Category: Minneapolis, Minnesota Local News

Two boys basketball defending state champions find themselves in familiar territory after the brackets were unveiled Saturday by the Minnesota State High School League for the state tournament.

Wayzata (27-1) in Class 4A and Totino-Grace (24-5) in Class 3A received top seeds and will try starting Wednesday to repeat as state champions. The two powers met during the regular season, with Wayzata prevailing 83-81. Each was No. 1 in its class in Minnesota Basketball News’ final regular-season rankings.

The top-ranked schools in the two smallest classes also garnered top seeds, Breck (27-1) in Class 2A and Cherry (26-2) in Class 1A.

The tournaments will get under way Wednesday morning with the quarterfinals in the top three classes at Williams Arena and the Maturi Pavilion on the University of Minnesota campus. The Class 1A quarterfinals will begin Thursday morning at the Maturi Pavilion. The four championship games will be held Saturday at Williams Arena.

A rematch of last season’s Class 4A title game could be brewing. No. 2-ranked Park Center (24-3) is the No. 2 seed. The Pirates were swept by Totino-Grace in their two Northwest Suburban Conference regular-season meetings.

The Eagles won’t have an easy time in their quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 Stewartville (25-3). The Tigers are unseeded, and all three of their losses — to No. 2 Mankato East (26-2), No. 7 Alexandria (23-5) and unranked Orono (18-10) — were to state tournament entrants. Mankato East is seeded second, Alexandria third and Orono fourth.

Orono won’t have an easy task in the opening round either, going against No. 5-ranked DeLaSalle (20-9).

In Class 2A, No. 4 Albany (28-2) and No. 3 Lake City (24-5) drew the second and third seeds.

In Class 1A, only two other ranked teams besides Cherry made the field: No. 3 West Central Area (27-3) and No. 8 Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey (27-3). Cherry, featuring Gophers signee Isaac Asuma, is a heavy favorite.

Excerpt from the May 7 City of Minneapolis e-newsletter:

Changes are coming to downtown Minneapolis along the First Avenue N corridor.

The Minneapolis Public Works Department is reconstructing half a mile of First Avenue North between Washington Avenue and Eighth Street North in 2028. The project will include a range of right-of-way and public realm improvements that would make it easier for people to move safely and comfortably along the street.

Some of the project goals include:

• Expanded, ADA-compliant sidewalks and safer street crossings.
• New green stormwater infrastructure and sustainable landscaping.
• Enhanced streetscape elements, including improved lighting and public art.
• Active public spaces that attract and retain residents, businesses, and visitors.

The project also gives the opportunity to improve traffic signals, signs and underground utilities along the route.

Survey

Take our short survey to tell us what you envision for First Avenue North. Your input will help us design a street that serves your needs and desires.

Learn more about the project and how to stay up to date on more ways to participate in the planning and engagement process. 

Minneapolis North arrived at Augsburg University’s Si Melby Hall on Friday night seeking its 24th appearance in Minnesota’s boys basketball state tournament. The Polars have seven state championships and have been waiting since way back in 2017 to claim an eighth.

The legendary coach Larry McKenzie retired in the summer of 2022 after a loss in March to Annandale in the Class 2A final. And the North administration made quite a hire as his replacement:

Ricky Davis, an NBAer of note, was living in the Twin Cities and applied for a job, and how does a high school turn down a mercurial basketball character such as Ricky?

Davis’ first North season ended with a loss to Holy Family in the Class 2A, Section 5 title game, and the Polars were back in the same circumstance Friday, with a more high-powered opponent.

Breck School, a team with a fair amount of talent returning, then landed the transfer of the year last July 24:

Daniel Freitag, 1, 2 or 3 among Minnesota prep recruits for 2024, announced he was not leaving Bloomington Jefferson for a basketball prep school in California but rather applying to enroll at Breck.

Harry Sonie, in his second season at Breck, was known to Freitag from Sonie’s work with the now-folded Team Tyus and the attempt to merge with Howard Pulley, Freitag’s AAU team.

