Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk reached a settlement to cap insulin costs at $35 per month. 

The Novo Nordisk settlement reached on Jan. 27 resulted in the pharmaceutical company agreeing to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs, a drug used to treat diabetes, at $35 a month for Minnesotans with or without insurance for the next five years. Ellison also reached similar settlements with providers Eli Lilly and Sanofi in 2024 which also capped costs at $35 per month. 

Insulin prices rose by around 184% in a decade from 2012 to 2021, according to the Health Care Cost Institute. A 30-day supply of insulin cost around $499 in 2021, before the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. Additional costs for glucose monitors, test strips, lancets and more can add to the total costs. 

Similar to Ellison’s settlement in January, the federal Inflation Reduction Act capped out-of-pocket costs on insulin at $35 per month for those enrolled in Medicare. The Act could be subject to President Donald Trump’s administration funding freeze, which is outside the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island’s control to block, CBS reported. 

University of Minnesota Professor and Clinical Pharmacist Kylee Funk said the $35-a-month settlement reached is great for many people who rely on insulin. Funk teaches students at the University about insulin affordability, specifically the Minnesota Safety Net Program, how affordability impacts patients and the complexities of insulin pricing. 

“So many patients come to me with affordability concerns about their medications and so anything that we can do to help make medications more affordable for community members is great,” Funk said. 

The Alec Smith Act, which created the Minnesota Insulin Safety Net Program, is named after Alec Smith, a Minnesotan man who died due to rationing his insulin because he could not afford the $1,300 monthly cost. The program is comprised of two parts — the urgent need program and the continuing need program. 

University Pharmaceutical Professor Stephen Schondelmeyer said drug companies have a government-sanctioned monopoly on drugs and can change prices without competition. Though the patent on insulin has ended, Schondelmeyer said manufacturers change insulin injectors once their patent ends to maintain the patent and raise prices. 

“We grant these monopolies for prescription drugs, and the government really doesn’t have any process or role for evaluating or determining what appropriate prices should be for that monopoly that they’ve granted,” Schondelmeyer said. 

Funk said another reason insulin costs remain high is because insulin is such a complex medication, generic insulin cannot be reproduced and sold at a lower cost easily. 

Schondelmeyer added that there is not much competition between manufacturers because there are only three drug companies for insulin in the U.S. — Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk. From 2006 to 2016, insulin costs increased by about 264%, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

“We have a lot of great research and great drugs that have been discovered. But a drug doesn’t have any value if it sits on the shelf in the pharmacy,” Schondelmeyer said. “No patient ever got better because the drug was available in the pharmacy or at the hospital or in the doctor’s office.”

Insulin can be a life-sustaining medication for people with Type 1 and 2 diabetes because, without the insulin, Funk said people can experience high blood sugar levels which can lead to strokes, heart attack, vision damage and more. 

“Within this context of the cost of insulin, what’s important to know is that there are studies that demonstrate that many patients will either skip or ration their insulin based on cost,” Funk said. 

Boynton Health spokesperson Matt Tveter said in an email statement that Boynton Health offers several services to students such as an initial diagnosis and treatment of Type 1 or 2 diabetes, appointments with a certified diabetes care and education specialist, continuous glucose monitoring system analysis and more. 

Medication cost concerns are not limited to insulin, Funk said. Another life-sustaining medication with high cost is oncology or cancer treatment medications, Funk said. 

“I don’t think it’s limited to insulin,” Funk said. “There are lots of improvements that could be made within the U.S. healthcare system to ensure that patients can receive the medications that they need.”

Efforts to remove bus routes and expand sidewalks to prioritize pedestrians along Nicollet Mall continue to drive by.

The City let commuters and downtown residents give feedback on buses potentially disappearing from Nicollet Mall at the end of January, CBS News reported. The possible removal of buses from the area is a part of several Minneapolis city design plans such as the 2035 Plan and New Nicollet Redevelopment. 

Minneapolis City Council Member Michael Rainville (Ward 3) said one advantage of moving buses off of Nicollet Avenue and to other streets such as Marquette, Hennepin or 5th Street is creating a more efficient and quick system for bus-goers. 

“The worst times of all the bus routes for service are on Nicollet Mall because it takes so long,” Rainville said. “It’ll improve the efficiency for the rider, clean up the atmosphere and give us a chance to really make Nicollet Mall into this great green, unique pedestrian experience.”

The Nicollet Mall and Downtown Transit Plan explores three different bus route options to make Nicollet Avenue bus-free by the end of 2026. Options include different variations of how to add bus routes 10, 17 and 18 to Marquette Avenue, 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue while routes 11 and 25 are on Hennepin. 

Minneapolis Downtown Council Chief of Staff Ben Shardlow said the Downtown Council supports Metro Transit’s vision to make Nicollet more accessible to pedestrians because of how frequently the community uses the area already. 

