanders throw snowballs at ICE agents dragging woman on the ground in Minneapolis – video

US federal agents were filmed dragging a woman and pinning her down in the snow for several minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday. Bystanders pleaded with the agents to let the woman go and threw snowballs at them. The Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, criticised the ICE tactics after the incident

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Minneapolis, MN

‘She’s pregnant’: Trump’s immigration agent drags woman through Minneapolis street, kneels on her; video goes viral

Published

18 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

‘She’s pregnant’: Trump’s immigration agent drags woman through Minneapolis street, kneels on her; video goes viral

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents violently dragged a woman in Minneapolis this week, and pinned her face down on snow-filled streets as onlookers screamed. According to ICE officials, they were deployed for ‘targeted vehicle stop,’ when protesters swarmed the agents. Soon after several onlookers including journalists saw an ICE agent holding a woman on the ground. The video of the incident has now gone viral on social media with people criticising ICE for their violent methods. The Minneapolis police chief criticised federal immigration enforcement tactics after the chaotic scene.

What exactly happened?

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According to the video, ICE agents handcuffed a pregnant woman, and violently pinned her to the ground by forcing her onto her stomach and pressed their body weight into her even as the crowd shouted that she was pregnant. According to ICE, the incident happened during ‘Operation Metro Surge.’

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that ICE did not appear to take steps to de-escalate the situation as bystanders shouted at agents and threw snowballs in an attempt to save the woman. “We have been training our officers for the last five years very, very intensely on de-escalation, but unfortunately that is … often not what we are seeing from other agencies in the city,” O’Hara said. O’Hara also accused ICE of stoking fear, including the practice of hiding their identities with masks and unmarked clothes.

This comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration has increased immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minnesota – Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Trump called Somali immigrants there “garbage” and said they should be deported after dozens of people, including Somali immigrants, were charged in a fraud scheme.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis PD chief worries about ‘instability’ created by ICE operation

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Minneapolis PD chief worries about ‘instability’ created by ICE operation

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara expressed concerns about the “instability” created by the ongoing ICE operations in Minneapolis during a sit-down interview on FOX 9 All Day on Wednesday.

O’Hara on ICE operation

What they’re saying:

Speaking with FOX 9’s Amy Hockert, Chief O’Hara said the issue isn’t necessarily what the agents are doing in enforcing federal law but rather the tactics they are using to go about their business.

“I think it’s been very destabilizing for a lot of people in the community,” explained Chief O’Hara. “A significant portion of the city are immigrants and that sort of instability is something that criminals and bad actors can take advantage of and that’s been the concern.”

Identifying ICE

Big picture view:

O’Hara says he is also concerned about masked federal authorities. Often, ICE agents will be masked, in unmarked squads, and not wearing visible identification of their law enforcement status. Chief O’Hara said a bad actor posing as law enforcement is a legitimate concern, pointing to the murders of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband at the hands of a man posing as a police officer.

“Two or three months ago, the FBI put out a law enforcement bulletin saying that there were people committing violent crimes in cities around the country that were posing as ICE,” O’Hara said. “And it urged ICE to better identify themselves during law enforcement operations. And so that’s not just something I came up with – that’s something the FBI has been recommending.”

O’Hara says the department has also responded to calls from people who’ve encountered federal law enforcement and were unsure if they were legitimate.

“We have had calls from people who aren’t sure,” said O’Hara. “We’ve responded, and it turns out it was federal law enforcement. In other cases, it turns out it wasn’t. It was someone with a gun. We’ve had it happen both ways.”

ImmigrationMinneapolis Police DepartmentCrime and Public SafetyMinneapolis

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