Last October Todd Axtell announced his decision to step down from his position as Police Chief of the City of St. Paul. This past Thursday, almost 200 people gathered to give Chief Axtell a fantastic send-off (most assuredly just one of many), marking the conclusion of his 33-year career.  Saying goodbye to the Chief, wishing him well in future endeavors, was bittersweet. Ever an inclusive, people-first leader, Chief Axtell embodies the essence of our well-respected police force: “trusted service with respect.” He will be missed.
 
The event was at times funny, touching, poignant. He was honored by friends and colleagues, thanked most sincerely by the Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, teased playfully by former Mayor Chris Coleman. He was congratulated by former Chiefs Harrington and Smith, and retired City Councilmembers and police officers Debbie Montgomery and Dan Bostrom, the latter who was Axtell’s boss many years ago on the force. When it was his turn to speak, even then – on a day celebrating him - Axtell turned his comments towards the police department members, both sworn and unsworn, thanking them for their dedication.
 
Back in October Axtell offered thoughts on his departure, and they echoed for me on Thursday. He said, “I’ve learned from those I admire that when you possess the heart of a public servant, you never stop trying to make a positive difference in the lives of your neighbors.” Indeed.
 
Since he took the helm in 2016, Axtell ushered in changes and lived by his commitment for ever-increased transparency and accountability. He encouraged historic levels of community engagement, and was committed to diversifying the department and embracing innovative ideas that can help people stay out of the criminal justice system.
 
Some key examples include: under Axtell’s leadership, the SPPD initiated the expansion of its training program to include crisis intervention training for all officers, Ethical Policing Is Courageous (EPIC) training, moral courage training, de-escalation and disengagement training, and use of force training that emphasizes reductions in injuries to subjects and officers. The SPPD also established the Law Enforcement Career Path Academy (LECPA), focused on recruiting diverse adults between the ages of 18-24 who reside in Saint Paul and come from a low-income family or who face a barrier to employment. The 2019 SPPD Academy class included the first LECPA graduates, helping to make it the most diverse class in the history of the department—30 of the 39 graduates were women and/or BIPOC. This has helped diversify the SPPD ranks; at the end of 2020, 28 percent of officers were BIPOC, compared to 18 percent just four years earlier. In addition, in March of 2021, Chief Axtell signed the 30x30 pledge, to work towards increasing the number of female recruits at SPPD to 30 percent by 2030.
 
Another example of innovation can be found in the SPPD’s Community Outreach and Stabilization Unit (COAST), which is a program based on two nationally recognized police mental health collaborative best practices—a co-responder program and a case management program. The unit, which was originally launched in 2016 to focus on mental health calls, has expanded over the past couple years to include a chemical dependency program and a homeless/un-sheltered outreach program. It is a shining example of what can be accomplished when communities, social service providers and police departments work together to address emerging issues in innovative ways.
 
These changes and many others have helped to make the Saint Paul Police Department a model for excellence in policing.
 
Axtell wrote to the department’s officers last October that they’ve “taken what those who came before us built and made it stronger. You’ve watched over St. Paul through unprecedented unrest,” he wrote to them. “You’ve responded to human tragedies that our community has never before experienced. You’ve worked longer hours with fewer colleagues and never stopped being there for the people in the throes of life’s worst moments. And you’ve done it all under glaring and often harsh scrutiny. I’m so incredibly proud of all of you.”
The same can be said about you, Todd. We are better for your service, and are deeply grateful for your commitment to service and to our city.
 
On a side note: St. Paul has named a police chief selection committee. I applied and was accepted on the committee. Meetings will begin in late May/early June. I’ll keep you all posted on the progress.
 
See you in the trenches.
B

 Federal:

• Title 42: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set for Wednesday afternoon testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee. The subject of President Joe Biden's decision to repeal the Title 42 public health order that has allowed the federal government to expediently turn away migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border is sure to be a topic of discussion.  Why it's worth watching: Mayorkas is said to have told lawmakers he is concerned about the policy's scheduled end on May 23 - echoing worries expressed by a number of vulnerable Democrats about sparking a greater surge of migrants at the border. While the White House has said it is "planning and preparing" to overturn the policy next month, an Axios report indicates there are discussions about a delay.
• Foreign Policy will host its 2022 Climate Summit virtually on Wednesday and Thursday. What we're watching: The two-day event will focus on climate change, specifically "how to make up for lost time and achieve global commitments collaboratively, innovatively and inclusively." One of the speakers will be John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate. Kerry's comments will be of interest amid the recent U.S. push to increase domestic oil production, including most recently on public lands, and export more natural gas to countries that are turning away from Russian energy sources as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Two recent interviews: The Washington Post (he hasn't seen "evidence" yet that current climate pledges are reducing emissions enough to keep the goals on track) and Bloomberg Television (Kerry said global reliance on natural gas should be limited to about a decade unless the emissions from the fossil fuel are fully captured).

