A bill to help a mental health organization improve first responders’ mental health across the state with outdoor activities advanced in a House committee. 

The bill, HF 491, would give $500,000 across two years to Hometown Hero Outdoors to connect with police officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and their families to promote positive mental health. A similar bill, HF 492, would give Hometown Hero Outdoors another $500,000 across two years to support military personnel and veterans. 

This bill was introduced in the last legislative session, but did not gain traction, Hometown Hero Outdoors President Chris Tetrault said. If the bill becomes law, half the money will go toward outdoor services, 30% to additional mental health resources, 10% to outreach and the other 10% to administrative costs, he added. 

Some outdoor services the organization provides include hunting, fishing, kayaking, canoeing and dog sledding rides up north, Tetrault said. 

Research shows that outdoor recreational therapy improves mental health, Tetrault said. 

“(Our first responders) are experiencing things on a dramatic roller-coaster day in, day out,” Tetrault said. “Here, it can be you’re going to do a traffic stop to a domestic (abuse) to maybe a suicide and then you got to go help grandma somewhere.”

The legislation will enhance the organization’s internal training on responding to someone who calls the organization in a mental health crisis and seek mental health professionals in Minnesota to partner with Hometown Hero Outdoors, Tetrault said. 

This bill passed out of the House Public Safety and Finance Policy Committee on the one-year anniversary of the deaths of three Burnsville first responders killed in the line of duty on Feb. 18, 2024. 

Rep. Jeff Witte (R-Lakeville), who co-authored the bill, said the organization’s recreational activities help promote longevity, quality of life and public education. 

“Being a former law enforcement (officer), I know most first responders see about 850 critical incidents in their lifetime while they’re working,” Witte said. “The mental health piece is important to help those that help us when we’re in our, probably in one of our worst moments.” 

The outdoor activities conducted are for more than recreation, Witte said. 

“Forty-five percent of firefighters have contemplated suicide, and one in three first responders develop PTSD. So obviously, there’s a stigma that prevents many of the first responders from seeking medical mental health support,” Witte said. “This is an alternative with peer support and confidentiality that it’s a path to healing, which I think is very effective and you’re out there with people that have been serving with you.”

Rep. Josiah Hill (DFL-Stillwater), chief author of the bill, said supporting first responders will build community and help those in times of need. 

“It’s being active outdoors in community that leads to that very powerful connection,” Hill said. “And that connection helps to lead towards that healing that we so desire for our heroes.”

The City of Minneapolis unveiled its vision for the New Nicollet Redevelopment project in downtown Minneapolis at an open house Tuesday. 

A year after its demolition, the former Kmart site will serve as a new opportunity to reconnect the neighborhoods of south Minneapolis by creating a walkable area with new small businesses, affordable housing and a park.

The redevelopment will span around 10 acres between the Midtown Greenway trail, First Avenue, Blaisdell Avenue and Lake Street. During the open house on Tuesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said this vision has been “decades in the making.”

“For far too long, this space has separated our communities rather than united them, and this community-driven process is bringing them back together,” Frey said. “Opening it up with people, a park, and public realm improvements will drive life into a place that everyone will want to be.”

Council Member Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10) said at the open house that she is committed to making residents’ visions and voices clear in the development.

“Residents are at the center of the New Nicollet Redevelopment project, which is a generational investment in our community,” Chughtai said. “Thousands of residents have offered their feedback as part of the extensive community engagement guiding the project.”

The plan for the space was guided by input from community members through many events, survey responses and interactions, the New Nicollet Redevelopment website said.

General community feedback for the site showed support for adding affordable housing and alleviating commercial needs, the website said. The proposed development includes townhomes as well as the development of a grocery store and other businesses.

The redesign of this site has been underway since August 2022 when the city began gathering community feedback. The city then created design concepts for the public spaces based on the feedback, and the next phase identified the main goals of the project and any potential future projects.

The project team will seek approval for the design from the City Council and Frey this spring, with construction slated to begin in late 2025, according to a press release. 

During the press conference, Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development Director Erik Hansen said community voices are a big part of this project. 

“The New Nicollet Redevelopment is a testament to the power of inclusive, community-driven planning,” Hansen said. “Thanks to the dedication of our planning staff and the thousands of residents who shared their ideas, we are creating a vision that reflects the needs and aspirations of the people who live and work in this area.”

The project is a collaborative effort between several nonprofits and city departments, according to the Redevelopment Framework document. The project is led by Minneapolis Public Works, the new creation and design of a park is being done by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and the redevelopment of the private sector in the area is led by the Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development. 

