Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis Mayor reflects on progress and challenges in 2024, looks ahead to 2025
Mayor Frey One on one 10p
In a series of one-on-one interviews with journalists on Monday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey summarized what he saw as progress in the city in 2024 as the year winds down.
Asked if there was one thing he’s most proud of at year-end as the city’s chief executive, Mayor Frey said it was “difficult to identify one single element.” before, first, landing on housing.
“One piece that we are being recognized on nationally is our work around housing,” he said.
“We’re providing people with that foundational right of housing.”
It’s a talking point that can be traced back to the mayor’s earliest campaign days. Years later, getting people into stable housing remained among his central strategies, and he was proud of the progress made in 2024.
“We’re producing eight-and-a-half times the amount of deeply affordable housing that we were before I took office,” Frey said.
More affordable housing means fewer people who are homeless, the mayor said, adding, “But if we’re talking about unsheltered homelessness, specifically homeless encampments, this is a far more complex issue.”
MPD Police Brian O’Hara has said encampments have been shooting hot spots in 2024, with nearly a quarter of incidents in the 3rd Precinct within 500 feet of one.
“Let’s get them the addiction treatment that they need, the wraparound services that they need, the culturally sensitive healing that we should be providing. Let’s do all those things, and when that service is rejected, yes, we do need to close homeless encampments,” Frey said of his administration’s homeless response strategy.
Police recruitment was another point of progress for the Minneapolis Mayor. Applications to wear the MPD uniform were up 45% in 2024 compared to the prior year, he said.
“We’ve turned a corner. We’re netting positive in terms of officers this year of 2024, and I anticipate 2025 being a banner year,” Frey added.
Asked, he also acknowledged it could be tougher in 2025 with money for those efforts slashed.
Members of the City Council’s veto-proof progressive majority said it was among many tough decisions ahead of a tough budget year, which includes a rise in the property tax levy.
“I made my objections to that budget clear back earlier in December,” the Mayor told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Monday. “Now we got to move forward.”
Looking to 2025, he said there will be a focus on improving what he referred to as “basic city services, including 911 call response.”
The planned opening of a new 3rd Police Precinct in 2025, five years after the former building burned — would be a part of that, he said.
“And we’re trying to provide a response, not just from police officers in adequate time frame – in a fast time frame, but also provide a unique skill set that is matched with the unique circumstances on the ground, whether that’s a mental health responder or a social worker. We want to get that done in the form of a south side safety center,” Frey said.
2025 is also expected to be a campaign year for sitting mayor. Frey has not officially announced, but confirmed he plans to seek re-election.
If so, he faces a run against City Council Member Emily Koski and State Senator Omar Fateh, among others.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis construction workers call on developers to take stand against ICE
Minneapolis, MN
Fan behind Anthony Edwards’ orange bracelet has beaten cancer
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The story behind Anthony Edwards wearing a bright orange bracelet since last season has received a positive development, after Timberwolves fans learned Luca Wright has beaten leukemia.
Anthony Edwards, Luca Wright connection
What we know:
Last January, the 6-year-old Minnesotan met “Ant” for the first time following a game against the Detroit Pistons, proclaiming him to be his favorite player, and asking him to wear a bracelet that symbolizes leukemia awareness, resilience and support for those affected. During the interaction, the fan had created a sign with a to-do list: “1. Beat Cancer. 2. Be The Next MJ.”
Leukemia is a type of cancer that spreads throughout the bloodstream, infecting bone marrow and a person’s lymphatic system by rapid production of abnormal white blood cells that can’t fight infection.
Since then, the Wolves’ MVP has worn a bracelet that proclaims, “Love Like Luca” on it for every game he has played, vowing to wear it “until he hangs up his sneakers.”
Ant has gone on to explain how the gesture connected with him given that he lost both his mother, Yvette, and grandmother, Shirley, to cancer when he was 14 years old. The No. 5 jersey he wears currently is a tribute to them both.
Luca bracelet latest
Dig deeper:
More than a year later, Wolves fans have received the update they hoped for – now 7-year-old Luca has beaten his cancer.
What’s next:
Ant has since responded to the news with his own social media video, calling it “God’s gift” and saying, “Let’s do this Luca.”
No word yet on whether he intends to keep wearing the bracelet, though he’s previously said he has a stash of replacements near the team bench should one ever be broken.
The Source: Information provided by the Minnesota Timberwolves public relations department.
Minneapolis, MN
Family of Minneapolis brothers killed by cousin says their deaths were preventable:
A Minneapolis family is struggling to make sense of a tragedy that has left them heartbroken.
Family tells WCCO 14-year-old Xavier Barnett and 23-year-old Akwame Stewart were killed Monday.
The brothers were very different, but equally loved. Barnett was a good student and athlete. Stewart was a painter, creative and thoughtful. Two brothers, loved and full of promise, gone.
Police say the accused shooter is their cousin, 23-year-old Eddie Duncan.
Court records show Duncan was released on bail Monday on charges of fleeing law enforcement and possession of a gun modified with an “auto sear switch.”
Court records also show Duncan was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation, but not until next month, on March 24.
Deasia Freeman, Barnett and Stewart’s sister, says this loss could have been prevented.
“They all failed us. We got two innocent lives gone for no reason. Didn’t do nothing to nobody,” Freeman said.
Family members say the system and Duncan’s family let them down.
Freeman says Duncan’s family saw the warning signs and still bailed him out
“If you knew this man was thinking like this, y’all should have kept him in there and he should not even have bail,” she said.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says they noted Duncan was a public safety risk and asked for a high bail, much higher than a typical request.
“In Minnesota, there is a constitutional right to bail, and the bail amount is set by the Court. Our office noted a public safety risk with Mr. Duncan and asked the judge to set bail at $70,000, or $35,000 with conditions; both of which are higher than we would typically request in this scenario. The judge set bail in that amount. Mr. Duncan posted $35,000 bail with conditions of release, as is allowed under the Minnesota Constitution, and was released from custody. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by yesterday’s violence. This was a terrible tragedy for this family and our community,” a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
For Freeman and her family, the hardest part isn’t just the legal process but living each day without their brothers.
Even in the heartbreak, she says the memories of the good days, the laughter and love they shared will carry them through.
“I wish I could get just one more phone call from them asking me where I’m at,” Freeman said as tears rolled down her face.
Court records confirm Duncan left the scene of the crime and fled to nearby Brooklyn Center. There, a search warrant says Duncan “fired a gun at officers, striking two squads,” when police arrived. That’s when officers returned fire, shooting and killing him.
Three officers have been placed on critical incident leave as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension leads the investigation into Duncan’s fatal shooting.
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