Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis officials may be near agreement on federal oversight of MPD
Minneapolis leaders will meet Monday morning to review a tentative agreement on a federal consent decree.
The consent decree — a federal tool for oversight of police — will likely mandate extensive reforms to the Minneapolis Police Department. City officials have been working with the Department of Justice to reach an agreement since June 2023, when a federal investigation found patterns of racism and excessive force in MPD.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey last week scheduled Monday morning’s special city council meeting. The council, mayor and city attorney are expected to hold a closed-door briefing on the agreement, followed by a public vote. If approved, the agreement will be filed in federal court.
The Department of Justice opened its investigation in 2021 after the police murder of George Floyd the previous year. After extensive interviews with members of the community and department personnel, it concluded that MPD used dangerous techniques and weapons against people unnecessarily, and treated residents differently based on race. It also alleged the department mishandles complaints and accountability for officers.
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Marcia Howard, a local teacher and activist, takes notes during a June 2023 community morning meeting to discuss the findings of a comprehensive investigation into the city’s police department.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
The report recommended a revamp to use-of-force policies, training and reporting. Those are changes that could be mandated in a consent decree.
Other consent decrees in cities including New Orleans, Seattle, Portland and Cleveland have mandated a variety of reforms, such as civilian oversight of police, altered use-of-force policies and new training on weapons use and engaging with people with mental illness.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has experience administering a consent decree. He came to Minneapolis from Newark, which has been under a consent decree since 2016.
Addressing Minneapolis officers last week, O’Hara said he’ll remain committed to improving staffing levels and supporting officers’ safety and mental health, as the department prepares to take on the change likely required by a consent decree.
“When we focus on the right priorities, supporting one another, engaging with our community and remaining committed to our shared values, we can and we will navigate this process successfully and emerge stronger,” O’Hara said.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara speaks at a press conference on Aug. 7, 2023.
Jon Collins | MPR News
The decree would remain in place until an independent monitor determines the city has met all the requirements — likely several years later.
If enacted, Minneapolis would be the first city in the nation under both federal and state consent decrees. A state-level settlement agreement was reached in 2023, after an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights also found a pattern of racism in the department.
The department is approaching March deadlines under the state agreement. It will need to have new policies governing use of force, body camera use and interactions with minors. It’s also required to make substantial progress on a backlog of complaints against officers.
Advocates for a consent decree are hoping to see it finalized before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who opposed federal oversight of police departments during his first term in office.
Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota weather: Gorgeous Sunday with a warmer Monday ahead
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A sunny and warm Sunday is in store for the Twin Cities, with even higher temperatures expected on Monday before a chance of rain and cooler air returns later in the week.
Sunday forecast
Local perspective:
Sunday is starting with some cloud cover before sunshine moves in with highs near 70 degrees around the metro and southern parts of the state.
Winds will be much lighter than Saturday, coming from the south at 5 to 10 mph with only occasional gusts up to 15 mph.
The Brainerd Lakes area will see temperatures in the 60s, while the North Shore will be cooler, which is typical for this time of year.
Sunday’s weather is expected to be dry and pleasant.
Overnight, temperatures will drop to the upper 30s and lower 40s, with some clouds moving in ahead of Monday.
Extended forecast
What’s next:
Monday could be the warmest day of the week, with highs in the lower 70s for the Twin Cities and some spots in southern Minnesota possibly reaching close to 80 degrees.
Winds will shift from southerly to southeasterly and then easterly as the day goes on, but should remain light.
After the warm start to the week, a cold front will move through on Tuesday, bringing a chance for a few rain showers in the early morning.
Temperatures will likely drop to the upper 40s by Wednesday and Thursday, with another front possibly bringing showers late Friday into early Saturday.
The rest of the extended forecast calls for temperatures close to or just below average, with highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s.
The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.
Minneapolis, MN
Man found dead in south Minneapolis house fire
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Firefighters are investigating the Minneapolis’s second fire fatality of the year after a man died in a house fire Saturday afternoon.
Fatal fire on 28th Avenue South
What we know:
According to the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD), fire crews arrived shortly after 1:00 p.m. and found smoke coming from the second floor of a single-family home on 28th Avenue South. Bystanders alerted firefighters that someone might be trapped inside.
Crews had to work through heavy debris to reach the upstairs area. It took about 40 minutes to fully put out the fire.
During the primary search, firefighters found a man in his 60s dead on the second floor. No one else was found after searching all the floors.
Minneapolis Animal Care and Control took in a dog found outside the home.
Assistant Chief Wes Van Vickle said, “The department is grateful to the neighbors who alerted fire crews that someone may still have been inside, allowing them to act quickly.”
Fire safety reminders and community response
What they’re saying:
“This afternoon’s tragic loss of life weighs heavily on all of us, and we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” said Van Vickle.
He also encourages the public to regularly check and maintain smoke detectors and fire extinguishers at home.
There were no other injuries reported. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is working to confirm the man’s identity.
What we don’t know:
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the man’s name has not been released.
Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota serves as the flagship for nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Organizers of Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies across the country are predicting that the protests against the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration could add up to one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history, with Minnesota taking center stage.
Organizers say more than 3,100 events have been registered in all 50 states, with more than 9 million people expected to participate.
And they’ve designated the rally at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul as the national flagship event, in recognition of how the state where federal agents fatally shot two people who were monitoring Trump’s immigration crackdown became an epicenter of resistance.
Headlining that observance will be Bruce Springsteen, performing “Streets of Minneapolis,” which he wrote in response to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and in tribute to the thousands of Minnesotans who took to the streets over the winter. Springsteen’s Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour, which has a “No Kings” theme, kicks off Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Minnesota organizers have told state officials they expect 100,000 people could converge on the Capitol grounds, where last June’s event drew an estimated 80,000 people.
The St. Paul rally will also feature singer Joan Baez, actor Jane Fonda,Sen. Bernie Sanders and a long list of other activists, labor leaders and elected officials.
The White House dismissed the nationwide protests as the product of “leftist funding networks” with little real public support.
“The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen other countries, from Europe to Latin America to Australia, Ezra Levin, a co-executive director of Indivisible, a group spearheading the events, said in an interview. Countries with constitutional monarchies call the protests “No Tyrants,” he said.
For those unable to attend in person, another activist group, Stand Up For Science, is hosting a “virtual and accessible” event online.
National organizers told reporters in an online news conference Thursday that they expect Saturday’s protests to be larger than the first two rounds of No Kings rallies, which they estimate drew more than 5 million people in June and more than 7 million in October.
“This administration’s actions are angering not just Democratic voters or folks in big blue city centers – they are crossing a line for people in red and rural areas, in the suburbs, all over the country,” said Leah Greenberg, the other co-executive director of Indivisible. “The defining story of this Saturday’s mobilization is not just how many people are protesting, but where they are protesting,”
Two-thirds of the RSVPs have come from outside of major urban centers, Greenberg said, listing registration surges in conservative-leaning states like Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, South Dakota and Louisiana, as well in competitive suburban areas of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.
“Millions of us are rising up from all walks of life, from rural communities to big cities at No Kings,” said Katie Bethell, executive director of MoveOn, another major organizer. “And as we do so, we will send the loudest, clearest message yet that this country does not belong to kings, dictators, tyrants. It belongs to us.”
Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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