“We closed Nicollet every Thursday last summer for free public programming for food trucks to make it a pedestrian space. We close it for parades and for special events like when the gymnastic trials come down,” Shardlow said. “Every time there’s a big thing that happens, we tend to close Nicollet.”

Rainville said removing buses from Nicollet Mall could help revitalize the downtown area by adding greenspaces and more retail spaces for small businesses. Similar to the riverfront area of Northeast Minneapolis, Rainville said Nicollet Mall could showcase Black people, Indigenous people and people of color and small businesses affordably. 

“I want to showcase our neighborhood businesses in downtown Minneapolis and that will make us very unique,” Rainville said. “People will think, ‘Well, I’m going to go down to Nicollet and see what’s new today. See what cute little shop I can go to.’”

Shardlow said when Nicollet Mall first debuted in the 1960s, the space was known for its department stores and retailers but has since been home to more Fortune 100 and commercial businesses. The infrastructure of Nicollet Mall has not changed dramatically, which makes planting trees and adding green spaces easier compared to other areas downtown, he added. 

“People assume that you’re talking about a problem and it’s not,” Shardlow said. “It’s a great street with a ton of great stuff on it. We just want to make it even better.”

Making Nicollet Mall fully pedestrian-friendly was also a main goal in the Downtown by Design Minneapolis 2035 plan. The plan details goals such as 10-foot wide sidewalks, planting beds, a dog park and better public restroom access. 

Nicollet Mall encompasses Peavey Plaza, Orchestra Hall, the Dakota jazz club and more. These are the spaces Minnesotans already enjoy, Shardlow said, but he would like to make them more accessible for pedestrians.  

“I don’t think I’m going out on a limb at all by saying, hopefully, it’s just like a world-class place to walk and hang out,” Shardlow said. “Hopefully it’s a place where the streetscape is beautiful and the buildings are lively and activated and there’s a hundred things to do up and on the street.”

Minneapolis City Council Member Emily Koski (Ward 11) is prioritizing city council teamwork, public safety, economic growth and housing opportunities in her 2025 mayoral campaign. 

Koski has lived in Minneapolis her entire life and was first elected to the City Council in 2021. She announced her campaign to run for mayor in December 2024 with priorities to advance police reform, increase transitional housing and improve the economy, especially focusing on downtown and uptown areas. 

Koski is challenging incumbent Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey who is seeking his third term. Other challengers in the race are Sen. Omar Fateh (DFL-Minneapolis) and Rev. DeWayne Davis, among others.

Minnesota Daily: What inspired you to run for mayor of Minneapolis? 

Koski: “I’ve lived in Minneapolis my whole life. I grew up in northeast Minneapolis and this is where my husband and I met. I worked for Target Corporation. That was my first job out of college, and this is where we decided to raise our family. I love the city. I then became a council member and had this opportunity to represent our residents in that way. We’re in a moment at a crossroads in the city, and I feel like there’s just been so much divisiveness and disconnection. And I really want to make sure that we give Minneapolitans an opportunity to have a leader who will want to pull people together and work across our differences and really make sure that we’re taking action.” 

Daily: How do you think being a city council member for over three years prepared you to run for Mayor? 

Koski: “I have a front-row seat in this current administration. I understand what it is like in our new government structure. In 2021, we voted to have a new government structure and it’s the only government structure that I know and I’ve been on the legislative side. People coined it as the strong mayor system but, in order for a strong mayor system to work, we need a strong leader that can work across and think about the council members as partners. That’s the type of leader that I am even when I don’t agree, maybe, with everything that they might think or say. We know that we can build together and build consensus and then take action but that really means thinking about building trust and reconnection.”

Daily: For a significant part of your City Council member career you voted in line with Mayor Jacob Frey’s opinions, but within the last year that has changed. Was this a shift in your opinions?

Koski: “The culture that the Mayor has created is this ‘us versus them’ mentality and that isn’t serving our residents. People are thinking that we have to be on one side or the other, but the reality is I’m team Minneapolis. I think about what’s good for Ward 11 and what do Ward 11 residents want and then what’s good for our city. I work with a diverse group of council members because they represent a diverse city. That is our strength. It isn’t something that we should think that we need to be against. When you think about it too, my colleagues on the council who are bringing forward the work and who are actually bringing forward legislation and they’re coming to me and asking me for my opinion, they’re asking me to help make it better. I’m offering that. That’s all work that goes on behind the scenes. It’s not about being against Jacob Fry. It’s about being for the city of Minneapolis.” 

Daily: What would be your main priorities as Mayor of Minneapolis? 

Koski: “The overall vision is to strengthen Minneapolis for our future generations. How do we get there? It starts with culture change in City Hall that’s centered on efficiency, transparency and accountability to the public. What I mean by that is I have come in as a council member and we don’t have a performance management system in the city. So, I will make sure to implement that. 

“Once we establish some of those baseline foundations as a team, then yes, we absolutely need to be investing in a comprehensive public safety plan for all residents. We need to make sure that we’re reducing violent and non-violent crime.

