Axios Twin Cities

May 29, 2025
☁️ Happy Thursday! We may not be done with the rain yet.
- Chance of showers this afternoon, NWS says. High of 76.
Today's newsletter is 931 words, a 3-minute read.
1 big thing: The school districts we flock to


Nearly 44,000 Twin Cities students crossed over into another district to attend school in 2024-25 — a number that has grown every year for at least a decade, according to an Axios analysis.
Why it matters: The steady rise of "open enrollment" is the result of years of work by Minnesota policymakers to give parents more control over where to send their kids to school.
- These policies give districts a powerful financial incentive to compete with each other to attract families: Each new student brings additional state funding, and each student lost comes at a cost.
Stunning stats: Nearly 40% of Minnetonka Public Schools' students live in other districts, as do roughly a third of the students attending Fridley, Orono, Columbia Heights, Mahtomedi, St. Anthony and Hopkins schools.
Case in point: Open enrollment has helped Minnetonka grow from a district of under 7,700 students two decades ago to more than 11,000 today.
- Funding gained from this student influx has helped "keep our district's programs at the level that our community has been used to seeing them," school board member Patrick Lee-O'Halloran said at a 2024 meeting.
Friction point: There's not enough school funding to go around, which raises the stakes of this competition between schools, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage district spokesperson Aaron Tinklenberg told Axios.
- That's been trying for districts like Minneapolis Public Schools. Though MPS' overall enrollment has stabilized, its steep open enrollment losses have complicated a precarious budget situation.
How it works: State law lets parents apply for open enrollment in any district so long as the parent is willing to provide transportation.
- Districts can use a lottery when applications exceed available seats, though they must give admissions preferences to siblings and staff members' children.
2. Plus: How open enrollment reshapes Twin Cities schools


Research has shown racial segregation is worsening in Twin Cities schools, and critics fear open enrollment is one reason why.
Between the lines: The Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity's most recent analysis found that in 2009-10, 36% of white open-enrolled children moved to a more-segregated district.
- That's compared to 19% of white children whose parents chose more-integrated settings, the institute's director, University of Minnesota law professor Myron Orfield, told Axios.
Catch up quick: The number of open-enrolled students statewide has grown 78% since Orfield's study of 2010 data — and though he hasn't crunched recent numbers, he fears the trend toward segregation is increasing.
Yes, but: In Minnetonka, school officials have downplayed the effect of race on families' enrollment decisions. District spokesperson JacQui Getty told Axios most parents choose the district for the quality of its programming.
Zoom out: In the Twin Cities, districts' main publicly funded competitors are still charter schools — tuition-free schools run by nonprofits. Charters in the metro enroll more than 62,000 students.
Reality check: Districts that see higher numbers of students leave via open enrollment are not necessarily "undesirable," Tinklenberg argued.
- Burnsville has seen greater net losses to open enrollment than any other district outside Minneapolis, but its finances are relatively stable and it has beat overall enrollment projections in four of the last five years, he said.
3. The Spoon: The Guthrie's comeback
🎭 The Guthrie Theater almost broke even last fiscal year after reporting a nearly $3.8 million shortfall the year before, according to new filings. (Star Tribune)
🚊 Law enforcement officers, as well as housing and addiction service providers, will be more visible on the Green Line through at least the end of this summer, Metro Transit police say. (Pioneer Press)
🚔 FBI agents arrested a new suspect in the Feeding Our Future case at MSP Airport. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the woman, who has not been charged, was attempting to fly to Dubai. (Sahan Journal)
🦺 New "community safety ambassadors" will begin making rounds along Minneapolis' East Lake Street and East Franklin Avenue as part of a city-run pilot program. (KSTP)
🍺 Several restaurateurs have bought the Hilltop Bar in Hanover with plans to re-open the joint. It was a biker bar in its heyday — and Bob Dylan was a regular. (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal)
4. The Wolves are out. Here's what's next.
The bad news is another thrilling Wolves season ended with a disappointing loss in the Western Conference Finals last night.
- The good news is this team's window for contending for a title remains wide open.
State of play: Of the eight main players who get regular minutes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the only free agent, while Julius Randle and Naz Reid have the option to become free agents this summer.
- 23-year-old superstar Anthony Edwards and rising star Jaden McDaniels are under contract for four more seasons, and veterans Rudy Gobert and Donte DiVincenzo for two more.
- Some of the young players should be ready for expanded roles, namely Terrence Shannon Jr., who showed flashes in short spurts in the playoffs, and Jaylen Clark, a defensive menace.
Yes, but: There are a few big questions facing the team.
- Can they keep Randle and Reid? Both power forwards have the chance to become free agents this offseason. Are the Wolves willing to shell out most of their salary cap space to keep them both? If so, it likely means Alexander-Walker is gone.
5. 🚗 1 pic to go: Dude, where's my car?
The seniors at Minneapolis' Washburn High managed to get a whole car onto the roof of their school.
Reality check: This isn't the epic senior prank that it appears to be.
- A Minneapolis Public Schools spokesperson says it was a supervised senior project in which the students assembled the car on the roof, from parts.
- It will be taken down at the end of the school year.
🎓 The bottom line: Congratulations to all the Millers and other seniors graduating in the coming days!
❄️ Nick and his classmates' senior prank was piling a mountain of snow in front of their school's front doors.
⚽️ Torey is going to her 4-year-old's last soccer practice of the "season!"
🇪🇹 Kyle enjoyed Ethiopian food with a former MinnPost colleague at Snelling Café.
This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz.
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