Breck had been looking for a new coach at the same time as the North Polars, and the administration took a chance on Sonie, who is only 29.

Sonie was also on the same court where he was a standout guard for Augsburg, after being a teammate with Tyus Jones on Apple Valley’s tremendous prep teams.

The action was as frantic as promised, with these two high-powered, athletic teams. Breck started slow, kicked into high gear, allowed North’s combination of wide and powerful center Jordan Hurd and some outside shooting to make it a game in the second half, but then survived:

Mustangs 91, Polars 74.

Hanif Muhammad and Freitag scored 27 points apiece for Breck. Hanif and his brother Mu (a sophomore) fast for Ramadan.

He had to wait until 7:21 p.m. to gulp some water. The aqua kicked in for the second half. He went 5-for-8 on threes.

The Muhammad family lives in Arden Hills. Father Bilal was a college basketball player and turned his sons onto the game about the time they started walking.

The fasting was mentioned to Bilal and he said: “Once Hanif got that drink of water, he started making everything.”

Sonie was putting his team through a light practice on Thursday afternoon. The players circled him for a conversation before that started and he was overheard to say this:

Forget the 90-75 win over North early in the season. The Polars were much improved since then, with dramatic evidence on Wednesday night: a 104-86 victory over Holy Family in the section semifinals.

The Breck players saw this improvement immediately, as North scored the game’s first seven points and was leading 14-8. And then, presto, Freitag had a quick flurry, and it started a 20-0 run for the Mustangs.

This was going to be easy, right? Wrong.

North had the lead down to six points with six minutes left. Hurd would set up next to the lane, the defender would push against him, to no avail, and he would turn and score.

What to do about that? Get the ball to Hanif Muhammad and have him hit a clutch basket.

“I played with Jordan Hurd on the Spartans youth team,” Hanif said. “I played with a lot of those guys. Freitag was on that team, too. When he decided to transfer to us rather than go to the prep school, I knew this was going to be a big year.”

This was Day 5 and the second game of the Ramadan fast for the Muhammads.

“I’ve been doing it all my life, so playing this way was nothing new,” Hanif said. “But the way the game was moving, that fast drink of water felt great.”

Hanif has a shooting style from outside where he starts the motion almost at his waist, sends it on a very high trajectory and down it came Friday — a splash of water, followed by several splashes from three.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has settled a consumer protection lawsuit it launched two years ago against a “hedge fund-owned mega landlord” that rents and manages more than 600 rental properties in the state.

The AG’s office had accused HavenBrook Homes, its parent company Progress Residential and the “syndicate of corporations” behind them of extracting profits from low-income tenants by “severely under-maintaining” the homes. The Minnesota Supreme Court had denied the companies’ appeal this year.

“No Minnesotan should have to live in a home that loses heat, lacks hot water, and is infested with pests and mold due to a landlord’s negligence,” said Attorney General Keith Ellison. “Landlords cannot use their legal and economic power over renters to take advantage of them.”

Under the settlement agreement, HavenBrook Homes will have to put $2.2 million into a restitution fund for current and former tenants who had delayed repairs, reported that a member of their household was diagnosed with elevated blood lead levels or been illegally forced to leave a HavenBrook home during the governor’s COVID-19 eviction moratorium.

The companies also agreed to forgive rental debt owed by all former tenants of their Minnesota properties up to $1.9 million.

“Enhancing the leasing and resident living experience and making a positive difference for our residents has been our top priority since taking over property management for HavenBrook in mid-2022,” said Progress Residential general counsel Ama Romaine.

“We are pleased to have resolved this matter in a manner that is consistent with our commitment to making a positive impact on the communities we serve.”

Much of the legal wrangling in this case revolved around the state’s efforts to establish the relationship between HavenBrook Homes’ holding companies.

In early 2021, the New York investment firm Pretium Partners acquired the once publicly traded, single-family rental company Front Yard Residential, whose property management affiliate was HavenBrook Homes. Around the same time, Minnesota tenants of HavenBrook Homes began to protest myriad problems they said made their homes uninhabitable. The city of Minneapolis repeatedly sued HavenBrook Homes for repairs and launched a special inspection project for all of its properties within the city. Columbia Heights revoked HavenBrook Homes’ rental licenses in 2022.

