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Are Minneapolis City Council members overpaid? And is Frey underpaid?

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Minneapolis City Council members are paid more than most of their peers — and the mayor is paid less — in comparable cities across the nation.

That’s the conclusion of a study commissioned by council members, who responded to it with quiet.

The city’s 13 council members are currently paid $109,846 a year, and Mayor Jacob Frey is paid $140,814 annually.

Neither of those figures will change for at least the next two years — the end of the council members’ elected terms — according to a resolution and annual budget unanimously approved by the council and signed by Frey. Under a process created by the council that follows state law, council members and the mayor set the salaries to take effect the next elected term, and run for the duration of those terms.

The study, completed by the city clerk’s office, found that of nine comparable cities and St. Paul, only Seattle pays its City Council more in cost-of-living-adjusted dollars than Minneapolis. Minneapolis taxpayers pay their council members nearly $29,000 more than the average of those nine cities.

Meanwhile, Frey’s salary is about $26,000 less than the average of those peer city’s mayors, including Mayor Melvin Carter in St. Paul, which has about 120,000 fewer residents.

It’s unclear how Minneapolis ended up this way, although its legacy of having a relatively weak mayor and strong council is a likely cause.

The council directed the clerk’s office to undertake the study after voters approved a 2021 ballot question changing the city’s government structure to a “strong-mayor, weak-council” system.

Like Minneapolis, all nine cities of comparable populations have a strong mayor and city council positions described as full time.

City Council

Over the past decade, Minneapolis City Council members have voted to give their next-term selves raises averaging about 2% a year. In 2014, they made $84,362. Across the nation, some cities give their elected officials regular raises, while others don’t.

What’s clear when comparing Minneapolis to a range of cities of generally comparable size and prominence — from Boston to Denver — is that Minneapolis pays more. The closest is Denver, which has about 200,000 more people and pays its 13 council members $110,596 in raw dollars. However, when adjusted to reflect the cost of labor in Minneapolis, their salaries would be comparable to a $106,107 salary in Minneapolis. Also: Denver council members double as Denver County board members in a consolidated system that’s different from the relationship between Minneapolis and Hennepin County.

Not everything is gravy for Minneapolis council members; in Atlanta and Milwaukee, council members get a city-provided car.

Mayor

For a “strong mayor,” Frey’s paycheck isn’t so brawny.

Mayors of the following cities all earn more than Frey: Atlanta; Boston; Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Milwaukee; Seattle; Tampa, Fla.; and St. Paul. Frey’s paycheck is fatter than his counterparts’ in Pittsburgh and Omaha, Neb. He does get a city-provided car, like his peers in all those cities except Denver and St. Paul, where the mayor’s salary is $146,182.

How St. Paul does it

Comparing Minneapolis to St. Paul is fraught because St. Paul is smaller and considers its seven council members part-time employees.

They’re paid half the mayor’s annual salary.

Will Minneapolis change?

Minneapolis Clerk Casey Carl presented findings to the council’s budget committee as their last item before debating the city budget earlier this month.

It’s unclear whether the next council, which will include 12 of the 13 members of the current council, will look to change any of the compensation. All 13 council seats and the mayor will be on the ballot in 2025, and the soonest any changes could take effect would be Jan. 1, 2026.

“Thank you, Clerk Carl, for that presentation,” Budget Committee Chair Emily Koski said after the presentation, looking to her colleagues. “Are there any questions? … Is there any further discussion?”

There was none.



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Klobuchar criticizes White for saying ‘bad guys won in World War II’

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The only debate between DFL U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and GOP challenger Royce White started Sunday on the street outside WCCO Radio.

As White approached the building, he loudly called some two dozen flag-waving and cheering Klobuchar supporters a “whole lot of commies.” The 33-year-old provocateur and podcaster also told them to thank Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney — who endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris — because there was “no chance in hell” that Harris would defeat Republican former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5.

