9/30/2024 -- Frey Pushes Back On Council's Homeless Funding Decision

Government

Mayor Jacob Frey Criticizes City Council Over Homeless Shelter Funding

The Summary: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey strongly criticized the City Council for what he described as an "irresponsible" decision regarding the allocation of $1.5 million to the Agate homeless shelter. This funding is crucial for saving the 95-bed facility, which serves 135 people and is at risk of closing within two weeks due to necessary repairs.

Council's Funding Decision: The City Council approved $1.5 million for Agate Housing and Services, contingent on an additional $1.5 million being raised from private donors, which has since been secured. The money is meant for urgent repairs, including plumbing, heating, and air conditioning.

Mayor Frey's Objections: Mayor Frey has refused to sign the resolution, arguing that the funding decision wasn't properly vetted. He points out that the $1.5 million set aside by the Council isn’t surplus money, but would require cuts from other city services, including $350,000 earmarked for North Commons Park, or possibly laying off city staff.

Council's Response: Council members have pushed back arguing that the city has ended the last six years with an average surplus of $21.7 million and is projected to close 2024 with a $38.5 million surplus.

Moving Forward: Despite his concerns, Mayor Frey has committed to finding a "less disruptive" funding source to prevent cuts to city services.

Sports

Minnesota Twins Season Ends After Historic Collapse — Pohlads Say Baldelli Will Return ⚾

The Summary: After having a greater than 90% chance of making the MLB playoffs on September 12th, the Minnesota Twins lost 27 of their last 39 games to find themselves on the outside looking in.

What Went Wrong: There is a lot of blame to go around with the Twins collapse, but much of the attention has been on the Twins bullpen failures, injuries to key players like Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton, and a total offensive slowdown in the last month of the season.

Payroll Cuts: After cutting the payroll by $30M last offseason, Joe Pohlad told reporters he would not be making any additional cuts to the payroll this year.

From Rocco: In their final few games, chants of “Fire Rocco” could be hear in the stadium. When asked about it, Rocco had this to say: “The fans, I think, have a right to feel almost any way they choose. I believe that. Frankly, any time we haven’t had success here, I’ve heard them in the stadium, and that’s part of managing a Major League Baseball team.”

What Else We’re Watching…

Saturday Night Live Impersonates Tim Walz Over The Weekend 📺

Saturday Night Live kicked off their new season over the weekend and opened the show with a skit that acted out a Harris/Walz rally. Walz was played by actor Jim Gaffigan while Kamala Harris was played by Maya Rudolph.

Watch the full SNL video here.

GAME — Mini Crossword

8 Across is the name of a very popular bike trail in the Twin Cities metro. Think you know the answer? Solve the entire crossword puzzle here.

Sports

🏈 The Minnesota Vikings improved their record to 4-0 with a win over the Packers. Sam threw for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns.

🏀 The Minnesota Lynx dropped game 1 of their best of 5 playoff series with the Connecticut Sun. They play again on Tuesday at the Target Center.

🏈 The Gopher football team lost to the Michigan Wolverines in a dramatic game that ended in a controversial offsides call on the onside kick the Gophers recovered.

Quick hits

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities ✔

❯ St. Paul is urging drivers to give to shelters, not panhandlers (Fox9)

❯ MPD has added 23 new officers, including first Somali woman and a non-citizen (KSTP)

❯ Twin Cities police agencies tying dozens of high-end burglaries to crime ring (WCCO)

❯ A new lawsuit is claiming that a Lino Lakes development moratorium discriminated against Muslims (KSTP)

The Final Word: Extended Summer ☀

Hard to believe that this photo was taken on September 28th, but I’m not complaining about the extra beautiful weather we’re getting before the cooler temps set in. Hope everyone can get outside this week!

-Patrick