“We need to really think about how we are going to work collaboratively with the county and the state to tackle and support our unhoused. There isn’t one person that is saying, ‘I’m going to be the project manager and the coordinator of all the work that we’re doing.’ We’re going to set these goals together. We’re really going to think about how we’re going to be more efficient and effective.

“We really need to think about how are we going to bring uptown back. You think about downtown. That’s where I had my first job. How do we think about Minneapolis being a multi-generational city? Downtown has been historically like the 9-to-5 type, but I stayed home with my kids for a while. We stay at-home-parents, we’ll drive anywhere to bring our kids to something cool. How do we explore what we can be doing to make downtown Minneapolis more family-friendly? But that goes back to also making sure it’s safe.”

Daily: Is there anything else you would like to share? 

Koski: “I can feel it with my community members and all the conversations that I’ve had is that we’re ready for a reset. We’re ready to come back into the Minneapolis that we love and we know. It really starts with the community being able to connect and feel connected to one another. I’m excited to do that.”

This interview has been edited for length, clarity and style.

President Donald Trump’s administration announced a freeze of all ongoing civil legislation, including the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) consent decree for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). 

The Minneapolis City Council passed the decree at the beginning of January unanimously. However, Trump’s first week in office included a freeze on all pending DOJ civil legislation, causing the MPD consent decree to stall until further notice, according to the Associated Press. 

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement that, unfortunately, the Trump administration is unwilling to work with Minneapolis on police reform, but the city will work toward the goals of the DOJ consent decree regardless. 

“From day one, I’ve made it clear the terms outlined in this consent decree will happen — with or without support from the White House,” Frey said in the statement. “Make no mistake, we have the tools, the resolve, and the community’s backing to fulfill our promise to the people of Minneapolis.”

The DOJ was not the only government institution that placed a consent decree on the MPD. 

Though the DOJ consent decree is stalled, City Council Member Robin Wonsley (Ward 2) said the Minnesota Department of Human Rights consent decree will still be enforced and in progress through the independent evaluator Effective Law Enforcement for All. For city leaders, Wonsely said the main priority now is holding MPD accountable and ensuring their compliance with the reforms. 

“We want to see absolute compliance with both the settlement agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and essentially also regardless of what happens with Trump and what he does,” Wonsley said. “We want to see the (DOJ) consent decree also be completed as well. And we don’t want to see it take 20 years.”

The DOJ’s consent decree is an additional guide to help reform Minneapolis police in areas such as decreasing the use of force, stopping racially discriminatory practices, improving officers’ interactions with the youth and more. The DOJ consent decree comes after a federal investigation by the DOJ ended in June 2023. 

Minneapolis police are currently operating under the Minnesota Department of Human Rights’ consent decree which requires an independent evaluator to monitor police reform progress. 

President of Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) Michelle Gross said it is disappointing to see the hard work community groups put towards gathering community responses for the DOJ investigation go to waste due to the federal freeze. 

“People worked (and) put a lot of effort into making sure this thing was going to happen and what it was going to look like,” Gross said. “It’s disappointing, to say the least, that it looks like now this is not going to even happen.”

Gross said CUAPB held about two dozen public meetings, went door to door informing residents, gathered around 2,300 resident testimonials about MPD and more to help the DOJ’s investigative work. 

Some specific requirements the DOJ decree outlined for MPD include “Promote the sanctity of human life as the highest priority in their activities,” and “Do not allow race, gender, ethnicity, or any other characteristic protected under Minnesota or federal law to influence any decision to use force, including the amount or type of force used,” according to the decree. 

Wonsley said she was most interested in the DOJ’s consent decree section on the MPD’s interactions with Minneapolis youth and their sections about improving police behavioral and mental health responses. 

“I know that has also been a major topic among students on campus, how are we fostering more support for mental health resources,” Wonsley said. “That’s been a priority or safety priority that I’ve worked with a number of student groups on and also other stakeholders across the city, the county, and even at the federal level around how we came and address some of the lack of suicide prevention.”

Under interactions with the youth, the decree states MPD is required to “receive training on available non-law enforcement resources to address situations involving Youth victims, witnesses, suspects, and detained individuals, including social workers embedded with MPD, if any.” 

The decree also outlines methods for improving behavioral and mental health responses such as a Mobile Crisis Response program, which would provide timely response of professionals for needs that do not warrant officer response. 

Richard Painter, University law professor and Campus Safety Coalition board member, said he hopes the city takes the DOJ consent decree seriously but also recognizes that the problems with MPD existed long before MPD officer Derek Chauvin killed Minneapolis resident George Floyd in 2020. 

Painter said that although the city and community need policing, addressing racially discriminatory practices and excessive force training are key to having beneficial policing.

“We need police, and we need more police, better-trained police, better-funded police,” Painter said. “And part of that training is to address excessive force and racial profiling as part of the training we need.”

DFL candidate Doron Clark won the special election Tuesday to represent the University of Minnesota area in the Minnesota Senate.

