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Minneapolis, MN

Public can meet finalists to oversee Minneapolis Police court-ordered reforms next week

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Public can meet finalists to oversee Minneapolis Police court-ordered reforms next week


Public can meet finalists to oversee MPD court ordered reforms next week

The public next week will have the chance to meet the three finalists who could oversee the court-mandated reforms within the Minneapolis Police Department. The state court-enforceable agreement calls for an independent monitor, which will also ultimately oversee the federal consent decree as well.

The finalists are Effective Law Enforcement For All, Jensen Hughes and Relman Colfax, according to the City of Minneapolis.

“It is about accountability but it’s accountability through transparency,” said David Douglass, the president of Effective Law Enforcement For All, about the role of the independent evaluator.

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The non-profit he co-founded has offices in Silver Spring, Maryland and New Orleans, Louisiana. His team of 10 to 12 people would bring a unique perspective to overseeing the required reforms within MPD, according to Douglass.

“The experience of having worked with communities to implement consent decrees but we also have a team that knows the challenges of running a department and implementing a consent decree,” he explained.

Douglass is currently the deputy monitor overseeing the U.S. Department of Justice consent decree with the New Orleans Police Department. Retired Police Commissioner Michael Harrison, who led both Baltimore and New Orleans through their respective mandated reforms, is also on his team.

“I have the benefit of leading two departments through a consent decree,” he said. “I think the experience I bring is helping the department, helping the chief navigate that and avoiding the pitfalls that I made along the way and that others made along the way so that we can help Minneapolis push forward.”

Harrison explained that includes helping the department navigate the competing and conflicting interests of the multiple stakeholders involved.

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“It takes strong leadership, it takes patience, it takes great communication skills, and it just takes perseverance because there are many days it will be tough, officers will feel discouraged,” he said. “Officers will hear, ‘We can’t do our jobs anymore’ and that’s not true. It’s about doing it in a best-practice way.”

He added, “I just want to provide the assistance that I can from the lessons I have learned having sat on the opposite side of monitors.”

Jensen Hughes, which declined to comment, is another finalist. The law enforcement consulting firm has offices around the world, including Minnetonka. In a press release from the City of Minneapolis, it is “committed to improving the performance of policing to ensure the law enforcement agency practices are constitutional, procedurally just and delivered in a manner that builds trust and confidence in the communities they serve.”

The third finalist, Relman Colfax, is a civil rights law firm based in Washington D.C. Its team includes former Minneapolis Police Officer and Former Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mike Davis, who “has more familiarity with the MPD than perhaps any other prospective monitor by virtue of having been in the department for 16 years”, according to a fact sheet provided by the firm. The firm also touts Metro State University Police Practices Professor Dr. Raj Sethuraju and Angie Wolf, who’s overseeing the Department of Justice consent decree in Los Angeles County, as members of the team.

According to the fact sheet, if selected, the firm will establish measurable benchmarks for compliance with an emphasis on assessing outcomes in the community and incorporating residents’ feedback. The team will also assist MPD with technical assistance, as required by the order, and incorporate input from officers at all levels.

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Harrison and Douglass shared similar goals.

“We will hold the department accountable by reporting out to the community where they say they are in compliance and then where we think they are in compliance and hopefully those things will align,” said Harrison.

The state court-enforceable order requires the independent evaluation team to support the city and MPD as they make the required changes, track the progress of the implementation and provide regular reports. After four years, the independent evaluator will provide a “comprehensive termination evaluation,” which will determine whether the agreement ends or continues.

Douglass said the timeline “is not undoable but would be quick.”

He added, “It’s also impressive that Minneapolis has laid a lot of groundwork. There’s been community meetings, they’re starting policy review so it will be interesting to see where they are once the process starts but they’ve done a lot of groundwork that should really facilitate implementation of the agreement.”

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Both he and Harrison told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS collaboration will be key to the success of reforms.

“Builds relationships that weren’t built, improves on good relationships, and repairs relationships that were broken, if we can do our jobs that accomplish those three things, I think that’s what a consent decree is designed to do,” said Harrison.

Douglass added, “When all parties work together in good faith, it can truly result in a win-win situation, that’s our firm belief.”

The community will be able to meet the three finalists next week at two meetings. The first will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs (Cowles Auditorium). The second meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10 at Plymouth Congregational Church.

Once the city and state select an evaluator, the city council will vote on the contract, and work is expected to start by March 9.

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Minneapolis, MN

Country star hit in the face onstage with X-rated item

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Country star hit in the face onstage with X-rated item


Celebrities often deal with unruly fans at their concerts, so it’s not the first time Wallen has had something thrown at him. Last year, an irritated fan chucked a boot at the country singer as they waited for him to sign an autograph. Instead of signing it, he turned to throw it away from where it came from.

I Had Some Help recently enjoyed five undisrupted weeks at the top of the charts, allowing the Cowgirls singer to take the crown for the most weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the 2020s from Taylor Swift.

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Wallen is currently in the North American leg of his One Night at a Time World Tour, performing at stadiums around the globe. He’ll be performing at shows across the US until August 9, before jetting off to Europe for a slew of more shows from August 28.

