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City Cast Twin Cities

Roseanne Pereira

Mushroom Marvels! Can You Solve This Twin Cities Crossword?

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September 24, 2026 - How About Them Apples

Sean McPherson

Sam Choo

Marion Greene for Hennepin County Commissioner District 3

 We’ve been interviewing as many candidates for Hennepin County commissioner as possible to spotlight this impactful, often under-discussed position. Today we’re talking to Marion Greene, the incumbent Hennepin County commissioner for District 3, who is seeking reelection in November. We spoke to her challenger, Abdi Ibrahim, on our Sept. 18 episode. Greene began her tenure on the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners in 2014. Before serving on the county board, Greene served in the Legislature, where she was chief author of legislation to fully fund all-day kindergarten and co-author of legislation to establish the health insurance exchange that is now MNsure. Before running for public office, Greene was active in the community and worked in the private sector in policy and marketing. I know you have a busy schedule. Commissioner Greene, thank you so much for joining us today.

 Commissioner Greene, I get to ask you this question in both the past and future tense. How has your work as an elected official most tangibly impacted the community you live in? And going forward, how do you want your work to impact that community in the coming years?

 That’s such a great way of putting it. A lot of the county’s work requires that longer-term point of view. The principal thing that has impacted the community is the pandemic, and being chair of the board during that time. Together with my colleagues, I helped make sure all of the federal and state dollars coming through counties were intelligently allocated and really responded to the moment.

One of the themes we tried to take up at that time was: Are there ways to do this work that also create long-term impact? For example, something I really championed, as one of the first in the nation, was buying hotels to serve as emergency shelter and then transitioning them after the pandemic into deeply affordable housing. That’s work I’m really proud of that, knock on wood, is a little bit in the rearview mirror.

Work I did in the past that I’ve been so glad of lately is on immigration and how Hennepin County interacts with and supports more recent immigrants in our community. About 10 years ago, I established an immigrant legal defense fund to help people ensnared in deportation proceedings by our local version of Trump: the sheriff at the time. Thank goodness he’s not the sheriff any longer. That work expanded into more in-house work. We had contracted it out, but we saw how much trust we were able to build in the community, so we brought more immigration support in-house. We provide that for residents seeking services who may have an immigration-related barrier, like documentation, that just needs to get over the finish line so they can access services. We were so glad to have that in-house expertise during the ICE occupation and Operation Metro Surge, because we could call on it immediately.

Looking ahead, housing affordability in our region is of course an ongoing issue. Other work I’m proud of that’s ongoing is being a champion for transit. We’re poised to finish the Green Line extension and are now looking at the Blue Line extension. In the meantime, we’ve secured Minnesota’s first consistent transit funding, in the form of a three-quarter-cent sales tax that goes to the Met Council. I’m really excited about where that’s going to take our region. And I spearheaded the development of our first-ever climate action plan, and we’re now executing on it. So that’s exciting, continued work.

 In your opinion, what can elected officials do to help build stronger, more resilient communities?

 Oh gosh, that’s a really massive question, Sam. I think we need to focus on basics like housing affordability, in terms of policymaking and funding. But we also need to be out there as forces for connection in the community. I’ve been working to attend every annual meeting of the neighborhoods in my district, or show up at a potluck that might be a community event. Being out there and being known, and not just known as a person.

Sean mentioned at the top that Hennepin County is such a low-profile layer of government. I often tell people that if you don’t know about Hennepin County, that means things are going well in your life, because you don’t need our safety net services. But nonetheless, I want people to think of us when they’re looking for resources. For example, I have somebody in my district who’s building a film club and trying to connect with arts funding. I can facilitate that. So I guess I’d describe both tangible and intangible elements.

 I want to ask about what’s at the top of your priority list if you continue to serve. But I also want to challenge you on something. There’s the idea that if you don’t hear about Hennepin County, it’s because things are going well. But we also hear the counterpoint that folks don’t hear enough from people at the county level. They play a significant role in our lives, but people don’t know how to reach them, how to be heard by them, or how they can respond. So I’m hoping you can talk about your priorities, but also address that idea: If we don’t know about Hennepin County officials, maybe it’s because they aren’t doing the right outreach. They should be finding their constituents and making a deeper connection.

 That’s certainly a point of view that I think reflects some reality. There’s been a shift in politics, in America and on the county board. I would say a generational change. When I was first elected, my platform was all about bringing eyeballs to Hennepin County. I’m not saying the county was doing bad things, but we spend a fair amount of property tax dollars on residents’ behalf, and I want to make sure I’m responsive and connected and that people feel like they’re getting something for their money.

A lot of great work used to happen more in isolation from the community. Now there’s more expectation that elected officials will connect with the community. I wish I had statistics on this, but I notice it in the increased number of emails I get as an elected official. That’s great. It tells me we’re getting the word out about who Hennepin County is. It also tells me people are more activated. So I need to make sure I’m not taking credit at Hennepin County for what I think is a societal change. I still need to get out there and continue to elevate our work.

One of the challenges the county has is that we don’t have a single executive. Unlike a city, which has a council and a mayor, and the mayor is often viewed, for good or for evil, as the person who speaks for the city, we are a board of seven equal people. We each get one vote, and even the chair gets one vote. I think that makes coverage of us a challenge, because it’s like, well, who do you listen to?

