Better Minneapolis Podcast

Terry White
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  • News Commentary

Newsletter focused on local Minneapolis politics and resident stories. www.betterminneapolis.com

  1. 7h ago

    911 Call Center Reports 41% of Staff on Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave

    On Tuesday morning, Leticia Cardenas, Assistant Director of Minneapolis 911, presented her department’s financial overview to the City Council Budget Committee. Every department goes through this exercise so the council can see where spending is rising, falling, or needs to be redirected. The Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center (MECC) includes the 911 call center and the Radio Shop. Its budget is increasing by $1.5 million, to $16.5 million. Most of that increase comes from salaries and fringe benefits, which are rising by 20%. With 92 employees, that works out to an average cost of $142,016 per employee. Several factors appear to be driving up employee costs, including the overtime needed to meet basic standards for 911 call centers. Council Members Shaffer and Palmisano questioned Cardenas after she reported that 41% of staff are currently out on Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML). Because the center must cover every shift, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, burnout and turnover are significant, and the problem is difficult to fix. The state legislature passed the law requiring employers to offer 12 weeks of paid leave, which employees can take as soon as they are hired. Cardenas did not know at what rate the state would reimburse her department for employees on leave. Training a new operator takes three to eight months, so the department regularly hires above its budgeted 84 positions, expecting that some people will quit or take leave. Better Minneapolis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. What Is Your Preferred Safety Statistic? Whenever we publish a story about crime in the city, readers criticize the statistics. The most vocal are often those who argue that crime is down. On that point, the Star Tribune recently reported that Minneapolis homicides fell 27% through September 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, and the number of gunshot victims has dropped below 2019 pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, vehicle thefts, other thefts, and car window break-ins have increased, frustrating residents and business owners even as violent crime declines. We find 911 call data to be a useful indicator of whether crime is rising or falling, and call volume has been steady. Over the past 12 months, the center received 266,848 calls. About 75% were routed to MPD, and of those, 37% (74,840 calls) were classified as Priority 1. These are calls that “represent serious emergencies with an imminent threat to personal safety or severe potential for property damage where conditions at the scene are volatile.” That is more than 200 Priority 1 calls a day, handled by a call center with 41% of its staff on leave. The center receives between 5,000 and 7,000 calls each week. Given that workload, it is easy to see why so many shifts are covered with overtime. The same volume may also help explain the overtime paid to MPD patrol officers who respond to these calls. Calls directed to the Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) team make up about 3% of the total: 8,572 of 266,848 over the past 12 months. So far, the service has had only a small effect on the police and operator hours needed to provide public safety. The city plans to change BCR vendors, moving from Canopy Roots, a local Black-owned company, to Community Bridges, based in Arizona. The new contract is valued at $5.9 million and runs through December 2028. Canopy Roots has been paid just over $26 million since it began in 2021. Uptown Is Still Waiting for Community Safety Ambassadors Business owners in Uptown continue to report break-ins, vandalism, and graffiti. Repairs often cost between $500 and $2,000. Because those amounts fall within insurance deductibles, owners pay out of pocket. When these incidents happen often enough, the costs add up, especially while customers have been slow to return to the area. Many owners feel the city does not take their complaints seriously, and some have organized their own walking safety groups. This is frustrating given that the city is budgeting $2,276,694 toward having 23 in-house Community Safety Ambassadors (CSAs), or about $99,000 per position. In her presentation, Neighborhood Safety Director Amanda Harrington said: “We’re currently hiring for 21 positions. We hope to have staff start October 13th, which is very soon, and have them go through an intensive two-week training program before going out on the streets in November. This slide shows our projection for staffing three zones, which costs about $2.5 million. This includes about a six-person team on East Lake Street, a four-person team on Franklin Avenue, and an eight-person team in Uptown. Uptown is new, so I want to note the boundaries: Franklin Avenue down Hennepin to 31st Street, and then Lake Street from 35W to East Bde Maka Ska.” Many council members are skeptical of MPD and expressed frustration that the police budget is increasing while the Neighborhood Safety Department has been asked to absorb an $800,000 cut. Meanwhile, the department’s performance metrics remain a concern. Council Member Warren worried that CSAs would be placed between police and the people responsible for violence. Harrington explained that CSAs are there to call 911 when a situation becomes volatile. Violence Interrupters, by contrast, focus on building relationships within the community. Harrington also cautioned council members against confusing correlation with causation. In other words, it is too early to conclude that violent crime is down because of these programs. City-sponsored healing circles may be building trust and relationships, but there is no direct evidence that they are reducing gang violence or other violence in the city. A request was made by Council Member Rainville for an accounting of all the vendors who had been paid without supplying proper documentation of their work. A recent audit demonstrated that proper accounting for payments continues to be an issue. Several council members asked for the programs to be expanded and questioned Harrington about how the zones were chosen. Those questions reflect two assumptions: first, that crime continues to disrupt neighborhoods, and second, that alternatives to traditional policing are an essential part of the public safety system. This budget cycle will reflect the tension between the two. Council members are frustrated that the police budget keeps growing, while the public is growing impatient for results from non-police alternatives. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe

  2. Sep 30

    Property Tax Shock Could Be Ahead for Minneapolis Residents

    Minneapolis residents may want to start saving now for next year’s property taxes. The Board of Estimate & Taxation (BET) met Tuesday afternoon, and with no compromise reached since its last meeting, the board voted 4 to 2 to approve a maximum city levy increase of 11.3% along with the full 5.86% increase sought by the park board. Combined, the maximum levy could exceed 11.7%. [1] Commissioner Eric Harris Bernstein introduced the amendment to fully fund both requests. “I’m offering this amendment to avoid what will be a catastrophic loss of funds, if we didn’t pass something tonight,” he said. The catastrophe he described was a return to last year’s levy, which would have happened if the board had deadlocked again. Commissioner Mayor Jacob Frey and Commissioner Steve Brandt cast the two dissenting votes. Both held firm in wanting a lower levy. Brandt used the moment to reflect on the board’s makeup: “I think the discussion this year has sort of pointed out the value of having a 3rd public member on this board. As the board is now constituted, city hall, whether the mayor and the council typically agree or disagree, can essentially veto any other faction of the board. And I believe that this board was set up historically so that city hall didn’t have a majority of the seats, and it operated that way until the library board was abolished, and I intend to look into the process for adding that 3rd member via referendum.” The budget now goes to the City Council for review and amendment. The council may make cuts, which would lower the final levy, but we won’t know where it lands until mid-to-late December. The Minneapolis Police Department’s budget is likely to face pressure. In Monday’s presentation to the budget committee, MPD acknowledged mismanagement of overtime and showcased a new dashboard it has implemented to better track overtime use. Council Member and Budget Chair Aisha Chughtai referred to that mismanagement during the BET meeting: “I said to you over and over again, I do think there is broad ways of abuse happening inside of the Minneapolis Police Department right now, and yesterday we heard them admit that on the record, that should be concerning to every taxpayer, every resident of our city that pays into a system expecting safety, expecting help in their toughest moments, and instead to find out that a misuse of their money is happening, I think is despicable.” Don’t Forget the Hennepin County and Minneapolis Public Schools Levies According to Cam Gordon, writing in the new online publication Hennepin Herald, County Administrator Jodi Wentland has proposed a $2.993 billion budget that includes an 8.15% increase in total property taxes. The proposal responds to reduced state and federal funding. Public testimony included calls to maintain library service, which faces shortened hours; to expand pollution testing at the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC); and to scrutinize the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, whose budget has grown 30% since 2020. Finally, there is an issue that hits close to home for many families: the Minneapolis Public Schools budget. The district is working out how to right-size a system built for 43,000 students when only 30,000 are enrolled. Its final request isn’t known yet, but we expect it will also seek an increase. The Pinch By some very rough math, the combined increase from the city, county, and school district levies could approach 20%. This comes at a time when gas averages $4.33 a gallon, fraud continues to surface, and many families come home from the grocery store in disbelief at what they paid. As we discussed with Steve Brandt in our recent interview, a complicated formula determines how much each property’s taxes will change. Some owners, especially in neighborhoods where property values have risen, could see increases of as much as 20%. In 2026, 3,328 properties saw increases of more than 20%. Ward 12 had the highest median increase at 13.39%, meaning half of the ward’s properties rose by more than that and half by less. We understand these budgets involve many competing interests. But our leaders need to do more than say they wish the increases were lower. When revenue falls, spending must fall too. Renters and homeowners alike will feel these increases. More money going to taxes means fewer nights out and less spending at local businesses. That reduces tax revenue in turn, and the cycle starts to look a lot like a recession. [1] The MPRB levy is part of the city levy. Their portion in terms of dollars is much smaller than the city’s portion and therefore there isn’t a 1-to-1 impact on the percentage. The mayor originally proposed 2.5% “placeholder” for the MPRB increase, the additional 2.83% adds roughly .4 percent to the total city levy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe

  3. Sep 27

    Interview: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey

    It’s budget season in Minneapolis, and this year looks even more complicated than the last few. In this interview with Mayor Frey, we talk through many of the challenges, including the unique problems caused by Operation Metro Surge, a close review of each department to find efficiencies, millions of dollars added to the budget for MPD overtime, and shortfalls from downtown commercial buildings whose property values continue to be revised downward. Despite the challenges, Frey is optimistic about what comes next. “Minneapolis is open for business,” he says. “It’s showing that downtown is being reactivated in a different way that we’ve never seen before.” We also talked about some of the many events Minneapolis hosted this past year that showed what the city has to offer. Frey cited Dinner du Nord, numerous East Lake Street events, the Mile of Music on Nicollet Mall, the Special Olympics, Open Streets, and WWE SummerSlam. On the city’s comeback, Frey said, “You can knock us down, but we won’t be out. We’re going to get back up again. The city is just so tough and resilient.” Budget process The first step in passing a city budget is for the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) to set the maximum levy. Frey proposed 11.3%, a figure several board members have called too high. At Wednesday’s meeting, the board deadlocked 3-3 and will try again on Tuesday, September 29. One sticking point is the park board levy. The mayor offered 4% as a compromise, but several members of the BET and the City Council want to fund the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s (MPRB) full request of 5.86%. According to Frey, the MPRB is the only department in the city that has been unwilling to make cuts. He is holding out for the park board to find reductions comparable to those other departments have made. Once the BET sets the levy, the City Council will begin shaping the budget to reflect its priorities. Frey believes he mostly shares those priorities but pursues them in a different way. The mediator the city hired to improve relations between the council and the mayor will not take part in budget negotiations, but the ground rules for interaction still apply. Frey would like those rules to be public and transparent. They include no personal attacks, so everyone stays focused on the issues, and no assuming the other person’s intent. Frey notes that everyone has different backgrounds, constituencies, and reasons for their positions. Beyond the budget, we discussed: * The concept of social housing, and how it does or does not differ from what people usually think of as public housing * Frey’s proposal to hire the 23 community safety ambassadors who currently work as contractors * His directive that the City Council give 48 hours’ notice when city staff are asked to testify, and why he believes written responses to council requests are sometimes enough * His continued support for public housing despite what happened at Heritage Park Council positions Council Member Elizabeth Shaffer, typically a Frey ally, summed up the budget problem in her latest newsletter: “People are fed up with their taxes going up while it seems like the city is not doing enough to rein in expenses . . . We need to find efficiencies and scale back because we can’t balance our books by continuing to ask our residents to pay double-digit property tax increases year after year.” Shaffer’s comments followed a Ward 7 Community Conversation where Budget Director Shawn Greene explained the basics of how the city budget is built. Expenses are rising, especially health insurance for the city’s 4,285 employees. Meanwhile, revenue from downtown commercial buildings and Local Government Aid (LGA) is flat. To maintain current service levels, the city would need to raise the property tax levy to cover an estimated $61 million shortfall. Other council members, such as Ward 8’s Soren Stevenson, see the MPD as the main driver of rising expenses. In his newsletter, Stevenson writes that “the city is significantly struggling as a result of a pattern of unsustainable and unaccountable spending within the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). Property taxes will continue to increase unless we take meaningful steps to reform the department and exercise needed financial oversight. As we continue to face difficult decisions in this budget session, this will remain a key focus of mine.” Compromise is not a four-letter word Compromise used to be a core part of a politician’s job. That fell by the wayside years ago, leaving a system where politicians cater to the special interest groups that turn out the vote for them. Many people worry about drones and Flock cameras, but few pay attention to the increasingly sophisticated networking and database tools that let campaigns pinpoint their supporters, motivate them, and largely ignore everyone else. Those supporters are then flooded with social media content they pass along to like-minded friends and neighbors. The result is often a message of solidarity against compromise. Any compromise is treated as weakness or a lack of moral character, rather than what it often is: serving residents as well as possible. This year, Frey will be navigating conflict with the park board, residents tired of property tax increases, stubbornly flat revenue, and a City Council whose trust in him and the MPD seems to keep eroding. Despite these tensions, Frey remains committed to the work. “We’re going to keep working together and we’re going to keep trying to find compromise wherever we can,” he said. If everyone commits to reaching a budget through the necessary tradeoffs, it can be done. Frey, however, declined to predict the final outcome. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe

