Thank you, and good morning, Minneapolis.

To our City Council Members, our Park Board Commissioners, and our Board of Estimate & Taxation Commissioners — both those returning and those newly elected — thank you for stepping forward to serve. This is not easy work, but it is both necessary and deeply fulfilling work. And I look forward to embarking on that work together.

To our city employees — our plow drivers and planners, firefighters, police officers, inspectors, engineers, and public servants across every department — Minneapolis works because you work. I am grateful to be on your team.

And to the people of Minneapolis — thank you for trusting us. Thank you for trusting this team. And thank you for trusting me, alongside these elected leaders, with the great honor of public service.

Beginning

Today is a moment of profound importance because we have the great honor — and the great responsibility — of representing a historic people through historic times. The uncommon mentality of a Minneapolis resident is meeting an uncommon threat to the endurance of our republic. City officials may not sit in the front seats of Congress — but make no mistake: we are on the frontlines.

The consequences of federal dysfunction do not stay in Washington. They land in our neighborhoods. They land in our schools. They land at our front doors. And here in Minneapolis, they have struck especially close to home. But over the last several months, we have also seen something else. We have seen that Minneapolis is uniquely equipped to lead.

In August, we became the next city in a long and heartbreaking line of communities devastated by mass gun violence. And from the depths of immense pain, Minneapolis rose to meet hatred with something far stronger: love. We saw it in the blue and green ribbons lining our streets. We saw it in the resource centers that were stood up — almost overnight — to support families and neighbors. We saw it in local restaurants providing meals, and in first responders who kept showing up, day after day, to play basketball with the students.

More recently, we have seen it in the pro bono lawyer who steps forward to defend the rights of those who cannot defend themselves.

We have seen it in the pastor organizing food drives, legal clinics, and shelter, and in neighbors who have documented what was happening in real time, so others could stay informed.

And we saw it in something extraordinary recently: dozens of Minneapolis Police Department Community Service Officers volunteering their own time to prepare and deliver food to immigrant families who were afraid to even leave their homes.

That is courage. That is love. And that’s Minneapolis.

Unity

In all of this, we have seen something that lives deep down in our city but has surfaced far too rarely: unity. Unity: in the defense of our immigrant neighbors. Unity: where people who were on different sides of elections stood shoulder to shoulder when it mattered most. Unity: reflected in calls from new and returning City Council Members alike, not for chaos or blame, but for partnership. A unity that does not search for the fault line, but for the bridge that spans it. Let us continue to find that bridge and walk it together.

The January winds of Minneapolis bring more than just cold. They bring both an incentive and an opportunity to come together. Anyone who has survived a Minneapolis winter understands the concept of hygge. It’s a Scandinavian word that means cozy, content, and grounded. But in Minneapolis, hygge isn’t just a word; it’s something we do.

It’s walking down Franklin Avenue on a bitterly cold day and ducking into Rebecca’s Bakery for pastries and coffee, an Ethiopian spot that does hygge as well as anyone. You feel it the second you open the door.

It’s skating on Lake of the Isles, cheeks frozen, fingers numb, and then heading straight to Isles Buns and Coffee to warm back up.

It’s sledding down Farview Hill on the Northside, laughing all the way down, no matter how cold it gets.

And it’s grabbing a drink at Northeast Social and heading into The Ritz Theater to watch a Theater Latte Da performance with your best friends.

Different neighborhoods. Different cultures. Same instinct.

And like the darkness of any Minneapolis winter, we can — and we will — weather the darkness of this national crisis the same way our city always has.

Together.

Common sense governance

And together also means being clear about how we govern. We must unite around a concept that is simple and yet too often elusive: common sense.

Doing what works. Doing what makes our city function. Doing what actually improves people’s lives. We have to love Minneapolis more than we love our ideology. And we have to approach this work with a desire to solve problems, not admire them.

That means being clear.

If you come to Minneapolis to commit violent crime, to deal drugs, or to carjack our neighbors — you will be arrested and you will be prosecuted. And if you come to Minneapolis because you want to build a good life in a great city, then we will have your back. We will help you find an affordable home. We will help you get treatment and heal from addiction. And if you want to start or grow a business, we will cut red tape, streamline City processes, and make government a ladder to success, not a barrier to it.

At times, we have drifted away from these fundamentals, from doing the practical, sometimes unglamorous work that makes a city run.; Those days are over. We are refocusing: on results; on responsibility; and on a Minneapolis that works for everyone.

Building a future

And when you govern with common sense, when you focus on outcomes instead of ideology, you create the space to build. In Minneapolis, we know exactly what comes after long winters.

When the warm winds start blowing, and the birds start chirping in Loring Park, we know what’s right around the corner: construction.

My staff really wanted me to say something like “hope.” Or “renewal.” Or even just “spring.” But let’s be honest, when winter ends in Minneapolis, we build. And that’s not just about cranes and concrete. It’s about choices.

Because when winters end, we get the opportunity to build again — new buildings, safer streets, and stronger neighborhoods. And right now, Minneapolis has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build its future — intentionally and together.

