Mill City Hall: Minneapolis politics, slightly ground down

Police Chief Resigns Just Weeks After Nomination

Just weeks after Mayor Frey challenged the City Council to support the re-nomination of his Police Chief, that same Chief has resigned under threat of discharge by that same Mayor. It is hard to remember a more dramatic climbdown in recent city politics. But for this Mayor, it is one of a series of high profile public safety hires to end in disappointment. We talk through what was said, speculate on what actually happened, review the last four years of MPD leadership, and talk about what could and should happen next. Stick around past hour two if you want some Rocco Forte talk. Recorded 5/27/26. Read the show notes and find links for further reading [https://millcityhall.com/episodes/2026-06-01-ohara-resigns/index.html]

The Basically Serious State of the City

Mayor Frey instructed us to basically get serious in his annual State of the City address. Or to seriously get back to the basics? Whatever the case, it was a somewhat jarring call for goverment to do less after Minneapolis communities went above and beyond to push out ICE. Cam and Jesse talk through the speech, and ask what a parallel address by a more visionary mayor might have sounded like, in this historic moment. We also recap the victory at the Charter Commission. Recorded 5/20/26. Read the show notes and find links for further reading [https://millcityhall.com/episodes/2026-05-26-state-of-city/index.html]

Interview: Chicago Bike Grid, Now!

The vision: build pedestrian and bike safety on 10% of all streets - 450 miles - connected in a grid throughout Chicago. Mill City Hall is in the Windy City this week, and we interviewed Charna Albert and Chris Buie-Gentry from the Chicago Bike Grid, Now! steering committee. Turns out they have built some real momentum, with endorsements from mayoral candidates and legislation moving at the state level. What can we learn this efforts to create a truly systemic solution for active transportation? Recorded 5/11/26. Read the show notes and find links for further reading [https://millcityhall.com/episodes/2026-05-15-chicago-bike-grid-now/index.html]

The Charter Commission Must Be Destroyed?

Once again the Mpls Charter Commission has proposed to diminish the power of the City Council, this time with confusing amendment language that would strip from the the Council the ability to review a number of high-level city staff appointments. This does not come out of the blue: we trace the lineage of people using the Charter Commission as a decisive instrument of City Father-style politics over the last decade. We also discuss what democracy means to us at the local level, and how that intersects with shifts to government structure and unelected bodies putting a finger on the scale. Recorded 4/29/26. Read the show notes and find links for further reading [https://millcityhall.com/episodes/2026-05-04-charter-comm-appointments/index.html]

Past the Platitudes: County Attorney Candidates w/ Darcy Sherman, public defender

There is a spectre haunting the Hennepin County Attorney race... and that spectre is Mary Moriarty... who is NOT running. That leaves a full field of candidates in this open race. We welcome special guest Darcy Sherman, 13-year public defender here in Hennepin. Did you know that this office is considered the largest law firm in the state? We learned what the work looks like behind the scenes, and looked past the platitudes and figure out how to evaluate this hugely powerful position. Recorded 4/15/26. Read the show notes and find links for further reading [https://millcityhall.com/episodes/2026-04-21-county-attorney-candidates/index.html]