State of the City address envisions a bright future for Minneapolis

Standing at the lectern at the Walker Art Center, Mayor R.T. Rybak delivered his State of the City address as if it were 2025. The mayor described a Minneapolis where modern streetcars travel through a city that has grown by 65,000 residents, yet has no more cars than it has today. Mayor Rybak asked the audience to envision a community where property taxes are stable, Minneapolis dominates in the high tech and green economy, and economic and academic disparities have been closed. He described a Minneapolis where residents enjoy strolling and shopping along a vibrant Nicollet Green (the former Nicollet Mall) in the heart of a green downtown, where the community debates whether to build a third high school in a growing and high-achieving north Minneapolis, and where families head to Armory Yard for birthday parties, ice skating, concerts, skateboarding and snowboarding.

That future is possible, Rybak said, if action is taken this year.

The actions Mayor Rybak proposed include:

Continuing to fund employment and job training.
Supporting small-business development and common-sense deregulation.
Focusing growth along transit corridors.
Delivering a funding plan for a system of modern streetcars.
Continuing to work for a complete bus rapid transit system on I-35W.
Taking action to end disparities in education, employment, business ownership and housing.
Attracting new anchor employers to north Minneapolis.
Encouraging the construction of one senior housing project in each of the City’s 13 wards.
Advocating for State action to stabilize local government aid.
Calling on Congress and the Minnesota Legislature to pass universal background checks for gun purchases.
Supporting efforts to ensure high-quality teachers and principals are in every school building.
Supporting efforts to ensure students have high-quality instruction in school and quality out-of-school opportunities.

Each year, the mayor addresses the community to report on the City’s results and set an agenda for the coming year. This year’s speech was Mayor Rybak’s 12th and final address as mayor. The speech was delivered Wednesday, April 10 and laid out the Mayor’s agenda for his final year in office.