Reactions on police reform and rent control ballot questions
Good morning. We've got more on what the election means for Minnesota, from rent control to school elections.
A chilly start this morning, but warmer today, expect partly cloudy skies with highs around 50s. | |
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Candidates for Minnetonka school board participate in student-led forum on Oct. 18.
Photo by Amin Rahmatullah
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By Elizabeth Shockman
Minnesota schools have dealt with a lot lately. The pandemic still forces some students, teachers, and their families into quarantine. Parents argued at school board meetings over masking and racial equity. And many districts asked voters for more money to pay for staffing, technology and repairs.
On Tuesday voters heard those requests and decided to give many districts a boost, approving district funding requests at a higher than average approval rate.
Of the 55 districts asking for local taxpayer funding for day-to-day operating costs, three out of four got approval. That’s far above last year’s 51 percent passage rate.
There was also a lot of competition to fill empty board seats. But Greg Abbott, the spokesperson for Minnesota School Boards Association, said his first analysis of early results whos most voters chose incumbents to stay in those roles. | |
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| Tram Hoang, managed the Keep St. Paul Home campaign. She participated in a series of signature gathering events in St. Paul's West Side.Kathryn Styer Martinez | MPR News file |
By Matt Sepic
It’s now illegal in St. Paul for residential landlords to raise their rent by more than 3 percent a year, after voters on Tuesday approved a rent control measure that’s among the strictest in the country.
The law applies to both new and existing homes, and bars landlords from making dramatic rent hikes between tenants.
Supporters of the measure gathered more than 9,000 petition signatures to put it to voters, 53 percent of whom voted yes. | |
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By Jon Collins
Minneapolis voters may have rejected a ballot initiative to restructure public safety in the city, but longtime advocates for police accountability, some of whom opposed the amendment, say their fight isn’t over yet.
Question 2 on Minneapolis voters’ ballot would have replaced the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety. Advocates argued that it would have taken a more public health approach to public safety.
Minneapolis voters Tuesday rejected the ballot change, by a 12-point margin . That left some supporters despondent. But another group is already working to get signatures for a different referendum around policing that they hope will make it onto the ballot as early as next year. | |
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For the first time, the majority of Minneapolis City Council members will be people of color. In the first Minneapolis City Council election since the murder of George Floyd last year, new candidates won at least three races. The 13-member council, the most diverse in the city’s history, will immediately confront crucial questions about public safety, rent stabilization, and government structure.
Tears, joy as first young kids receive COVID-19 doses. The shots, tailor-made for children, are now available for kids 5-to-11 years old after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer vaccine for this age group earlier this week. For parents who are trying to book a vaccine appointment, here’s what to expect going forward.
House Democrats are bringing back paid leave in their spending bill. In a letter to colleagues Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote that the inclusion of paid leave is at the urging of members of the House Democratic caucus. | |
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