Whittier Alliance partnered with the city to help gather community feedback for the project. Anna Schmitz, the executive director of Whittier Alliance, said local community organizations are driving the project’s framework. 

“It’s exciting to see the results of that engagement in this development framework and, crucially, we know that engagement work can’t stop here,” Schmitz said. “We look forward to continuing to bring community members to the table as this project continues to move forward.”

The Starship food delivery robots at the University of Minnesota may be regulated soon to protect against potential job losses caused by the robots. 

Discussions about regulating the food delivery robots came last year when the council considered pay changes for Uber and Lyft drivers, Council Member Robin Wonsley (Ward 2) said. The Minneapolis City Council initiated a motion to start regulating any long-term use of the robots in February. 

The campus robots began operating in October 2024, delivering food from M Food Co. restaurants on both East Bank and West Bank.

“(Uber and Lyft ended up doing) exactly what we ended up having to regulate in terms of like leading exploitive workplace practices, denying worker protections for their workers, things of that nature because these industries were not regulated, so we did not want to be in the same predicament,” Wonsley said. 

Accidents are a concern, Wonsley said, because of similar incidents on other college campuses with similar technology. 

Wonsley said research is still ongoing on potential regulations to pursue, and none have been finalized yet. 

In May, a report will be given to the Public Health and Safety Committee about potential regulations. Wonsley said University food workers can share thoughts and concerns about the robots then. 

Chris Elrod, spokesperson of the company overseeing the food delivery robots for M Food Co., said if regulations are approved, it will not have a big impact because about 95% of the robot’s delivery range is within University-owned property. 

“Currently, they do cross over some city streets to get to certain areas of campus, specifically around the Superblock area, so if there were regulations put into place that potentially did remove access to those street crossings, the service area may slightly decrease, but the overall program wouldn’t be necessarily put to bed,” Elrod said. 

Before the robots, there were no food delivery positions that the University oversaw outside of catering, Elrod said. The only delivery services came from apps like DoorDash, Postmates and UberEats. 

While some city council members are concerned about potential job losses caused by the food delivery robots, Elrod said more jobs are being created because of the robots due to more sales coming to restaurants and workers needed for routine maintenance. 

University employees work directly with Starship by transporting the food from the restaurant to the food delivery robots. 

Former University Starship student worker Anna Alvarez said the demand to work for Starship is high, as she could not work there this semester due to all the positions being filled. 

“Starship is just another way of getting food,” Alvarez said. “You can either go to Coffman yourself or you can have it delivered to you. I don’t really think it would be taking any jobs because no jobs that exist within Starship are similar to the other jobs within the Coffman area or in general.”

Elrod said the robot’s purpose is to increase food availability to underserved parts of campus with fewer restaurants or grocery stores. 

“Some of (the) underutilized and underserved areas couldn’t fully support building a restaurant or a coffee shop due to the traffic patterns,” Elrod said. “These robots have now opened up those areas to campus and students don’t have to worry about leaving the building.”

George Floyd Square’s future remains uncertain as the latest efforts hit a pause after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto. 

The Minneapolis City Council voted on Feb. 13 for the city to research a pedestrian plaza layout across the whole square after staff presented their findings to the Climate and Infrastructure Committee on Dec. 4.

Frey vetoed the council’s decision Thursday to delay the development and said in a press release that the plan is not supported by neighbors or business owners.

“It’s time to move forward, and these repeated delays are unacceptable,” Frey said in a statement. “Residents and businesses in the area have told us time and again that they want action, and this vote stalls the progress yet again. While the delay is frustrating, we won’t be deterred in our efforts to deliver this for the community.”

The original plan was for a flexible-open concept for the East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South intersection. This would allow all traffic to continue to flow while allowing for closure during public events.

Council Member Jason Chavez (Ward 9) said in a social media post that the mayor has not considered the trauma the community went through.

“The City Council will continue to honor the life of George Floyd, those who we’ve lost to police brutality, and our community who has been left hanging in the balance after 5 years of Frey’s indifference to the community’s calls for justice and change,” Chavez said on X.

The city is still looking for a community partner to redevelop the Peoples’ Way site, formerly a Speedway gas station that has been a site for community gatherings, memorials and rehearsal space since Floyd’s death.

Four organizations applied for the role including the Minnesota Agape Movement, P3-Foundation (also known as David’s Place), Urban League Twin Cities, and Rise & Remember.

Rise & Remember Executive Director and Community Member Jeanelle Austin said if her organization was selected to redevelop Peoples’ Way, she would use it to create a memorial of Stolen Lives.

“It would be a memorial garden for an upper space where the public would be able to engage and continue to utilize for a space of reflection, healing, gathering, and leverage outdoor community space and green space for the health and wellness of the community,” Austin said.

