Minneapolis, MN
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
Final defendant sentenced in smuggling ring that mailed fentanyl to the Twin Cities in stuffed animals
All nine defendants have now been sentenced in federal court for their roles in a drug smuggling ring that mailed a record number of fentanyl pills from Arizona to the Twin Cities hidden in stuffed animals.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan gave Stardasha Christina Davenport-Mounger, 26, of Minneapolis, a one-year prison term last week after she previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute the drug from August 2022 to February 2023.
The others, all from either St. Paul or Minneapolis, were also indicted and sentenced on the same charge following the early 2023 seizure of two packages with 280,000 fentanyl pills that were sent through the U.S. Postal Service from Phoenix to the Twin Cities metro area.
Authorities called the seizure, which amounted to over 67 pounds with an estimated value of more than $2.2 million, the largest ever in Minnesota. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can kill a person, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Davenport-Mounger’s sentence, which includes three years of supervised release after incarceration, was a variance from the federal advisory guidelines, which called for her to spend between 121 and 151 months in prison. Federal prosecutor Campbell Warner asked for 121 months, while defense attorney Ira Whitlock asked for a downward departure or variance.
Davenport-Mounger and several of her co-defendants traveled to Phoenix to buy fentanyl from a supplier. They hid the pills inside large stuffed animals, putting them in boxes lined with dog treat bags, “presumably to prevent a drug-sniffing dog from alerting them,” court documents said. They wrapped the packages to resemble birthday presents and mailed them to the Twin Cities.
“Unfortunately, police did not catch every package, meaning kilograms of pills made their way to the Twin Cities and were distributed to others,” Warner wrote in a presentencing memo.
Although Davenport-Mounger did not play a leadership role in the conspiracy, she was also not a minor participant, Warner said. Her latent prints were recovered from all the seized packages, meaning she flew to Phoenix at least twice as part of the conspiracy.
Whitlock called Davenport-Mounger a “minor participant” in the case who “followed the directions of her lover and co-defendant (Cornell Montez Chandler Jr.).”
Chandler, 27, of St. Paul, who authorities say was the ringleader of the group, was the first to admit to the charge in November 2024 and was sentenced to a prison term that topped 13 years. He was also given five years of post-incarceration supervised release.
Four of the defendants were sentenced last year to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release: Quijuan Hosea Bankhead, 32, of St. Paul, Da’Shawn Natori Domena, 26, of Minneapolis, Fo’Tre Devine White, 32, of St. Paul, and Robiel Lee Williams, 26, of St. Paul.
Two others were also sentenced last year: Shardai Rayshell Allen, 27, of Minneapolis, who was given no additional time beyond what she had already served in custody after her arrest, plus three years’ supervised release, and Phyu Win Jame, 29, of Minneapolis, who received a two-year prison term, followed by four years of supervised release.
In February, Amaya Tiffany-Nicole Mims, 25, of St. Paul, was given a 1 ½-year prison term and four years of supervised release.
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.
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