Minneapolis is borrowing a St. Paul strategy aimed at preventing homicides by solving more nonfatal shootings.

Why it matters: Minneapolis has struggled to bring its homicide rate back down to where it was before a surge that began in 2020.

• Meanwhile, St. Paul and Ramsey County's focus on solving nonfatal shootings has led to a dramatic decline in homicides, which dropped from 33 in 2024 to 15 last year, the lowest total in St. Paul since 2013.
• Minneapolis reported 64 in 2024, which was still above the 48 murders in 2019.

Driving the news: Minneapolis leaders yesterday announced the formation of a task force comprising eight MPD officers, four Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents, a Ramsey County sheriff's deputy, a Metro Transit Police officer, and additional detectives from Bloomington, who will join in June.

What they're saying: "Good mayors copy and great mayors steal," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. "We're taking this idea and we're instituting it here in Minneapolis because we recognize this could ultimately save lives."

Yes, but: Frey is stealing an idea that former St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi stole from Denver.

• How it works: Solving nonfatal shootings, which are often gang-related, prevents future retaliatory homicides by interrupting the cycle of violence, leaders told MPR News. St. Paul increased its nonfatal shooting clearance rate from 37% in 2024 to 71% last year.

Between the lines: As to why it took so long for Minneapolis to adopt St. Paul's policy, Frey pointed to staffing shortages that have plagued MPD since 2020, though the police ranks began to rebound last year.

Council Member Robin Wonsley said yesterday that Minneapolis still faces hurdles in staffing the task force because of restrictions in the city's police union contract. Right now, the task force is reliant on help from other agencies.

• "I look forward to working with our partners and the mayor to really make sure that we're addressing that barrier in the upcoming police contract," Wonsley said.

Zoom out: State lawmakers recently approved nearly $1 million in grants to help other departments across Minnesota adopt similar nonfatal shooting investigation strategies.

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NFL owners will vote today on a host city for the 2028 draft, but several league insiders say the decision has already been made to hold it in Minneapolis.

Why it matters: We're talking hundreds of thousands of people gathering downtown to watch NFL teams choose which 21-year-old is the next Hall of Famer.

• More than 13 million watched from home during this year's late-April draft, which was held in Pittsburgh.

Circle your calendar: Assuming the NFL keeps its typical calendar, the Minneapolis draft will be April 27-29, 2028.

Background on the Minnesota pitch

⚖️ Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced felony assault charges against an ICE agent who shot a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis in January. (New York Times)

🎯 A group of activist investors are urging shareholders to vote to remove former CEO Brian Cornell from Target's board of directors, blaming the former leader for some of the company's struggles. (Retail Dive)

🧯 Crews fully contained a wildfire that burned more than 350 acres near Two Harbors. A second fire that's charred more than 1,600 acres near Breezy Point is now 60% contained. (MPR News)

🎭 Chanhassen Dinner Theatres cancelled four showings of "Guys and Dolls" last weekend due to to a Norovirus outbreak among staff. (Star Tribune)

• The venue was hit by a cyberattack at the same time, making it hard to communicate with ticket holders.

👩‍⚖️ Gov. Tim Walz plans to announce his pick for chief justice of the state Supreme Court today, along with a new appointment to the bench. (Background via MPR)

• The openings are due to the retirement of Chief Justice Natalie Hudson.

The slate of bipartisan proposals passed in the final days of this year's legislative session goes beyond the headline-grabbing deals on hot topics like car tabs and HCMC.

Why it matters: The work done under the dome impacts Minnesotans' lives in ways big and small.

Here's a sampling of the measures that passed, some of which are still pending signatures from Gov. Tim Walz:

📲 Social media platforms will need to get parental consent for users under 16 and remove "addictive" features such as infinite scroll and autoplay video and targeted advertising from the feeds of those accounts.

🍖 Meat raffles will be able to offer more valuable prizes — and charge slightly more for tickets.

🍸Assisted living facilities can host happy hours for their senior residents right away — instead of waiting until the end of the summer.

📉 Prediction markets will be effectively banned, teeing up potential lawsuits.

🚲 E-bike riders 18 and under will need to wear helmets under a broader safety package.

☢️ The Department of Commerce will commission a $500,000 study exploring whether Minnesota should lift its moratorium on new nuclear power.

🎓 Veterans who were unable to graduate from high school because they were serving in the Korean or Vietnam wars will be able to request a diploma.

🍳 Food retailers can donate eggs to food shelves for up to 30 days beyond the "best buy" date, a change supporters say will reduce waste and increase access to fresh food.

🦁 Como Zoo will get $9 million in bonding money to renovate its Big Cat Habitat.

🛑 Yes, but: A number of proposals with bipartisan backing failed to pass both chambers by deadline, including:

• 🍄 Legalizing psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic use (though lawmakers agreed to study the issue).
• 🤫 Banning local governments from using non-disclosure agreements for data center projects.
• 🤖 Green-lighting Waymo and other autonomous vehicles to operate without a driver.
• 🐶 Prohibiting the sale of puppies and cats at stores.

🏒Plus: While St. Paul received $50 million of the $200 million it requested for renovations to Grand Casino Arena and the neighboring Roy Wilkins Auditorium, a separate sales tax extension proposed to raise additional funds for the projects fell short.

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The Smashing Pumpkins will play Grand Casino Arena on Oct. 13.

• Presale begins today at 10am, with general sales beginning at 10am Thursday on smashingpumpkins.com.