Another challenge we need to own and overcome is the Twin Cities media market. The media market isn’t just Hennepin County, it’s really the Twin Cities, and a lot of Twin Cities media is consumed by the entire state. Think of the Star Tribune changing its name to the Minnesota Star Tribune. These are all things we need to navigate. But I do think there’s been a change in expectations, and the county board and I as an elected official need to get ahead of that, be responsive and rise to the new level of engagement.

 One thing that came up with your challenger, Mr. Ibrahim, was the HERC, and it seems like everybody wants it closed. Is that your position as well? And if so, what is your preferred timeline for closing it?

 That is definitely my position. I think we should close the HERC, and the county board has voted unanimously on that, so I can say with confidence that’s my colleagues’ point of view as well. The devil’s in the details, of course. We’ve set a timeline of sometime before 2040.

I’d like to highlight that we’re the one layer of government that, besides saying we want to close the HERC, is actually doing something about it. We’re working hard to figure out ways to get recyclables and organics out of our waste stream, so we don’t have as much waste as the HERC currently deals with. Some folks say, “Let’s just close the HERC and figure it out later.” But I am not a proponent of landfilling. I think landfilling is figuratively, not physically, the lowest place we want to put waste. We also don’t want trash to pile up in the streets. I don’t mean that as some overdramatic threat. But I do want to say to the city of Minneapolis, for example, which has voted that it wants Hennepin County to close the HERC: OK, that’s great, but what’s your plan to manage your waste? Where are you going to put it?

The way I and others phrase it is: I want to close the HERC, and I want to do it responsibly, so we have somewhere to put waste. The underlying issue with the HERC, and waste in general, is consumption and the habits we have as Americans. We need to work on that cultural change, and the county is doing this in many ways: trying to get folks to recycle, to compost, to reuse and to reduce. The reusing and reducing parts of the triangle are underemphasized in current consumer choices, and that’s really where we need to see wholesale change.

 Commissioner Greene, let’s imagine a world where you have a day when you’re not thinking about the incinerator, you’re not thinking about immigration and you’re not thinking about transit. You’re thinking about leisure. You have a day off in your district. What is Commissioner Greene doing?




 Oh gosh. Let’s see. My spouse and I are big arts consumers, so I’d definitely throw in something like an exhibit, going to a gallery or seeing a show. We’re big fans of the Out There series at the Walker, which happens in January and February. Highly recommend. So that would be on the list. We’re also ice cream fanatics, so there would definitely be ice cream involved. And I’ll say, at least for myself, we’re not ice cream snobs. It doesn’t need to be the fanciest ice cream, but we like ice cream. And then of course our dog and a couple of friends.




 That sounds like a pretty pleasant itinerary, and you can take a scoop of ice cream 12 months a year. That’s Marion Greene, the Hennepin County commissioner for District 3, who is seeking reelection on Nov. 3. You can find our conversation with her challenger, Abdi Ibrahim, in our September episode. Commissioner Greene, I know you have a very busy schedule. We appreciate you taking some time to chat with City Cast Twin Cities today.




 I’m so glad to be here. That time flew.

Meet Your Candidates: Marion Greene for Hennepin County Commissioner District 3

Twin City Guides

Clint Combs

Abdihakim Ibrahim for Hennepin County Commissioner District 3

 We’ve been interviewing as many candidates for Hennepin County commissioner as possible to spotlight this impactful but often under-discussed election. Today we’re talking to Abdihakim Ibrahim, who is running for Hennepin County commissioner in District 3 and is challenging incumbent Marion Greene. Ibrahim formerly served on the St. Louis Park School Board. Helping me interview Abdihakim is Clint Combs, a reporter and City Cast contributor. Abdihakim, thank you so much for taking some time out of your busy schedule to chat with City Cast Twin Cities.

 Thank you, City Cast, for having me here today.

 Abdihakim, you’ve done a number of things in the community in St. Louis Park and in other parts of the Twin Cities. I’m curious what made you want to seek election to this office for Hennepin County commissioner.

 Let me give you a background on who Abdihakim is. My name is Abdihakim Ibrahim. I was born and raised in Mogadishu, Somalia, during wartime. When I graduated high school, I got a chance to go to Pakistan, to a city called Lahore, where I did my bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. My major was electronics and telecommunications. Then I worked for many different multinational companies, including in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2014, I immigrated to America for the American Dream. I have a family here, too. I remember it was very cold. As an immigrant coming here, even speaking six languages, it was very challenging for me. I remember a friend took me to find driving lessons for my driver’s test.

Since then, I’ve been involved in the community. I live in St. Louis Park, and as you mentioned, I’ve volunteered and held different positions. I was on the 2020 census committee and a St. Louis Park police committee, and I worked on a couple of school referendums in St. Louis Park. In 2021, I was elected as the first Somali immigrant on the St. Louis Park school board, and I served until 2025. I did one term.

During my time on the school board, I found out how the county commission affects our day-to-day lives. As a former St. Louis Park school board member, I’ve seen firsthand how the county and its decisions affect affordable housing, public safety, mental health, all these things. After more than a decade under the same leadership, many families are still struggling, and we see the problems at HCMC. That’s why I decided to run for Hennepin County commissioner.

