City briefs - Jul 2026

City department heads appointed
The City Council has approved Mayor Jacob Frey’s recommended reappointments of Eric Hanson to be Community Planning & Economic Development Department Director, Timothy Sexton to be Public Works Department Director, and Rachel Sayre to be Emergency Management Department Director.

Appointment of Civil Rights Director
On July 8, the council held a public hearing on Mayor Jacob Frey’s nomination of Kaela McConnon Diarra to be the city’s next Civil Rights Department Director through January 2030. McConnon Diarra has worked in the department for several years and has served as the city’s Interim Director of Civil Rights, Deputy Director of Civil Rights Department, and the Director of Complaint Investigations Division.

Fire chief
The city council has set a public hearing for July 22, 2026, to consider the Mayor’s nomination of Reginald Freeman to be the next Fire Chief for a term ending January 2030.

Audit committee appointments
The city council has approved the four resident appointees to serve on the audit committee through Dec 2028. They are J. Singleton and Rachel Peterson who both live in Ward 8, Lily Hopsbein from Ward 1 and Wajdi Al-Mowafak from Ward 10. The group appoints and oversees the work of the city auditor and also includes two council members, and one park and recreation board commissioner.

Law enforcement agency agreements
The city council approved an ordinance amendment that prohibits the city departments from entering into agreements with any enforcement agency that does not ban concealing their identity while performing their activities in the city.

Traffic safety plan
The City of Minneapolis is seeking feedback on its traffic safety Vision Zero plan aimed at ending traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets. City staff estimate that currently about 175 people are seriously hurt or killed in traffic crashes in Minneapolis every year. A draft of the city’s 2026-2030 Vision Zero Action Plan to improve traffic safety in Minneapolis is now available for review at minneapolismn.gov/visionzero. Feedback on the draft is being collected through July 19.

I-394 Construction
Road work on I-394 and I-94 continues with new traffic impacts starting July 8 when the main westbound I-394 lanes will reopen and eastbound I-394 traffic will be shifted into the two HOV lanes. This means lane reductions for eastbound traffic between St. Louis Park and downtown Minneapolis and no HOV option.

Met Council Transportation Plan
The Metropolitan Council is seeking comments from now until July 17 on their “Unified Planning Work Program” that promotes a unified approach to regional transportation planning, documents how funds are used, and implements the Met Council transportation policy plan. For more information, contact Frank Alarcon at frank.alarcon@metc.state.mn.us or 651-602-1979.

Oliver Ave Storm Sewer
The city will begin reconstructing a portion of the storm water sewer system in Lynnhurst on Oliver between West 50th St and Lake Harriet Parkway and on West 50th Street between Oliver and Penn avenues on July 13. The project is expected to be completed next summer.