Minneapolis politics, slightly ground down

A Minneapolis politics podcast hosted by four-term Ward 2 city council veterans Cam Gordon and Robin Garwood, with longtime activist Jesse Mortenson

The Basically Serious State of the City

May 26, 2026

Mayor Frey instructed us to basically get serious in his annual State of the City address. Or to seriously get back to the basics? Whatever the case, it was a somewhat jarring call for goverment to do less after Minneapolis communities went above and beyond to push out ICE. Cam and Jesse talk through the speech, and ask what a parallel address by a more visionary mayor might have sounded like, in this historic moment.

We also recap the victory at the Charter Commission, which voted to table indefinitely its proposal to further diminish city council authority, along with a bevy of language changes (that ultimately pissed off organized Labor).

Recorded 5/20/26.

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Charter Commission proposal defeated

State of the City Address

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