 Counties can often be a misunderstood level of government. A lot of people don’t realize how much of an impact county governments have on their communities. What positive impacts do you believe county leaders are best positioned to deliver?

 I will make a tangible impact by delivering results on issues the current commissioner has failed to address. First, I will protect HCMC, not bankrupt it like the current commissioner. HCMC is the number one trauma center in Minnesota, and it needs long-term cost-sharing solutions beyond the current state bailout. At the same time, we cannot continue asking our district to foot the bills and putting financial burdens on District 3, when it’s already unaffordable for so many families, including mine.

Number two is delivering results. That means giving the sheriff’s department the tools they need to do their job and respecting them, while also making sure we protect our immigrant community from harm and that the sheriff stays on budget.

And finally, major projects like the Southwest light rail, the Green Line extension, need to be completed on time and on budget. It was supposed to open in 2018. It’s been nearly a decade now, and the project costs more than $1 billion. The current commissioner, Marion Greene, rubber-stamped overruns for many years. That’s why I’m demanding county-level investigations into the construction delays.




 I want to focus on something we haven’t covered yet, but that City Cast Twin Cities has covered a lot, which is the future of the HERC incinerator. It seems largely agreed that closing the HERC is a priority for everybody, but there are more questions about the timetable. Since that’s a big topic for Hennepin County, where do you land on the timetable for closing the HERC?




 In my first 100 days in office, if I get elected, I will work on closing the HERC before 2040. I want to have a timeline. Transparency is very important, so people get to know the plan. Everyone agrees we need to close the HERC, and everybody acknowledges all these things, but we need to be transparent. We need a timeline so people know what we’re planning. So that’s my stance, and that’s what I’d do in my first 100 days in office if I get elected.




 I want to bore down a little bit on HCMC, because you’ve already mentioned it, and I want to underline how important it is for all of Minnesota. You could get a terrible burn in Duluth, or right next to the Mayo Clinic, and you still might end up at HCMC in Minneapolis. When you say you want to protect HCMC, what does that look like fiscally?




 As I said, it means fighting for cost sharing, so District 3 residents aren’t forced to pay higher taxes to support the hospital and its buildings. It means passing a responsible county budget every year. As you mentioned, if you live in Dakota County or Ramsey County or other counties, it’s the number one trauma center, and everybody comes there. So one of the things I’m going to advocate for at the state level is long-term cost-sharing solutions for HCMC. Because when the current funding runs out, what happens next? Hennepin County residents have to pay for that, and that’s unacceptable.




 Abdihakim, I’m looking at your endorsements here. Tell me about your relationship with state Sen. Ron Latz. I see you secured his endorsement. How did that happen, and when did you first meet him?




 To be honest with you, as an immigrant, when I first came to this country, I didn’t even know my city council. That’s where I started my advocacy. I was a guy who worked nine to five, but I saw a lot of people struggling with housing and property management. I connected with HomeLine and learned about tenants’ rights. Even speaking up was difficult, because people were so scared of retaliation.


I have a very good relationship with everyone in St. Louis Park: elected officials, community leaders. I’m involved in the community at all levels. I don’t remember the specific time I met him, but I will tell you this: I have relationships with everybody who is running, who is elected or who was formerly elected in St. Louis Park, regardless of whether they’re in a position or not.




 We’re going to wrap up relatively soon, but it’s always good to get to know a little about how people who want to represent their communities at the county level live their lives. Imagine you have a day off in Hennepin County. Where can we find Abdihakim? What are you up to?




 I think Minneapolis people are going to get mad. But you’ll be able to find me with my wife and kids at the rec center in St. Louis Park, at the water park, or at a park around St. Louis Park. You’ll also be able to find me at one of my favorite restaurants, an Afghan restaurant called Ariana. It’s in St. Louis Park. Please check it out; they have wonderful Afghan food.


That doesn’t mean I don’t like Minneapolis! Sometimes I show up in Minneapolis at Karmel Mall and other places, and right now my campaign office is located in Lyndale. I like to spend time with my kids. I have three kids: a high schooler, a middle schooler and an elementary schooler. My hands are full, and I’m running a campaign, too.




 That is a lot to handle, even setting aside the campaign. We’ve covered a lot of ground. Abdihakim Ibrahim, you’re running for Hennepin County commissioner for District 3. Thank you for the generosity of your time, and thank you for covering the issues you plan to address if you’re elected. Have a great rest of your day, and thanks for visiting with us here at City Cast.




Meet Your Candidates: Abdihakim Ibrahim for Hennepin County Commissioner District 3

Tane Danger

Minneapolis Public Schools Board, At-Large Seats: Candidate Forum

 Today we have three of the candidates for the two at-large seats on the Minneapolis Public Schools board. This is a citywide race that will be decided on November 3. There is also a District 1 seat open, and we plan to have a forum with those candidates next week. Our guests today are Christin Crabtree, Michael Baskins, and Stephanie Johnson, who will be joining us later in the show. Thank you all for being here. We also want to recognize incumbent candidate and board chair Collin Beachy, who was unable to join us today due to travel. His responses to our questions can be found after the interview transcript. Tane, I’m hoping you can get us started.

 Thank you for being here. Obviously, one of the things that is very front of mind for everyone in the district is the transformation plan. The district is no longer proposing to close up to 16 schools; that was taken off the table. But I want to start with a simple yes or no from each of you: Would you have voted for any of the three proposals the district put forward before they were taken off the table? Michael Baskins, I’ll start with you.