  4. Sep 22

    Decision Point on the Property Tax Levy

    Steve Brandt Interview On Wednesday evening, the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) will decide whether to accept Mayor Frey’s proposed 11.3 percent property tax levy increase or amend it. The decision affects most Minneapolis residents. Whether you own a home or rent an apartment, your monthly payment is likely to go up. A complicated formula determines exactly how much each property’s taxes will change. Some owners, especially in neighborhoods where property values have risen, could see increases of as much as 20 percent. In 2026, 3,328 properties saw increases of more than 20 percent. Ward 12 had the highest median increase at 13.39 percent, meaning half of the properties in the ward rose by more than that and half by less. My guest in this interview is Steve Brandt, an elected member of the BET. Brandt plans to push for a levy increase below 10 percent. As he puts it, “For the greatest number of city taxpayers, the increase from an 11.3% levy would be in the 15 to 20% range. And so that’s horrendous. And I don’t support it.” The board has six members: Mayor Jacob Frey, Council President Elliott Payne, Council Budget Chair Aisha Chughtai, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board President Tom Olsen, and two elected representatives, Steve Brandt and Eric Harris Bernstein. A measure needs a majority to pass, so Brandt will need to win over three of his colleagues. His case is straightforward: “Our spending has risen faster than our revenues… I would like to do more on the spending-cut side.” He believes it is time to separate the city’s “nice-to-haves” from its “must-haves.” Bottom Line Brandt is not alone in thinking the mayor’s proposed levy is too high and that the city needs to cut more before asking residents for more money. If his plan is adopted Wednesday, the parks will receive their full request of 5.86 percent for 2027, and the overall levy increase will stay below 10 percent. He explains in the interview that if the BET cannot reach a decision by the end of September, the levy increase will remain at the 2026 level of 8 percent. If Frey’s proposal is approved, the owner of a median-priced $333,000 home will pay about $409 more per year, on top of the $242 increase in 2026. Brandt sees several ways the city could tighten control of spending: managing job vacancies more carefully, strengthening oversight of MPD overtime and related costs, and pursuing revenue sources that reduce the city’s reliance on homeowners. If commercial real estate values stay depressed over the next several years, the city will need both new revenue and stronger fiscal discipline to keep the cost of city government from overwhelming residents. One idea we discussed, which other cities have tried, is an income tax on high earners. Another is voluntary payments from large tax-exempt property owners such as hospitals, universities, churches, and nonprofits. Boston has used this approach on the reasoning that these institutions rely on city services like fire and police protection but do not pay into the funds that support them. The city could publish an annual list showing which institutions paid and which did not, adding public pressure to contribute. Brandt also raised the idea of a deed-transfer tax, which would charge a small percentage each time a property changes hands. That option would require approval from the Legislature. The city has three levers for maintaining its fiscal health: lower spending, raise property taxes, or find other sources of revenue. Maintaining the level of service Minneapolis residents have come to expect may take a combination of all three. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe

  5. Sep 20

    Housing First or Treatment First: Does Minnesota Have to Choose?

