Star Tribune
Minneapolis looks at new taxes amid plummeting downtown values
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is considering new taxes as downtown property values plummet and city costs go up.
Frey said he will “bring experts together” to look at “new revenue streams” in the coming months to ease the burden shifting onto residential property.
Most of the changes being floated would require approval from state lawmakers.
Property taxes are the largest revenue source for the city’s general fund. But with high vacancy rates and office towers selling at deep discounts – one pair of downtown towers recently sold for 9% of the price paid five years ago – in this new post-pandemic work paradigm, they are worth less, so their owners will pay less in taxes.
In August, Frey proposed an 8.1% increase in the amount raised from property taxes next year to fund his proposed $1.9 billion annual budget. That’s the biggest tax increase since the mid-2000s, fueled by inflation, higher city employee salaries, millions required for police reforms, and the loss of federal pandemic funds.
The city had a projected deficit of nearly $22 million before Frey made adjustments to balance his budget proposal. During the Sept. 18 meeting of the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation, Frey said the additional revenue could offset shortfalls projected in 2025 and beyond.
Council President Elliott Payne said at the meeting he will “be in partnership” with Frey when it comes to raising new revenue, saying the council has a “huge appetite” to look closely at the budget and identify opportunities to keep the property tax burden as low as possible.
Steve Brandt, president of the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET), said he thought the mayor’s proposed tax increase was too high but would support it if Frey took a serious look at diversified revenue sources so the city doesn’t depend on property tax revenue “ad infinitum.”
Star Tribune
Guilty of gun, drug counts against Derrick Thompson, still charged with killing 5 in crash
A federal jury Friday returned guilty verdicts on gun and drug charges against Derrick John Thompson in connection with the Minneapolis crash that killed five women in June 2023 after he sped off Interstate 35W in and slammed into the car they were riding in.
The verdicts on the fourth day of the trial in U.S. District Court in St. Paul were guilty for all counts: possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm “during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.”
While Thompson, 28, of Brooklyn Park and the son of former DFL state Rep. John Thompson, now awaits sentencing in this case, he also has third-degree murder and criminal vehicular homicide charges pending in Hennepin County in connection with the crash. In the meantime, he remains in federal custody in the Sherburne County jail.
The crash victims were Sabiriin Ali, 17, of Bloomington; Sahra Gesaade, 20, of Brooklyn Center; Salma Abdikadir, 20, of St. Louis Park; Sagal Hersi, 19, of Minneapolis, and Siham Adam, 19, of Minneapolis. On the night they were killed, the women were heading home after running errands before a friend’s wedding the next day. Their funeral was attended by thousands, and an online fundraiser to support the victims’ families raised more than $450,000.
A still image from body cam footage shows a bleeding Derrick Thompson near the scene of the crash that killed five women in June 2023 in Minneapolis. (U.S. District Court)
During this week’s federal trial, Thompson’s defense attorneys argued that the drugs and a loaded Glock pistol with an extended magazine discovered in the Escalade actually belong to his brother Damarco John Thompson — whom both the prosecution and defense said was a passenger in the SUV and fled the scene along with Derrick Thompson.
Damarco Thompson has not been arrested or charged with any crimes connected to the crash.
Police found three phones in the car, one for each brother and another they shared. They found video, text and voice messages on Derrick Thompson’s phone documenting narcotics being weighed for sale and negotiations over drug purchases.
A black leather bag carrying the gun and drugs was found beneath a distinctive blue cap Damarco Thompson was captured wearing earlier that night as he dropped Derrick off to rent the Escalade at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The bag held a loaded Glock handgun with an extended magazine and more than 2,000 blue pills containing fentanyl, 14 grams of powdered fentanyl and 35 grams of cocaine.
DULUTH – The memorial service for an unassuming northern Minnesota park ranger who died while attempting to rescue a Wisconsin family amid wind and wicked waves on Namakan Lake is set for Sunday in the gymnasium at Falls High School in International Falls.
Grossheim, 55, died Sunday trying to bring to safety a man and his two sons, who were stranded on an island. Five-to-eight foot waves were reportedly rolling on the lake in Voyageurs National Park. Grossheim’s park service boat capsized. The family was able to swim to safety, but the longtime park ranger known for his commitment to safety did not resurface. His body was found hours later. Grossheim was wearing a life preserver, according to law enforcement officials.
Betsey Warrington of Kabotegama, Minn., described Grossheim as a private, unassuming person who everyone loved. He likely did thousands of good things that no one ever heard about, she said.
“If he saw something that needed to be done, he just did it,” she said Friday.
Grossheim, of Kabotegama, married Jill Chytil in 1996 and together they lived a quiet life.
Various organizations have banded together to support Grossheim’s family in the aftermath.
The MN 100 Club, which provides financial contributions for lost wages and funeral expenses when a First Responder is killed or critically injured in the line of duty, said this week that it will give $50,000 to Grossheim’s family.
“It will still be pretty low, and it’ll set before the sky gets completely dark,” she said. “That’s the trade-off here. This weekend is when it’s going to be its brightest, but it’s also not in the sky when it’s dark,” Brummel said.
If you look to the west, you can probably see Venus, the really bright planet. Then scan to the right of Venus. If you have a pair of binoculars, just point them on Venus, and then slowly scan toward the right to see the comet, she said.
This comet is getting a lot of notice because it’s a rare comet that’s bright enough to see even through the light pollution of cities. A spot with a clear view of the western horizon, without trees or buildings in the way is good.
But the farther away from the city you get, with less light pollution, the better it will look.