 No, I would not have voted for any of the proposals.

 Even if you wouldn’t have voted for any of those proposals, I want to ask about the status quo, which is having to close really big budget gaps three years running. $39 million is the smallest budget gap, and $110 million is the largest in the past three years. The first budget that the newly elected school board would be in charge of is for the 2027–2028 school year. We’ll start with Christin. What is the first thing you would push for in that budget if you were elected?

 Honestly, I would like to see the district continue reviewing the audit findings they’ve had with their finance department. I’d like to see increased oversight and ongoing audit activity, so it’s not just an annual thing. We should be doing that work throughout the school year so we’re preventing findings from happening in the first place. And when findings do happen, we should be resolving them and reviewing processes and procedures to ensure accuracy from our finance department. There have been findings of millions of dollars left on the table over several years, and that’s simply unacceptable.

Beyond that, I would also look at ways to improve our enrollment process. At the student placement office this year, we saw lines around the block at the Davis Center. In the past, there were something like 10 employees in that office. In recent years, there have only been five, and this year four were on leave when school was starting. That’s a predictable annual thing. So we need to make sure we’re resourcing that office well so we’re welcoming our families in. Looking at opportunities like that is really important before we go to the nuclear option of closing 16 schools.

 Michael Baskins, the same question to you. What are your first priorities for the first budget you’d be in charge of?

 One of the things that makes it really hard to talk about the budget is the lack of transparency the district has had about its finances and its struggles. That’s one of the main reasons I’m running for school board: to use the board’s oversight responsibilities to bring to light a lot of the financial issues the district has.

Even after deciding not to close schools, the district has said it still has serious financial issues to address. But when it comes to describing those to the public — what is the long-term impact of not closing these schools? What are the true financial stressors they see coming down the pike? — they’re not being transparent. So at this point, it’s hard to say where the district’s finances are long-term and where cuts could be made to prevent these yearly swings in deficits.

I would also say we’ve seen massive increases in the cost of a lot of our contractual services, including transportation, some of which have gone up nearly 100% over the last five years. So we need to look at those contracts and dig into the details. My job on the school board isn’t necessarily to decide where to cut, but to shine a light on the district’s finances so the public can see the decisions the district is making. For example, the district said it closed a budget gap this year, but a lot of people don’t know how that gap was closed. I don’t think the public is being brought into these yearly financial decisions or understanding their impact on the broader district. So right now it’s to be determined, but we need a lot more oversight of these decisions. That need is very clear from the transformation plan discussions, where the public felt totally blindsided.

 We’re very grateful to welcome Stephanie Johnson, another candidate for the two at-large seats on the Minneapolis Public Schools board. Stephanie, thank you for joining us.

 Stephanie, we’re in the middle of a conversation about changes Minneapolis Public Schools could make to change the status quo and hopefully not end up in the same budget situation it’s been in for the last several years. I’m going to ask all three candidates this, but I’ll start with you. More than half of the district’s buildings are at less than 70% capacity, which by definition is underutilized. Is building underutilization an issue to you? And would consolidation and closures be completely off the table if you were a school board member?

 Yes, it is an issue to me, and no, it would not be off the table. I think it has to be part of the conversation. What’s happening within the buildings is that there’s bare-bones staff. I’m an MPS parent, and I’ve seen it in my own student’s school experience. Three years ago, I took a leave of absence from my faculty position to work for MPS, so I experienced it there as well. At the end of the school year — and this will predictably happen again at the end of this school year — there are position cuts. Individual schools in MPS are having to do so much more with less and less each year. That’s the reality in the buildings. It’s not new or unique to MPS, but it’s a problem.

 Michael Baskins, same question. If you were a school board member, would you take building closures or consolidation off the table?

 I think that would be premature. There are certainly a lot of questions about what ideal student experience the district is shooting for. Unfortunately, in the many public meetings I attended, the district wasn’t able to communicate what that ideal experience is, or what resources aren’t available in certain schools that consolidation would allow. That’s pretty shocking, given they said they spent three years on this plan.

Assuming transformation does allow for better resourcing and smaller class sizes, I’ve spoken with many parents who could get on board with some level of consolidation. But there needs to be a very clear, well-thought-out plan, articulated from a place of: this is the district’s long-term strategy for class size and resourcing. That needs to be what the public sees first. Once there’s buy-in on what the future of MPS looks like, then we can talk about how to achieve it. But the order the school board and administration went through in this process, and the lack of detail and, I would say, professionalism in the plan, has left the public disappointed and has lost the administration a lot of trust.

 Christin Crabtree, I want to give you a chance to answer the same question. If you were elected to the school board, would you take school closures or consolidation off the table?

 I think we need to have all options available to us, but I’d like to see us prioritize other things first. Closing schools has a detrimental impact in such far-reaching ways. While I think we need to keep all options open, I’d want to see ongoing projections on the financial and enrollment implications, with the recognition that there are unseen costs when we close schools. That looks like blight in the community, since there are no plans for those empty buildings right now.