    In this interview, I talk with Robbie Sequeira, a Stateline reporter based in Chicago, about his piece that ran in the Minnesota Reformer on September 17: “Trump admin aims to shift homelessness grants toward addiction treatment, enforcement.” We also spend some time discussing Chicago’s seven-pillar model they use to provide housing and services for the homeless. Sequeira’s article caught my attention because of the funding mechanism at the center of it. Sequeira writes that “the Trump administration is proposing to provide more money to localities that prioritize treatment-first policies such as sober living, more cooperation with law enforcement and more temporary and transitional housing.” That funding runs through bonuses in the federal Continuum of Care program. The Trump administration, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is challenging states to reverse a decade of Housing First policy in favor of an approach that places greater emphasis on services “concentrating on improving employment income and meeting behavioral healthcare needs.” Homelessness was a top priority for the mayors of San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle when David Therkelsen and I visited this past summer. As Sequeira reports: HUD pointed to policies in Anchorage, Alaska; Houston; Portland, Oregon; and San Francisco as evidence that states and cities are already shifting their homelessness responses toward public camping restrictions with emphasis on treatment and recovery as a condition to housing support. Minnesota is one of 22 states suing HUD to overturn new application requirements meant to push states toward treatment-first policies such as sober living, closer cooperation with law enforcement, and more temporary and transitional housing. The fate of the lawsuit is uncertain: courts have so far blocked HUD's new rules on procedural grounds, but HUD's latest attempt could clear the way for approval. A public comment period is open now through October 13. An individual or organization can submit comments here. Depending on the outcome of the lawsuit, Minnesota could be forced to decide whether to accept fewer federal dollars and continue its Housing First and harm reduction practices, or begin building out treatment-first and transitional housing policies. Sequeira argues that more states could develop hybrid models instead of letting the two philosophies “go to war with each other.” Preparing for the Future Both philosophical camps say they have the data to back up their positions. HUD claims the Housing First model has failed; others cite data showing Housing First has succeeded in reducing the number of unhoused people. There is no single source of contemporary data that stands up to scrutiny. Many of the data sets referenced are five to ten years old and don’t account for the aftermath of COVID-19, rising interest rates, the lack of building in many cities, or the highly addictive nature of modern formulations of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Each municipality has different factors in play, just as every individual has a unique reason for being homeless. “Will a one-size-fits-all approach work for one person, or will it work for a whole group of people?” Sequeira asked in the interview. What Minnesota can do now is prepare for the future. Either philosophy calls for more behavioral health services, an area where Minnesota lacks a high-functioning system. The state ranks near the bottom nationally for psychiatric beds per capita, with 590 adult beds and fewer than 200 for children and adolescents. Minnesota is simply unprepared for an increase in people with behavioral health needs. If the state wants to shift toward sober living facilities and drug treatment centers, a significant level of investment and oversight will be needed there too. Building capacity isn’t cheap. Constructing a single psychiatric bed in a medical facility with comprehensive wraparound services costs an initial $1.1 million, with annual operating costs ranging from $150,000 to $350,000 per bed. [1] In 2025, the state legislature invested $55 million from its infrastructure package and another $20 million from human services to add 50 beds at the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center. Sue Abderholden of NAMI Minnesota said, “It won’t solve it, but it’ll make a big dent.” [2] If Minnesota is serious about addressing the homelessness crisis, it will need more investment paired with significantly more oversight. Minnesota continues to struggle with a significant fraud problem in its social welfare programs. Hennepin County shut down its $2 million Operation Metro Surge business assistance program early after finding that screening out fraudulent applications cost more than the program actually paid out. People won't support a more robust social safety net if fraud keeps turning it into a national embarrassment. If it costs $200,000 a year to operate a psychiatric bed, the state has two options: run the facility with its own employees, or dedicate another $50,000 per bed to oversight that ensures private operators actually deliver the outcomes they're paid for. Drug treatment carries its own price tag: evidence-based substance abuse and healthcare treatment averages $56,630 per resident in Minnesota [3], though costs vary considerably depending on the setting and level of care required. According to KFF, a leading health policy organization, "From 2019 to 2025, the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night increased by over 30% to nearly 746,000 people, with nearly four in ten (36%) staying in unsheltered locations." That trajectory demands a real debate about policy and outcomes, not a symbolic one. The approaches cities are taking now aren't working. It's time to ask whether current systems are delivering results for unhoused individuals and their communities, and to act on the answer. Regardless of where a person stands on Housing First versus treatment-first, nothing changes without the infrastructure to back it up. [1] Brian Johnson, "Anoka Psychiatric Hospital to Add 50-Bed Facility," Finance & Commerce, March 4, 2026, https://finance-commerce.com/2026/03/anoka-psychiatric-hospital-50-bed-expansion/ [2] Allison Kite, "Minnesota Shifts More Prisoners to Psychiatric Beds," Governing, June 17, 2025, https://www.governing.com/policy/minnesota-shifts-more-prisoners-to-psychiatric-beds. [3] https://rehabnet.com/minnesota/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe

  6. Sep 16

    Iconic Plaza Aims to Transform the Former Wells Fargo Campus

    A Familiar Face in East Phillips For this interview, I sought out Dean Dovolis, CEO and managing partner of Novarum Development Partners. Most people know him as the owner and CEO of DJR Architecture. It struck me as odd that more stories haven’t been devoted to what Dovolis and his partners are trying to accomplish with the former Wells Fargo Home Mortgage campus. They’re calling it Iconic Plaza, and if they succeed, it’s a big deal: 1,000 new residences, childcare, a medical center, a school, a video production studio, multiple restaurants, a technology center, and a four-acre park. Dovolis started his architecture firm with an office at 11th and Franklin. His roots in the Phillips neighborhood made him a resource to residents. “I started to learn people, and I became a resource to the neighborhood because of my architectural background, because not very many architects located their office in the neighborhood,” he said. His standing in the community helped him deliver several wins, including the Phyllis Place townhouses, the Franklin Avenue streetscape, and several other housing developments. There were disappointments too, such as the Metro Transit switching yard, a site the neighborhood had hoped to see become a transit village instead. I first learned of Dovolis through his involvement with the Roof Depot, a project that saw years of ups and downs but now appears to have a deal in place for the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute to own half the facility, which it plans to turn into an urban farm with local businesses and a community solar array. Dovolis credits most of these projects to the community itself: “They weren’t my invention. They’re really the neighborhood’s invention, and I sort of became the corporate hand, or the physical hand, that basically drew it up.” From Home Mortgage Hub to Empty Campus Wells Fargo purchased the Iconic Plaza site in 2000 to serve as its home mortgage headquarters and spent $723 million developing the campus. After an earlier buyer’s deal fell through, Novarum Development Partners raised $8 million this year to purchase the property. Wells Fargo, for its part, was eager to let the facility go. At its peak, the campus employed 5,000 people, and touring it now, many of the rooms look as though everyone left during a fire drill and never came back. Desks, chairs, kitchen equipment, phones, cabinets, even a hairdryer, sit in an untouched fitness facility that looks ready to use next week. The campus has been vacant for five years, but Wells Fargo kept it in excellent condition the whole time. The buildings are connected by skyways, and the property includes more than 4,000 parking spaces. Plans call for building new housing on top of the parking ramps, which would offer sweeping views of downtown Minneapolis. Questions About the Partners Despite the promise of the project, a few concerns are worth raising. The first attempt at a deal with Wells Fargo was led by Mohamed Amin Kahin, a figure formerly involved with the DFL who once accused Governor Walz of neglecting the East African community. Kahin argued the governor should direct part of Minnesota’s $841 million in federal CARES funding toward the community, telling Sahan Journal during Walz’s 2020 visit to Karmel Mall, “To be honest, we expect more from the governor. The East African community has invested so much in the DFL. The return is just zero.” His frustration may have made sense at the time, but it hasn’t aged particularly well in light of where things stand five years later. Another partner in Novarum Development Partners is Faraaz Yusuff, also known as Faraaz Mohammed. Yusuff owns Zikar Holdings, which attempted to develop a former sod farm near Lino Lakes into Madinah Lakes, a mixed-use development aimed at Muslim homebuyers with more than 400 homes, a shopping area, and a mosque. The project is now tied up in lawsuits, and when neighbors pushed back, Yusuff’s team characterized the opposition as Islamophobic. Yusuff goes by that name rather than Mohammed because he believes his former name would limit his ability to do the work he wants to do. In 2013, he was convicted of theft by swindle for writing 16 unauthorized checks to himself and making four unauthorized electronic transfers from the account of a former employer, a company called Forevergreen in Eden Prairie. A Medical Center Without a Track Record The medical center planned for the campus would be developed by Dr. Irfan Sandozi, a gastroenterologist, and his wife, Dr. Afshan Anjum, a psychiatrist, who is on the faculty at the University of Minnesota Medical School. They may well be excellent physicians, but launching a medical center of this scale typically calls for administrative and development experience that neither appears to have. Sandozi told the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal that the team is “still evaluating different operating models for the healthcare and education component and is in discussions with potential healthcare partners,” though he did not name them. The plans for Iconic Plaza are genuinely exciting, but whether this group can assemble the partners needed to pull it off remains an open question. It’s a small detail, but telling: the website listed on Dovolis’s business card, novarumdev.com, showed up as for sale when we checked it for this story. A working site with information about all the partners would go a long way toward building confidence in the project. Novarum is also involved in a second massive redevelopment, the Brooklyn Center Opportunity Site, which Brooklyn Center City Council Member Dan Jerzak called “a huge, huge undertaking.” The firm was only formed in December 2025 and is now trying to redevelop two enormous sites at once. At Iconic Plaza alone, the plan calls for leasing 250,000 square feet of retail space to 100 tenants. Can They Pull It Off? If, over the next five years, Iconic Plaza manages to deliver 1,000 apartments, townhomes, or other residences alongside a medical facility, a school, a movie production studio, a fitness center, multiple restaurants, and office space, it will be a remarkable achievement and a significant boost for the Phillips neighborhood and the city as a whole. The biggest obstacles are likely to be the partners’ limited experience developing projects at this scale, along with real economic headwinds. Even with a tremendous bargain on the purchase price, the team still has to convince outside investors to put money into the project, and with high interest rates, elevated building costs, and a struggling retail sector, leases may not materialize as quickly as they hope. Watch the video and you’ll see that Dovolis has tremendous enthusiasm for the project. At times he’s almost giddy: “We’re open for business, as they say. Every idea that people bring just seems to strengthen and make this campus even more inviting.” Enthusiasm alone won’t build Iconic Plaza, but it may be part of what it takes. If the partners can bring the pieces together, this could be a real win for the city and the neighborhood. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe

  7. Sep 13

    Why the Next Governor Needs a Regional Agenda

    The impetus for this interview was Eric Roper’s column, “Minnesota’s next governor should make the Twin Cities work better” (published August 31). In it, Roper argues that Governor Tim Walz, and those before him, have shied away from exercising their power when what’s needed is a more forceful regional role, particularly when it comes to the Twin Cities. Roper believes, “We have too many cities . . . more than 140 cities in our Twin Cities seven-county metro,” and that the governor must use their bully pulpit to improve the pooling of resources between them and set an agenda for the region. Roper’s argument appealed to us because the drivers of resident dissatisfaction often seem larger than any single county or city can manage alone. We advocate for a stronger regional effort on homelessness, addiction, crime, wages, and housing. Crime doesn’t stay in one city; people often travel to Minneapolis to commit a crime, then return to a different city or even a different state. Minimum wage standards would ideally be addressed at the federal level, but if that isn’t going to happen, the state level is the next best option if we want to avoid a patchwork of different wages from city to city. Likewise, a common system for delivering homelessness and chemical dependency services would raise the standard of care and make that care more consistent. The Trust Problem One obstacle we discuss in the interview is that there is little appetite for a stronger Metropolitan Council. The council is regionally focused, but its members are appointed by the governor, and if the governor isn’t taking a lead role in promoting regional solutions, the council won’t either. Giving more power to state agencies would likely meet similar resistance. The fraud uncovered in Minnesota has largely occurred under the state’s Department of Education and the Department of Human Services (DHS), and beyond the direct financial cost, it has significantly eroded confidence in the competence of the state bureaucracy. The Cost of Fragmentation Despite that lack of trust in both the Metropolitan Council and the state, Roper believes there are still good reasons to pursue a regional strategy: “Think about how many police departments we have, how many city halls we have, how many marketing managers we have, how many planning commissioners . . . the duplication is enormous.” The duplication, the silos, and the poor planning are all reasons for the next governor to pay closer attention to the Metropolitan Council’s actions and look for ways to nudge cities and counties toward collaboration. A few areas where fragmentation is likely hurting the region: multiple cities independently developing outdoor amphitheaters, inconsistent delivery of water and sewer service to new housing developments, and a lack of coordinated planning for growth. Cities like Blaine aren’t waiting for direction from the state or the Metropolitan Council. Blaine is using tax subsidies to attract businesses and build a new minor-league ballpark, and hopes to add hotels and apartments to turn the area into a major destination. That direction was approved by council staff, when it might have made more sense for the full council to debate what’s actually best for the region. A Regional Tax Model We’ve Used Before In the current system, cities often compete with each other to attract businesses and residents. Minnesota has tried a different approach before: the fiscal disparities program was designed to pool a share of commercial-industrial tax growth across the region specifically to reduce that kind of competition between cities. There are many ways to promote the region as a whole, but it starts at the top, with the governor. We need a governor focused on ensuring that Minneapolis remains the region’s largest engine of growth and continues to attract employers and investment. The governor can’t shy away from helping cities address homelessness, addiction, and housing out of concern for upsetting voters in less urban areas. The tax revenue generated here serves the entire state. HCMC and the Case for Regional Ownership During the most recent legislative session, advocates rallied around Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), arguing that it serves the entire Upper Midwest and needed state money to stay open. The argument held up, and the hospital received a financial reprieve. The next logical step is to treat the hospital as a regional institution rather than one that belongs to Hennepin County alone. It was clear to both legislators and the public that HCMC serves far more than Hennepin County residents, and that the county couldn’t carry the cost on its own. Matching Structure to Today’s Needs A realistic assessment of what’s best managed regionally versus what’s best left to local control would be a welcome move from the next governor. It’s easy to become rigid about who does what, but the region’s needs aren’t static. COVID changed how much public transportation is needed and where. Housing development is shaped by interest rates, material costs, and available land. And someone experiencing homelessness may receive services in Hennepin County one month and Ramsey County the next. Relinquishing local control can be difficult for elected officials and communities, but sometimes it’s the right call, and refusing to do so can hold the entire region back. Video Note: The video cut out on us around minute 54, but the audio continues for another 10 minutes. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe

    Why the Next Governor Needs a Regional Agenda

  8. Sep 9

    Your Dealer Is Not Your Friend

    On Labor Day, I rode my motorcycle to the Franconia Sculpture Garden. It’s a beautiful drive along the St. Croix River, and one I find relaxing. The weather was excellent, a few degrees cooler than the week before, which made for a pleasant ride. When I returned and took the exit for our neighborhood at 46th & 35W, the city’s stress was immediately upon me again. This intersection is populated day and night by people asking for money, on both exit ramps and on several corners leading up to the light. Sometimes someone looks as though they’re trying to raise money for their family or to get back on their feet. But for the most part, these are people asking for money to buy drugs. This time, a trio was hunched behind the electrical box, smoking from aluminum foil. One kept swaying sideways toward traffic. It’s a visceral experience to see this from a motorcycle. There’s no glass or steel between you and them, just a few feet of open air. There’s a temptation to put down the kickstand, walk over, and ask: Are you okay? Do you need me to call someone, a friend or family member? Does anyone in the group have Narcan? The light changes, and I drive through. On the other side, two more people are pressed against the highway wall, getting high. It occurs to me that the dealer must have just come through. Everyone has set down their cardboard signs to get their fix. It’s happening right there, within arm’s reach, and yet I feel powerless to help. I’m watching a group of people possibly kill themselves with fentanyl, and then I drive home. In 2024, 91 percent of opioid-related deaths in Minnesota involved fentanyl. That includes 48 deaths in Hennepin County’s District 3, 44 in Minneapolis, and 4 in St. Louis Park. Hennepin County overall saw 264 opioid-related overdose deaths. If one of those people climbed onto the overpass wall and threatened to jump onto the highway, police and fire crews would respond immediately. Yet what I witnessed that day raises no alarms at all. This experience is not unique to me. When I asked my editor whether she thought there were more people on street corners these days, she described a similar scene at a different intersection that left her shaken, desperate people wandering unsteadily through the intersection with little regard for traffic. That’s part of why it was disheartening to read the September 8 Star Tribune story “Minnesota closed three addiction centers, leaving dwindling treatment choices,” by Jessie Van Berkel. As of August 1, only two Community Addiction Recovery Enterprise (CARE) centers remained open, down from five. These centers accept people involuntarily committed by a judge who has found they’re likely to harm themselves or others and require treatment. Under federal regulations, pregnant women and intravenous drug users get priority for admission, followed by people in jail who should be in treatment instead. At the time the article was written, there were 53 people on waitlists. Last year, Minnesota saw 767 civil commitment cases due to chemical dependency. The state legislature approved $75 million to add 50 beds at the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center (AMRTC), which comes to $1.5 million per bed. The state is struggling to keep up with demand for treatment beds. Even if we committed every person feeding an addiction on street corners, we wouldn’t have enough service providers or facilities to treat them. Better Minneapolis is unlikely to interview the candidates for governor before the November election, but if we did, we’d ask: what is your plan for addressing the fentanyl and methamphetamine crisis? Talk to people who work in this field, and you’ll hear the same complaint again and again: a lack of coordination between departments. What’s needed is a governor willing to declare this a health emergency, the way the state did for COVID-19. That declaration would allow the state to override local county commissions and city councils and pursue a genuinely coordinated approach. A statewide task force with the authority to consolidate resources and direct their use may be the only way to change the current trajectory. We’re spending tens of millions of dollars on a disjointed approach that keeps falling short of what’s required. One way this task force could outperform the current system is by identifying available resources and directing their use. The former Hennepin County Home School comes to mind as one possible facility. It sits idle, and Anoka County can’t use it. Instead, that county will have to find or build its own facility, a process that will take years and cost significantly more. A state task force could direct the reopening of the Hennepin County Home School as a CARE facility. This kind of action makes sense on several levels. First, people in urgent need of treatment could receive it faster, which can be the difference between life and death. Second, it makes financial sense to keep people out of jails and emergency rooms. Without other options, jails and emergency rooms become de facto treatment centers, the most expensive and least effective choice available. Generally speaking, we favor local control, but some issues are best addressed at the state level. If a special tax were needed to fund a task force like this, it would have to pass at the state level. California has a 1 percent personal income tax surcharge on high earners (taxable income over $1 million) called the Mental Health Services Act. Oregon has a tax on cannabis and a Portland Metro Supportive Housing Services Tax (also a 1 percent tax on high earners), and a 1 percent business profits tax. Washington State has a Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Sales Tax, which allows counties to charge a 0.1 percent local sales tax. We’re not necessarily advocating for more taxes. What we’re asking for is more coordinated planning around how Minnesota addresses mental health and addiction services, so that cities, counties, and the state stop duplicating efforts, overspending, and stretching regulators too thin to be effective. If it turns out that an additional tax is needed, especially given the cuts we’re seeing to Medicaid at the federal level, we need to hold our elected officials to a high standard of accountability. They must show that additional money is tied to measurable outcomes. We can’t afford to let dedicated funds for mental health and chemical dependency become a black hole of wishful thinking and fraud. Our communities, cities and counties alike, are hurting because of this crisis. They need the state to do more if we’re going to address what is occurring in a serious manner. Consider that in cities like Portland, roughly half of police calls are related to drug and mental health crises. That statistic alone shows how the hidden costs of this epidemic continue to spiral. As with COVID-19, money spent now to stop the spread of this disease is money that, in time, becomes available for other priorities, or for keeping taxes down. If we do get the chance to interview the candidates for governor, we’ll ask them: How many deaths are an acceptable number before you commit the resources this problem demands? And how far are you willing to go to stop the spread of this disease? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe

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