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Minneapolis City Council funds violence prevention organizations | Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

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Minneapolis City Council funds violence prevention organizations | Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder


T.O.U.C.H. Outreach is one of five nonprofits awarded contracts in violence prevention efforts. Credit: Courtesy

After decades of mistrust between the Minneapolis Police Department and the community, the City Council is investing in alternative violence prevention initiatives. On March 27 the Council approved funding for five organizations: Restoration, Inc. and A Mother’s Love, which provide services on the North Side of Minneapolis; and T.O.U.C.H. Outreach, Sabathani Community Center, and MAD Dads serving the South Side.

The Council also approved a proposal by Councilmember Jamal Osman to move $640,000 from public safety funds to support violence prevention efforts in the Cedar Riverside and Elliot Park neighborhoods. However, these funding decisions follow weeks of debate, particularly concerning the loss of service in Zone 2, a Northside area that includes the historically high-need intersection of 36th and Penn.

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Weeks earlier, Rev. Jerry McAfee’s nonprofit, 21 Days of Peace, had its funding request pulled after two of its members were involved in a shootout off-the-clock. The sudden removal of 21 Days of Peace left Zone 2 without a dedicated violence prevention group, raising concerns among residents and local leaders about potential gaps in service. 

In response, the Council passed a resolution allowing community groups to bid on providing services in Zone 2, but no immediate replacement has been secured. “It really was just helping Osman figure out his funding stream because the money was there for Zone 2,” said Councilmember LaTrisha Vetaw.

“We had lots of conversations in the past 48 hours and meetings with the administration to figure out how to maintain funding for Zone 2 while also expanding support for Cedar Riverside and Elliot Park,” added Councilmember Robin Wonsley.

“I’ve got to figure out how to get funding for 36th and Penn,” Vetaw said.

“Obviously,” said Councilmember Jeremiah Ellison, “the intent was never for Zone 2 to be without coverage, and the administration has been adamant that we can’t talk about what’s going on with the current contract. We didn’t want that to be interpreted as Zone 2 not getting service.”

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Concerns over funding cuts 

While funding has been allocated for violence prevention, some leaders are raising concerns about how the city’s approach is affecting local organizations. Muhammad Abdul-Ahad, executive director of T.O.U.C.H. Outreach, has voiced frustration over staffing cuts and reduced wages under the Neighborhood Safety Department’s (NSD) agreement with Cure Violence Global, a national organization that uses a public health approach to violence prevention. 

The Cure Violence model treats violence as a contagious disease, hiring “violence interrupters”— often individuals with relevant lived experience — to mediate conflicts before they escalate. While the approach has been adopted in cities nationwide, critics argue that local organizations are being underfunded and under-resourced as a result of this contract.

“The gold standard has always been $30 an hour, and now we are facing cuts,” Abdul-Ahad said, adding that the new contract terms are unsustainable for his staff. Due to funding constraints, his organization will be forced to reduce its staff from 32 to just seven members.

Leadership turnover 

Tensions within the Neighborhood Safety Department have grown since the resignation of its former director, Luana Nelson-Brown, last February. Nelson-Brown stepped down citing misaligned priorities with city officials, fueling ongoing concerns about how violence prevention efforts are being managed.

Abdul-Ahad supports shifting oversight responsibilities from NSD to Hennepin County. “They have the personnel, they have the management structure there that could oversee the work and, you know, give us project managers,” Abdul-Ahad said. 

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“They have the infrastructure to be able to give it the oversight that it needs. Okay, right now, the city doesn’t have that. We don’t even have a project manager.”

NSD Deputy Director Lea Lakes did not respond to email requests for comment at this time.

Criticism over vendor selection

Critics of the program have also raised concerns about vendors like A Mother’s Love and We Push for Peace. Some accuse these groups of disrupting protests and engaging in violent behavior. Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) highlighted incidents where operatives were involved in physical altercations at protests and mishandled protest materials.

“The cost of training for these groups is excessive, and there is no clear evidence that these programs are working,” Michelle Gross, executive director of CUAPB, wrote in a letter to the council. “We urge the council to reconsider these contracts and demand transparency on the effectiveness of the violence interrupters.”

Despite these criticisms, supporters of the Cure Violence Global model argue that such programs are essential for reducing violence in communities where law enforcement is often seen as untrustworthy.

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What comes next?

As part of the oversight for the initiative, a comprehensive evaluation of the program’s vendors and their effectiveness will be conducted, with the first month’s data set to be released on May 8. An online dashboard will provide six months of data to the public. The findings could influence future funding decisions and determine whether the current model remains viable.

With concerns about staffing shortages, contract transparency, and gaps in coverage — particularly in Zone 2 — community advocates and city officials will be watching closely to see if these investments yield measurable reductions in violence.

Clint Combs welcomes reader responses at ccombs@spokesman-recorder.com.





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Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota weather: Gorgeous Sunday with a warmer Monday ahead

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Minnesota weather: Gorgeous Sunday with a warmer Monday ahead


A sunny and warm Sunday is in store for the Twin Cities, with even higher temperatures expected on Monday before a chance of rain and cooler air returns later in the week.