We also know that closing a school directly impacts the kids attending it. Oftentimes, it’s a school in a neighborhood that has already been criminally disinvested in. It has implications for test scores, access to higher education, and increased behavior issues. So while closing schools isn’t something I’d completely take off the table, it’s something we need to do with real intentionality and due diligence. It should never be a choice between doing nothing or closing schools. There’s a whole spectrum of other ways for us to move forward as a community.

 So I’m hearing all three of you say, “Don’t take this off the table at this point.” The way this transformation plan was put forward created a potentially bad choice, because it wasn’t presented well. If you’re elected to the school board, how would you make that plan better? Why should families believe there would be better options than what the district came up with over the last several years of planning, if you were on the board helping shape it? Michael Baskins, I’ll start with you this time.

 I think what we have is a bit of a deficit of leadership in the administration. That means they’re not communicating a vision. Leadership means communicating the vision for the district first. What are the metrics that will make this district successful? What do we see as the future of MPS when it comes to class size, resourcing, and building footprint?

The existing school board didn’t give a clear vision for what the transformation plan metrics should look like. They basically gave the administration carte blanche to come up with some ideas. So it’s a leadership deficit that the school board can fix by requiring clear metrics for all the decisions the administration makes. Why are you laying off all these teachers this year? What metric does that align with in your overall vision for the district? Providing that roadmap is important for the school board.

 Stephanie Johnson, I’ll come to you next.

 It’s complicated. I would agree with a lot of what Michael said — maybe everything, really. A word that’s tossed around a lot is “instability.” That was part of the big outcry from families and community members about potentially closing schools and realigning within the district. But I think it’s important to understand that the instability is already there. It’s already in the buildings and in the entire school system. Based on my own experience and observations, that’s what contributed to the poor communication and poor rollout of these three options a few weeks ago. What was put forth up front was what would happen, but there was no clarity about what it would result in, as many people have mentioned.

Again, from my own experience working within the district not that long ago, there is a lot of turnover. It’s not just families leaving the district. That’s a piece of it, but it’s at every level: staff, teachers, building leadership, district leadership. These things didn’t happen overnight, or within weeks or even a few years. This has happened over a long period of time, and fixing it, or improving it, will also take a great deal of time.

 Christin Crabtree, this question is for you: Why should families believe the next transformation plan, or whatever it’s called, would be better than the last one if you were on the school board?

 Because they will be part of creating it. We need family voices at the table from the get-go. We should not have a small group of people creating a plan and then trying to sell it to our community. I went to all seven transformation listening sessions, and I heard similar themes at every single one. For example, our dual language task force had met and provided multiple ideas to the district on how to strategically improve and grow the program. It’s a very popular program, and I didn’t see those ideas reflected in the transformation plan very deeply. Another thing that came up was an Afrocentric HBCU pathway. We already have programming in our district we can build on to make that a reality and keep people in our district.

And in all of this conversation, what I’m not hearing are the things that are incredible about Minneapolis Public Schools. Both of my kids are MPS graduates, and I’m proud of the district and the way our community comes together to support our schools. We’ve always known our schools are critical to a healthy neighborhood and a healthy city, but we see that more than ever after the year we just had. We can take those connections and relationships and work together to invest in MPS.

That looks like growing dual language so there’s a Northside pathway. A lot of people on the Northside would love to participate, but once they’re in middle or high school, they have to go all the way to Anderson or Roosevelt, which is really far south. Let’s look at this HBCU idea and work with our Black Parent Advisory Council and our educators to make it a reality, because there’s lots of interest. We also have the opportunity to grow early childhood and pre-K. We know that when kids come into MPS at those young ages, they often stay.

You asked earlier about building utilization. If we know 47% of kids eligible to attend Minneapolis Public Schools aren’t here, how do we bring them in? Some of the best people to do that work are the people in our schools every day. We’ve already seen enrollment grow last year and again this year, so let’s be honest about that. And let’s also be honest that closures do not save money. The point of the plan our administration presented, the way they described it, was making better use of the resources we have, and they explained that it does not save money. What wasn’t talked about are the detrimental impacts of those closures on communities and on our kids. So it’s really important that we address these problems honestly with our community, and that we bring our community along and value them as partners.

 I don’t think we can say it doesn’t save money. They just invested over $10 million in a school with about 100 students that they’re now planning to close. There’s a cost to keeping schools open that are nearly empty, and you’re investing millions and millions of dollars into them every year. There are also obviously going to be savings on administrative costs, which many other districts have seen. So it’s just not true.

 Actually, though, we lose students through attrition when we close schools, and that’s a huge cost. According to the district’s own math, it did not save money. We need honest projections with due diligence. I’m not disagreeing, Michael, that it’s a possibility, but we would need honest projections, and I’m not seeing those come from our district right now. We do know that closures lead people to leave MPS, and that creates a cycle: we have fewer resources, so we have to shrink again, and then we have fewer resources, so we shrink again. What does that do to public education? We need people on this board who are going to be huge advocates for public schools and who will do the work of investing in MPS. We don’t solve disinvestment with disinvestment.

 So are you open to actually voting for a closure?

 I never said that. What I said is I want to see the due diligence and the math before we would ever do that. I think it should be the last option.

 What would the math have to look like for you to vote for a closure?

