The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey changed the City
ordinance governing tobacco sales today to raise the age from 18 to 21. It will
go into effect Oct. 1. Read the ordinance here.
Tobacco use is among the leading causes of death in the
U.S. and Minnesota; in Hennepin County, one in seven adult deaths is attributed
to smoking. Nearly all adult smokers – 95 percent – started smoking before age
21, and nicotine is addictive.
This ordinance came about with advocacy from the Association for
Nonsmokers-Minnesota, Northpoint Health and Wellness Center, and the
Minneapolis Youth Congress.
A coalition of advocates supporting the ordinance change also included:
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart
Association-Minnesota, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, ClearWay
Minnesota, Health Partners, Indigenous Peoples Task Force, MAD DADS,
Minneapolis Academy of Family Physicians, Stair Step Foundation, Sub-Saharan
African Youth and Family Services of Minnesota, Tobacco-Free Alliance, and Twin
Cities Medical Society.
Minneapolis joins California, Hawaii, Oregon, Maine and New Jersey in
raising the minimum age to 21. Seven other Minnesota cities have raised the
tobacco sales age to 21: Bloomington, Edina, Falcon Heights, North Mankato,
Plymouth, Shoreview and St. Louis Park.
In his first State of the City address, Mayor Jacob Frey announced new policy initiatives including the Minneapolis Stable Homes, Stable Schools initiative aimed at promoting housing stability for Minneapolis Public School students and their families and a new policy wherein Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) squad cars will be outfitted with language – in both Spanish and English – detailing an undocumented person’s rights as far as they relate to Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE).
Frey also reinforced his commitment to advancing his administration’s top priorities: Expanding access to affordable housing, improving police-community relations, and fueling economic growth through inclusion.
Watch the video or read the full text of Mayor Frey’s 2018 State of the City address
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Today, at its full council meeting, the Mayor and City Council passed a
resolution declaring May 20 as the Day of the Transgender Child in the City of
Minneapolis. Read the full resolution here.
We thank advocates from Transforming Families, the MN Transgender
Health Coalition, the City of Minneapolis Transgender Equity Council and the Transgender Issues
Working Group, as well as Minneapolis Public Schools students and staff, for
attending the meeting and for their continued work toward greater visibility, greater
access and equity for our transgender and gender-non-conforming communities.
Council Vice President Jenkins, on May 19, was proud to speak at
Transforming Families’ annual event to celebrate the International Day of the
Transgender Child. As Chair of the
Transgender Issues Workgroup at the City of Minneapolis, Council Member Jenkins
will continue to work hard toward creating a better world in which transgender
and gender-non-binary children can thrive.
On July 1, 2018, the minimum wage in Minneapolis is going up to $10.25
for small employers and $11.25 for large employers.
The Minneapolis minimum wage defines “small” businesses as 100 or fewer
employees and “large” businesses as more than 100 employees.
The minimum wage ordinance applies to people working in Minneapolis.
Workers who work fewer than two hours in Minneapolis in a week are not covered
by the ordinance. Tips and gratuities do not count toward payment of a minimum
wage.
The City’s Department of Civil Rights oversees enforcement of the
municipal minimum wage, and workers are encouraged to report violations online.
Minneapolis’ minimum wage ordinance comes as inequality climbs
nationally, and more than 84,000 people in Minneapolis earn incomes below the
federal poverty level. Inaction by federal and state governments has prompted
more cities throughout the country to enact their own laws.
Increases in Minneapolis’ minimum wage will benefit tens of thousands
of families. Forty-one percent of all black workers and 54 percent of all
Latino workers (compared to only 17 percent of all white workers) in
Minneapolis previously earned less than $15 per hour and will receive raises.
The ordinance supports the City’s goals of promoting economic inclusion
and reducing economic and racial disparities.
For more information about the ordinance, visit minimumwage.minneapolismn.gov. For additional questions call 311 or email minwage@minneapolismn.gov.