Austin said she spoke with Black elders and other community members who articulated the importance of a memorial, as the ones in the square are art installations. 

“There are actually laws that protect those installations because there’s a visual artist’s rights act. So artists have the right to be able to not add to something that they created,” Austin said. “It would actually be very helpful for our organization if we had a formal memorial, a place where someone comes to us and say, ‘Hey, can the name of my loved one be added?’”

Rise & Remember’s proposal is the only outdoor garden proposal out of the four organizations, Austin said.

The applicant’s presentations are scheduled for Feb. 26 at the Sabathani Community Center.

George Floyd Square’s future remains uncertain as the latest efforts hit a pause after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto. 

The Minneapolis City Council voted on Feb. 13 for the city to research a pedestrian plaza layout across the whole square after staff presented their findings to the Climate and Infrastructure Committee on Dec. 4.

Frey vetoed the council’s decision Thursday to delay the development and said in a press release that the plan is not supported by neighbors or business owners.

“It’s time to move forward, and these repeated delays are unacceptable,” Frey said in a statement. “Residents and businesses in the area have told us time and again that they want action, and this vote stalls the progress yet again. While the delay is frustrating, we won’t be deterred in our efforts to deliver this for the community.”

The original plan was for a flexible-open concept for the East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South intersection. This would allow all traffic to continue to flow while allowing for closure during public events.

Council Member Jason Chavez (Ward 9) said in a social media post that the mayor has not considered the trauma the community went through.

“The City Council will continue to honor the life of George Floyd, those who we’ve lost to police brutality, and our community who has been left hanging in the balance after 5 years of Frey’s indifference to the community’s calls for justice and change,” Chavez said on X.

The city is still looking for a community partner to redevelop the Peoples’ Way site, formerly a Speedway gas station that has been a site for community gatherings, memorials and rehearsal space since Floyd’s death.

Four organizations applied for the role including the Minnesota Agape Movement, P3-Foundation (also known as David’s Place), Urban League Twin Cities, and Rise & Remember.

Rise & Remember Executive Director and Community Member Jeanelle Austin said if her organization was selected to redevelop Peoples’ Way, she would use it to create a memorial of Stolen Lives.

“It would be a memorial garden for an upper space where the public would be able to engage and continue to utilize for a space of reflection, healing, gathering, and leverage outdoor community space and green space for the health and wellness of the community,” Austin said.

Austin said she spoke with Black elders and other community members who articulated the importance of a memorial, as the ones in the square are art installations. 

“There are actually laws that protect those installations because there’s a visual artist’s rights act. So artists have the right to be able to not add to something that they created,” Austin said. “It would actually be very helpful for our organization if we had a formal memorial, a place where someone comes to us and say, ‘Hey, can the name of my loved one be added?’”

Rise & Remember’s proposal is the only outdoor garden proposal out of the four organizations, Austin said.

The applicant’s presentations are scheduled for Feb. 26 at the Sabathani Community Center.

Initially only a week-long, Black History Month was created to ensure Black history would not be forgotten. 

Carter G. Woodson, a Black historian and founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, was the first to push for a Black History Week, initially known as Negro History Week, after writing about the importance of remembering Black history, University of Minnesota history professor William Jones said. 

“He talked about the importance of African-Americans knowing our own history and how important that was for sort of giving people a sense of belonging and a sense of community, but also for making Black history available to all Americans and making it, sort of an acknowledged part of American history,” Jones said. 

Jones said Woodson believed there was a time when African-Americans were written out of U.S. history and wanted to designate a week in February to commemorate Black history. The week gained recognition in the first historically Black colleges and African-American newspapers.

“It wasn’t really until the 1960s and 1970s that, sort of, after Negro History Week was pretty well established within Black institutions in the 1960s and 70s, it gained recognition sort of outside Black institutions,” Jones said. “Since the mid-1970s, presidents started to acknowledge first Black History Week, and then Black History Month.” 

The expansion from a week to a month came from the push to institutionalize teaching Black history around the 1970s. 

At the University, students occupied Morrill Hall as part of the Civil Rights Movement, spurring the establishment of the African American and African Studies Department, the Department of  American Studies and the Martin Luther King Jr. Program.

Co-Founder of the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery Coventry Cowens said continuing to learn about Black History is important because it is American history. 

“African-Americans have been here since the beginning, the founding of America,” Cowens said. “We’re part of the fabric. It’s good for our children, to all children, to know that all people that they see participated in the growth of the United States.”

It is unknown why February is Black History Month, but Jones said the month coinciding with former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ birthdays may have been a factor.

Ayokanmi Bobas, co-vice president of the Black Student Union at the University, said there are pros and cons to Black History Month. 

“I love the idea of a month where we can highlight the Black community, highlight our efforts we’ve done, get the appreciation we deserve,” Bobas said. “At the same time, I don’t like the idea of pushing it all into just one month of advocacy efforts and leaving the rest of the year just like pushed to the side.”

Regardless, Jones said Black History Month continues to show its importance with the current presidential administration rolling back Black History Month celebrations and several online calendars removing it. 

“The whole purpose was to call attention to an aspect of American history that’s been overlooked and ignored, and the idea that that would be something that is objectionable is, and seen as, you know, not in line with the policies of the federal government, is a strange development,” Jones said.

The Minnesota House of Representatives DFL and GOP announced a bipartisan power-sharing agreement on Wednesday. 

The agreement explains that the Republicans will govern as the majority until the House returns to a tie, which is expected to happen after the special election on March 11 in Roseville. If the outcome results in a tie, the DFL and Republicans will share power. 

In the agreement, Republicans will have a one-seat advantage in committee membership, but committees will have equal party representation when the House has equal party membership. 

The only exception to the agreement is that the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy will have a 5-3 Republican advantage. 

Rep. Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) will be the House speaker for the next two years, meaning Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) is giving up her speakership. 

DFL House lawmakers were boycotting the start of the legislative session to keep Republicans from acting on their one-seat majority due to the vacant seat. With the temporary majority, Republicans could have given themselves favorable committee placements, which would give Republicans significant influence in the House for the next two years.

Republicans were given the brief one-seat majority in the House after the seat was vacated when DFL Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson was found ineligible for office because he did not live in the district.

Gov. Tim Walz initially scheduled the Roseville special House election for January, but Republicans successfully pushed the election back by petitioning the Minnesota Supreme Court and arguing that scheduling so close to the start of the session violated state law.

Minneapolis’ Arts and Cultural Affairs department and The Loft Literary Center selected Junauda Petrus as the new poet laureate on Jan. 30. 

While the city’s first poet, Heid Erdrich, served for one year, Petrus will serve for two as she writes poems that reflect the Minneapolis community, teaches two classes at the Loft Literary Center and leads public events featuring her poetry. 

The position comes with a stipend and the ability to apply for the prestigious Academy of American Poet Laureate Fellowship program, a $50,000 award given to honor poets of literary merit. 

Petrus said she was over the moon when she got selected. 

“I think for me, it really just felt like, ‘Wow, what a beautiful honor,’” Petrus said. “I think also the project that I have planned where I want to get young people and elders and all of us just reconnected and talking and learning from each other, learning each other’s wisdom.” 

Petrus said she feels excited the community felt she was the right person for this job. 

Ben Johnson, the director of the Arts and Cultural Affairs, said the poet was picked through a panel process of literary peers by the Loft Literary Center. The decision to pick Petrus was unanimous, Johnson added. 

“I’m really happy that Junauda Petrus applied and has received this award, and it feels like the right kind of poet at the time that we need a poet,” Johnson said. 

This is not Petrus’ first attempt in the art scene. She wrote a children’s book called “Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?” and initially applied to be the city’s first poet laureate but lost to Erdrich. 

“My year as inaugural poet laureate was the best kind of gift because it was one I could share,” Erdrich said. “Listening to Minneapolis through her poets and listening to natural places in the city was a pleasure.” 

Erdrich said she can not imagine a more difficult time to lead through poetry but knows Petrus will do it with her “heart.”

The first year of the poet laureate was successful, but Johnson said he is excited about the two-year term and the bond Petrus will make with the Minneapolis literary community and the art scene. 

“We want to help support their creative endeavors and their instinct and their potential, and this is one of those platforms that allows us to look at that through a literary lens,” Johnson said. 

Anyone can apply as many times as they want but only can serve as poet laureate once, Johnson said. 

Petrus said her poems center around teaching people how to bring relationships together and making them feel comfortable connecting again. 

“People are experiencing different parts of Minneapolis, whether you live over in the Phillips neighborhood where I grew up or whether you live over northeast or by the lakes or over north,” Petrus said. 

The Loft Literary Center is hosting a celebration on Thursday from 6:30-9:00 p.m. for Petrus and the other poet laureate finalists Khadija Charif, Halee Kirkwood, Sagirah Shahid and Kyle Tran Myhre.

When Target dropped its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, Twin Cities Pride dropped them as a sponsor and began fundraising to make up the $50,000 lost from no longer taking Target donations.

