Mill City Hall: Minneapolis politics, slightly ground down

Mayor Frey vetoed an ordinance aimed at protecting immigrant ride-hailing drivers. The Governor Advisory Council recommends enshrining autonomous vehicles in state law without worker protections, accessibility requirements, or local regulation. And yet, Big Tech and AI seem to be facing a popular revolt. So why are some MN Democrats so eager to roll out the red carpet? In the first half, we talk through the local logistics and pros and cons of autonomous vehicles. Skip to the second half (at about 71 minutes) for an extended analysis of the politics around Big Tech, and a debate between trying to extract local benefits vs outright municipal obstruction. Recorded 10/21/26.

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Minneapolis safety programs are facing big shifts, putting key strategies at risk. In part two, we focus on Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR). BCR was built out by a local mental health care provider, Canopy Roots, that received a very positive evaluation this year. However, city staff now recommend changing vendors, just a couple months before the contract is slated to expire. Staff also want to change the scope of the program. Why change now? does this put a successful safety program at risk of gaps in service, or even compromise its focus and excellence? A lot of possible change is swirling around BCR at this moment, making it critical that we speak up. Recorded 10/7/26.

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Minneapolis safety programs are facing big shifts, putting key strategies at risk. In this part one, we tackle a severe budget cut proposed by the Mayor for the violence interrupters program. What is violence interruption? We talk about the theory and practice, including its role in a very successful violence prevention strategy in Baltimore. Recent Minneapolis history has been troubled. But we argue that the city cannot afford to let this violence prevention strategy wither. Part 2, coming soon, will focus on Behavioral Crisis Response. Recorded 10/7/26.

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The Mayor recently said he doesn't want a circus. We say: raise the tent! This episode we share stories of the best and worst things to happen during public testimony in Minneapolis. When public comment has made an impact and when it does not. We talk some do's and don't's of testifying. And above all, we defend the messy hearing out of democracy in public; gadflies, lobbyists and all. Recorded 9/23/26.

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Another proposal to consolidate mayoral power? Minneapolis has long entrusted the work of prioritizing long-term improvement projects to the Capital Long-Range Improvement Committee, or CLIC. Capital improvements is a huge chunk of the city budget, though the headlines largely focus on the general fund. A new proposal would dissolve and re-form the CLIC with a balance of power that shifts towards the office of the Mayor. We talk about how the capital planning process works now, and what might change if this proposal gets adopted. Are we veering further towards municipal unitary executive theory? Recorded 9/9/26.

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The mayor dropped his proposed budget, which features both a property tax increase and significant cuts. Eric Harris Bernstein, elected member of the Board of Estimate and Taxation, joined us to dig into the winners, losers, and levy dynamics of this proposed budget. We tackle the substantial growth of spending on police and overtime, as well as painful cuts to climate change mitigation, regulatory services, and more. Is this a temporary period of budget pain, or should we be planning for a durable emergency? Are we doing enough to meet the kind of challenges that are upstream of fears about safety and despair about our ability to solve collective problems? Recorded 9/9/26.

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North News journalists Azhae’la Hanson, Melody Hoffmann, and Muhamed Ali join us to share reporting from their upcoming special issue on gun violence. North News is a monthly newspaper focusing on North Minneapolis that is dedicated to narrative justice. We talked about the local media ecosystem, including how to cover gun violence with depth (and how not to) and the specific dynamics of reporting over North. We also talked about the human and community impacts, and the importance of trust and consistency in creating programs that prevent violence. Recorded 8/19/26.

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After six painful years, the city has stamped an approval on redeveloping the former 3rd Police Precinct building that was ground zero for the 2020 uprising. Big chunks of East Lake Street remain vacant or simply absent. We sat down with co-owner of Moon Palace bookstore, Jamie Schwesnedl, to talk about how city action and inaction have impacted the immediate neighborhood on Minnehaha Ave. The second half of the episode is an interview with Sam Gould of the Confluence community design studio, also located in north Longfellow. Gould reflects on his documentation and community-building projects around the history of policing at the 3rd precinct, and exactly how far short this redevelopment falls. Recorded 8/5/26 and 8/10/26.

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We did a rare episode of Mill City Paul, as Robin takes us through four layers of the scandal currently enveloping Mayor Kaohly Her. Her is accused of sexual harrassment and inappropriate workplace behavior. We discussed what this controversy reveals about backstage dynamics in government, as well as dynamics between elected officials and police. Recorded 8/5/26.

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Did you know that city and police representatives are negotiating another three year contract right now? Police are asking for significant pay premiums on top of the historic raise they won in the prior contract. Meanwhile Councilmember Robin Wonsley put out a list of proposals she wants to see in the contract. We talk through those, status of negotiations, and the challenge of trying to use the police contract as an instrument of positive change. Recorded 7/22/26.

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