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.
A Minneapolis man who pleaded guilty to murdering a high school student in 2022 was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison on Monday.
It was the second time Cody Fohrenkam was sentenced for fatally shooting 15-year-old Deshaun Hill. He was convicted and sentenced to more than 38 years in prison in February 2023, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction and granted him a retrial based on illegally obtained incriminating statements.
Fohrenkam, 33, agreed to a plea deal as his second trial was set to start, pleading guilty to one count of second-degree intentional murder in exchange for Monday’s 340-month sentence. The judge presiding over the hearing gave him credit for 1,476 days already served.
Fohrenkam shot and killed Hill while Hill was walking to a bus stop just blocks from Minneapolis North High School, where Hill was a star quarterback and honor roll student.
One of Hill’s aunts said in a statement shortly before the judge sentenced Fohrenkam that her nephew was “full of life.”
“When he spoke, you listened. He had a soft spirit and a good heart,” she said. “Deshaun was an artist who, as you all know, he took his education seriously. He had dreams and goals. He worked hard to make his family proud.”
This story will be updated.
A man is now charged with murder after prosecutors say a robbery inside a Minneapolis apartment building ended in a fatal shooting.
Prosecutors say the man was on conditional release after being charged with first-degree armed carjacking for an incident in Minneapolis last September.
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The killing happened Feb. 24 inside the Abbott Apartments lounge area on the 100 block of East 18th Street, where police found an adult man dead from gunshot wounds after reports of a shooting.
Court documents state the victim and a friend went to the building to meet 20-year-old Abdirahman Khayre Khayre. A witness stated Khayre left the room several times and appeared to be stalling before three armed men entered and demanded property. The men were described as carrying two Glock-style handguns with extended magazines and an AR-style rifle. During the robbery, the suspects demanded a Louis Vuitton bag belonging to the victim. When the victim resisted, a struggle broke out. The witness stated that two guns were taken from him during the robbery.
The witness told investigators Khayre was handed one of the stolen guns and then pointed it at him, causing him to flee into the lobby. Moments later, multiple gunshots were heard. The witness returned and found the victim shot. Surveillance footage from other areas of the building reportedly corroborated key parts of the account, and the witness later identified Khayre in a photo lineup, according to the complaint.
PREVIOUSLY: Man Shot and Killed Inside Minneapolis Apartment Building
Authorities say Khayre was on conditional release at the time of the killing in a separate Hennepin County case involving a September 2025 armed carjacking.
READ MORE > Minneapolis coverage
In that earlier case, prosecutors alleged Khayre and others confronted a woman in a garage near 19th Street and Nicollet Avenue, pointed handguns at her and forced her to give up the keys to a Dodge Challenger before fleeing in the stolen vehicle. Officers later located the vehicle and arrested multiple suspects, including Khayre, who was identified as the driver.
Court records show Khayre posted a $75,000 non-cash bond and was released under conditions requiring him to remain law-abiding, have no possession of firearms or ammunition, avoid alcohol and controlled substances and complete treatment.
Khayre is now charged with second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony and first-degree aggravated robbery. He made an initial court appearance Friday, where a judge set bail at $1 million. If convicted of second-degree felony murder, he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
The homicide investigation remains ongoing. Authorities have not yet released the identity of the victim. Anyone with information is asked to contact Minneapolis police by emailing policetips@minneapolismn.gov or calling 612-673-5845. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or online. Information leading to an arrest and conviction may be eligible for a financial reward.
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Minneapolis, MN
Man killed over Louie Vuitton bag, suspect was on bond for suspected carjacking, charges say
Minneapolis police are investigating a homicide on Feb. 24, 2026. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A man is dead after a witness said he refused to give up a Louis Vuitton bag while being robbed by multiple men at gunpoint.
Abdirahman Khayre Khayre, 20, is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree robbery for the incident that happened on the evening of Feb. 24 in Minneapolis.
READ MORE: Man fatally shot in south Minneapolis apartment building
Fatal Minneapolis shooting after robbery
The set-up:
Minneapolis police responded around 10:42 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Abbott Apartments, located on the 100 block of East 18th Street in the Stevens Square neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Officers then found a dead man in the lobby who had been shot multiple times.
A witness to the shooting said he and the victim arrived at the apartments to “hang out” with Khayre, according to the criminal complaint.
The witness said he became suspicious when Khayre he left the room multiple times and “appeared to be stalling.”
The robbery:
The complaint states the witness reported three men then came into the room and yelled “Give me everything.” The men were armed with Glock handguns that had extended magazines as well as an AR-style rifle.
They then stole two guns from the witness, and one of them was handed to Khayre.
When the men demanded a Louis Vuitton bag from the victim, he refused, leading to a fight between them all.
The shooting:
The witness said when he walked toward them, Khayre pointed the witness’ stolen gun at him and racked it.
The witness then got out of the room, ran toward the lobby and heard multiple gunshots. He then saw two of the men flee out the back of the building, but didn’t see what direction they went in.
The victim was then found dead.
The aftermath:
Khayre was then identified by the witness in a photo lineup, according to the criminal complaint.
Police say video footage corroborated much of what the witness reported.
Khayre was on conditional release for a suspected carjacking at the time of the shooting, according to the complaint.
The Source: This story uses information gathered from a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County and previous FOX 9 reporting.
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