Sunday forecast

Local perspective:

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Sunday is starting with some cloud cover before sunshine moves in with highs near 70 degrees around the metro and southern parts of the state. 

Winds will be much lighter than Saturday, coming from the south at 5 to 10 mph with only occasional gusts up to 15 mph. 

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The Brainerd Lakes area will see temperatures in the 60s, while the North Shore will be cooler, which is typical for this time of year. 

Sunday’s weather is expected to be dry and pleasant.

Overnight, temperatures will drop to the upper 30s and lower 40s, with some clouds moving in ahead of Monday. 

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Extended forecast 

What’s next:

Monday could be the warmest day of the week, with highs in the lower 70s for the Twin Cities and some spots in southern Minnesota possibly reaching close to 80 degrees.

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Winds will shift from southerly to southeasterly and then easterly as the day goes on, but should remain light. 

After the warm start to the week, a cold front will move through on Tuesday, bringing a chance for a few rain showers in the early morning. 

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Temperatures will likely drop to the upper 40s by Wednesday and Thursday, with another front possibly bringing showers late Friday into early Saturday.

The rest of the extended forecast calls for temperatures close to or just below average, with highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s.

The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.

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Man found dead in south Minneapolis house fire

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Man found dead in south Minneapolis house fire


Firefighters are investigating the Minneapolis’s second fire fatality of the year after a man died in a house fire Saturday afternoon. 

Fatal fire on 28th Avenue South

What we know:

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According to the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD), fire crews arrived shortly after 1:00 p.m. and found smoke coming from the second floor of a single-family home on 28th Avenue South. Bystanders alerted firefighters that someone might be trapped inside.

Crews had to work through heavy debris to reach the upstairs area. It took about 40 minutes to fully put out the fire.

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During the primary search, firefighters found a man in his 60s dead on the second floor. No one else was found after searching all the floors.

Minneapolis Animal Care and Control took in a dog found outside the home.

Assistant Chief Wes Van Vickle said, “The department is grateful to the neighbors who alerted fire crews that someone may still have been inside, allowing them to act quickly.”

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Fire safety reminders and community response

What they’re saying:

“This afternoon’s tragic loss of life weighs heavily on all of us, and we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” said Van Vickle.

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He also encourages the public to regularly check and maintain smoke detectors and fire extinguishers at home.

There were no other injuries reported. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is working to confirm the man’s identity.

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What we don’t know:

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the man’s name has not been released.

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Minnesota serves as the flagship for nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump

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Minnesota serves as the flagship for nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump


ST. PAUL, Minn. — Organizers of Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies across the country are predicting that the protests against the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration could add up to one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history, with Minnesota taking center stage.

Organizers say more than 3,100 events have been registered in all 50 states, with more than 9 million people expected to participate.

And they’ve designated the rally at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul as the national flagship event, in recognition of how the state where federal agents fatally shot two people who were monitoring Trump’s immigration crackdown became an epicenter of resistance.

Headlining that observance will be Bruce Springsteen, performing “Streets of Minneapolis,” which he wrote in response to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and in tribute to the thousands of Minnesotans who took to the streets over the winter. Springsteen’s Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour, which has a “No Kings” theme, kicks off Tuesday in Minneapolis.

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Minnesota organizers have told state officials they expect 100,000 people could converge on the Capitol grounds, where last June’s event drew an estimated 80,000 people.

The St. Paul rally will also feature singer Joan Baez, actor Jane Fonda,Sen. Bernie Sanders and a long list of other activists, labor leaders and elected officials.

The White House dismissed the nationwide protests as the product of “leftist funding networks” with little real public support.

“The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen other countries, from Europe to Latin America to Australia, Ezra Levin, a co-executive director of Indivisible, a group spearheading the events, said in an interview. Countries with constitutional monarchies call the protests “No Tyrants,” he said.

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For those unable to attend in person, another activist group, Stand Up For Science, is hosting a “virtual and accessible” event online.

National organizers told reporters in an online news conference Thursday that they expect Saturday’s protests to be larger than the first two rounds of No Kings rallies, which they estimate drew more than 5 million people in June and more than 7 million in October.

“This administration’s actions are angering not just Democratic voters or folks in big blue city centers – they are crossing a line for people in red and rural areas, in the suburbs, all over the country,” said Leah Greenberg, the other co-executive director of Indivisible. “The defining story of this Saturday’s mobilization is not just how many people are protesting, but where they are protesting,”

Two-thirds of the RSVPs have come from outside of major urban centers, Greenberg said, listing registration surges in conservative-leaning states like Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, South Dakota and Louisiana, as well in competitive suburban areas of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.

“Millions of us are rising up from all walks of life, from rural communities to big cities at No Kings,” said Katie Bethell, executive director of MoveOn, another major organizer. “And as we do so, we will send the loudest, clearest message yet that this country does not belong to kings, dictators, tyrants. It belongs to us.”

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