Recent content from Susan Du
Minneapolis 'safety-beyond-policing' department under scrutiny for $1M contract request
City Council members have expressed concerns over how the Neighborhood Safety Department is considering contracts.
Halloween costume party brings out north Minneapolis families
Project Refocus, a nonprofit founded by KB Brown, threw its annual Halloween party at the Capri Theater.
Saving this Brooklyn Park apartment complex was a yearslong ordeal. Now its owner plans to sell.
Huntington Place, a refuge for more than 2,500 low-income residents, hasn't been able to maintain cash flow. Nonprofit owner Aeon plans to close its sale to investment firm Mas Capital by year's end.
Hamline-Midway group launches campaign to address neighborhood problems
Residents want to tackle trash, vacant nuisance properties, business drain, homelessness and addiction at Snelling and University, the gateway to the neighborhood.
Migrating birds are crashing into Minneapolis buildings. Bird lovers have been out counting them.
Volunteers with the local Audubon chapter catalogued bird strikes during the spring and fall migrations this year to raise awareness for solutions.
What's behind the stereotype that Minnesotans don't like spicy food?
Conventional wisdom holds that many of the state's residents just can't handle the heat.
Park Board OKs Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park fencing plan to restrict access
The Minneapolis Park Board approved the project, which would fence off areas that technically aren't a part of the sprawling dog park but have been used that way for decades.
Minneapolis symbols of 2020 civil unrest still in development
Efforts to redevelop George Floyd Square, the burned Third Precinct police station and new "community safety centers" meant to replace it have been enmeshed in thorny community negotiations.
Anonymous donor steps up to save downtown Minneapolis homeless shelter
A private donor is matching the city of Minneapolis' $1.5 million in emergency funds to repair Agate Housing's shelter.
Homeless medical respite facility advances over Uptown business objections
Lakeshore Care still needs City Council approval and state licenses to provide recuperative care for homeless patients on Lake Street in Uptown.
What does Aquatennial have to do with Minneapolis' bloody 1934 Teamsters strike?
The summertime celebration aimed to unite the city and restore its image.
Woman arrested in attack of homeless shelter in north Minneapolis, police say
Security camera footage corroborates the shelter's story of the attack, showing the violence occurred in two stages on the night of Sept. 5 when police were not present.
Minneapolis neighbors attacked family homeless shelter residents, agency says
St. Anne's Place has been vacated after residents were attacked last week, staff said, and the incident was captured on camera. Five days later there have been no arrests.
Minnesota affordable housing nonprofit hopes to raise $65 million amid 'general distress'
CommonBond Communities has launched the largest capital campaign in its history to improve its housing stock amid "multiple pandemics" and insufficient public subsidies.
Minneapolis City Council members propose emergency funding to save downtown shelter, food shelf
Agate Housing announced last month it would have to close its homeless shelter and food shelf downtown without at least $3 million for critical repairs.
Minneapolis City Council approves year extension for activists to purchase Roof Depot for indoor urban farm
The City Council, with Frey's support, agreed to give East Phillips Neighborhood Institute an additional year to raise $5.7 million still needed to buy the former roofing warehouse.
Uber, Lyft drivers sue advocacy organization that pushed for wage hikes in Minneapolis, allege fraud
Six drivers are suing the Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association (MULDA), accusing leader Eid Ali of using the nonprofit to enrich himself.
Agate Housing workers speak out about coming closure of downtown Minneapolis homeless shelter
Without emergency funding to make critical repairs, the building will go into vacancy and eventually have to be sold.
Workers at Minneapolis' May Day Cafe are raising money to buy it as a co-op
After beloved Powderhorn Park watering hole May Day Cafe was put up for sale, its longtime workers organized to buy it and turn it into a cooperative.
Minneapolis hopes a tougher vacancy policy will clean up its most stubborn nuisance properties
The new ordinance imposes a time limit and higher fees on property owners holding on to vacant buildings.
Minnesota Supreme Court declines to review 2040 Plan ruling in latest victory for Minneapolis
Citizen groups sued the city to study the environmental impacts of increasing density, but the city successfully lobbied for a new state law designed to kill the lawsuit.
Elliot Park neighbors forge new bonds to fight opioid crisis
A recharged neighborhood association is trying to forge stronger connections in a pocket of Minneapolis struggling with drugs.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey proposes 8.1% property tax levy hike in 2025
Residents will likely feel the brunt of the increase — the highest in at least 20 years. And a bigger increase is envisioned for 2026.
Minneapolis Public Housing Authority completes sprinkler installation at all 42 high-rises
The public housing authority committed to upgrading all its high-rises after tenants were killed in a fire at the Cedar High Apartments in 2019.
Upcoming expansion of Kimball Court Apartments fuels anxiety in struggling Hamline-Midway
Owner Beacon Interfaith plans to expand homeless units from 76 to 98, but neighbors distrust the nonprofit's ability to manage it.
Teamsters, striking Minneapolis park workers to mark 90th anniversary of strike that led to the creation of the National Labor Relations Act
Event Saturday in Minnehaha Park will commemorate the 1934 Minneapolis truckers strike, a bloody, six-month clash that made the city a union town.
