Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis City Council weighs citizen process for ballot initiative, referendum
The Minneapolis City Council will continue considering an amendment to the City Charter that would allow residents to take issues straight to the ballot through initiatives and referendums.
St. Paul has such a process, and it’s similar to the amendment now on the table in Minneapolis. However, Ward 2 Council Member Robin Wonsley, who spearheaded the effort, confirmed in an interview on Sunday that it won’t be ready in time for a vote on the November ballot.
The proposal sparked the age-old debate between representative democracy, where decisions are made by elected officials — like the city council and the mayor — versus direct democracy, where residents vote to enact and repeal laws at the ballot box.
“People respond to issues that have an impact on their lives,” Wonsley said, arguing that ballot initiatives incentivize higher voter turnout and put citizens’ voices over powerful influence groups.
“I mainly think of my first day of orientation when I joined City Hall,” she said, answering why she proposed the amendment to the city’s constitution. “Our lunch was with the Minneapolis Downtown Council, and that really left an imprint, or a lasting impression, around, you know, who actually has access to, you know, elected officials behind the closed doors.”
Ballot measures aren’t always free of outside influence, either.
Critics of the proposal, including a few fellow council members following a public hearing on the topic at the City Council’s Committee of the Whole last week, argued such initiatives undermine the lawmaking process and give public officials an excuse to avoid tough decisions.
“I think this only weakens our democracy,” Ward 3 Council Member Michael Rainville commented.
Speaking during the hearing, a resident said, “I believe that all of you were elected to do your job, and this relieves you of that responsibility.”
The citizen testimony was split right down the middle, with half speaking in favor and the other half in opposition.
Research from city staff used ballot measures in five of the state’s most populous cities — St. Paul, Rochester, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park and Duluth — as examples, and Wonsley on Sunday said that dozens of Minnesota cities have similar processes.
Ward 4 Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw was not convinced that those were fair comparisons.
“There’s been a comment about, ‘All these other cities are fine.’ I’m not sure if that’s true. I haven’t talked to anyone in all these other cities that we’re being compared to,” Vetaw said during the committee meeting. “I will say, a comparison that’s obvious is that all of these other cities have part-time city councils. …They also have less council members. If I’m not mistaken, we’re the only full-time council in the state of Minnesota, the Minneapolis City Council is, so that’s what makes us different.”
Wonsley’s proposed charter amendment comes just three years after residents previously voted to amend it in favor of strengthening the power of the mayor’s office.
Wonsley firmly denied that her proposal was in any way an effort to reverse the outcome of that decision by the voters.
“No. Ballot initiatives and ballot referendums are powers that already exist, again, amongst, you know, 70-plus home-rule cities across the state,” she said. “It’s nothing about circumventing or over- or undermining those types of powers.”
Council members, even those in support of the proposal, weren’t ready to pass it at the full City Council meeting on Thursday, saying they wanted more time to iron out the details before voting to send it back to the author.
After council approval, the next step for the proposed amendment would be the city’s Charter Commission, and then back to council for a final vote before the approved language would ultimately go to the voters.
The city attorney’s office said at the committee meeting the Charter Commission’s deadline to receive amendments would be up before the end March.
Given the timeline and the vote to keep working on it, Wonsley said there’s no chance that the amendment would make it onto the November ballot as she hoped. She expressed plans to request additional research in the coming weeks and keep the work on the language going in the months ahead.
Minneapolis police are asking for tips relating to a homicide that occurred two years ago.
Officers responded to the intersection of Second Street and Third Avenue Northeast on Nov. 7, 2023, on multiple reports of shots fired.
There, they found 28-year-old Malik Payne inside a vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head. He was brought to the hospital, where he died of his injuries the next day.
Man dies day after northeast Minneapolis shooting | $10,000 CrimeStoppers reward offered for information to solve deadly shooting case
Police say this case has been difficult to solve due to limited information. MPD is asking anyone who was in the area on the night of the murder, or anyone who saw or heard anything unusual, to come forward.
“Even the smallest piece of information may help bring closure to Malik’s family and hold those responsible accountable,” police wrote in a Facebook post.
You can submit a tip to MPD by email at policetips@minneapolismn.gov or leave a voicemail at 612-673-5845.
You can also submit a tip anonymously through Crime Stoppers online or by calling 800-222-8477.