Clark’s win gives the Senate Democrats a one-seat majority this session. The special election comes after the death of former Sen. Kari Dziedzic in December, which left the Senate in a 33-33 tie. 

Clark won with 90.9% of the vote for District 60, which covers the University area and parts of northeast and southeast Minneapolis, CBS News reported. Republican candidate and recent University graduate Abigail Wolters gained 8.7% of the vote. 

Clark grew up in southeast Minneapolis and was the DFL chair of Senate District 60 in 2022. He currently works in ethics and compliance for Medtronic, attended Edison High School and graduated from Hamline University in 1996 with degrees in religion and economics, MPR reported. 

Clark’s priorities include improving healthcare accessibility, affordable housing and ensuring public education for all. Specifically, he aims to increase funding for the Minnesota State College Grant Program and continue funding the North Star Promise Act, according to his campaign website. 

Throughout his campaign, several Minneapolis City Council members endorsed Clark such as council members Elliott Payne (Ward 1), Jamal Osman (Ward 6), Jason Chavez (Ward 9), Emily Koski (Ward 11) and Aurin Chowdhury (Ward 12). 

Senators Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul), John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) and Zaynab Mohamed (DFL-Minneapolis) also endorsed Clark’s campaign. Mohamed welcomed Clark to the senate in an X post following the special election results. 

Clark thanked his supporters in an X post and said it is an honor to enter the Minnesota Senate and bring a DFL majority. 

“Thank you SD60! I am honored to be your Senator-elect and deliver the DFL majority back to the MN Senate,” Clark said in the post. “Thank you to everyone who knocked doors, made phone calls, and supported our campaign. I can’t wait to get to work for all Minnesotans!”

Former Minnesota Sen. Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Minneapolis) died in December from ovarian cancer. She was 62 years old. 

Legislators remember her as a dedicated, hardworking lawmaker, and a thoughtful, kind friend. Whether it was leading the Senate or having expert knowledge on a bill, legislators said they could always depend on Dziedzic. 

Sen. Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) said Dziedzic was committed to her family and community from Northeast Minneapolis. Dziedzic’s father, Walt Dziedzic, sat on the Minneapolis City Council for 22 years and was a Minneapolis Park Board member for 12 years. 

Two of Dziedzic’s brothers were Minneapolis police officers and her third brother, Joe Dziedzic, played in the NHL from 1995-1999. 

Dziedzic led the 2023 senate session when the DFL had a one-seat majority and passed numerous bills such as funding for universal school meals, legalizing cannabis for recreational use and securing legal protections for abortion and gender-affirming care, MPR reported. 

The Senate now sits at a 33-33 tie between Democrats and Republicans until the special election to fill her seat Tuesday. 

Mikayla Mtanous, Dziedzic’s former legislative assistant, said in a statement that Dziedzic brought both humility and strategy to each piece of legislation. Mtanous said she is honored to have worked with Dziedzic and watched as she brought people together. 

“Everything people say about Senator Kari Dziedzic is undoubtedly true,” Mtanous said in the statement. “Hearing about her is one thing but seeing her in action is a completely different experience.”

Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope) said Dziedzic had many accomplishments such as funding the Stone Arch Bridge, supporting tenant’s rights and approving tax relief on pensions for firefighters and police officers. But above everything, Rest said she was a good person. 

“I believe one of her major accomplishments was that she was a good friend to many people,” Rest said. 

Sen. Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Rapids) said in a statement that Dziedzic will always be remembered by her passion for serving Minnesotans across the state. Even while undergoing cancer treatment, Dziedzic still fought for her constituents, Johnson said. 

“I’m deeply saddened at her passing and am praying for her family and friends as we all mourn this loss,” Johnson said in the statement. 

Known for her humility and kindness 

Murphy said when Dziedzic became Senate Majority Leader in 2022, Murphy, a member of the Minnesota House at the time, recognized how dependable Dziedzic would be. Murphy said Dziedzic’s extraordinary kindness and humility will never be forgotten. 

“She reminded us to enjoy every day, that life was short and to be kind to one another,” Murphy said. “That I think is the thing that has stuck with me the most, that life is short. We should work hard. We should do what we believe in. And we should be kind to one another.”

After receiving her ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2023, Dziedzic underwent emergency surgery to limit the spread of the disease, according to reporting by MPR. She stepped down from her leadership role in Feb. 2024 when the cancer returned. Murphy then became Senate Majority Leader. 

Legislators remember Dziedzic for her constant efforts to unite Democrats and Republicans together, Sen. Bobby Joe Champion (DFL-Minneapolis) said. He added her words and work could always be depended on. 

“She was bright and smart and thoughtful,” Champion said. “But guess what? You could always depend on her words. She’s going to always find a way to bring people together. She would reach across the aisle. It didn’t matter if you had an R or a D behind your name.”

Rep. Sydney Jordan (DFL-Minneapolis) said Dziedzic always emphasized the humanity of lawmaking by focusing on people, not politics. Jordan added that Dziedzic never lost her core values when legislating across the aisle. 

