iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mike Hicks

little john @littlejohn.bsky.social · 1h

Newsletter from CMs Wonsley, Chavez, Chughtai, and Stevenson lists the mayor's proposed cuts in terms of equivalent days of MPD overtime. ♥️✊🙏 @robin4mpls.bsky.social @jchavezmpls.bsky.social @aishaforward10.com @sorenwithward8.bsky.social

Council Member Soren Stevenson

Ward 8 News from Council Member Soren Stevenson
October 8th, 2026

Dear neighbors,

The City Council is preparing to amend and adopt a City Budget for 2027. The 2027 Budget proposed by Mayor Frey in August includes cuts to many programs that our communities rely on while increasing the budget for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) by more than $20 million.

We can recognize that the City is facing real fiscal challenges while rejecting false austerity. These narratives are being used as a pretext for cuts to programs communities rely on, all while allowing MPD to have an ever ballooning budget that goes unchecked year after year.

Fiscal responsibility doesn’t look like just cutting across the board. It means examining every major area of city spending, identifying inefficiencies and measurable outcomes, and ensuring every tax dollar the City spends actually improves residents’ lives or enhances a public good.

MPD has gone $20 million over budget two years in a row, and MPD leaders have publicly admitted that there has been mismanagement of overtime. Earlier this year, both the Commissioner of Community Safety and the Chief Operating Officer both publicly stated they were unaware of this overspending for nearly all of 2025. Earlier this year, when ICE invaded our city, our communities stepped up to protect our neighbors while the MPD did little to nothing to keep us safe yet still got millions in overtime compensation. It is not fiscally responsible to increase MPD’s budget by $20 million when it is widely known that mismanagement of MPD is fueling unnecessary costs that are not meaningfully improving public safety.

The budget is funded by working people, and they deserve accountability and oversight of how their money is spent. This year, the Board of Estimate and Taxation, the body that sets the maximum tax levy, made it clear that unchecked police overspending needed to be meaningfully addressed. The City Council has…

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 4h

I'm not entirely clear on the details, but Little Mod on Stewart Ave in St. Paul becomes harder to build without carshare. Apparently classed as a duplex, they say it has 12 co-living suites. This is the alley-facing side, which has 2 spaces for carshare vehicles

A boxy building projecting out above a lower area near the alley, with two parked Evie cars

Another view of the Little Mod building and the alley

A view southwest along the alley. Victoria Park Apartments' V2 building is in the distance

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 4h

Fun that the "hide post for me" feature on here appears to be client- / session-specific

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

MaryMM @marymm.bsky.social · 6h

As the founding executive director of HOURCAR, let me say that it is imperative someone steps forward to rescue car sharing AND bike sharing in the Twin Cities. HOURCAR, Evie and Nice Ride--all community-led nonprofits--were beautiful systems that allowed so many of us to live nearly car free.

share.google

News — HOURCAR & Evie

Stay updated with the latest news, updates, and stories from HOURCAR and Evie carshare services in Minnesota and the Twin Cities.

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

Katie Jones @katiejonesmpls.bsky.social · 6h

We need an integrated metrowide solution for all of our shared mobility options: transit, carshare, and bikeshare. It's a best practice in cities around the world. We deserve that here in Minnesota - to have affordable and low emission transportation options. Expect a bill from me on this...3/3

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

Katie Jones @katiejonesmpls.bsky.social · 6h

According to AAA, owning a car today costs over $12,000 ANNUALLY. That's unaffordable for many families, and it's one big reason why we need options. 2/3

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

Katie Jones @katiejonesmpls.bsky.social · 6h

Like many who received this email, I'm devastated. Hourcar/Evie is a carshare program that provides an vital option for people to get around, whether they're going to work school, running errands, or visiting friends and family. It's an important compliment to transit, walking, and biking. 1/3

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 7h

Meanwhile, I wish we had a law on the books mandating at least one carshare-only parking stall for every 25-50 regular parking stalls at apartments. Ideally higher ratios than that, but that's a good bare minimum

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

Sarah @sarahisathome.bsky.social · 7h

Genuinely, even if you don't currently use the service, please do take a minute to reach out. I would personally really appreciate it.