 It would have to show ongoing projections where we see savings over time, and where we’re not going to lose students, because families were brought along in the decision-making. We need to ensure we keep our kids. We’ve seen a national push toward “right-sizing,” where public schools are losing families because of it. We’re also seeing a wild disinvestment in public education at the state and national level. We can’t control that, but we can control our ability to show up and advocate. And to a point you made earlier that I agree with, we haven’t seen leadership do that in a meaningful way. It’s important that we’re organizing and working across jurisdictions — not just saying, “We’ll go to the Legislature,” but being strategic and working with our city and county governments, because we have shared priorities and our work intersects. So I’m not saying that if closure were the solution, we shouldn’t do it. I’m saying we need the data to show it’s a real solution.

 I want to move us to something I wish we’d already been talking about: actual test results and education outcomes. We’ve been talking a lot about dollars and buildings, but it’s not good news when you look at testing. In 2026, according to the Minnesota Report Card, fewer than 50% of MPS students met standards in math, reading, or science. A recent education scorecard report also shows persistent, large achievement gaps by race and class in the district. What levers does a board member actually have to change those numbers, and how would outcomes for MPS students be different at the end of your first term? I’ll start with Stephanie.

 Consolidation of schools and consolidation of resources is the quick answer.

 Yes. One example the district gave is that a number of schools don’t have reading specialists, reading interventionists, or math interventionists because of budget issues. The district shared that directly: the MPS experience it wants for every student isn’t currently happening, and that’s in large part because resources aren’t the same at all schools.

 Michael Baskins, the same question: What does a board member have available to change those outcomes in the first term?

 Outcomes have dropped since COVID, which we’ve seen across the country. They’ve improved some since then, but not to where they were. My main focus for driving better outcomes is putting resources into the classroom, and when making budget cuts, making sure there’s no impact on students and class sizes. That means support for interventionists and for early childhood literacy, which is a big issue in the district. We have students who fall behind early and then struggle to catch up.

I’d also give principals more autonomy. They know their schools and their populations. But we should hold them accountable for improvement by tracking school-by-school progress year after year across all performance metrics, and making that information public. A big focus of my campaign is transparency in the district, and that’s one of the ways you hold schools accountable. Parents can see how their individual school is doing, and that gives them some ability to hold the school accountable, too.

 Michael, before I move on to Christin: Do you believe consolidation could improve test results, as Stephanie said?

Meet Your Candidates: Minneapolis Public Schools Board, At-Large Seats: Candidate Forum

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 For a number of months, I was wondering when Minneapolis Public Schools would drop an announcement that would truly transform the school district. MPS's financial woes, and its mishandling of said financial woes, have been big news in the Twin Cities for almost half a decade. Though there's been some really severe belt-tightening from the district, there hadn't been the kind of belt-tightening I thought would be needed to move the needle on these financial problems.

Then September 15 comes around, and the MPS school board announces an 

 to shut down a double-digit number of schools. I should say that the “Transformation” web post from Minneapolis Public Schools states that these cuts are going to create a school system where everybody thrives “academically, socially, and emotionally through a holistic, culturally sustaining education that engages and prepares contributing citizens”.

But this caused a lot of distress. Part of that is the school closures themselves, and part of it is that this isn't really belt-tightening, because these closures would not save a significant amount of money. The community response has been largely negative, and anti-transformation groups have been mounting protests, including one that happened on September 29 at the Davis Center.

 The announcement of 16 schools potentially closing is jarring enough, but it's still numerical. It isn't personal. So we connected with parents of students at Kenny and Cityview. Both schools are proposed to be closed and merged in some of the scenarios presented by MPS.

 We want to welcome on Shakiya Carter, who has children at Cityview. Thank you for being here, Shakiya.

 And we'd also like to welcome on Alyssa Olson, who has children at Kenny. Alyssa, thank you for being here.

 Have the two of you talked to your children about the potential for their schools to close? And how do you explain that?

 I had a conversation with my children. I actually have two who attend Cityview. One of them is kind of a veteran kid at this point, because she's been there since kindergarten, and then I have a new incoming kindergartner this year. When I had the conversation, my son, the kindergartner, didn't really understand. But my fourth grader was like, "Well, Mom, what does that mean for me and my friends? I won't be able to see my friends next year, and I won't be able to see my teachers next year. Where's everybody gonna go?"

 Yeah, I spoke to mine too. I actually have two Kenny kids: a fifth grader and a third grader. I think the initial reaction was, "Well, why?" She sees all the amazing things that are happening at her school, and she feels such a deep connection to her teachers and her principal and her friends. So the immediate reaction was just, "But why? It's so great. I love it here. Why would they want to close it?" Those were tough conversations, and I probably didn't have answers, because the district hasn't really provided any answers. So, yeah, tough conversations for sure.

 These tough conversations involve communicating really adult issues to children, which is a struggle in and of itself. There are also the decisions you'll have to make as parents. There's transportation. Are we switching school districts? Are we looking for a different school? There's a lot to manage, especially because there are multiple scenarios.

Shakiya, I want to start with a question about Cityview. There are a couple of different scenarios for what might happen there. In one, Cityview students would join Lucy Laney. In another, students from Hmong International Academy would come to Cityview. Independent of the conversations you're having with your kids, have you thought about what you're going to do if Cityview closes? Are you going to move districts, or move to a different school, or are you still trying to figure out the decision?