“Kari was so connected to her community and her constituents. Kari never lost sight of that,” Jordan said. “She did work with people across the aisle and got that done, but she was always a progressive. She never lost sight of those underlying values.”

Creating lifelong friendships

Champion said he remembers days driving home from the Capitol at midnight, Dziedzic would always call him and ask how he was. He said those phone conversations with Dziedzic made him truly believe they were a team. 

“You sometimes think, ‘Maybe I was her favorite.’ But then you learn she talked to somebody else. And they too thought, ‘Oh, Kari, thought about me, maybe I’m her favorite,’” Champion said. “Everyone had that experience where she always made you feel like you were the most important person around.”

When Murphy joined the Senate in 2020, she and Dziedzic were part of the tax team. Murphy said she will always remember Dziedzic stepping up to help her when she could not find an answer to the chair’s question. 

“She was so quick to my side with like, ‘This is what this means,’ so that I could give an accurate answer and did it in a way that was kind and direct and respectful,” Murphy said. “That made me feel like I was really a part of a team.”

Dziedzic was always prepared, Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin) said. When Dziedzic and the late Sen. David Tomassoni went to a Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) meeting together, Dziedzic carried a three-ring binder bulging with notes and post-it tabs. Hoffman said he and Tomassoni were baffled by the sheer detail Dziedzic put into all of her legislation notes. 

“I’m like, ‘Holy God, Kari.’ And she goes, ‘Well, yeah, we were going to talk to LCCMR. I got everything right here and got my notes,’” Hoffman said. “I went, ‘Oh, no, I didn’t do that.’” 

Hoffman said it was Dziedzic’s engineering degree that made her very organized but realistic. Hoffman now imagines himself and many legislators thinking to themselves, “What would Kari do?” when in a rut. 

Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) said she remembers campaigning alongside Dziedzic during the 2022 Senate and House elections and admiring her strong sense of teamwork. Dziedzic was never one to bask in the success and instead, she emphasized their service to the public, Hortman said.

“She would enamor herself in all those details to find a way that we could get something done, that people who you didn’t think could see eye to eye,” Hortman said. 

Jordan said Dziedzic was a mentor to her when Jordan won a special election and entered the House during COVID-19 in 2020. Jordan added that without Dziedzic, she would not be a state representative right now. 

“There’s a lot of times where I wish I could call Kari,” Jordan said.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and other Somali leaders across the state share feelings of encouragement and honor after Omar was recognized as the most inspiring immigrant in Minnesota. 

Omar, who has been a U.S. Representative since 2019, won her reelection campaign in the 2024 primaries in Minnesota. Omar was the first Somali American and Muslim woman elected to Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota in Congress. 

Guide2Fluency, an organization aiming to help people learn new languages, recently published a national poll naming the most inspiring immigrants in each state within the U. S. The poll listed Omar as the most inspiring in Minnesota. 

Omar said she is honored to be recognized as Minnesota’s most inspirational immigrant. She added that she would not be in Congress without the inspiration and courage of other immigrants who helped pave a path forward. 

“As someone who has lived as a refugee, survived war and an immigrant who’s been given the great opportunity by the American people to start over life here and be elected to Congress,” Omar said. “It is just incredible.”

Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman (Ward 6), who was born in Somalia and was briefly a refugee in Kenya before immigrating to the U.S. when he was 14, said in an email statement that Omar is a true inspiration to all immigrants across Minnesota and that her journey from refugee to political leader shows that anything is possible. 

“Recognizing Ilhan as Minnesota’s most inspiring immigrant is vital because it celebrates her achievements and reminds us that we all have the power to make a difference in our communities,” Osman said in the statement. 

Omar grew up in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in Minneapolis after immigrating to the U. S. in the late ‘90s from Somalia. Omar said her father and grandfather raised her to take the opportunity to participate in democracy and use her voice to represent herself and others. 

“They were really excited as Somalia immigrants when they came to the United States to get that opportunity because in this country you do have that voice,” Omar said. “I’ve been really involved ever since I was a teen in trying to fight for that more perfect union that the founding fathers attached us with.”

Minnesota House Rep. Samakab Hussein (DFL-St. Paul), who came to the U.S. from Somalia when he was 14, said Omar’s whole career represents hope, perseverance and the reality that immigrants can achieve anything they set their minds to despite the adversity. 

“Her leadership breaks the barrier, and it challenges stereotypes, showing young girls, Black, brown, Muslim, immigrant and marginalized communities that they belong here and can succeed,” Hussein said. 

Omar gained national attention throughout her political career for being involved in passing legislation such as the Combating International Islamophobia Act in 2021, continued work for student debt cancellation and more. Omar joined “Squad,” a progressive group within Congress, in 2018 alongside Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich). 

Omar said her work on a national level as one of the first female, Muslim and immigrant representatives garnered national interest because it showed that what once was thought of as impossible is possible. 