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BΔRBΔRΔ @marteani.bsky.social · 7h

This gap is less than it cost the mayor to put a bounce house in the warehouse district for a summer. This is 1/33 the cost of MPS's surprise overtime. They renovated Target Center in part by making us, the citizens, pay $74 million via a sales tax. WE. HAVE. MONEY. We can spend it in better places

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 8h

Their statement mentioned rising insurance costs, which also makes me wonder how much of a role insurance played in shutting down Northstar, as that's been a problem for commuter railroads for a while (price only being one issue—everyone has also been forced to buy it on the same day each year)

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 8h

(eh, I guess they get a lower connect fee but theoretically pay the same per kWh, at least if the ZEF app is to be believed)

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 8h

Probably bad news for the EV Spot / ZEF Energy charging stations too, which likely get most of their income from Evie cars (though at low margins, so who knows)

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amityf @amityf.bsky.social · 8h

See, instead self driving Waymos, this is the car infrastructure we need.

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 8h

Nice tour of the Free-mo modular layout that was set up at the recent National Narrow Gauge Convention in Bloomington, MN, although of course this is HO scale youtu.be/p1wJnOPkYOw

youtu.be

Part 163 - Burr finds urban and rural details on a Minnesota modular "Free-mo" exhibit #hoscale

YouTube video by Burr Stewart

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 9h

I'm imagining an Evangelion launch sequence, albeit one that moves extremely slowly

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Mara 👻 aBOOlish I.C.E. @mauratwit.bsky.social · 10h

The Appleton, MN Detention Facility is expected to be fully operational by the end of this month. A coalition of ngo’s, non-profits & local citizens are working to slow down the process. Including Immigrant Defense Network, ACLU-MN, Indivisible Twin Cities & others Donate to help support locals

secure.actblue.com

Fundraise to Oppose ICE Detention in MN

Don’t Make the Prairie Scary: Oppose ICE Detention in MN

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

matty @mattio.bsky.social · 10h

This is wild - somebody did a deep dive into the real stories behind this famous XKCD: sheets.works/data-viz/hol...

an XKCD comic showing a precariously assembled tower of blocks. much is labelled "all modern digital infrastructure." a thin leg down at the bottom is labelled "A project some random person in Nebraska has been thanklessly maintaining since 2003."

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 11h

Vote early and in person, folks. If you're in a "vote by mail" state and can deliver your mail-in vote directly rather than relying on USPS this year, do it. Otherwise get it into the mail at the earliest possible date. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

democracydocket.com

The Postal Service is slowing delivery. Will your mail ballot be affected?

Democracy Docket mapped the affected zip codes.

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

Jordan van der Hagen @thejvandy.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Just East of Logan Pass. Glacier National Park, Montana

A two-lane road curves between a steep rock wall and a lake, with cars rounding the bend beneath hazy mountains.

A broad, flat-topped mountain rises above a forested valley, with sunlit shrubs and rock in the foreground.

A narrow waterfall drops down a cliff amid dense evergreens, catching warm light against the shaded mountainside.

Sunlight glitters on a mountain lake with a tiny tree-covered island; dark evergreens frame the foreground.

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

charlie @charliestdennis.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

My name is Charlie “Chuck” St. Dennis, and I’m asking that you write me in on your ballot this November. I don’t have experience as a law enforcement officer, nor am I old enough to file to run. Those are two things that Bob has that I don’t.

Write in Chuck St. Dennis for Ramsey County Sheriff

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Despite all my rage I am still just a-ready to cage (Cage fight? Boxing ears? Not entirely sure what it was supposed to be. "...a rat in a cage")

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Just thinking there needs to be a variant of this podcast for politicians who get taken for a ride

Title image from the "How Did This Get Played?" podcast

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Kat Rohn @rohnkat.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

It is sadly not a surprise that only weeks before the election there is an uptick in narratives that other our Somali community here in Minnesota. Scapegoating any community is wrong. Especially when done for political gain. Let’s stand by our neighbors.