 I'm at a place where I'm still trying to figure out the decision. I'm so deeply vested in my community that I feel like if the schools are going to close, it's going to be a disinvestment, right? We're going to see people disinvest. We're going to see people leave.

Personally, I still haven't made a decision, but here's what I can tell you. It sounds nice that if they close the school, we can realistically move children to other schools. However, that's not what families want. What the district fails to realize is that Cityview is a gateway for families who want to come into the district and build a home here. It's also a school where families who are already in the district choose to stay. And Cityview isn't the only school I'd consider an entry school or a gateway into the district. There are many other schools on that list that could be considered the same or similar. If we lose these schools, we are inherently going to lose families in the community.

 Alyssa, did you have a sense that Kenny was on the verge of closing, or was this a total shock?

 They've been trying to close Kenny for years. This has been a rumor in our community for years and years, and they've tried in the past, and the community was able to step in and stop it. So was I surprised? Not entirely. But I'm surprised they would think this is a positive step for the district as a whole. I'm surprised they haven't thought about the ripple effect. This isn't just about Kenny or Kenny kids. From Kenny to Cityview, the ripple effect through this district will be catastrophic. So am I surprised? I'm not surprised, but I am surprised at the lack of transparency and the lack of thoughtfulness that went into this plan.

 I'll ask you the same question we asked Shakiya. Does your family have a plan? Do you know what you'll do if these closures go through?

 I'm kind of in the same boat as Shakiya. Do I want to leave MPS? No, I do not want to leave MPS. We are a proud Minneapolis family. We're proud to be raising our girls in Minneapolis, and we were so proud to send them to Kenny. So the thought of Kenny closing is devastating. I don't know what we'll do, and I know we're not alone in that. A lot of people are contemplating what they would do, and I'm not sure the district has put any thought into that.

You're asking us, "Would you leave?" But that's not a question the district has ever asked. That's the most interesting part to me. It would be the first question I'd ask as a district official and a district leader. So it feels like a huge misstep.

 I just want to agree with everything Alyssa said about being vested in our schools and our communities. It's not just about one school in particular. It's about all of the schools.

 I really appreciate you using the word "vested," and I know you mean it in a community sense, too. But if y'all walk and take your children with you, that's truly a loss of money for Minneapolis Public Schools. Suppose what happens from these closures is a bunch of people going, "I can't deal with MPS anymore," or "This is not what I signed up for," or "My student who has been learning one language won't be able to continue on that path." Then the district might lose a bunch of its student body, which ultimately impacts the bottom line.

I think I could have more understanding of this very drastic school closure plan, though not full understanding, if they said, "This is going to put us on really strong financial footing for years to come. We're just trying to right-size based on our enrollment and the amount of square footage we currently have per student." That square footage, I should add, is way above most public school systems. MPS has 315 square feet per pupil, and you'll find many districts with approximately 150 to 200 square feet. There might be reasons to close schools, but not if it isn't for cost savings.

What I want to ask y'all is this. As difficult as it is to face the idea of your own school closing, a school you're so connected to, do you see something in this proposal that might enable more academic, social, and emotional thriving? Is there something in these statements where you go, "I'm not happy, but I get where the district is coming from"?

 I think that's what's missing. This is a conversation we've been having a lot in our community. It would have been one thing for the district to come out and say, "We have to close Kenny Community School, and because we're closing Kenny, the district as a whole is going to be in a much better spot." I think that would be an easier pill to swallow.

But they've come with so little evidence, such a lack of data, and such a lack of thoughtfulness. That's the part where I'm like, "So you're going to come in and do this really hard thing and destroy communities without any facts to back up how it will actually benefit children across this district?" I don't think anyone disagrees that change and transformation are necessary, but we need change and transformation done in the right way. The lack of evidence is astounding to me. Their plans leave us with a lot more questions than answers.

 To add on to what Alyssa said, here's my personal perspective. There are three options for building closures, and none of them is a good option. When the board addressed the team that put these proposals together, they asked, "What is this based on, if it's not based on financial savings?" And the team said it's based on the MPS guaranteed student experience.

Well, here's the thing. If you don't know what experience students and families are already having, how can you guarantee them a different experience? You can't. Families are asking, and even board members are asking, "Well, what is it?" We understand they have a chart showing that social-emotional learning and academics will be at the core of this experience. It sounds good, but realistically, that's not an experience you can guarantee. Children come from different homes and different cultural backgrounds, and they speak different languages. So it's good to have this as a goal, but you cannot confidently say it's something you're going to achieve.

Just to give a little history: during the 

, I was a new family in the district. My oldest had just started pre-K when COVID happened and we had e-learning. Then came the CDD and the boundary changes, and my child was also part of the back-to-school pilot. She switched schools three times between pre-K and first grade until we finally landed at Cityview, where she found her school home. That's a lot of transition for a new family to go through, constantly having to switch their child's school every year. And not because they want to, but because they have to.

 Shakiya, I'm going to interrupt you real quick. CDD is the redistricting that happened around 2020 and 2021. Is that about the era?

 Yes, it was the Comprehensive District Design. I call it the district redesign. What we do know from that data is that 18% of families who were in the district during that time did leave. That's a large percentage of our district.

I also want to mention that the district has to understand that engagement looks different for different groups of people. Something I've been hearing lately is that our families who are homeless and highly mobile haven't been involved in the conversation. Nobody's asking them how it's going to affect them, or stepping in to say, "Hey, here are the plans. How can we help you prepare?"