Housing

When it comes to housing, I mean that very literally.

Minneapolis is widely recognized as the number one housing city in the country. But, we do not rest on our laurels. Because the work is not done.

Over the last eight years, we have built thousands of affordable homes. And while doing so, we have worked to undo decades of segregation, by allowing housing to be built in neighborhoods where it was once illegal to do so. Middle-income neighborhoods; upper-income neighborhoods; neighborhoods that for far too long said, “not here.”

Now comes the harder part. Accomplishing it.

When we began this work in 2018, building more housing — especially affordable housing — was treated like a four-letter word in Minneapolis politics. For years, leaders of all stripes quietly accepted a shameful status quo: that low-income housing belonged in North Minneapolis and Phillips. And that wealthy neighborhoods were reserved exclusively for wealthy people.

That was wrong then. And it is wrong now.

Today, the politics have shifted — nationally — because Minneapolis shifted them first. But let’s be clear: low-income housing is still too concentrated. And poverty and services are still too concentrated. That concentration harms the very communities we claim to want to help. Building affordable homes in middle- and upper-income neighborhoods is not easy. And it is not cheap. But we will do it. Because Minneapolis leads.

Safety

And we must also build a city where the safety that most neighborhoods experience is felt in every neighborhood.

Public safety and justice are not competing values. They are shared goals. Because safety is not the absence of accountability; it is the presence of trust. As Minneapolis civil rights leader Ron Edwards once reminded us, “If public safety doesn’t reflect the community it serves, it can’t fully protect it.”

And increasingly, that reflection is real.

Today, the Minneapolis Police Department is more diverse than it has ever been. So is our Fire Department. In 2025, we added new officers and grew our force to more than 600. And by the end of my next four years, we will grow it even further — adding hundreds of officers — while holding ourselves to the highest standards. And the results of the growing department are tangible: homicides are down 16 percent; robberies are down 33 percent; carjackings are down 36 percent; and shots fired are down 21 percent. This progress is not a fluke.

We are moving forward under a court-enforced consent decree, bringing transparency, accountability, and reform that will endure beyond any one mayor.

And we also know this: not every 911 call should end with a police response. That’s why Minneapolis has expanded behavioral crisis response teams: trained professionals who respond to mental health and substance-use emergencies with care, not force. They de-escalate situations, connect people to services, and allow officers to focus on serious, violent crime.

That is what a smart, modern public safety system looks like, and we will continue building on this work over the next four years. We will continue hiring. We will continue investing in training. And we will continue building a public safety system that is constitutional, effective, and worthy of public trust.

Economic opportunity

When it comes to economic development, for years we have talked about recovery. Recovering from a pandemic. Recovering from civil unrest. Recovering from uncertainty. But because of the progress we have made, we now have the opportunity to think bigger.

By the end of this term: you will see a reinvigorated downtown, full of workers, residents, visitors, and large-scale events; you will see a new chapter for Uptown, driven by small businesses, arts, culture, and local entrepreneurs; you will see our city’s future rising — literally. You will see Nicollet Avenue break through Lake Street. You will see the long-awaited redevelopment of the former Kmart site, reconnecting neighborhoods that were once divided. You will see a concert at the Upper Harbor Terminal, bringing people together on our riverfront like never before. You will see our city’s first-ever Community Safety Center on the southside, bringing a multitude of safety resources under one roof to serve and support neighbors.

These are not pipe dreams.

We are wide-awake, wide-eyed, and hungry for results.

Thank you

Before I close, I want to pause for a moment on something deeply personal.

Public service is not a solo act. It never has been.

To my mom and dad, who just moved across the country to build a new home in Minneapolis: everything I am, is because of my mom; and everything I want to be, is because of my dad.

To Sarah: thank you for your strength, your grace, your love, and your grit. For me, you’re it — all of it.

And to our two daughters, Frida and Estelle: you are my joy, my greatest motivation, and my daily reminder of why this work matters.

Everything we are building together as a team we are building for you and for all the kids – present and future -- who will call Minneapolis home.

Conclusion

If the motto of the last four years was resilience, then the motto of the next four must be opportunity. Opportunity to build housing that welcomes everyone. Opportunity to make every neighborhood safer. Opportunity to grow a city that works for all. Opportunity to prove, once again, that democratic cities work.

In Minneapolis, what we lack in perfection, we make up for with persistence. When faced with uncertainty, this city does not retreat.

Our story is one of rising to the occasion, of embracing the winter and building through the spring.

It’s a story where we argue over who makes the best Jucy Lucy, and where we proudly declare that Minneapolis is the best city to call home.

It’s a city that embraces Scandinavian hygge while welcoming new Hispanic neighbors who run great businesses, not to mention their incredible food.

It’s a place where we elect diverse Council Members; where Somali Muslims don’t just find peace with Jewish neighbors, they dance with them, and together elect one of their own as mayor.

Our story is one where we fight for our neighbors and remember through it all, Minneapolis is an exceptional place and we get to live here, in the greatest city in the world.

Minneapolis is rising.

Thank you.

These are the Mayor's remarks as prepared. This is not a transcript.