The Resilience in Communities After Stress & Trauma (ReCAST)
Minneapolis program is seeking to hire residents and organizations from the
community to help develop its Critical Incident Response Protocol. ReCAST is
seeking a qualified team with experience in collecting and synthesizing
qualitative data, large group facilitation, and working with diverse
stakeholder groups as we develop our Critical Incident Response Protocol.
ReCAST Minneapolis is intended to assist high-risk youth and families
to promote resilience and equity in communities that have recently faced civil
unrest through implementation of evidence-based violence prevention and
community youth engagement programs, as well as linkages to trauma-informed
behavioral health services. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) created the ReCAST program to support communities that
have lived through demonstrations of mass protest in response to
police-involved shootings of unarmed African-American males.
ReCAST is looking for consultants to engage residents, facilitate
conversations and actively participate in the development of a citywide
protocol to ready, respond, and recover from trauma that arises. There are two opportunities:
·
Critical
Incident Response Lead Team
·
ReCAST
Community Connectors
For more information, please
contact, ReCASTMinneapolisInfo@minneapolismn.gov.
Elections & Voter Services has now posted thirteen
available positions to assist at the in-person absentee voting (“early voting”)
station located one block from City Hall at 217 S 3rd St. Learn more about elections job openings here.
Absentee
Voting Team Member (Seasonal Election Support Specialist I) – 13 to be
hired, $18.39/hr
Providing customer service and assisting voters in the
absentee ballot process; processing absentee ballot applications; processing
voted absentee ballots; entering/looking up data in the Statewide Voter
Registration System (SVRS); and performing related clerical work.
Positions are full-time (32hrs/wk), and run from mid-June through
November. Some evenings and weekends required. Apply here.
*Especially encouraged to apply are those with fluency
in English plus one of the following languages: Somali, Oromo, Hmong, or
Spanish—to assist voters with limited English skills.
For questions, contact Election Administrator Tim Schwarz at
612-673-3136 or tim.schwarz@minneapolismn.gov.
The 2018 roadway construction will primarily take place along Hennepin
Ave from just south of Lake St. to the north side of 36th St. W. The work will begin on the south end at 36th
St. W and will move north. The portion of Hennepin Ave between 31st St. and
Lake St. will remain open until work begins on that portion in August. The rest
of Hennepin Ave, between 36th and 31st St., will be closed starting May 29th to
through traffic; access will be maintained for residents and businesses
directly adjacent to the project.
A flyer was distributed by hand to each residential unit and business
along the corridor. The traffic detour is along Lyndale.
For additional info and updates about this project, visit www.minneapolismn.gov/cip/future/hennepin-uptown
Upcoming weekend closure of I-35W set for June 1-4
The 26th St. Bridge and the 24th St. Pedestrian Bridge are set to close
the morning of Fri, June 1 and that evening crews will begin demolition of both
bridges. This requires a weekend closure of I-35W between I-94 and Hwy 62.
Southbound lanes will be open between 46th St. and Hwy 62.
The weekend closure is scheduled for 10 p.m. Fri, June 1 through 5 a.m.
Monday, June 4. Crews will work 24 hours a day during the weekend
closure. Motorists should use Hwy 62, Hwy 100 and I-394.
Additional closures coming in June
The following closures are tentatively scheduled to occur in June:
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June 8-11: Weekend
closure of I-94 between I-394 and I-35W and access to/from downtown and
I-35W
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June 8 -
Several ramp closures: Eastbound I-94 to southbound I-35W; Access
from northbound I-35W to downtown (11th St./Grant St./5th Ave.); Access
from downtown (12th St./4th Ave.) to southbound I-35W; 31st St. ramps
-
June 15-18: Weekend
closure of I-35W between I-94 and Hwy 62
-
June 15: 35th
St. ramps
There are several ways to stay
informed about the project and provide feedback to the project team:
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