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Many of Wallen’s North American concerts had to be cancelled and rescheduled last year after the singer needed to treat vocal fold trauma, which the National Institute of Health explains is “caused by excessive or improper use of the voice”.

He was able to return to the stage a month later after being given the all-clear by his doctors.

On April 7, Wallen was arrested on three felony counts after he allegedly threw a chair off the bar roof of a six-storey building in Nashville.

A group of police officers were on the ground outside the building when the chair landed about 1 metre away from them. They entered the building and went up to Nashville’s Chiefs Bar, and staff identified Wallen as responsible for throwing the chair.

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Later that month, the country singer addressed concerned fans by sharing a statement accepting fault for the incident on X.

Morgan Wallen’s One Night at a Time tour is taking him across North America and Europe over the next few months for a slew of stadium shows. Photo / AP

“I didn’t feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks. I’ve touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief’s. I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility,” Wallen wrote.

“I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe. Regarding my tour, there will be no change.”

Despite his apology, Wallen’s arrest has landed him in hot water with the Nashville Metro Council. In a 30-3 vote last month, Nashville council members rejected an application to install a billboard sign atop Wallen’s under-construction This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen in central Nashville, reported People.

Explaining her decision, Councilwoman at Large Delishia Porterfield pointed to the singer’s controversial past.

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“We want to make sure that Nashville was a supportive place for everyone, so I don’t want to see a billboard with the name of a person who’s throwing chairs off balconies and who is saying racial slurs, using the n-word, so I’m voting no,” Porterfield said.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis’ contested housing development plan plows forward

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Minneapolis’ contested housing development plan plows forward


Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other government officials celebrated moving forward with the city’s housing development plan, the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, on Tuesday.

The plan had been in a years-long court battle. Opposing organizations alleged that the city should have conducted an environmental review before approving the plan. 

The 2040 plan aims to establish more densely built and affordable housing for Minneapolis’ future development. 

“This is a day that has been six years in the making, in that when Minneapolis recognized that we had an affordable housing shortage, we recognize that we like so many other cities throughout the country needed to increase our supply of housing. The 2040 plan helped us get there,” Frey said.

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Legislation in the 2024 session clarified the bill, allowing for stalled housing projects to begin again. 

“Our legislative intent was very clear that this was a bill to end this lawsuit and to defend the Minneapolis 2040 plan,” said Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis. “We believe in this plan. We took huge steps this year to defend it and we will continue to do so as necessary.” 

Jack Perry, the attorney for opposing groups like Smart Growth Minneapolis and Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds, said their fight is far from over. They filed an appeal with the Supreme Court. 

“Almost every project is financed and it is pretty hard to finance something when the authority is based upon a 2040 plan that is tied up in litigation,” Perry said. “The mayor says they’re going forward. That’s all fine but the actual developers will have to worry about this litigation. He may not because it’s not his pocketbook that’s being opened up to build things based upon a foundation of a plan that is highly suspect.”

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The press conference celebrating the 2040 plan was held at Wakpada Apartments, a new complex that’s a product of the 2040 plan.

One of the apartment’s developers, Sean Sweeney, said the 2040 plan has allowed him to be creative and “do things that benefit the community.”

“I’ve worked in several markets around the country, and I can say without a doubt that being a developer in Minneapolis, especially now with the 2040 plan, is an absolute dream,” Sweeney said. 

The plan began in 2018. Since then, Minneapolis has invested over $360 million into affordable rental housing and homeownership programs.

“Minneapolis is being seen around the country as a leader in the affordable housing space, we’re seen as a leader in this push to desegregate cities. And we’re seen as a municipality to copy and to replicate in the work that we’re having right now,” Frey said.

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Minneapolis, MN

32-year-old charged with hiding body of Minneapolis woman

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32-year-old charged with hiding body of Minneapolis woman


A 32-year-old Iowa woman was charged on Tuesday with concealing the body of Liara Tsai, 35, of Minneapolis.

Court records show that Margot Lewis made her first appearance in Olmsted County Court Tuesday morning.

According to a criminal complaint, authorities were called to a one-vehicle crash at the intersection of I-90 and Highway 42 in Olmsted County on Saturday.

Based on tire tracks, authorities believe the driver, identified as Lewis, was speeding eastbound on I-90 when she went into the median.

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Bystanders told responding deputies there appeared to be a deceased or injured person in the car.

Inside, deputies found a body wrapped in a bed sheet, a blanket, a futon-style mattress and a tarp, court documents state. The person, later identified as Tsai, was obviously deceased and authorities said she didn’t seem to have been killed in the crash. She was cold to the touch and there was dried blood on the blanket.

Investigators later found a large wound on the right side of Tsai’s neck.

Lewis was medically cleared at the hospital and then booked into Olmsted County Jail. She did not respond audibly to law enforcement.

Lewis’ mugshot is not yet available on the Olmsted County Jail roster. This article will be updated when it becomes available.

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The Medical Examiner confirmed on Sunday that Tsai was killed before the car crash.

Monday evening, Minneapolis police and members of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension executed a search warrant of Tsai’s home on 16th Street East and found a scene “indicating violence.”

Investigators have not announced any arrests for Tsai’s death.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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