City Briefs - June 2025

Airport construction
The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) has scheduled maintenance work this spring and summer that may affect flight patterns and noise levels in south Minneapolis. Runway closures and reroutes were planned for April 14 to May 23, and Aug. 18 to Sept. 26, during most of the peak summer travel season.

DFL City Council Convention
Southwest Wards 10 and 11 had Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) city council endorsement conventions on May 31. In Ward 10, there was no endorsement and Aisha Chughtai and Lydia Millard are both continuing their campaigns. In Ward 11, Jamison Whiting was endorsed with 148 (77%) of the 193 delegates. Mariam DeMello received 39 (20%) votes. At the convention DeMello said she would end her campaign, but is now reconsidering. “I’m still in the process of deciding my next steps,” she said on June 9. “I’ve heard from many residents who’ve encouraged me to stay in the race because they want thoughtful, pragmatic leadership – someone focused on core city services, collaboration, and delivering real results. I also hope others from our community will consider stepping up to run. We need more voices and more choices in this conversation.”

Household hazardous waste
Hennepin County is holding community collection events this summer where people can dispose of garden and household hazardous waste. Waste will be accepted on Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 27 and 28 at St. Louis Park Middle School, and Aug. 8 and 9 at South High School.

MPD off-duty fees
Last month the city released a study that found that fees of $6.99/hour without a squad car and $27.58/hour with a squad car would recover the costs of city law enforcement personnel working for private entities, which they are currently allowed to do when off duty. It is estimated that this could cover roughly $1.4 million this is currently being subsidized by taxpayers and $300,000 in new revenue that is needed to improve tracking and administration.

Park and Portland Avenues
Hennepin County will hold an open house on June 26 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the American Swedish Institute (2600 Park Avenue) to share a design concept for Park and Portland avenues (county roads 33 and 35) between Interstate 94 and 46th Street E (county road 46). Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027. To learn more visit www.beheardhennepin.org/park-and-portland 

City council’s budget priorities
The city council has released budget priorities for the 2026 budget that the mayor will be proposing in August. Council members ranked strategic priorities in order of importance as follows: Affordable Housing & Homelessness, Community Safety & Police Reform; Economic Inclusion & Living Wage Jobs, Racial Equity & Disparity Reduction, Climate Action & Environmental Justice, Public Health & Wellbeing, Effective Public Services & Public Service Access, Transportation, Infrastructure, & Public Space, Good Governance & Civic Participation, and, Arts, Culture, & Historical Preservation. They also identified areas of over investment and under investment and the range of property tax levy increase they would be comfortable supporting.

Tourism improvement district
The city has passed an ordinance that creates a new Tourism Improvement District to support the city’s hospitality industry. Under the ordinance, hotel guests will be charged a 2% fee on room rentals. This could generate up to $7 million annually to be used for marketing, workforce training, and special events to help the city compete more effectively for conventions, major events, and visitors that could help bring in revenue to the city, throughout the year and especially in the winter months.