Star Tribune
University of Minnesota police will now handle calls near campus, as MPD staffing declines
Starting this week, the University of Minnesota Police Department will take the lead in responding to all 911 calls near its Twin Cities-East Bank campus as part of a new aid agreement with Minneapolis police.
UMPD’s jurisdiction has historically been limited to property owned or leased by the college, though its officers frequently assist other departments investigating crimes reported in the areas surrounding campuses that span three cities. Responding to a staffing shortage in the Minneapolis Police Department, UMPD will be responsible for all emergency calls in a busy swath of Dinkytown, a Minneapolis area occupied by mostly students, per the new agreement that went into effect Monday.
In a Board of Regents meeting earlier this month, UMPD Chief Matt Clark said Minneapolis police have had “limited capacity” to respond to 911 calls in recent years, “and many of our campus community folks are waiting a long time to get a response from MPD based on historic low [staffing] numbers.”
Clark said UMPD is also stretched thin on staffing, but the department felt a responsibility to help fill the need near campus.
UMPD will respond to all calls in an area covering University Ave to 4th Street SE, and 35-W to Oak Street SE, said university spokesman Jake Ricker.
Last year, UMPD responded to more than 20,000 calls — 10% off campus — Clark told the Regents this month. He said the department employs 58 officers, 15 short of being fully staffed, and they’ve been working overtime to step up patrols at night and on weekends near campus.
At the same time, violent crime in Dinkytown has dropped about 60% since 2021, Clark said.
The Marcy Holmes neighborhood, which includes Dinkytown, as a whole saw violent crime increase by 50% in 2021 compared to 2019, tracking with a citywide trend of rising violent crime beginning in 2020, according to Minneapolis police data.
Star Tribune data reporter Jeff Hargarten contributed to this story.
“This is an area that swings back and forth depending on the election cycle, and it’s an area that really can deliver those decisive votes for candidates in a statewide election,” said Anthony Chergosky, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor. “If the Harris-Walz ticket can develop a brand that helps them stop the party’s slide in rural Wisconsin, then that will massively help their path to victory.”
Both presidential campaigns have spent considerable time in Wisconsin. Trump recently visited the state four times in a span of eight days. Harris held rallies in La Crosse and Green Bay earlier this month, and Walz made stops in Eau Claire, Green Bay and Madison. Walz told a crowd gathered at a “Students for Harris-Walz” event in Eau Claire that “it’s very realistic to believe that this race will be won going through Wisconsin.”
Though both campaigns have made frequent visits to the Badger State, their stops appear to be geared toward shoring up their respective bases, retired GOP strategist Brandon Scholz said.
“I think Tim Walz’s job right now in Wisconsin, from what he’s saying and where he’s going and what he’s doing, is, ‘let’s make sure 99 percent of our voters turn out, because we need every single one of them because of how close Wisconsin is,’” Scholz said. “To date, neither he nor Harris have communicated a message to bring in those undecideds, ticket splitters.”
Ryan O’Gara is one of those undecideds. The 47-year-old Christian conservative lives in the village of Downing, some 20 miles northwest of Menomonie and home to about 230 people. O’Gara said he sees mostly Trump signs around his town, but he isn’t a fan of either nominee and likely will sit out this election.
Asked what he thought of Walz, O’Gara referred to him as “far-left.” He said he disagrees with allowing gender-affirming health care services for minors. Walz signed a bill into law last year making Minnesota a refuge for people seeking gender-affirming care.
But then, they were Lutherans.
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“It’s time for a hostage deal and cease-fire that ensures Israel is secure, all hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination,” Walz said on this year’s anniversary of Hamas’ 2023 attacks on Israel.
Polls indicate Minnesota will likely break for Harris, but in states where margins will be much tighter, some protest voters are choosing to vote for Harris despite their reservations.
Roman Fritz of Oconomowoc, Wis., voted early for Harris on Wednesday, he said, even though he remains deeply frustrated with her stance on the war.
Neither he nor Engelhart want to see Trump win. The Uncommitted National Movement has been trying to carve out a middle ground between opposing Trump and supporting Harris, with leaders saying a Trump presidency would be worse for Palestinians, and warning that votes for third-party candidates could result in a win for Trump. But the group declined to offer its endorsement to Harris.
Similarly, Fritz said, he did not feel he should talk his friends into voting for Harris, especially Palestinian American friends who have lost loved ones in Gaza.
“I do want her to win,” Fritz said, but, “I’m not going to campaign for her.”