“It gives people a lot of hope to continue to believe in themselves, to continue to build community and coalitions around them and to achieve their dreams,” Omar said. 

Hussein said what motivated him to pursue a leadership role in Minnesota was seeing his father go to every caucus he could and always trying to participate in politics. With his background from Somalia, Hussein said he understands the challenges of starting in a new country which helps him advocate for others like him. 

“Being a leader as an immigrant is not just about personal achievement,” Hussein said. “It is about uplifting the next generation and ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard regardless of where they come from.”

Osman said he is proud to be the only East African city council member in Minneapolis. He said in the statement that being an immigrant and a leader is important because he can provide representation for those who often go unheard. 

“This unique position allows me to connect with immigrants from not just our city, but from across the entire state of Minnesota,” Osman said in the statement. “Many East African immigrants reach out to me because they feel comfortable speaking with someone who understands their language and shares their background.”

Hussein said Omar’s journey highlights the importance of having people in leadership roles who reflect their community and bring fresh perspectives to policymaking. He added that immigrants bring a unique responsibility to leadership because of their resilience, hard work and cultural diversity.

Omar said she believes that many immigrants are thankful to live in the U. S. because wherever they look, they can see others like them in leadership positions. 

“They’re eager to build a home and a community. Very eager to fight to make sure folks don’t go through or experience the hardships that they’ve experienced and they are willing to prove themselves by working extremely hard,” Omar said. “And I think that example within our government encourages more people to do their best.”

Correction: A previous version of this article stated Omar was a U.S. Representative since 2018. She has been a representative since 2019.

Holidazzle returns to Minneapolis at Nicollet Mall between Dec. 18 and 22 with live entertainment, free roller skating, visits from Santa, a pub crawl, an 18-foot yeti statue and more. 

The Holidazzle festival, previously held in Loring Park for nearly a decade, will now be held at Nicollet Mall between 6th Street and 11th Street. The festivity was canceled last year due to a lack of funding, according to Fox 9. 

Community Director at the Mpls Downtown Council Meghan Gustafson Gingerich said this year’s Holidazzle festivities has many entertainment opportunities like Nur-D, singers from the Minnesota Chorale and the Vikings SKOL line. 

“We have a very robust entertainment schedule,” Gustafson Gingerich said. “It’s pretty exciting. Our opening ceremony is on the 18th, and that is going to be a really special kickoff to the festival.”

Besides live entertainment, Gustafson Gingerich said other events include daily roller skating, visits with Santa, Thursday night silent disco, drag bingo on Friday night, and karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights. All of these events are free with no tickets needed, Gustafson Gingerich added. 

“We want to have the community come out and participate and make sure anybody can access our event,” Gustafson Gingerich said. 

James Adams, founder of Twin Cities Skaters, one of the vendors at Holidazzle, said there is a lot of anticipation and excitement to see this year’s because it was canceled last year. Though Twin Cities Skaters has been involved in Holidazzle before, Adams said he is looking forward to operating indoors at the City Center. 

“We provide the skate free for the people, so it’s just another service of ours that we love to do and just give people access to the roller skating, have a good time,” Adams said. 

Holidazzle offers local vendors to set up shop in the City Center and local restaurants to participate in the Peppermint Pub Crawl, according to Gustafson Gingerich. The pub crawl requires a $25 per person ticket purchase to participate. 

James Perovich, who handles creative and marketing outreach at Excelsior Candles Co., said he and owner Heidi Mueller are excited to join other vendors in this year’s Holidazzle festivities for their first time. 

“Excelsior Candles loves being a part of the markets and is very connected in the maker community,” Perovich said. 

Shoppers can expect holiday-themed candles including Mistletoe, Santa’s Hot Tub, Balsam and Cedar, as well as some non-seasonal bestsellers like Lavender Vanilla, according to Perovich. She added the candles are made from soy and recycled materials. 

Gustafson Gingerich said the Nicollet Mall area offers more indoor options for Minnesotans to enjoy. Some of the live entertainment events take place indoors at Crystal Court inside the IDS Center or at the U.S. Bank outdoor stage. 

“Whenever you produce an event, kind of a scale and scope of Holidazzle and you move it to a new location, you really have to learn the space, figure out where the power is,” Gustafson Gingerich said. “We are very fortunate that the properties along Nicollet have been really great to embrace this as well as the bars and restaurants.”

Holidazzle bringing community together

Adams said it has been challenging to prepare for this year’s event after having a year off, especially making sure they provide enough skates for the possible high turnout. However, Adams added it is good to be a part of a community effort to create a fun atmosphere for others. 

“It’s going to be all hands on deck all at high gear, but you know, that’s also the most fun too,” Adams said. 

There are also discounted parking and free public transportation options available for Minnesotans during the events. Gustafson Gingerich added accessibility has been a big focus in organizing this year’s Holidazzle. 

Perovich said it’s important to have community events that gather different types of vendors and small businesses in the city because it allows these organizations to form connections and offer support to each other. 