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

They're winterizing the (irrigation) sprinklers at my apartment complex

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Daniel Suitor @danielsuitor.com · 07/10/2026

Differences in housing policy post-Surge couldn't be more stark. Both councils passed a temporary 60-day notice requirement for nonpayment evictions. Minneapolis: the mayor vetoed and council centrists refused to override. On pace for record evictions. St. Paul passed it veto-proof. Down 15% YOY

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

It was in a 2010 rail plan for Minnesota, although I think that's been dropped in subsequent versions. Annoyingly the rails don't go in a straight line like you'd expect (I'm not sure if a direct link ever existed, some tracks are oriented towards how grain needs to travel rather than how people do)

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

tschuy 🏳️‍🌈 @tsch.uy · 07/10/2026

I made another fun little @amtrak.com tool. This one shows you where along the long distance Amtrak routes it's daytime or nighttime, depending on the train and time of year! daynight.transittools.dev

daynight.transittools.dev

Amtrak & VIA Rail - by Night and Day

Explore Amtrak and VIA Rail routes by daylight and nighttime

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

Eric Harris Bernstein @ehbinmn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

They started texting with a 16-year-old. After two years, they offered to sell him a gun. They consider that "stopping a terrorist attack." And they are calling it heroic. What an absolute embarrassment.

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 07/10/2026

ICE is slamming far northern Illinois for a second day in a row. Rapid responders in Rockford say federal agents detained a group of roofing workers this morning—eight men all the way from Minnesota. Volunteers are currently trying to locate their families. From a local immigration attorney:

From Sara Dady Facebook page

Image of black pathfinder SUV

Sprayed plates like on this vehicle currently parked at the Radisson on Bell School Road in Rockford are illegal. FLOCK can't read ICE's sprayed plates but can read law-abiding drivers' plates.

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

They launched an Octopus Charge app for cross-network payments (similar to the Electroverse app), though it feels like they hit some hurdles out of the gate (I think they dropped ChargePoint quickly for some reason). A general status of that, where they think they fit vs. other US apps would be nice

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Reposted by Mike Hicks

Tom Basgen, Mr. Saint Paul @tombasgen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Reposting my own stuff cause I spent a lot of time on it.

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Floyd the Barberian @scampmn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Even more amazing: Minneapolis is 1.3 times the size of Paris (yes, France, not Texas) yet Paris has 2 million residents, where Minneapolis does not even have 500K. Imagine the Paris Metro swapped into the red map.

Silhouette of the city of Paris laid over a silhouette of the city of Minneapolis.

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Elizabeth @elizabethc.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Vote Yes on this MN constitutional amendment. Don't skip the question. '“It’s an easy yes vote for folks because it doesn’t change your tax rates. It’s money that is sitting in this Permanent School Fund that is not being utilized effectively,” Schneidawind said."

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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

People are in here telling me their particular phone does not work when they hold it to to their ear. I assure you it does. I'm so sorry to be a stickler on this point but yes it does

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Open Lines at The Transport Politic @thetransportpolitic.com · 07/10/2026

New light rail line opening soon on the Illinois side of the St. Louis suburbs:

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ashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 07/10/2026

feels like we should make a larger talking point out of the fact that AI is just another attempt to consolidate wealth for billionaires

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

They could have called it the Quasi-Quasimodo. mnbid.mn.gov/productView/16426

mnbid.mn.gov

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Ryan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

kinda wild there are four (!) tech movies all getting theatrical releases soon and vying for attention: facebook, openai, holmes-fielder and the musk doc

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Evan Sutton @evansutton.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

This money is absolutely meaningless to Elon Musk, but it has the potential to completely rewrite your future. He's spent over $36 million in about 4 weeks, and he's adding millions a day. All to corrupt our government to push his agenda. Let your friends know what's up.

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Mike Hicks @mulad.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The industrial aesthetic has overstayed its welcome

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Ducking Grey Duck @duckinggreyduck.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The irony of flock not wanting to be filmed was not really lost on people. I will say, I don't trust Flock (or really any corporation) as far as I can throw them, but I DO appreciate our mayor and our chief of police taking time to talk to the citizens they serve.

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Ducking Grey Duck @duckinggreyduck.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Local politics debrief: A flock representative was supposed to come to the Richfield human rights commission meeting tonight to participate in a q&a panel. They backed out at the last minute because it was announced that citizens were planning to Livestream the meeting.

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