Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board supports an increased tax levy to improve services and park care
MINNEAPOLIS — During a meeting on Wednesday, commissioners with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board backed a proposed tax levy of about 10% to help maintain current park services and to care for park assets.
If passed, the levy increase for the MPRB will result in a 1.76% increase in overall city property taxes which would amount to approximately $33 in annual increase in property taxes. That would be less than $3 per month for owners of a median $323,000 value home.
According to the parks board, currently, of every dollar Minneapolis homeowner’s pay in property taxes, 7.8 cents goes towards maintaining 7,059 acres of MPRB land and park systems, maintain and protect urban forests — as well as park and boulevard trees — and supports over 32 million park visits.
“This Board of Commissioner’s priority is to take care of the park assets we have and to continue providing the park services that Minneapolis residents use and that have made us one of the top park systems in the nation,” explained parks board President Meg Forney.
The proposed tax levy aims at improving park infrastructure in four different aspects. The first would be to maintain current service levels which includes a more than $3 million provision for wage and fringe adjustments as well as an additional $727,568 to combat inflation.
The second aims to invest more than half a million dollars in system equity that is needed to service skateparks and Graco park, which hopes to open later this year.
The third requires $150,000 to reduce barriers to program participation by providing city-wide need-based free and reduced cost youth programing.
And finally, the last goal of the tax levy is to support park care and asset investment. Funding for this area of the tax levy will ultimately aim to maximize existing funding for park repair, rehabilitation and capital. The parks board also say this funding will go towards providing attention to under-funded regional park systems where state funding has not met its statutory requirements.
“We provide parks and facilities to enrich the lives of every Minneapolis resident. With more than 32 million visits to the park system each year, we need to maintain current service levels and invest in how we track, assess and care for park assets within almost 200 parks located throughout the city,” said parks board Superintendent Al Bangoura.
If approved by the Board of Estimate and Taxation, Bangoura will present a balanced 2025 recommended budget based on a 10.07% property levy increase in October.
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The Minneapolis Aquatennial is back for its 87th year.
Organizers said the festival will run July 18-26 with free, family-friendly events across Minneapolis.
The event will kick off with a model sailboat pond at the fountains of the Government Plaza. For more information on all the events, click here.
Minneapolis, MN
Former Obama press aide accused of stealing cash, credit cards, from Minneapolis coworkers to buy kratom
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A former deputy press secretary for the Obama administration was fired from his Minneapolis city job last week after allegedly stealing cash and credit cards from city employees to purchase an herbal supplement used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Adam Fetcher, 42, who served as a communications officer for the city for a year before he was terminated, allegedly stole from his fellow city employees after returning from a work-approved, weeks-long rehabilitation program, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has received the case from authorities and is reviewing it, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital has also reached out to Fetcher’s attorney and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for further comment.
VEGAS LITTLE LEAGUE PRESIDENT ACCUSED OF SPENDING LEAGUE MONEY ON STRIP CLUBS AND ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION MEDS
Adam Fetcher, 42, who once served as a press secretary in the Obama administration, was fired from his communications job for the city of Minneapolis after he allegedly stole cash and charge cards from city employees to purchase kratom, an herbal drug used to treat opioid withdrawal. (City of Minneapolis Instagram; Getty Images)
Fetcher was captured on surveillance cameras at a Minneapolis smoke shop purchasing kratom, which is used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms but carries its own risk of addiction.
He allegedly stole a charge card from a city employee’s purse and made a $481 purchase at the Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor shop, less than a mile from his home, the newspaper reported. Store manager Hamza Zamara said staff helped investigators identify Fetcher as the man who allegedly used fraudulent cards to make the purchase.
Authorities zeroed in on the shop after a woman called the store claiming that someone had made a purchase using her card without permission. When Fetcher visited the shop again, employees took pictures of him and followed him outside, the news report states. They later gave investigators Fetcher’s vehicle’s license plate number.
OHIO BROTHERS WHO POSED AS MIDDLE EASTERN ROYALTY RECEIVE LENGTHY SENTENCE FOR $21M FRAUD SCHEME
Former U.S. President Barack Obama smiles at the official opening of the Obama Presidential Center on June 19, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais-Pool/Getty Images)
“We told him, ‘Hey, we know what you’re doing,’” Zamara said.
Fetcher, who earned $186,000 annually, was fired on July 1.
“Under Adam’s leadership, the Communications team has reorganized, is fully staffed, and is well positioned to manage the City’s Communications needs,” City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher wrote in an email to staff announcing the termination.
The email did not explain the circumstances of Fetcher’s departure. However, Kelliher wrote in a separate memo that several city employees had reported missing cash, debit, or credit cards, as well as unauthorized charges, noting the incidents happened between mid-May and June.
A kratom leaf and a vape store sign. (Getty Images)
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“I know this information may be concerning and troubling, and I want to assure you that the City takes this sort of report seriously and has acted accordingly,” she wrote, according to the email obtained by the Star Tribune. “Although we cannot provide additional details, we have no reason at this time to believe there is any ongoing risk of theft.”
In addition to serving as deputy national press secretary for the Obama administration, Fetcher went on to hold senior communications roles for Patagonia, Rivian, and Lyft.
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