Striking workers shut down Minneapolis Park Board meeting with three-hour protest
A majority of commissioners chose not to discuss a resolution to settle contract negotiations between the Park Board and Laborers Local 363.
Minneapolis officials release options for redesign of George Floyd Square area
The city unveiled three street concepts and five ideas for the former gas station.
Judge dismisses ACLU-Minnesota's homeless encampment lawsuit
The four-year lawsuit represented formerly homeless people who had their belongings seized in 2020.
Uptown businesses organize against proposed medical respite homeless shelter
Lakeshore Care wants to bring a 24-bed center to the struggling Minneapolis business district for homeless people to stay temporarily as they recuperate after hospitalization.
Minneapolis park labor talks break down again over disagreement over wage facts
The Minneapolis park workers strike has persisted 15 days, leading to cancelled concerts and delayed storm cleanup.
Activists miss funding deadline for Roof Depot purchase in Mpls.
The city will start the process of terminating the purchase agreement on Tuesday, triggering a final 60-day period for the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute to come up with $5.7 million.
Minneapolis is on the leading edge of biochar, a carbon sequestering material full of promise and still under research
By this fall, Minneapolis aims to be one of the first American cities to produce a carbon-removing charcoal for construction, agriculture and potentially carbon banking.
Tensions rise between unions, restaurant owners over proposed labor standards board
As the City Council considers a proposed Labor Standards Board, there is a widening gap between what supporters and opponents think it will entail.
Dakota community leads reclamation of land near St. Anthony Falls for traditional use
Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, formerly Friends of the Falls, selected an Indigenous-led design team for a multiyear ecological restoration of 5 acres of federal land in downtown Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Park Board quickly reverses stance, welcoming striking workers back on Thursday
Minneapolis park workers with Laborers 363 are in the middle of a seven-day strike over stalled contract negotiations, leading to canceled summer concerts.
Monday night concert at Harriet Bandshell canceled due to park workers strike
Union musicians are calling off performances in support of the park workers strike.
Peace House, a decades-old south Minneapolis community center, facing volunteer shortage
Staffing needs have increased amid a decline in volunteers, sparking tension with neighbors and financially unmooring the organization.
Experts working to end homelessness in Minnesota say high court ruling will make jobs harder
In the most significant case on homelessness in 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Ninth Circuit Court ruling finding it cruel and unusual to criminalize homeless people for sleeping in public when there is no shelter available. The ruling has ramifications for Minnesotan cities trying to balance boundaries of behavior in public places and helping chronically homeless people find permanent homes.
Upper Harbor affordable housing project delayed, may need tweaking
Financing complications are pushing back the construction timeline of all affordable housing buildings planned for the Upper Harbor site in north Minneapolis, and developers say they may need to reimagine the plans.
Frey, legislators tout new law designed to end 2040 Plan lawsuit
A citizens' lawsuit seeking to force Minneapolis to conduct an environmental study on the plan continues for now.
First phase of $126 million V3 aquatic fitness center officially opens in north Minneapolis
The new center so far includes two pools, a fitness center and Soul Bowl restaurant.
Restaurateurs ask Minneapolis to drop plan to create Labor Standards Board
Minneapolis restaurant operators are ramping up their opposition to a proposed policy-recommending body that they fear could raise the cost of doing business.
Why did Minneapolis bury Bassett Creek?
The waterway was used as an industrial dumping ditch. Then city leaders tunneled it out of sight.
Turf fight over Minnehaha Academy athletic field plan sours neighborhood relations
Minnehaha Academy is asking the city for permission to build a new synthetic field with 80-feet-tall floodlights for night games and rentals. Direct neighbors say the school is sidelining their concerns.
Lease renewal prompts friction between Minneapolis Park Board and Boys and Girls Club
Lease renewal prompts friction between Minneapolis Park Board and Boys and Girls Club.
2 other officers who fired in Minneapolis shooting that killed officer ID'd
Two Minneapolis police who had each been on the job for a decade fired their weapons on Thursday, according to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The Dundry: A case study in how soaring security costs are threatening affordable housing
A deeply affordable apartment building near I-35 and I-94 was repeatedly broken into and set on fire before being razed in May, providing a case study in the challenges of sustaining older, deeply affordable housing.
Minneapolis' $18M crime prevention effort questioned after contracts unpaid
The city stopped paying violence interrupters with little explanation.
Minneapolis homelessness crisis keeps moving — to the same places
In his first mayoral campaign, Mayor Jacob Frey vowed to end homelessness in five years. It's proven to be one of the most intractable problems of his time in office.
Greenwashing or good stewardship? Minneapolis Park Board set to consider extending carbon offset program
As the board's partnership with Green Cities Accord enters its third year, energy companies are beginning to buy carbon offset credits generated from park trees to claim they're reducing emissions.
Is Minneapolis' bird-safe glass ordinance saving avian lives?
A city ordinance passed in 2016 requires new skyways to have bird-safe glass. A citizen science project is hitting the streets to test its efficacy.