“It’s really about building those relationships and what then turns into friendships because it’s tough to just go at it on your own,” Perovich said. 

Adams said it’s important to provide a totally free and accessible event for the community to help foster a fun activity for everyone to enjoy. 

“The accessibility of it,” Adams said. “That’s something we’re really proud of and we get to grow as a brand and we’re becoming a local household name.”

Despite the cold weather, Gustafson Gingerich said it is important to celebrate Minneapolis and bring the community together to explore downtown. 

“It’s really important,” Gustafson Gingerich said. “For us to bring people down here and (they) see that it is vibrant, and it’s safe and there’s a lot happening down here.”

The Prospect Park Association (PPA) held its last meeting Monday before the holiday season where members gave updates on renters’ rights representation, the Witch’s Hat Tower construction and more. 

Some PPA members voiced frustrations with the slow progress and delays to the Witch’s Hat Tower. The Association outlined its goals to hire an organizer to get more renters involved in the Association, honor the first African American family in Prospect Park with a playground at the Pratt school and lower greenhouse gas emissions in the neighborhood. 

Witch’s Hat Tower construction delays

Joe Ring, who leads the Tower Hill committee within the PPA, said progress on the Witch’s Hat Tower renovation stalled after contractors discovered the observation deck is not structurally sound. Ring said this has been added to the list of the Tower’s needs, but no timeline is set for when construction will be completed. 

In addition to the ongoing repairs, Ring said the area around the Tower is covered with buckthorn, an invasive plant that needs to be removed. The Tower Hill Committee is currently trying to work with the Prospect Park Garden Club to find ways to remove the plant. 

“Each year gets worse and worse and worse,” Ring said. “We began looking at trying to get a remediation program for buckthorn on our own.”

The plant removal could be done with the garden club under the Minneapolis Park and Recreation’s Park Stewardship Program, which allows volunteers to restore and beautify Minneapolis parks, Ring said. The program helps the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board keep track of what projects are being maintained by which organizations around the city. 

“I’m kind of frustrated because the buckthorn really bothers me,” Ring said. “For the 35 years I’ve been involved with Tower Hill Park, there’s been a ton of money that’s going into it. And it just breaks my heart to see how bad it is.”

Ring said conversations with the garden club about buckhorn removal are still ongoing. 

Tenants’ voices in the PPA

PPA Treasurer Lynn Von Korff said the Association is looking to hire a tenants’ rights community organizer who would do outreach in hopes of bringing renters’ voices into the PPA Board and subcommittees. Von Korff added that community attendance at PPA meetings has lessened in recent months, so bringing in new voices is needed. 

“This person isn’t hired to be an advocate to represent renters,” Von Korff said. “This person is to help organize renters and give them some support and to listen to their voices.”

Efforts to interview and hire a tenants’ rights organizer were postponed due to discussions around the neighborhood merger between the Southeast Como, Marcy-Holmes and Nicollet Island-East Bank neighborhood associations, which the PPA pulled out of in January 2024. 

“There was some really great narrative around that. We’re talking about that: you want to listen to folks,” Von Korff said. “So this is a person who would listen to renters. Try to get them involved. Hopefully, recruit people who might want to serve on the board.”

The PPA reserved around $15,000 from the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program to hire a tenants’ rights organizer. 

The 25% by ‘25 plan

The 25% by ‘25 plan, a neighborhood-led effort to reduce carbon emissions, is continuing efforts in the neighborhood to improve wall insulation and electric equipment instead of natural gas, according to Mary Britton who leads the PPA’s environmental committee. 

Britton said according to data from CenterPoint Energy, Prospect Park used 20% more natural gas than the state average and 13% more than the Minneapolis average. Natural gas use accounts for around 40% of Minneapolis’ greenhouse gas emissions, Britton added. 

Since 2019, Prospect Park has lowered its natural gas use to 8.4%, equivalent to around 73 houses not using natural gas, Britton said. The plan’s goal is to reduce the neighborhood’s carbon emissions by 25% by 2025. 

“I’ve been able to reduce my own natural gas use 75% in the last three or four years,” Britton said. “I’ve still got a thing or two I can do.”

Though this is the last year to complete the PPA’s goal of lowering natural gas use, Britton said she will continue to hold workshops about how residents can receive possible rebates and tax credits if they become a natural gas-free home. 

Honoring the Jackson family history 

The PPA and the Pratt School have been constructing a new playground to honor the Jackson family, the first African American family to reside in Prospect Park in 1908. PPA member Jerry Stein said efforts to finish the playground were halted due to accidentally digging into the basement of the Pratt School. 

“In addition, the equipment was only part of the vision we had for the playground,” Stein said. “There are more artistic elements that we still are imagining we will get to raise funding for that were part of the original drawings we built the organization a couple of years ago.”