Klobuchar, 64, had arrived moments earlier, smiling and wishing “good morning” to her supporters. Once inside, the two took questions for an hour from moderator Blois Olson. Their tone was generally polite with White often interrupting a Klobuchar response with, “rebuttal,” indicated he wanted to respond.

The senator repeatedly raised White’s claims on X, formerly Twitter, that “The bad guys won in World War II” and that there were “no good guys in that war.” She called that stance offensive to veterans.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar arrives at WCCO Radio for a debate with Royce White in Minneapolis on Sunday, Oct. 27. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii)

Klobuchar, who is seeking a fourth six-year term, portrayed herself as a pragmatist. She opened by saying that we live in “incredibly divisive times politically” but that she has listened and worked with Republicans to bring down shipping costs, drug prices for seniors and to help veterans and push for more housing and child care.

“Courage in this next few years is not going to be standing by yourself yelling at people,” she said, her opening allusion to White’s rhetoric, which she said is often vulgar.

White, a former NBA player, is a political novice, but a close ally of Steve Bannon, the jailed former chief strategist for Trump and right wing media executive. Last summer, White won the state GOP endorsement to run against Klobuchar.

“Our country’s coming undone at the seams. I think we can change that,” White said in his opening statement. He said he threatens the status quo, decried the “permanent political class” and referred to the two major parties as the “uniparty.”



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Satellite images show damage from Israeli attack at 2 secretive Iranian military bases

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Other buildings destroyed at Khojir and Parchin likely included buildings where Iran used industrial mixers to create the solid fuel needed for its extensive ballistic missile arsenal, Eveleth said.

In a statement issued immediately after the attack Saturday, the Israeli military said it targeted ”missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.”

Destroying such sites could greatly disrupt Iran’s ability to manufacture new ballistic missiles to replenish its arsenal after the two attacks on Israel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees the country’s ballistic missile program, has been silent since Saturday’s attack.

Iran’s overall ballistic missile arsenal, which includes shorter-range missiles unable to reach Israel, was estimated to be ”over 3,000” by Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, in testimony to the U.S. Senate in 2022. In the time since, Iran has fired hundreds of the missiles in a series of attacks.

There have been no videos or photos posted to social media of missile parts or damage in civilian neighborhoods following the recent attack — suggesting that the Israeli strikes were far more accurate that Iran’s ballistic missile barrages targeting Israel in April and October. Israel relied on aircraft-fired missiles during its attack.

However, one factory appeared to have been hit in Shamsabad Industrial City, just south of Tehran near Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main gateway to the outside world. Online videos of the damaged building corresponded to an address for a firm known as TIECO, which advertises itself as building advanced machinery used in Iran’s oil and gas industry.



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This Rochester MN school police officer used to be a narcotics cop

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Some take him up on it and fret when he’s not around.

“It is nice to be missed and be part of the school’s culture,” Arzola said. But mostly, he added, he wants kids to know that police aren’t around just for when the bad stuff happens. He’ll hand out his stickers and bracelets, even a trading card bearing his image. Then, they’ll talk about dogs and family.

School resource officer Al Arzola talks to students in his office at John Adams Middle School in Rochester on Oct. 11. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Two months ago, Rochester played host to a three-day training session for new SROs from across the state — an event organized by the Minnesota School Safety Center. On the final day, the 26 officers learned about surveillance challenges at the other school where Arzola works: Dakota Middle School.

It is a beautiful building with a scenic view. There is a lot of glass, too. Arzola, handling the role of instructor and tour guide, took the group outside and noted how one could look straight through the entrance to the large groups that gather inside. There were no curbs in front, either.

“There is nothing stopping any vehicle whatsoever from going through my front doors,” Arzola told the officers. “Law enforcement wasn’t talked to before this building was made. It was kind of like, ‘Here it is. You’re the SRO. Do what you do.’”

He showed them his office, too, which is separate from the main office and near those of other school support staff members. That makes sense, said Jenny Larrive, SRO coordinator for the Minnesota School Safety Center, given than SROs spend more time connecting with youth than on actual law enforcement.



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