Star Tribune
Consent decree monitor publishes plan for implementing Minneapolis police reforms
The MDHR agreement is expected to last at least four years. An anticipated consent decree by the U.S. Department of Justice, which has yet to be finalized, could span upward of a decade.
Managing those dual reform efforts will cost an estimated $16 million in 2024 and $11 million in 2025. “Change isn’t cheap,” Mayor Jacob Frey said in the annual budget address last spring.
Chief Brian O’Hara, who was hired in 2022 in large part due to his experience helping lead Newark, N.J., through a federal consent decree, said Minneapolis must create a “self-correcting” police department that can remain intact long after a monitor leaves.
Last year, MPD launched its Implementation Unit, staffed by three sworn officers and roughly two dozen civilian analysts, dedicated to improved data collection and achieving broader compliance.
In a recent quarterly review session examining traffic stops, O’Hara made suggestions on how officers could bolster community relations: introduce yourself by name, identify what agency you work for and be direct — tell the motorist why they’re being pulled over, rather than making them guess.
LAFAYETTE, Wis. — About 25 children and adults were injured Wednesday when a wagon carrying them overturned at a western Wisconsin apple orchard.
The children, parents and chaperones were on a field trip to the orchard in Lafayette when one of two wagons being pulled by a tractor turned sideways and rolled over, Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes told reporters. Hakes said the tractor was traveling at a low speed when the wagon rolled over while going downhill.
Three people suffered critical injuries, while injuries to five others were considered serious. Authorities didn’t say how many of the injured were children.
The elementary school-age children attend a school in Eau Claire. Lafayette is northeast of Eau Claire.
After about five minutes and several warnings that students participating in the protest would be suspended,, the protesters exited Northrop and Cunningham continued her speech. They later gathered outside on the mall afterwards to shout, “Cunningham, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Cunningham recounted the story of Norman Borlaug, the U alumnus and agronomist whose research in wheat saved millions from starvation, and said she would prioritize keeping a college education affordable for students.
Cunningham actually took over presidential duties on July 1, replacing Interim President Jeff Ettinger. She oversees a budget of more than $4 billion to run the university’s five campuses, which enrolled more than 68,000 students and employed 27,000 people during the last academic year.
She was chosen for the job last winter over two other candidates: Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. She is the U’s second woman president, following Joan Gabel who held the office from 2019 to 2023.
Cunningham will be paid more than $1 million per year — about $975,000 in base pay and an additional $120,000 in retirement contributions. The compensation puts her in the top quarter of Big Ten university presidents.
Sgt. Gordon Blackey, once a security guard to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, allegedly admitted to tracking the woman’s movements in her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
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