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Minneapolis City Council weighs citizen process for ballot initiative, referendum

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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.

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“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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.



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Minneapolis, MN

Man dead, 2 others hurt in overnight shooting in Minneapolis

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Man dead, 2 others hurt in overnight shooting in Minneapolis


Police say two people were hurt and one other man died.

A homicide investigation is underway in Minneapolis after a shooting early Friday morning killed one man and hurt two others.

Minneapolis police were called to the area of East Franklin Avenue and Chicago Avenue at around 12:30 a.m.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS cameras caught more than 65 evidence markers scattered across the ground in the area and shattered glass at a bus shelter. Some nearby businesses also appeared to have some damage.

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Minneapolis police are still working to determine what led up to the shooting and who was involved but investigators say first responders found the three men suffering from gunshot wounds.

One injured man is in his 40s, the other in his 50s, police say. Both were taken to a hospital by ambulance.

The third man died at the scene. His name and age haven’t yet been publicly released.

Police say early information suggests the men were on a sidewalk when at least one person opened fire, then fled in a vehicle.

So far, no arrests have been made.

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Anyone with information about what happened is asked to call police at 612-673-5845 to leave a voicemail or email policetips@minneapolismn.gov.

“This is a tragic and deeply disturbing act of violence that has taken a life, and left others seriously injured,” MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said. “This kind of violence is unacceptable, and we are committed to identifying those responsible and holding them accountable.”

Minneapolis police investigating alleyway shooting near East Franklin Avenue

It comes less than 30 hours after another serious shooting along East Franklin Avenue, just a half-mile west of Friday’s scene. That incident left a man hospitalized with a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. No arrests have been announced in that case either.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is still working to learn more about this shooting. Stay with KSTP-TV for the latest updates on air and on the KSTP app.

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A Minneapolis woman recounts death of Alex Pretti as lawyers eye a class action lawsuit

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A Minneapolis woman recounts death of Alex Pretti as lawyers eye a class action lawsuit


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis woman who confronted federal immigration officers alongside Alex Pretti in January was among a group of potential litigants who spoke out Thursday about alleged excessive force against people protesting or monitoring the enforcement surge in Minnesota.

Georgia Savageford, who introduced herself as Wynnie at a news conference, said she was inside an officer’s vehicle when she saw federal agents shoot Pretti.

“That day has changed me forever,” she said. “The trauma will haunt me for the rest of my life, and I will never be the same.”

Savageford said she had been legally observing the actions of federal officers in Minneapolis ever since the shooting death of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Jan. 7. She said she was doing so again on the morning of Jan. 24 when an agent pushed her twice and caused her to fall.

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“As I was going down, three agents proceeded to tackle me and drag me face-down into the middle of the street. They knelt on my back, twisted my arms and my legs to the ground, and handcuffed me. The cuffs were so tight I lost feeling in my hands, which resulted in temporary nerve damage,” she recounted.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond Thursday to emails seeking comment. Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration on Tuesday for access to evidence they say they need to independently investigate the killings.

Savageford said Pretti recorded video of her arrest and yelled at agents to leave her alone.

She said the officers put her in the back of a vehicle, from which she saw agents shoot and kill Pretti on the other side of the street.

“At that moment, I thought I was going to die too. I pleaded with the agents to understand why another life was taken, and to not take mine,” she said.

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She added that they told her to shut up and to stop being hysterical. She said they then took her to an ICE holding facility where she was held for 12 hours in a cold cell without ready access to food, water or the bathroom until she was released without being charged.

“I did not know him, but I knew he had my back,” she said of Pretti. “I know the kind of heart he had. One that loves and protects without limits.”

Savageford shared her story at a news conference where civil rights attorney John Burris, of Oakland, California, and other lawyers laid out how they’re paving the way for potential class-action lawsuits over alleged excessive force used against protesters and monitors.

Burris, who specializes in police misconduct, helped win an $11 million settlement against the Oakland Police Department in 2003, and helped win a civil jury verdict of $3.8 million for the late motorist Rodney King, who was beaten by Los Angeles police officers in 1991.

He said he and his colleagues have filed complaints with federal agencies involved in the Minnesota enforcement surge on behalf of 10 people, including Savageford, as the first step in a process that’s likely to lead to a larger class-action lawsuit.

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“We have many others that are under investigation that have not completed the process. But I thought it was important for us to start this process now. Put the government on notice that we’re here,” Burris said.



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Boy who shielded classmate during school shooting receives Medal of Honor

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Boy who shielded classmate during school shooting receives Medal of Honor


A fifth grader from Minneapolis received the Citizen Honor Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Victor Greenawalt jumped in front of his friend during a mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

Weston Halsne told local station KARE 11 that Greenawalt saved his life.

“It was really scary,” Halsne told KARE 11. “My friend Victor, like, saved me, though. Because he laid on top of me. But he got hit.”

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Two students were killed and several were injured after a shooter opened fire through the windows of the church last year. The shooter died on the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Congressional Medal Society said in a statement that Greenawalt showed “extraordinary bravery far beyond his years.”

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – SEPTEMBER 3: Flowers line a pathway to Annunciation Catholic Church as U.S. Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance visit to pay their respects to victims of the shooting there on September 3, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The shooting left two students dead and many more wounded. (Photo by Alex Wroblewski-Pool/Getty Images)

“Instinctively, Victor protected a classmate with his own body, directly saving their life during the attack,” the society said in a written statement. “His courage and selflessness became a powerful symbol of hope and humanity for a community in crisis.”

Greenawalt was hospitalized following the shooting, according to a verified GoFundMe page. His sister was also injured.

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He flew to Washington with his family on Wednesday to accept the award.

Greeenawalt met with Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., while on Capitol Hill. The ceremony also included a wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery.

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He received the Young Hero award, which honors individuals age 17 or younger for their courage.

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