The companies’ lawyers claimed the state could not prove that they owned HavenBrook Homes — as opposed to merely investing in it through another corporate affiliate — and were therefore not responsible for its housing violations.

“What they’re trying to do is clump them all together and kind of create a bunch of dust, if you will, and say, look, there’s all this stuff going on, they’re in the single-family home rental industry,” said the companies’ lawyer, Joseph Windler. “The bad acts are alleged way over here, and then they did this stuff over here … that might be related, so, therefore, all of them are connected.”

The courts declined to dismiss Pretium Partners from the lawsuit. They found that the firm had repeatedly held itself out as the owner of the Minnesota homes through communications with Minnesota tenants and housing advocates.

Pretium employees had also facilitated third-party inspections of HavenBrook Homes and contacted Columbia Heights in an effort to have HavenBrook Homes’ licenses reinstated.

Tenant Arianna Anderson, who lives in a Progress Residential property in Crystal, said Friday that she was still trying to understand the settlement but hoped it would provide an avenue for tenants to buy their homes.

“For me, if we can get those 600 people that were affected by the malpractices of HavenBrook, Progress and whoever they are now, if we can get them into safe, dignified and affordable housing, that’s the real win,” Anderson said.

Progress Residential and Pretium Partners have announced plans to transfer their properties to affordable housing entities this spring.

The companies are not required to follow through, but the settlement ensures tenants can’t be displaced in the process. It also requires any homes that are sold to comply with lead-paint hazard laws and city-ordered repairs.

For any property that isn’t sold, existing tenants who owe at least two months’ rent will be able to end their lease early and get rent forgiveness, as well as $1,000 in relocation assistance.

Progress Residential is expected to make these offers to tenants directly, according to the Attorney General’s Office, while the state will reach out to tenants in the next few months to participate in the restitution plan.

For one night only, Nicollet Island Inn opens up their impressive collection of rare and allocated whiskeys and bourbons for a special whiskey-lovers tasting event.

Back by very popular demand is the Nicollet Island Inn’s Bourbon Buyout, to be held Wednesday, March 20th beginning at 5p. General Manager Corey Abdo will again close down the Inn for the evening to welcome whiskey-lovers. Executive Chef Michael Rain will prepare a sumptuous buffet with dishes complementing bourbon’s distinctive flavor accents.

Tickets for this special event are $180 per guest and include:

• 12 1/2 oz. liquor pours, including 4 rare/allocated pours and 8 run-of-the-bar pours.
• Chef’s buffet (unlimited); buffet service, dishes paired with whiskey selections.
• Select beer and wine available through the evening (unlimited).

Rideshare giants Uber and Lyft said they will leave Minneapolis on May 1 after the City Council voted Thursday to enact a pay raise for drivers.

The council voted 10 to 3 to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of the ordinance, which sets drivers’ minimum pay for rides in the city starting May 1.

In statements after the vote, Uber said it will “stop operating a transportation network in the entire metro area including the airport,” and Lyft said it will be “shutting down operations in Minneapolis.”

The vote was met with cheers from an organized group of drivers, and council members who support the plan declared it a victory for workers and scoffed at the ride-hailing companies’ threats. Meanwhile, a forlorn Frey said, “We’ve got a lot of work to do” to prepare for a city without Uber.

Frey had pleaded with council members to lower the minimum pay to a level that would significantly boost driver incomes, but still be acceptable to the ride-hailing companies.

Thursday’s vote means the ordinance will go into effect as-is, although the council could change it before May.

The council approved the plan last week with a veto-proof majority. Frey vetoed it the next day and called Thursday’s special meeting to get the override vote taken care of quickly.

Uber and Lyft are Minneapolis’ only licensed rideshare companies, although several entities — both local startups and existing companies — have said they would be eager to fill the void. None have formally applied for a license, and it’s unclear if any could scale up operations in a matter of weeks.

