Latest news with #MelvinCarter
CBS News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Students converge in Twin Cities to become gun violence prevention advocates
In the wake of a deadly attack on Minnesota lawmakers, more than 100 volunteers with Students Demand Action will be on the University of Minnesota's metro campus this week to learn all about the power of advocating for gun violence prevention in politics. On Monday morning, they had the chance to pick the brains of local leaders who are pushing for gun reform, including St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and DFL state Sen. Erin Maye Quade. Panelists say young people have the power and influence to make a difference in the growing issue. "I just am always of the belief that it shouldn't have to happen to you for it to matter to you," Maye Quade said. "It shouldn't have to come knocking at your door in the middle of the night. It shouldn't have to come to your campus. It shouldn't have to come to your school." One month ago, a gunman posed as a police officer and shot two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses. The alleged planned attack killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Investigators later recovered more than 50 guns from the suspect's property and vehicle. Andres Cubillos is a national trainer with Students Demand Action. "We as students have the energy, the ability, the know-how on actually getting involved. So getting students the tools that they need to get involved I think, especially at events like this, is really, really important," Cubillos said. Monday's panel, and the week that follows, is part of Everytown for Gun Safety's grassroots network. Students will also complete a capstone project in gun safety advocacy.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
St. Paul Ward 4 council race: Forums scheduled, endorsements roll in
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce's political action committee are backing nonprofit founder Molly Coleman for the open Ward 4 seat on the city council, as are a series of labor unions. Members of Starbucks Workers United plan to knock doors alongside Ward 4 candidate Cole Hanson, who has drawn endorsements from City Council Member Nelsie Yang and the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America. Chauntyll Allen, a leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, has received the support of a number of elected officials, including Ramsey County Commissioner Rena Moran, fellow school board members Halla Henderson, Carlo Franco and Jim Vue, and City Council Member Anika Bowie. Carolyn Will, a former television journalist turned marketing specialist, is the latest candidate to jump in the race for Ward 4. With early voting opening Friday, political endorsements are rolling in for the four candidates, who will meet in at least six candidate forums leading up to the Aug. 12 special election. Voters in the city's Ward 4 neighborhoods — Hamline-Midway, Merriam Park, St. Anthony Park and parts of Macalester-Groveland and Como — will choose their next council member by ranked-choice ballot, which means they may rank all four candidates by order of preference. The candidates include Allen, who serves on the St. Paul Board of Education; Coleman, the founder of the nonprofit People's Parity Project, which seeks progressive court reform; Hanson, a statewide online education coordinator who teaches nutrition to recipients of federal food assistance, or SNAP; and Will, founder of CW Marketing and Communications. With the St. Paul DFL not hosting caucuses or endorsing conventions for Ward 4 this summer or in this year's mayor's race, other endorsements could gain more prominence, as could candidate forums. The position is officially non-partisan but typically draws strong partisan interest. 'I was kind of disappointed that the St. Paul DFL wasn't going to have an endorsement process,' said Al Oertwig, chair of the St. Paul chapter of the DFL Senior Caucus. The Senior Caucus will convene a Ward 4candidate forum from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the meeting room at Mississippi Market, 740 East Seventh St. The St. Paul Historic Preservation Political Committee, which advocates for historic building preservation in the, will host its July 14 forum at Hamline Methodist Church, 1514 Englewood Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the forum is expected to conclude at 8 p.m. There is no admission charge. For more information, visit the organization's website at Questions from the audience will be accepted, time permitting. Additional forums will be hosted by the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, or MICAH, on July 17; the League of Women Voters on July 22; and the Senate District 64 DFL on July 30. Unidos MN held an hour-long climate forum with the candidates on May 27, and video of the forum is online at Allen, who was born and raised in Rondo, is the founder of Love First Community Engagement, which connects volunteers to work with Black youth. In addition to counting on the support of Moran, Henderson, Franco, Vue and Bowie, her endorsements include the Stonewall DFL, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong. Her campaign website is 'From my family's displacement from Rondo to seeing my former students on the streets to difficulty finding affordable housing for me and my wife, I know what fellow residents are facing because I live it everyday,' said Allen, in a recent statement. She was not immediately available for comment Monday, but she publicly listed her core priorities as 'housing options for all,' community safety, economic stability and workforce and youth development. Coleman, daughter of former St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, lives in Hamline-Midway with her husband and 1 1/2-year-old son. Her major endorsements include the mayor, former Council President Amy Brendmoen, state Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten, DFL-St. Paul, Ramsey County Commissioner Garrison McMurtrey, Council Member Saura Jost and interim Council Member Matt Privratsky. Her campaign website site is Coleman also has the support of Sustain St. Paul, gun control advocates Moms Demand Action, the St. Paul Building Trades, the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 110. 