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The Fridley City Council unanimously approved a request for a Community Development Block Grant to fund improvements at Flannery Park during its Jan. 26 meeting. Construction is planned for summer and fall 2026. Parks and Recreation Director Mike Maher said the Community Development Block Grant program is the federal government’s primary tool for promoting community revitalization and provides annual, formula-based grants to Anoka County. Applications are submitted to the county by Jan. 29 and must meet objectives that include benefiting low- and moderate-income residents, preventing or eliminating slum or blight conditions, or addressing community needs that pose a serious or immediate threat to public health or welfare. ...

The Fridley City Council unanimously approved a bid from Mineral Services Plus for work on four city wells during its Jan. 26 meeting. Public Works Director Jim Kosluchar said bids were opened Jan. 20 for Well Rehabilitation Project No. 26-448. Four bids were received, with the lowest submitted by Mineral Services Plus of Green Isle. The company’s base bid totaled $175,203. That amount was about 11.8% below the final engineer’s estimate of $198,605, Kosluchar said. ...

For nearly three hours, members of the Columbia Heights community packed Murzyn Hall for a community listening session with city officials, including the City Council, Police Chief Matt Markham, City Manager Aaron Chirpich and Fire Chief Dan O’Brien. Throughout the meeting, residents described an inadequate response from the Columbia Heights Police Department to their concerns over heightened federal immigration enforcement in the city. Speakers repeatedly criticized what they viewed as city inaction in what they said was federal law enforcement overreach. ...

The open forum at Fridley’s Jan. 26 City Council meeting drew an estimated 100 attendees, many expressing fear, anger and frustration over heightened federal immigration enforcement in the city and what they described as continued inaction by city leaders. Residents from across Fridley — including homeowners, manufactured home park residents, educators, school board members and former political candidates — spoke at length, describing a city they said no longer felt safe or recognizable. ...

A network of businesses and organizations around downtown Anoka has sprung up to assemble food and supplies for immigrant families that are fearful to go in public due to recent immigration enforcement activity around the area. Thus far, it has culminated with the appearance of Gov. Tim Walz and first lady Gwen at the First Congregational Church in downtown Anoka. Reverend Chris McArdle credited Parents for Good with starting the effort, saying it had begun around ten days ago with a couple of tubs set out at Avant Garden for people to donate to a mutual aid pantry. ...

Andover’s new Engine 1 was pushed in during a ceremony on the night of Jan. 14, according a Facebook post from the department. The event is a tradition dating back to when firefighters physically pushed horse-drawn engines into their stations. Original Article

The Andover City Council unanimously approved plans and specifications for three forthcoming street projects. Each vote was 4-0, with Council Member Karen Godfrey absent. Public Works Director Dave Berkowitz outlined the first project, a full reconstruction in Creekridge Estates involving Kerry Street, Jonquil Street and 145th Avenue. The roads are rated a three on Andover’s pavement condition scale, which ranges from one to 10. At that rating, reconstruction is necessary to bring streets back to city standards. ...

In the wake of the shooting death of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, who was shot by federal immigration officers on Jan. 24, a large number of people gathered on the streets of downtown Anoka in theevening holding a candlelight vigil in his honor along Main Street. According to reporting by The Associated Press, Pretti, 37, was an intensive care unit nurse who was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis earlier that day. ...

Tim Walz joined volunteers Jan. 23 at a community donation-sorting drive at First Congregational Church in Anoka. “Minnesota is meeting fear and division with decency and generosity,” Walz said in his weekly newsletter. “Across the state, we’re seeing neighbors helping neighbors. Grateful to First Congregational Church in Anoka for inviting me to see that work in action today.” Walz’s visit came as hundreds of businesses closed and thousands of protesters took to the streets in Minneapolis to protest federal immigration enforcement operations. ...

Columbia Heights has issued a statement in response to ongoing immigration enforcement in the city, saying that the council, Mayor Amada Marquez Simula, first responders and city staff had received calls, emails and messages about the presence of immigration officers in the city. “We have seen the trauma,” the statement read. “We have seen the fear in our community’s eyes. We have heard from seniors, students and families. We have met with business owners, school board members and neighbors who have experienced these harms firsthand. We have been present. We have listened. And we believe our community.” ...