By Michelle Griffith | Reporter
Good morning, Reformers.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey this morning announced he’s renominating police chief Brian O’Hara to another four-year term.
O’Hara took over as chief in November 2022, and since then he’s led the Minneapolis Police Department through multiple crises, including the Annunciation Church mass shooting last summer and Operation Metro Surge, during which he emerged as an outspoken critic of the immigration enforcement operation.
It’s unclear whether enough members of the Minneapolis City Council will vote to confirm him. Last month, the council voted against Frey’s reappointment of Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette. Some council members criticized O’Hara for not doing more to confront federal agents during Operation Metro Surge and for what they see as the slow adoption of police reform measures since George Floyd’s police killing in 2020.
“If the council chooses not to support this nomination, they need to be very clear-eyed about the consequences. It means perhaps more than a year of uncertainty and transition. It also means losing critical momentum at a time when consistency matters most,” Frey said at a press conference this morning. “Minneapolis cannot afford to hit the reset button right now. We've got to move forward.”
Over in the Legislature, the House today will vote on a bill to create an independent office of inspector general — one of the marquee fraud-prevention measures that’s being considered at the Capitol this session. Gov. Tim Walz has said he supports the creation of an office of inspector general to oversee funding in public programs and investigate allegations of fraud.
Onto today’s Reformer.
Sen. Susan Pha, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and Sen. Eric Lucero, R-Saint Michael, present their bill aimed at reining in HOAs. (Photo by Madison McVan/Minnesota Reformer)
By Madison McVan
A bipartisan bill limiting homeowners’ association fees, implementing new transparency and conflict-of-interest rules and establishing a path to dissolve some HOAs passed the Minnesota Senate Wednesday. It’s headed to the governor’s desk for his likely signature.
Homeowners in Minnesota have faced massive charges from their HOAs for questionable construction projects, like new roofs and siding. A 2025 Reformer investigation found that some HOA management companies hired their own subsidiaries to complete expensive construction projects. In at least one case, a homeowner wound up in foreclosure due to hefty assessments.
The bill passed by the Senate — and previously, by the House — would cap HOA fines at $100, with exceptions for repeat violations, health and safety risks, property damage or illegal rentals. It would require board members and property managers to disclose their financial relationships and recuse themselves from decisions from which they could financially benefit.
By Johnathan Shorman
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Louisiana vs. Callais on April 29 cleared states to split apart, for political gain, congressional districts where a majority of residents belong to minority groups. The court’s conservative majority said Louisiana lawmakers acted unconstitutionally when they intentionally created the state’s second majority-Black district, which the justices found unnecessary.
A week after its release, the decision is roiling politics across the South as states move at a rapid pace to recast the political landscape that has taken progressives by surprise.
Republicans, triumphant over their victory at the court, are rushing fresh gerrymanders through Southern statehouses in time for the November midterm elections in an effort to strengthen their party’s control over the region’s U.S. House delegations. They’re acting at lightning speed, over loud protests, and have nullified votes by suspending ongoing elections.
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris and Sofia Resnick
Advocates and opponents of abortion access say they’re wondering what happens next in a critical telehealth medication case that created chaos and confusion over the past week after an appeals court blocked nationwide access to the drug and, days later, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued a temporary stay.
Alito’s stay preserves telehealth access until May 11. But it’s unclear what happens next for patients and providers.
The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily blocked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ Friday ruling to suspend a federal rule allowing telehealth prescriptions of the drug mifepristone while the lawsuit Louisiana v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration unfolds. Abortion providers are determined to continue providing the service, though potentially without mifepristone, the drug at the center for the case.
IN OTHER NEWS
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Have a great Thursday, everyone!
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