'It's helpful, especially in an election without a DFL endorsement, to know there have been real screenings,' said Coleman, who is running on the platform of economic and social justice and inclusivity. 'But ultimately, it will be up to the voters.' Hanson lives near Snelling and University avenues in the Midway and has a young child. In addition to receiving the backing of Nelsie Yang and the Twin Cities DSA, he's received an official endorsement from Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley and a series of everyday Ward 4 residents he features prominently on his website. His campaign website is The International Association of Firefighters Local 21 and the St. Paul Federation of Educators Local 28 have not made official endorsements in the race, but both organizations gave Hanson letters of recommendation. In July, he plans to go door knocking alongside Starbucks Workers United using the campaign banner 'St. Paul is a Union Town.' 'I'm really proud of that one,' said Hanson, a former president of the Hamline-Midway Coalition, whose platform includes advocating for a downtown municipal grocery and city-owned affordable and market-rate housing. 'They're scrappers. They're really fighting for what they want to win. They're retail workers, and they're organizing against billionaires who own Starbucks.' Will spent Monday in Bemidji helping her parents clean up after storm damage and was not available for comment. She has lived in four wards in St. Paul for 33 years, and has two adult children and one grandchild. Will, who has been active in efforts to oppose the Summit Avenue bikeway and force changes to the city's prospective tree preservation ordinance, said in a recent campaign statement she is a politically-moderate independent who believes in 'safety that starts with accountability and neighbors helping neighbors, budgets that respect taxpayers, and a city that welcomes growth without forgetting its roots.' Former Ward 4 Council Member Mitra Jalali stepped down from office in February, citing health concerns, and interim Council Member Matt Privratsky was later appointed by the mayor's office to fill her role until voters elect a new member to complete the four-year term, which ends in 2028. In November, voters will choose between three candidates for mayor — Carter, Yan Chen and Mike Hilborn — and determine whether to give the city council the option of imposing non-criminal fines, or administrative citations, on rule-breakers. Watch this space for updates to this story. Down to one board member and short on cash, St. Paul DFL goes on hiatus Four candidates file for Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council Letters: St. Paul should take care of what it has before spending on new things West Seventh garbage truck depot wins City Council's OK Climate action group schedules first Ward 4 candidate forum
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
No state funding secured for Xcel Energy Center renovation this time around
The Brief The Xcel Energy Center came out empty-handed from Minnesota's legislative session once again. The City of St. Paul and the Minnesota Wild leadership have been pushing for state funds for major renovations for years. ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Xcel Energy Center is nearly 25 years old. Local leaders said the arena needs a major overhaul. Local officials said it is a priority for the city and important for the revitalization of the area. However, they failed to convince the Minnesota Legislature this time around. The backstory According to the city, the arena's lifespan was intended to be 25 years. From the initial ask for state bond funding a couple of years ago, the amount requested has ranged from $2 million to nearly $400 million. Most recently, landing on a $50 million ask with the city and Wild planning to cover the rest. The requests have not only been a moving target in terms of the dollar amount requested, but also in scope. What they're saying Plus, this project was up against many others across the state. Minnesota lawmakers said there was a focus on passing critical functional infrastructure projects, including water and roads. In response to this outcome, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and the Minnesota Wild sent FOX 9 this statement and said they will continue the work. "The arena complex welcomes people from across our region and drives economic vitality in our capital city. We'll keep working alongside state lawmakers and community partners to ensure this vital statewide asset is modernized to meet today's needs, and sustained as a vibrant hub that benefits residents, visitors, and our regional economy alike."