On Thursday, Uber competitor Empower announced it could do so — and would — before May 1. That could open a new legal fight; Empower’s business model is different, and CEO Joshua Sear told the Star Tribune he doesn’t believe the company needs any special licensing. However, in December, Washington, D.C., accused Empower of operating illegally there, according to local media reports. The irony: A decade ago, Uber burst into many markets, including the Twin Cities, illegally before cities created a licensing regimen.

Why is this happening?

For several years, an organized group of drivers has complained that Uber and Lyft have cut drivers’ earnings to the point where some say they can’t make ends meet. Many were cab drivers before Uber entered the market, leading to massive shrinkage of the local taxi sector. The companies only recently started reporting profits, and critics have said their business model depends on exploiting drivers, many of whom locally are East African immigrants.

These organized drivers found allies among the more liberal members of the City Council and state Legislature. New minimum standards were approved last year in Minneapolis and at the State Capitol, but Frey and Gov. Tim Walz vetoed them. In Minneapolis, the political makeup of the council changed in November’s election.

Supporters on the council said their goal was for drivers to earn the equivalent of the city’s $15.57 hourly minimum wage. However, a state-commissioned study, released a day after their vote, concluded that drivers could be paid far less than the Minneapolis plan to earn the minimum wage equivalent — even with benefits like health insurance and paid time off.

The Department of Labor and Industry study suggested that drivers could be paid 89 cents per mile and nearly 49 cents per minute to reach minimum wage equivalency for rides across the metro. A minimum of $1.21 per mile and 49 cents per minute for such rides would afford drivers a suite of benefits, including paid leave, health insurance and retirement savings.

By contrast, the plan approved by the City Council guarantees a floor of $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute. The driver of a wheelchair-accessible vehicle would get $1.81 per mile. Frey had pushed for a minimum payment of $1.20 per mile and 35 cents per minute. The approved plan, which includes identical rates to those approved last year and successfully vetoed by Frey, includes additional provisions, including a $5 minimum payment for any ride, annual increases for drivers, and restrictions on how money can be deducted from drivers’ wages.

City Council members who supported the higher minimums seemed oblivious to the state study, or discounted it.

Council Member Robin Wonsley, the chief sponsor, pointed to a city council-commissioned study that examined three options and concluded the minimums contained in the council-favored plan were the most likely to guarantee at least minimum wage equivalent. That 29-page study, however, did not include any actual data from the rideshare companies.

Next: State Capitol

Frey, Uber and Lyft have all pointed to the State Capitol for a possible route to avoid the companies’ departure, since a state law could essentially override the city ordinance.

Organized drivers are turning their attention there as well in their attempt to garner pay minimums statewide. A Democratic-controlled Senate committee Wednesday approved a plan to adopt statewide minimums that, according to the state study, would be appropriate for greater Minnesota, but above the level necessary for the metro. (The state study recommended higher minimums for greater Minnesota than the metro because there’s more down time and distance between rides in rural areas.)

After Thursday’s vote in Minneapolis, Republicans who represent suburban districts in the Minnesota House said they plan to introduce a statewide bill to preempt local governments from passing similar rideshare pay ordinances.

“This is clearly unacceptable to Minnesotans, it jeopardizes the quality of life of our state, the freedom of mobility for seniors and limits the opportunity for people to get around,” said Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington.

Garofalo said he believes the rideshare companies threats to leave the state on May 1.

“It’s important that we not let the far-left extreme of the DFL dominate the debate,” he added.

Republicans said Democrats in the majority in the Legislature should work with them to pass the bill, which they can’t do without DFL votes.

How they voted

Voting in favor of the override were Council President Elliott Payne, Vice President Aisha Chughtai and Members Robin Wonsley, Jeremiah Ellison, Jamal Osman, Katie Cashman, Andrea Jenkins, Jason Chavez, Emily Koski and Aurin Chowdhury.

Voting against were Council Members Michael Rainville, LaTrisha Vetaw, and Linea Palmisano.

That’s the same breakdown as last week’s original vote, except for Koski, who originally voted against the ordinance.

Staff writer Briana Bierschbach contributed to this report.