We have Somali families, Hmong families, and Hispanic families where a lot of the time the adults don't speak English. They're not being properly communicated with, and that's a barrier the district has yet to dissolve. So there are a lot of people being left out of this conversation, and still a lot of Black families who don't know.

 I won't give them an A-plus for communication. When there are really hard things to break down, the least they could do is make sure it's well presented and soundly researched. Personally, I share your frustration and your feeling that it's been neither.

I will say that y'all seem very well researched and very capable communicators, and you've shown real courage during a time of crisis for your own families. I can't imagine all the stuff you're managing right now, so taking time out to chat with us means a lot. Hopefully your stories and the things you've shared today will reach more ears, and people will get a sense of what's happening with this transformation at Minneapolis Public Schools.

That was Shakiya Carter and Alyssa Olson, parents of children at Cityview and Kenny. I sincerely thank you for your time today, and I'm sending my love out to you as a fellow parent for what you're facing in the coming months.

MPS's financial woes, and its mishandling of said financial woes, have been big news in the Twin Cities for almost half a decade.

Minneapolis Parents React to Proposed School Closures

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Tiffany Bui

I absolutely love spooky season but one of my very favorite October traditions is to attend the 

. This festival launched in 2012 and has horrified me year after year with plays featuring murder, blood, gore, and delicious jump scares. Picture the Fringe Festival but with audiences screaming, creepy sound design, and 100% more blood. One time I even saw a play there where there was a pool filled with blood on stage, and at the very end of the play, there had been someone with a diving mask hiding in the blood the entire show, only to spring out at the end. That, of course, came from the messed up minds of one of my favorite groups – Dangerous Productions. This year they have a show called “SHED”, and like every other year, I am so there. Are you ready for sixteen days of on-stage horror? It’s October 16-31 at The Crane Theater in Minneapolis. (p.s. if you run into me at an upcoming City Cast event, ask me about the time someone passed out next to me in the audience.) 

Are you afraid to watch horror movies alone? Enjoy a good scare with an audience. St. Paul’s fall 

 kicks off Oct. 2 with The Blair Witch Project, which is actually probably scarier seen outside than in. The Parkway is playing 

 are showing movies from seven countries focused on witchcraft. To keep the magic going, head over to 

This ain't your mom's puppet show – unless she volunteers in the community-driven performance I’m about to mention. The 

 is an annual tradition at Powderhorn Park where volunteers put on a play broadly centered around community resilience and taking care of one another. Employing massive surrealist puppets, live music, and plentiful pyrotechnics, last year's show depicted a story of forest animals being attacked by an army of pigs before they banded together to chase them out of town (it's like they predicted Operation Metro Surge!). Every year, part of the performance makes space to remember those who have lost their lives to state violence and otherwise. The performers sing, and audience members shout the names of those they want to remember. It's a family-friendly cathartic experience that makes you feel more connected to your community, and it's a damn good play. 

If you're a fan of haunted houses, make the trip up to Wyoming, Minnesota to give 

 a try. Take a 20-minute hayride through wonderfully produced horror sets and sketches as zombies and other creatures chase you, and then walk back through 30-45 minutes of continually connected haunted houses. Get there early to hang out by a fire pit in their massive beer garden before going in, and be prepared to be scared. –

Ready for some exquisite fall foliage? Take in the view from the 

 balcony after you tour the newly-opened 

‘Merciless’: Indigenous Lands Since 1776

, a celebration and commemoration of Indigenous resistance. Across the river in St. Paul, check out the 

 at Phalen Park. It features incredible tree views plus a Peanuts Lucy sculpture painted by Minnesota Hmong artist 

. I’m a big fan of Thao’s work, and can’t wait to see 

 at the Wheelock Parkway Project. With the help of this 

 from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, I’m making it my mission to snap pics of Thao’s work against an optimally gorgeous autumn backdrop. –

Want to get creeped out but don’t have time to watch a whole movie or play? How ‘bout you visit some of the scariest places in the Twin Cities? The 

 in the Prospect Park neighborhood is one of the highest points in Minneapolis and it is delightfully creepy. I went on a random Tuesday afternoon and the park was empty except for one goth woman staring into space while smoking a cigarette. Incredible. Also, it may sound like low-hanging fruit but any 

 is basically a creepy capitalist ghost factory. I recommend visiting the spirits still kicking around the old JoAnn Fabrics building in Roseville during the handful of months it is reanimated by Spirit Halloween. If you are looking for spooky environs on Halloween proper, I recommend a visit to Palace Ave in St. Paul between Pascal and Hamline. We’ve got 

 to confirm that it’s downright haunted. 

Are you ready for two Halloween costume ideas that will turn heads at any Twin Cities function? Get ready for these spicy numbers!

Grab some white noise generators and a huge box and make every guest sign an NDA before you talk to them … now you’re a data center!

The utterly professional Mayor Her of St. Paul sent around a 

 of a St. Paul cop swaddled up in a blanket and said it was how someone looked after a good weinering. Wear this to your work party – Mayor Her hasn’t been fired, maybe you won’t either! –

Explore Twin Cities parks, enjoy fall festivals and Oktoberfests, and shop local for school supplies at unique neighborhood stores.

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