What once looked like an uphill battle quickly turned Twin Cities Pride’s way, said Andi Otto, Twin Cities Pride executive director. Within 24 hours, Twin Cities Pride hit its $50,000 fundraiser goal and earned nearly $90,000.

Target’s announcement to drop its DEI programs came as other companies like Walmart, McDonald’s, Disney and Lowe’s cut their DEI  policies. 

Otto said he was shocked when he found out Target, a long-time Pride sponsor, was ending its three-year DEI goals and Racial Equity Actions and Change initiatives. 

“Target’s been a partner of ours for as far back as I can remember and that’s roughly 18 years,” Otto said. “They’ve always been a big supporter and I think known globally as a leader in diversity and inclusion, and so to hear that this is what was happening was completely unexpected and shocking.”

Speaking with Target before the official announcement over the phone, Otto said it felt like a sucker punch to the gut. 

In a memo sent to employees about the decision, Target Chief Community Impact and Equity Officer Kiera Fernandez said the company was reevaluating its internal diversity policies, the Associated Press reported.

“Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” Fernandez wrote in the memo. “And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future.

Dropping DEI was significant because it is more than just hiring diverse people, LGBTQ+ advocacy organization OutFront Minnesota’s Executive Director Kat Rohn said.

“It’s about trying to create companies, institutions, communities, spaces where more people are included in the promise of whatever work is going on,” Rohn said. “There needs to be work that’s targeted to support folks and to include them in spaces where they have historically been excluded.”

Rohn said consumer trust is important, and while the LGBTQ+ community is a small portion of the population, they are not insignificant. 

“It is a disservice to Target’s employees, but also a disservice to the communities that they serve to step back on what was thoughtful and good commitments to trying to increase the engagement across a broad range of areas, both internally and externally facing,” Rohn said

Target always can come back to Pride as a sponsor if they reverse course, Otto said. 

“If they’re willing to make the moves and ensure that the LGBTQ(+) community and not just us but the people of color, people of different ethnicities, all of that are still protected in their stores and they can show that then I have no problem letting them back in,” Otto said. “I think that they lost a lot of trust with the community when they did this, and our community clearly told us that it was not okay.”

While some companies who have kept their DEI policies have faced some scrutiny in the short term, Rohn said sticking with DEI will be the best decision in the long run. 

“Many of us share, you know, identities that are going to be impacted by these shifting investments and prioritization. We’re going to see that the folks who hold strong to these investments and values are going to emerge better out the other side,” Rohn said. “Maybe not today or tomorrow, but long-term because they understand the impacts of having institutions and workplaces and businesses that reflect the diversity of our communities.”

Pride will be held on June 28 and 29.

Minneapolis minimum wage for both large and small businesses became the same again as pay increased to $15.97 on Jan. 1, 2025. 

For the first time in years, both large and small businesses have the same minimum wage. Businesses with more than 100 employees qualify as large, and less than 100 are considered small, according to the Minneapolis Labor Standards Enforcement Division. 

At the beginning of 2023, large businesses had a minimum wage increase from $15.19 to $15.57. Small businesses had an increase from $14.50 in July 2023 to $15.57 in July 2024. 

The minimum wage has increased yearly since 2018 as part of a state law meant to increase pay with the rising cost of living, Brian Walsh, the Minneapolis director of Labor Standards Enforcement, said. Minneapolis’ minimum wage is also tied to that state statute, so both increase by the same percentage each year. 

Hared Mah, a research scientist at the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, said the minimum wage inflation adjustment is based on price changes calculated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

Minneapolis’ minimum wage is more than $5.40 higher than the state minimum wage because the cost of living in a major metropolitan area like Minneapolis is higher. 

Before the small and large business minimum wages became the same this year, small business owners were given more time to “ramp up” to the higher wages, Walsh said.

“Small businesses don’t necessarily have an HR department, a payroll department, a general council and a smaller operation might not necessarily have the same profit margin,” Walsh said. “So to adapt and absorb and figure out how a small business is going to implement a higher minimum wage might take more time.” 

Just because the city gave small business owners more time to adapt to the minimum wage does not mean they did not have to adjust. Test Kitchen owner Kent Kramp said he paid the large business minimum wage to employees because every place around him is a chain, like Chipotle or Chick-fil-A. 

“In our neighborhood, we could never really offer a lower minimum wage because it’d be really hard to retain employees,” Kramp said.

Kramp said dealing with the high minimum wage was difficult at first but had a way to control it through adjusting restaurant prices. 

“A higher minimum wage is an investment in workers and ultimately an investment in business growth,” Walsh said. “Labor is not just the cost of doing business. Labor is people and the success, long-term success of any business is in large part determined by the success of its workers and the goods and services they help provide.”