I'm joined by Minneapolis Council Member Soren Stevenson and AsaleSol Young, executive director of Housing in Action, for a conversation about local housing policy. We talk about proposals for extending the eviction notice requirement in Minneapolis, the strain that puts on affordable housing non-profits, and policies necessary at the state and local level to ease a shortage of affordable housing.

Housing in Action: https://housinginaction.org/

Support the 2026 "Yes to Homes" agenda at the state legislature: https://www.moreneighbors.org/yes-to-homes

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Join the conversation: https://bsky.app/profile/wedge.live

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Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

Taylor Dahlin and Josh Martin join me for a conversation about something none of us has witnessed before: a mayoral appointee getting voted down by the Minneapolis City Council. On Thursday, Todd Barnette failed to secure the majority vote required to be reappointed as the Commissioner of Community Safety. Mayor Jacob Frey says the council's action has nothing to do with Barnette's job performance; the council is simply acting to spite the mayor. In reality, as we discuss, there is plenty of fault to find with Barnette's tenure. Plus we blow your mind with the philosophical question: can a mayor veto the absence of an action? We also talk about the successful reappointment of City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher and City Attorney Kristyn Anderson.

In the second half of the show we go into detail on the Minneapolis Charter Commission's attempt to eliminate the public hearing and confirmation process for a handful of mayoral appointees (Civil Rights, Regulatory Services, Health, and Assessor's Office). If approved, this proposal would be decided by voters via a ballot question during this year's general election. This is an idea so bad, it's uniting people from across the political spectrum against it.

Email all 15 members of the Charter Commission using the addresses found at this link: https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/boards/charterc

Public Hearing on the Charter Proposal:

Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Wednesday, May 6, 2026

4:00 PM

Charter Commission

Regular Meeting

Location: Room 350, Public Service Center

250 S 4th St, Minneapolis, MN 55415

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Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

Melody Hoffmann is back for another edition of Monthly with Melody to talk about her article "Uptown in crisis" for Southwest Voices. Local business owners are unhappy with a lack of city response to their concerns about homelessness, drug use, and general state of disorder. We talk about the city and community response, and ask whether these issues in Uptown are a side effect of the city's whack a mole approach to homelessness.

Read Melody's article: https://www.southwestvoices.news/stories/uptown-in-crisis,151587

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

Join the conversation: https://bsky.app/profile/wedge.live

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive

Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee