Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis Mayor Frey’s State of the City speech takes a new tone
Frey, Klobuchar condemn ICE presence in Minnesota after shooting
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar called for ICE to leave Minneapolis after another fatal shooting.
After eight years as the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey has a well-tested recipe for his State of the City speech.
Start with a healthy base of events that tested the city in the past year, but also drew out its strengths. Next, mix in updates about pet projects – Stable Homes Stable Schools, efforts to end exclusionary zoning, an uptick in police recruitment numbers – before sprinkling with some shout-outs to local businesses. Finally, add in the secret ingredient: the applause line about the Timberwolves.
Tuesday morning’s State of the City speech – the first of Frey’s third term – had all of that. But there was a little more bite than usual to the optimism that often shines through the annual address.
The mayor, who has taken some heat locally for his national notoriety, said that local government leaders needed to refocus on their core responsibilities before the city’s strong standing takes a downward trajectory, referencing discord between his administration and the Minneapolis City Council, though never saying exactly where he’d assign the blame.
“We tried to do everything – things that aren’t always a local government’s job – and in the process we didn’t always do the most important things well enough,” Frey said. “We’ve spent time debating things that are not the most critical parts of our job.”
Those critical parts, Frey said, start with public safety. He cited the police response to the Annunciation shooting and 911 operators’ work during Operation Metro Surge as core reasons to invest in public safety before proudly sharing that in 2025, 2,328 people had applied to become officers with the Minneapolis Police Department.
He also focused on some ground-level efforts, including the now-completed backlog of streetlight replacements and the upcoming implementation of the Community Safety Ambassador program in Uptown.
Not directly mentioned was his controversial veto of a Council ordinance that would have decriminalized the possession of drug paraphernalia. Supporters say the ordinance would’ve aligned the city with Minnesota state law and the principles of harm reduction – the idea that reducing the negative consequences of illegal drug use is an effective way to get users on a path to recovery.
“Continued open (drug) use on our streets is devastating: for residents, for families, and for businesses, large and small,” Frey said in his speech. “Compassion matters but it doesn’t mean anything goes.”
Switching to affordable housing, the mayor praised the transformation of commercial spaces into housing, citing examples like Opportunity Crossing and Groove Lofts. He also pushed for the city to cut the red tape keeping more properties from being built, including controversial accessory dwelling units.
The speech also marked a change in his rhetoric on one specific topic: Minneapolis’ return to office work, especially downtown.
In his 2023 speech, he said he didn’t really “get” remote or hybrid work, though he understood the appeal of “sweatpants on Mondays” and encouraged a commitment to in-person work in downtown Tuesday through Thursday.
“Wouldn’t that be nice,” he said, “to have everyone back downtown for three whole days each week?”
He was a little more blunt in 2024, expressing growing concern from “residents having to pick up the tab because less taxes are generated from downtown buildings.”
Last year, he noted that “nearly 70% of downtown workers are back at least once a week – by the way, please keep it coming.”
In Tuesday’s speech, though? A note that COVID-19 had “expedited a necessary transition away from full-time, in-person work” and a push for businesses to consider changes to how they use their buildings.
“If you’re willing to invest in a big vision for a building where the basis has been lowered, come talk to us,” said Frey, calling out the use of tax increment financing to support redevelopment. “If you’ve got one gigantic retail space on Nicollet Mall, and you want to change it to a bunch of smaller ones, come talk to us.”
As he closed, he made another call for city leaders to get serious about results, foreshadowing a challenging budget process ahead and “hard conversations” about programs and investments that weren’t delivering for residents.
Minneapolis Council members respond to Frey
Council president Elliott Payne (Ward 1), vice-president Jamal Osman (Ward 6) and member Robin Wonsley (Ward 2) spoke briefly with press after the speech, expressing a general appreciation for Frey’s remarks and a hope that they could collaborate.
“Governance is not an individual sport,” Payne said. “We govern collectively and we move our city forward together. And so we’re looking forward to a four year term where we have deeper collaboration with the mayor and can actually advance a working class agenda that really puts the people first.”
Wonsley called for additional revenue options to reduce the burden of property taxes on residents, saying that things like income taxes or taxes on empty homes could raise millions “so that we can make sure we’re preserving the programs that actually help our residents have a good quality of life.”
And asked about the recent vetoes, Payne said he was open to discussions about solutions that could make it past the mayor’s desk.
“We would like the mayor to set his veto pen down and meet me at the whiteboard so that we can actually come up with the solutions to a lot of those intractable problems,” he said.
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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