Appeals court reverses 2040 Plan injunction; Minneapolis to revive stalled developments
Smart Growth Minneapolis has vowed to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court as the Legislature considers whether to intervene in an environmental lawsuit that has interrupted the construction of multifamily housing throughout the city.
New ownership, management coming to troubled Bii Di Gain senior apartments
Elders living in the Minneapolis housing complex have been protesting in recent months, accusing management of failing to perform maintenance.
InnerCity Tennis nominated to run health and wellness hub at north Minneapolis Upper Harbor development
Developer United Properties unveiled the nonprofit tennis organization as its preferred anchor tenant for a key parcel dedicated to health and wellness.
East Phillips urban farm pushing forward as funding uncertainty threatens Roof Depot sale
The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute is busy recruiting tenants to move into the Roof Depot warehouse in Minneapolis and shaping a community ownership model. But first it has to close on the building.
Star Wars superfans celebrate May 4th with ritual movie marathons, blue milk, costumes and community
The story has special meaning to those who relate to finding hope through darkness in their own lives.
Where to celebrate Star Wars Day (May the 4th) in Minneapolis and St. Paul
From stormtrooping for charity to block parties, break up the monotony of this gloomy spring with Star Wars events across the Twin Cities.
Help on the way for north Minneapolis neighborhood prone to extreme flooding
Several low-lying blocks of the Cleveland neighborhood have weathered excess storm water for decades. New flood modeling finally has identified the area as a priority for street and sewer improvements.
New director of Minneapolis Animal Care and Control is longtime abuse investigator Tony Schendel
Schendel will be in charge of navigating the city's animal control unit through challenges with overcrowding and an uptick in neglect cases.
Minneapolis to set up Lake Street Community Safety Center, and wants residents' help to define it
A temporary community safety center on the immigrant business corridor, followed by a permanent one coming to 2633 Minnehaha Av., aim to reinvigorate public safety in south Minneapolis.
Minneapolis City Council declines to endorse Frey's Third Precinct plan
Council members meeting as a committee did not lend their support to Mayor Jacob Frey's proposal to turn the burned-out police station into a voter center; the mayor says he'll move forward with plans anyway.
Single adults turned away from Hennepin emergency homeless shelters 4,000 times in 2023
Shelter beds were used more than 167,700 times during the same period.
Old newspaper boxes become life-savers as Twin Cities self-serve dispensaries
Jim Barrett and Andrew Kamin-Lyndgaard of Minneapolis created Little Free Libraries for naloxone and fentanyl testing strips as part of a growing effort to expand access to the overdose-reversing medicine.
With shortage of investigators, majority of Minneapolis arsons go unsolved
More than 200 fires were intentionally set in 2022 and 2023, but only a handful resulted in criminal charges.
Campus group accuses University of Minnesota of directing censorship against Palestinians
Magrath Library supervisors removed a book display that was curated by a student worker.
Minneapolis City Council votes to delay start of rideshare wage ordinance
The council voted unanimously Thursday to push the start date of a new policy to July 1, saying it will give new rideshare companies time to start up and fill gaps if Uber and Lyft leave the city.
Mpls. City Council may postpone start of Uber, Lyft pay ordinance
Council President Elliott Payne is willing to extend the start date for Minneapolis' new rideshare wage ordinance from May 1 to July 1; such a change will still require a full council vote.
Frey joins business, disability and senior advocates to urge reversal of Minneapolis' Uber, Lyft vote
The City Council is scheduled to take up the question of whether to reconsider the ordinance in its meeting Thursday; Uber and Lyft have said they'll leave if it goes into effect May 1.
Park Board workers say caring for Minneapolis parks isn't the job it used to be
As union negotiations intensify around the high cost of living, Park Board maintenance workers say love for parks is the only thing keeping them around.
Mpls. wants to turn burned Third Precinct into community space
After deciding police should not return to 3000 Minnehaha Av., city staff proposed the Lake Street building for the new home of Elections and Voter Services.
Drug use resource hub opens in north Minneapolis after state legalizes safe injection sites
Minnesota Overdose Awareness opened the center at 3859 Fremont Av. N. on Tuesday with the blessing of the Webber-Camden Neighborhood Organization.
Minneapolis says it will offer George Floyd Square vision by end of 2024
Another year of engagement around the intersection aims to define the city's role in future memorials, street design requirements and ownership of a former gas station-turned-protest space.
Pickleball craze breathes new life into old downtown Minneapolis office buildings
After a major tenant bailed, Mike Marinovich transformed the second floor of 1200 Washington Av. S. into the sound-proof Minneapolis Pickleball Club, and it's beckoning people back to the city.
City, parks and watershed district team up to repair Minnehaha Creek, clean up Lake Hiawatha
After a decade of work pairing creek improvements with redevelopment projects in the western suburbs, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is starting to focus on water problems in Minneapolis.
![Voters take to the polls as the doors open at the Bloomington Civic Plaza in Bloomington, MN on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. ] Elizabeth Flores • liz.fl](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/MLW4ENYSLVFUHOVAZ6AJLAPDOI.jpg?w=600&h=600&auto=format%2Ccompress&cs=tinysrgb)