July 6–12, 2026
The City Council adopted eight measures Tuesday, including housing funds, police oversight rules, and a push for public input on Highway 280, while several local items line up for full council votes ahead.
At your front door. The council adopted a resolution (2026-00711) directing federal money from two U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development programs toward affordable housing construction and neighborhood repairs in Minneapolis. The funds are now available to the city's Department of Community Planning and Economic Development. That measure is now law. On Oliver Avenue South, a separate action (2026-00758) gives the city the right to build storm sewer lines on Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board land, reducing flood risk in that corridor without changing public access to the park. Also now law.
Around the neighborhood. The council adopted a resolution (2026-00677) calling on the Minnesota Department of Transportation to hold public meetings with residents, businesses, and the Park and Recreation Board before moving forward on a Highway 280 redesign. That resolution is now law. The 2007 Stevens Avenue property (2026-00666) was rezoned from an urban neighborhood district to a zone that allows both homes and neighborhood services, clearing the way for a surface parking lot. Also now law.
Inside city hall. The council approved a $500,000 contract (2026-00655) with Emergency Management Services International, Inc. to review how the city handles emergencies over three years starting August 1, 2026, with an option to extend two more years. Minneapolis will also track off-duty officer conduct and civil rights complaints more closely under a new directive (2026-00718) that updates rules tied to Executive Order 2025-01. The council also approved a study (2026-00748) of the costs and logistics of moving the Police Department's shooting range to an alternative site. All three are now law. Separately, the council adopted a resolution (2026-00625... wait, correction: 2026-00625 is upcoming) and a resolution (2026-00714) calling on the Minnesota Legislature to give Minneapolis authority to protect transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive residents' access to restrooms that match their identity. That resolution is now law; it asks the state to act but does not itself create a local ordinance.
Coming up next week:
Lyndale Avenue rebuild. The council is set to vote on a resolution (2026-00625) that would formally designate the improvements planned for Hennepin County's Lyndale Avenue (County State Aid Highway 22) reconstruction project. The vote is headed to the full council after the Climate and Infrastructure Committee sent it forward without a recommendation. How Lyndale is rebuilt will affect traffic, parking, bike routes, and bus access for residents and businesses along the corridor. This is the moment to reach your council member before the vote is called.
Federal highway safety grant applications. A resolution (2026-00787) authorizing the city to apply for Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funds is headed to the full council. If the grants come through, the money could go toward traffic signals, lighting, or road fixes at crash-prone spots across Minneapolis.
Highway 280 follow-up. A second Highway 280 resolution (2026-00793) is also headed to the full council. Where the measure adopted this week called for public engagement, this one formally expresses the city's support for MnDOT's Highway 280 project and asks the state to keep talking with businesses, Hennepin County, and the Park Board as work proceeds.
Conference travel for city planning staff. Two resolutions accepting donated conference funding are approved in committee and await full council votes. One (2026-00783) would send Transportation Planner Katie White, Planning Director Meg McMahan, and a council aide to a Seattle infrastructure retreat July 27-29. The other (2026-00786) would send Public Works Director Tim Sexton to a Brookings transportation policy event in Chicago July 23-24. Neither trip costs the city; both are funded by outside organizations.
Federal health and security bills. At the U.S. House level, bills extending ALS research funding (HR 8205) and directing NIH money toward maternal health research (HR 6238) have cleared committee and are awaiting a floor vote, with no firm date set. Both would affect how federal research dollars flow to hospitals and labs, including those in the Twin Cities metro. A bill boosting airport security equipment funding (HR 8770), which would direct fees already collected on airline tickets toward new baggage scanners and checkpoint technology at airports like MSP, is also cleared for a floor vote. HR 7574, reorganizing a Department of Homeland Security community outreach office, and HR 8168, requiring terrorism threat assessments for allied nations, are also cleared for floor votes but have limited direct effect on Minneapolis residents.
See what's up for a vote now · Find your representatives