Stein said besides the playground and Jackson Family Day, when students learn about the family, the PPA would like to start community discussions about Roger Wilkins’ book, “A Man’s Life.” Wilkins was related to the Jackson family and wrote about the civil rights movement. 

“The book came out in 1981,” Stein said. “It’s remarkably relevant today, raising issues about what it means to be a young Black boy and a Black man in a white society.”

Stein said he hopes to also invite Wilkins’ brother-in-law, Melvin Peters, who is an Eastern Michigan University professor of African history, to hold a conversation about Wilkins’ book with the community. 

“I agree completely with Jerry that the issues and raises are relevant today and the book is impressive both in its substantive content and the style of its prose, so I fully back this project,” David Frank, another PPA member, said.

Minneapolis city leaders hope to revitalize parts of downtown such as Nicollet Mall to convert old office spaces into housing, add more entertainment options and create a safety communications center in their 2035 Plan. 

The Minneapolis Downtown Council introduced its 2035 Plan which aims to improve or add housing, entertainment, pedestrian accessibility and more in the downtown area over the next 10 years. The previous 2025 plan led to the building of U.S. Bank Stadium and the opening of the light rail green line in 2014. 

Initiatives for updating Nicollet Mall include widening sidewalks to 10 feet, providing secure bike storage, a dog park, water fountains, more public seating, better public restroom access and more. 

Chief of Staff for the Minneapolis Downtown Council Ben Shardlow said he is looking forward to seeing how the 2035 Plan could expand pedestrian infrastructure and create more user-friendly systems, especially within the skyways with interactive kiosks in the skyways for easier navigation. 

“It’s been a pain point coming out of the pandemic because doors are locked and hours are irregular,” Shardlow said. “We need to kind of get it to work better as a pedestrian system, but then there’s a whole lot of opportunity that it could be.”

Minneapolis City Council Member Michael Rainville (Ward 3), who represents part of downtown, said he believes the priority of increasing housing opportunities downtown is important and doable. The 2035 Plan outlines converting three million square feet of commercial space into affordable housing and a full redesign of 1st Avenue. 

“When the 2025 plan came out, they wanted to have 50,000 people living in downtown, and at the time there was about 20,000 and people laughed. Are you crazy or are you ever going to get 50,000 people? Well now there’s 58,000 people,” Rainville said. “The 2035 Plan calls for 100,000 people living in downtown. And I think that’s just fabulous and it’s very doable.”

Improvements to downtown such as a new safety communications center that would respond to pedestrian requests, track weather and emergency news alerts, communicate with outreach services for people in need, and monitor public cameras would be highly beneficial, Shardlow said.

Shardlow said alongside the city’s partnership with Metro Transit to create a bus-free Nicollet Mall, the 2035 Plan also has a pedestrian- and resident-based focus. He said the plan calls for converting underutilized office spaces into residential housing. 

“We’ve been doing a lot of work for years on how to just really focus on people as the main source of livelihood downtown,” Shardlow said. “So how do we make sure that when people are here for whatever reason, they’re having a good experience?”

Rainville said he is also hopeful the initiatives will expand the entertainment opportunities in the Warehouse district at Hennepin to 2nd Avenue North and Washington to 8th Street will make the area and city a viable entertainment district.

Reimagining and redesigning old downtown office buildings made during the 1970s into feasible housing will be a challenge, Rainville said. 

“They’re constructed differently,” Rainville said. “They have big floor plates. They have floor-to-ceiling windows that are sealed. And they have all the plumbing on one side of the building. And those would be much, much harder, more expensive to convert into housing.”

The 2035’s four goals

Neighborhood cultivation, hassle-free systems, foundational safety and an “irresistible vibe” are the 2035 Plan’s goals for Nicollet Mall. Shardlow said the irresistible vibe goal aims to transform downtown as a center of culture, art, entertainment and people. 

“The irresistible vibe section is mainly about just understanding that we want downtown to have a magnetism to it,” Shardlow said. “We want people to want to spend time here. We want there to be a lot of reasons for people to make the trip and choose to spend time downtown.” 

Policies like the 2035 Plan are important because they not only provide a guide to make Minneapolis better, but they also bring people and organizations together, Shardlow said. He added that now is the perfect time to implement the 2035 Plan because the city is past the COVID-19 pandemic and can set more ambitious goals. 

“We know from past experience that it can be, these planning exercises, both the kind of development of the plan and then going out and implementing it is a great way to galvanize and focus energy downtown,” Shardlow said. 

Rainville said that planning the 2035 Plan around the downtown area shows how important teamwork is for creating a successful future. He said the 2025 plan succeeded by creating U.S. Bank Stadium which has brought artists like Taylor Swift and the Rolling Stones to Minneapolis. 

“Minneapolis is a city that plans. We’re a city that’s on the rise. We’ve been through a really hard time with the civil unrest in ‘20, horrific murder of George Floyd, the pandemic,” Rainville said. “It was just terrible. COVID was a real blow. We’ve suffered two big hits, and now we’re getting up off the floor and we’re succeeding.”