Minneapolis, MN
4 arrested, 6 guns recovered after stolen vehicle stopped by authorities in Minneapolis
Four people in a stolen car were arrested by authorities in south Minneapolis on Thursday afternoon.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said that a white Jeep reported as stolen out of Maple Grove was allegedly involved in multiple auto theft tampering and dangerous driving incidents earlier on Thursday.
In the late afternoon, the same car was involved in at least one incident involving guns being pointed at people, officials say.
The HCSO Violent Offender Task Force (VOTF) found the vehicle in the afternoon, and when detectives tried to stop it, the car drove away.
Authorities say the VOTF and Minnesota State Patrol successfully deployed stop sticks to disable the car. As the driver stopped and ran from the vehicle, a passenger got into the driver’s seat and hit the original driver before the car fully stopped.
A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS photographer captured video of authorities processing the scene near Aldrich Avenue South and West 28th Street.
All four people were taken into custody, and two were brought to the hospital.
The sheriff’s office added that six guns were recovered at the scene.
Minneapolis, MN
Progressives hold majority on Minneapolis City Council, lose power to override vetoes
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The progressive wing of the Minneapolis City Council will keep its majority but lose its ability to override the mayor’s vetoes in its next term. The political makeup of the incoming council will likely allow Mayor Jacob Frey to avoid the kind of pushback on his power that shaped the last two years.
Mayor Frey will start third term without threat of veto-proof supermajority
What we know:
The progressive arm of the Minneapolis City Council lost a seat on Tuesday night when incumbent Katie Cashman lost her reelection bid in Ward 7 to newcomer and moderate Shelley Madore.
The loss of a progressive voice leaves that wing of the council without the ability to override a mayoral veto.
Council clashed with mayor, sometimes overrode vetoes
The backstory:
The progressive faction of the council took control after the 2023 election and occasionally found two additional votes to get the nine needed to override a mayoral veto. It wielded that power against the mayor nearly a half-dozen times since then, including in February 2024 to override a veto of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war; in March 2024 to override a veto of a measure to raise the minimum wage of rideshare drivers; in October 2024 to override a veto on carbon emissions fees; in December 2024 to override a veto on a $1.9 billion budget; and in February to override a veto of a proposal to study a pedestrian mall at George Floyd Square.
What they’re saying:
“The other part that we’re really focused on is trying to get consensus around public safety. It’s a really complicated issue, from support for law enforcement, a humanitarian response to homelessness and some of the addiction issues, livability issues that we have in our city,” said Adam Duininck, Minneapolis Downtown Council CEO. “The [Minneapolis] Downtown Council and the D.I.D. [Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District] respond to these issues as well as anybody, and trying to forge that consensus will hopefully be easier with the new city council.”
What’s next:
The incoming council will be sworn into office in January. It will be the first council in nearly a decade to serve a four-year term.
Colorado athletic director backs Deion Sanders amid underwhelming season
Traveling soon? Know how to navigate flight cancellations now
Harvested lungs. Factory parts. How flight cutbacks could slow delivery of vital goods to LAX and other airports
Review: Hildegard von Bingen was a saint, an abbess, a mystic, a pioneering composer and is now an opera
L.A. Affairs: During my year of yes, could I find love at LACMA’s jazz night?
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Full SNAP benefits start to go out even as the Trump administration appeals
Video: The Decline of America’s Largest Environmental Organization
Hegseth warns traffickers after deadly drug boat strike: ‘We will kill you’
ICC confirms war crimes charges against Uganda’s rebel leader Joseph Kony
2 Joint Base Andrews buildings evacuated after suspicious package opened, base says
-
Culture1 week agoVideo: Dissecting Three Stephen King Adaptations
-
Austin, TX2 days agoHalf-naked woman was allegedly tortured and chained in Texas backyard for months by five ‘friends’ who didn’t ‘like her anymore’
-
Education1 week agoOpinion | New York City Mayoral Candidates: Who Would Be Best?
-
Seattle, WA6 days agoESPN scoop adds another intriguing name to Seahawks chatter before NFL trade deadline
-
San Diego, CA1 week agoAdd Nick Hundley, Ruben Niebla to list of Padres’ managerial finalists
-
Business1 week agoCommentary: Meme stocks are still with us, offering new temptations for novice and unwary investors
-
Business1 week ago
Disneyland Resort lays off 100 people in Anaheim
-
Politics1 week agoVirginia school district slapped with complaint alleging new claims in viral trans locker room fight