 
State:

• Governor’s 4th State of the State Address. You can watch a recording on his YouTube channel.  After blasting the legislature over the unemployment insurance debate last week, I found the Governor’s address to be very inclusive, inviting all to work together to advance his legislative priorities – and his vision for the future of Minnesota. He reminded us that “we’re gritty, resilient, strong, and diverse. No matter how divided it may seem at times, we’re still connected.”  And his challenge to the legislature:  “let’s try to lead by the example of these servant leaders [introduced earlier this evening]. We can show our constituents that we can move together. Why don’t we show the rest of the country? All are aching for a lack of chaos, more civility, answers. Show them we have the capacity. We’ll have to compromise on issues we aren’t totally happy about. We don’t compromise on core values; together we can tackle issues.”   
• Six big things that could get done at the Minnesota Legislature: Here’s a look at six big issues that might still get finished — or be seen as the biggest lost opportunities of the 2022 Minnesota Legislature. One of the issues that were brought forth was how to spend the remaining federal ARPA dollars. Note that lack of UI trust fund makes Minnesota an outlier – and not in a good way.   

 
Regional

• Rent control goes into effect in St. Paul on May 1. The comment period on the administration's proposed rules and procedures closed on April 22. The city will publish the final guidelines by April 29.

 
Read more updates in our weekly Chamber Advocacy Update

If your member business is looking to expand or reopen and wants us to help celebrate your business with a ribbon-cutting, tell us more!

B's blog, It's Our Business, will be back next week with more thoughts and a quick read on things you should know.

See you in the trenches.

Your St. Paul Area Chamber Team

​Federal:

• Congress left town for two weeks without passing a $10 billion emergency supplemental spending bill to fund the Biden administration's COVID-19 response, punting that legislation and a $55 billion measure to help restaurants and other businesses still struggling with the pandemic until it returns later this month. 
• Senate confirms Kentanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court.

 
State:

• Minnesota Senate passes tax cut bill.  This bill would cut income taxes by $3B this year, and at least $2.5B each year after. Passage in the House as a standalone measure is unlikely. 
• House DFL, Senate GOP offer differing plans to fight crime.

 
Regional

• As the May 1 deadline for the enactment date of St. Paul's referendum-led rent control policy looms, we're watching a lot of the unintended consequences play out.  During the campaign, many experts -- developers, property owners, economists, etc. -- were accused of "fear mongering" when voicing the consequences of passage, but experts are experts for a reason. We're already seeing new housing projects being cancelled or postponed, a drop in home sale prices, and confusion around the scope and transparency of a stakeholder group convened by the Mayor's office.

 
Read more updates in our weekly Chamber Advocacy Update.

Thanks for your indulgence while I was away last week. Where was I, you ask? I joined a group of about 50 others on an inaugural “Reckoning for Truth, Trust, & Racial Justice Tour,”  hosted by the Center for Economic Inclusion. I met colleagues – and made new friends - from our region and from across the country. Lissa Jones-Lofgren was our “translator,” and she set the tone by reminding all of us that: “if you’re Black, today is either the day before or the day after something went down.”
 
Together we walked through the streets of Montgomery, AL, toured the Legacy Museum, and the Rosa Parks Museum. We walked the path of enslaved people, from the water’s edge to the warehouses and the slave depots. We saw the “Black streets” and the “White streets” downtown. We walked through the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. We crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, learning the history of Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, and the successful march of March 21, 1965, that culminated with 25K people on the steps of Montgomery, AL capitol building. These marches became a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement.
 
As you might imagine, so many thoughts about this transformative trip.  Powerful, haunting, uncomfortable. I’ll share an excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr’s  “How Long, Not Long” speech, spoken on those capitol steps, on March 21, 1965:
 
Once more the method of nonviolent resistance was unsheathed from its scabbard, and once again an entire community was mobilized to confront the adversary. And again the brutality of a dying order shrieks across the land. Yet, Selma, Alabama became a shining moment in the conscience of man. If the worst in American life lurked in its dark streets, the best of American instincts arose passionately from across the nation to overcome it. There never was a moment in American history more honorable and more inspiring than the pilgrimage of clergymen and laymen of every race and faith pouring into Selma to face danger at the side of its embattled negroes…. I know you are asking today, “How long will it take?” Somebody’s asking, “how long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive right-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?” …. I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because “truth crushed to earth will rise again.” - Martin Luther King Jr, March 21, 1966.
 
May we all feel the conviction of his later words:  
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It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation, not merely for the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people who would bomb a church in Birmingham, Alabama, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say, ‘wait on time.’” – Martin Luther King Jr, 1966 Convocation.
 
Together we can walk in the footsteps of change.
 
See you in the trenches.
B​

​Federal:

• A bipartisan group of senators said they are close to agreeing to a $10 billion deal ​​that would drastically scale back U.S. global vaccination efforts and amounts to less than half the size of the Biden administration's initial request for funding. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top Democrats are preparing a vote as soon as this week on legislation to provide coronavirus-related relief to restaurants, but it's an open question as to whether they would try to merge it with the larger preparedness package.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee has a meeting today (Monday) to advance Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court nomination to the full chamber. What we're watching: The committee vote is not expected to face problems, and nor is the full Senate's vote after Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she will vote to confirm Jackson, ensuring that the first Black woman nominated to the high court will receive support from at least one Senate Republican.

 
Regional

• St. Paul’s rent control vote caused lag in housing sales prices. Economists estimate that if voters had not passed an ordinance, residential properties would be 6-7% higher.
• St. Paul rent control draft rules: allow landlords to “self certify” increases over 3%. And questions abound.
• St. Paul: Mayor Melvin Carter announced a $14.5 million American Rescue Plan  investment to replace thousands of lead pipes across the city.  

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Read more updates in our weekly Chamber Advocacy Update