Minneapolis in Denial: A City in Crisis

Carol Becker’s piece captured what city leaders refuse to admit: Minneapolis IS in denial. The rot isn’t subtle, it’s visible on every corner, from the encampments to the open air drug dens, from the unchecked thefts to the casual violence that now defines daily life. And the city council, mired in self-congratulation and ideological paralysis, has done nothing to change it.

Take Nicollet Mall. Once the crown jewel of downtown, now a cautionary tale. Poor lonely Mary Tyler Moore! Post police or private security on every corner for ten blocks, but no one feels safe walking on Nicollet after dark. Tourists and locals alike describe it as chaotic, the kind of place where “sketchy” is an understatement. Good ideas have been floated but no action has been taken. Similar ideas have been floated and implemented in Anoka, ANOKA! Meanwhile, a private security force had to be hired because the city couldn’t muster its own police presence thanks to the DSA council. Thank heaven Target still holds enough sway to keep what’s left of downtown somewhat functional, or this stretch would already be abandoned to even greater disorder.

Widen the lens, and the picture gets worse. The rash of car thefts, carjacking’s, blocks of vehicles with windows broken out and assaults has spread well beyond the usual trouble zones. Even in Kenwood, a neighborhood once dismissed as untouchable, residents report muggings and assaults and car jackings that would have been unthinkable a five years ago. Yet the city council insists “crime is down,” pointing to cherry-picked data while residents live with the opposite reality. Tell that to the people who’ve had their cars stolen twice or are afraid to walk at night.

Councilmember Jason Chavez is emblematic of this failure. He stood just a block away from an open air drug den with human wreckage collapsing in the street and claimed ignorance. When confronted, he shrugged off responsibility, then blamed the mayor, then claimed credit for “leading” solutions to fix Lake Street all the while ignoring how he led the charge with DEFUND THE POLICE chants. The hypocrisy is staggering. Minneapolis doesn’t need more committees or community circles, it needs leaders who can tell the difference between compassion and decisiveness.

Let’s be honest: this is a city where a growing constituency gets a free pass for bad behavior. The city councils approach to this is “spoil the child and spare the rod” governance at its worst. The result is a culture of no accountability, no consequences, flourishing gang violence and residents get left holding the bag of dog shit the elected leaders have dumped on their steps and then the taxpayers get the gift of footing the bill too for the privilege of this insanity.

Meanwhile, taxes keep climbing, 10% hikes year after year are untenable. But keep on funding temporary programs built on federal dollars long gone. Or City hall holding 50+ “listening sessions” to decide where to rebuild the 3rd Precinct police station, still no decision on that boondoggle, or the millions spent analyzing how to fix 38th and Chicago. Yes, that’s right MILLIONS! Yet they can’t find time to manage basic municipal safety. Minneapolis isn’t just mismanaged—it’s leaderless. Where’s Arne Carlson’s wife Barbara when we need her, that woman was bad-ass.

If this council’s version of progress is rampant theft, unsafe streets, and mind-numbing incompetence, then the voters have a duty to deliver accountability and replace the council with civic-minded, fiscally responsible leaders. Minneapolis deserves better.

By Brad L. Brad has lived in Minneapolis since 1985.

Related: State of Denial: A Response to the Precarious State Documentary