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MN Legislature: Xcel Energy Center shut out of bond funding for renovations
For the second year in a row, the Xcel Energy Center came out of the legislative session with nothing — a frustrating shut-out for both the Minnesota Wild and the St. Paul mayor's office. Since at least the fall of 2023, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold have discussed a sweeping remodel of the downtown Xcel Energy Center, the popular home of professional hockey in Minnesota, which also doubles as a celebrated concert hall. Efforts to secure $2 million in planning and pre-design funds from state lawmakers were unsuccessful last year, and a much larger ask this March — about $395 million in state appropriations bonds — drew skepticism from key lawmakers, including state Rep. Maria Isa Perez-Vega, who represents the district. Some lawmakers called the process unwieldly from start to finish, and questioned why the city requested the money in 2023, when a nearly $18 billion state budget surplus loomed large. The surplus is projected to dwindle to a shortfall by 2028-2029. The Xcel Energy Center remodel was the city's priority legislative request, topping an expansive list of proposals that was not approved by the St. Paul City Council until March 26, or more than halfway through the legislative session. Even some supporters called the request large, late and messy. 'All of the above,' said state Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, who chairs the Senate Capital Investment Committee, on Wednesday. 'We had a (projected budget) deficit this year. We just don't have a Legislature right now that is very supportive of sports arenas.' Pappas said she was willing to carry a bill that would extend the city's existing half-cent sales tax — which currently funds St. Paul's Neighborhood STAR and Cultural STAR grant programs, as well as basic maintenance at the X — to pay for some of the proposed arena improvements. To her knowledge, the proposal never found a House sponsor. Perez-Vega, a logical partner, was not on board. 'Their government relations, Craig Leipold, nor Melvin Carter, they never came to me about their sales tax incentive,' said Perez-Vega on Wednesday. 'The first I heard of that was while it was in conference committee through the Senate file that Pappas was carrying. … It was just a little too sloppy. There was no direct communication of how all this would work.' Perez-Vega said Leipold later approached her apologetically, saying he was unaware that she had not been roped into the process. Still, she hopes to see the Wild more present and active in the communities she represents. 'Why don't they bring the Wild into some of these spaces where the youth are, particularly our communities of color?' she said. 'I see the Saints, I see the Twins, I see the Minnesota United. I want these ties.' Meanwhile, competition for bond funds came from water and transportation infrastructure projects, including $16 million to the Metropolitan Council for an inflow and infiltration public infrastructure grant program, and $12 million to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, half of which will support statewide grants aimed at addressing drinking water contamination. 'We had a small, $700 million bonding bill we didn't even know if we were going to get passed. And the governor had big asks,' Pappas said. 'He wanted a new Bureau of Criminal Apprehension building in Mankato. He wanted a new building for State Patrol. … He wanted 45% of the bonding bill to be asset preservation for the state buildings and higher ed.' When Carter and Leipold presented their initial funding ask for the X to the House Capital Investment Committee on March 20, it was little more than a concept plan, as they had yet to secure a bill sponsor. Perez-Vega, who had carried the bill for $2 million in planning and design funds a year earlier, objected at the time to being surprised with such a large request in the 'front yard of my community.' 'If this is the number one priority for the city that I love … I'd like to see more effort to deliver this information to my office,' Perez-Vega said at the time, after listing a long line of competing St. Paul priorities, from homelessness to climate concerns, where tax dollars could be spent. In early May, Carter and Leipold presented a new plan to lawmakers. The $769 million remodel of the Xcel Center would be pared down to a $488 million upgrade, freezing proposed improvements to the adjoining RiverCentre convention center complex and the Roy Wilkins Auditorium until an unspecified later date. The funding request to lawmakers dropped from nearly $400 million in state bond funds to $50 million, with the team promising $238 million and any cost overruns. The city and potential partners, such as Ramsey County, would be on the hook for $200 million, though county officials at the time seemed non-committal. Leipold said at the time the goal was to create a 'modern, best-in-class' facility that keeps up with changing tastes of sports fans, with low-cost, lounge-style seating areas and other fresh amenities. Even in the plan's trimmer version, the state's contribution would have helped expand the north wall along Fifth Street to improve the northeast entrance security area, increase disability access, update restroom plumbing and reduce pedestrian congestion. Calling the fate of downtown and the X closely linked, Carter wanted to see public-facing improvements that would better connect the arena to Seventh Street, Rice Park and the Landmark Center, creating a continuous entertainment district. Under the title 'Project Wow,' the Wild attempted to draw the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame from Eveleth, Minn. to downtown St. Paul, an effort that drew mixed reaction from lawmakers. The Xcel Energy Center, which opened in 2000, welcomed a million visitors to Wild and Frost hockey games, concerts, performances and other gatherings in the first three months of this year alone. The arena complex draws more than 2.1 million visitors and $383 million in spending annually, according to the city. Pappas said she had been able to convince the city to stick to asking for appropriations bonds, which lawmakers consider and fund separately from general obligation bonds. In 2012, Gov. Mark Dayton linked funding for construction of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the home of the Minnesota Vikings, to electronic pull-tabs. 'The best path forward for the Xcel is appropriations bonds, with some kind of new funding source to pay off the debt,' Pappas said Wednesday. 'I don't know what that would be.' 'It would have been easier to consider this request in 2023, because we had that big surplus, and we had one-time money,' she added. 'We have a lot of sports arenas that could be coming to the state for money, and I just don't think legislators want to go there.' Concert review: Maynard James Keenan and pals celebrate his 61st birthday at the X Frost championship celebration livens up Xcel Energy Center Evanescence will headline the 93X Family Reunion concert at Xcel Energy Center Rising pop star Benson Boone to kick off his first arena tour in St. Paul St. Paul, MN Wild trim Xcel Center's state request from $400M to $50M
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Paul weighs consolidating some downtown offices at Osborn 370 building
The city of St. Paul plans to lease more than 10,000 square feet within the Osborn 370 building on Wabasha Street, covering the building's entire ninth floor, for eight years. What will that square footage be used for? Therein lies the question. The lease at 9 Fifth St. E., approved Wednesday by the St. Paul City Council, allows for flexible move-in dates and below-market rates, with the first 12 months rent-free. That gives the city some time to complete a 'space use' study with the help of real estate consultants, who will attempt to determine which city offices will make best use of the new floor and in what manner. It might become collaborative work space for the city to engage with private sector partners, or it may support departments with space shortages, such as the city attorney's office. It also may be used as upgraded space for staff committed to working downtown more than three days per week, said Bruce Engelbrekt, the city's real estate manager, addressing the city council on Wednesday. With many office staff on a hybrid work schedule, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter floated the idea last year of clearing out the downtown City Hall Annex building on Fourth Street and converting the property into residences, which remains a possibility. 'We're trying to think strategically about how to use our purchasing power and people power to help be part of the solution,' said Council President Rebecca Noecker. City offices are largely but not exclusively spread throughout the City Hall/Ramsey County Courthouse building at 15 West Kellogg Blvd. and the annex building directly across the street. The city's Department of Safety and Inspections works out of a building on Jackson Street, which is owned by Madison Equities, an embattled downtown property owner that has recently lost control of some of its buildings to foreclosure and receivership. The study likely will at least touch on library staff based at the downtown George Latimer Central Library. 'We have a question into (the consultants) whether the mayor's office and the city council offices should be part of the study, because of your need to be located in this building,' Engelbrekt said. 'We need to specifically look at those (offices) that have some space needs.' Council Member Cheniqua Johnson noted Osborn 370 has developed a positive reputation downtown, drawing notable tenants such as the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation. The Osborn 370 floor is partially furnished, allowing 'minimal up-front investment to move and establish operations,' according to the council resolution approved Wednesday. St. Paul's Maxfield Elementary breaks ground on 'community schoolyard' Ex-teacher of Hmong College Prep Academy in St. Paul sentenced for criminal sexual conduct with student Four candidates file for Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council Canadian wildfire smoke causes 'very unhealthy' conditions in American Midwest and reaches Europe 40 St. Paul street lights stripped of copper wiring, though reports are down overall
