Minneapolis, MN

MPD: Surge in hiring experienced officers, slowly rebuilding force to fulfill city charter

Published

1 year ago

March 28, 2025

MPD: Surge in hiring experienced officers, slowly rebuilding force to fulfill city charter

The Minneapolis Police Department is seeing a surge in the number of experienced officers joining the force.

The need for more officers in Minneapolis is drastic, losing hundreds following the murder of George Floyd — the fewer officers has led to longer 911 response times, officer burnout, to less focus on investigations with investigators needing to be on patrol.

But progress to rebuild is being made — the department reports gaining 38 officers last year, including 22 “lateral hires,” which are officers that join from a different agency. That nearly two dozen is more than four times the number the year before.

MPD lateral hires, according to MPD.

2016-2020: 0
2021: 3
2022: 8
2023: 5
2024: 22
2025: 3 (as of March 27)

“I was looking for some different leadership,” Heather Starry, who joined MPD as a lateral hire from a metro police department in 2024, said. “It’s been nothing but positive here, and I think that really builds morale.”

For patrol officer Liban Ibrahim, who also joined in 2024 from the Metro Transit Police Department, it was the police chief that drew him to Minneapolis.

“I saw the changes that [were] happening here after Chief O’Hara got here,” Ibrahim said.

And William Nkata, joining from another metro department, also wanted to be part of the change.

“Even after everything that the city went through, I felt like was still a good city. There still is good in the city,” Nkata added.

The frequency in lateral hires happening around the state is somewhat new for the industry, according to Jim Mortenson, who is with one of the state’s largest unions — the Law Enforcement Labor Services, which doesn’t represent MPD officers.

“Sometimes chasing it because it’s leadership issues, sometimes chasing it for geography issues, sometimes chasing it for financial issues,” Mortenson said of lateral hires.

He adds, though, that it’s not a long-term solution for a statewide issue.

“We’re currently a little over 1,000 officers down in the state,” Mortenson said. “We’ve got too many people that are no longer in this profession, and we don’t have enough people coming into the profession.”

Minneapolis needs to build their force back up for many reasons, including to fulfill the city charter, which requires 731 officers — the department says they’re 148 short, as of this March.

MPD also says there are nearly 60 Community Service Officers and Cadets working to become officers — those two avenues take longer to hit the streets compared to lateral hires.

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Minneapolis, MN

San Antonio visits Minnesota with 2-1 series lead – WTOP News

Published

5 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33, sixth in the Western Conference) Minneapolis; Sunday,…

San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33, sixth in the Western Conference)

Minneapolis; Sunday, 7:30 p.m. EDT

LINE: Spurs -4.5; over/under is 215.5

WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Spurs lead series 2-1

BOTTOM LINE: The San Antonio Spurs visit the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference second round with a 2-1 lead in the series. The Spurs won the last meeting 115-108 on Saturday, led by 39 points from Victor Wembanyama. Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 32.

The Timberwolves are 31-21 against Western Conference opponents. Minnesota is sixth in the Western Conference with 33.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Rudy Gobert averaging 7.5.

The Spurs are 36-16 against Western Conference opponents. San Antonio is fourth in the Western Conference with 16.3 fast break points per game led by Julian Champagnie averaging 3.0.

The Timberwolves’ 13.8 made 3-pointers per game this season are just 0.8 more made shots on average than the 13.0 per game the Spurs allow. The Spurs average 13.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.5 more made shots on average than the 12.1 per game the Timberwolves allow.

TOP PERFORMERS: Julius Randle is averaging 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and five assists for the Timberwolves. Naz Reid is averaging 1.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Wembanyama is averaging 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.1 blocks for the Spurs. De’Aaron Fox is averaging 18.6 points and 6.2 assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Timberwolves: 6-4, averaging 111.1 points, 47.3 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.1 points per game.

Spurs: 7-3, averaging 116.9 points, 46.5 rebounds, 25.9 assists, 7.7 steals and 7.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.5 points.

INJURIES: Timberwolves: Donte DiVincenzo: out for season (leg).

Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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Minneapolis, MN

‘The power of truth:’ How high school students reported on the ICE surge in their front yard

Published

17 hours ago

May 8, 2026

Press Room

‘The power of truth:’ How high school students reported on the ICE surge in their front yard

Student journalists at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis witnessed federal agents shove staffers and students and deploy pepper spray on school grounds last January. That inspired them to report stories of how that event and the ICE surge impacted their colleagues and communities.

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