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City Cast Twin Cities

🏠 Growing need for rent relief

February 24, 2026

Good morning, Twin Cities! Tiffany here. Have you seen these vending machines that sell cute prints around town? They’re the brainchild of Maine artist Anastasia Inciardi, who has collaborated with the Weisman Art Museum, Madge Home, France 44, and Red Balloon Bookshop. Put in a dollar and get a random print – it’s like gambling, but you can’t lose!

A small vending machine which gives you mini art prints. A person holds a print of sourdough bread in front of the machine.
A mini print vending machine by artist Anastasia Inciardi at France 44. (Tiffany Bui / City Cast Twin Cities)

Today’s Must-Know

Under the ICE surge, rent has become part of the federal resistance. Neighbors have crowdfunded rent relief for people too afraid to leave their homes or whose breadwinners have been taken by ICE. Minneapolis and St. Paul City Councils have called on Gov. Tim Walz to pass an eviction moratorium.

The governor’s office told Axios Twin Cities that Walz does not have the “legal authority” to pass an eviction moratorium right now, since it would require declaring a peacetime emergency. This has led housing and labor activists to call for a cities-wide rent strike to put pressure on politicians. “Our goal is not necessarily to strike; the goal is to get relief for renters,” said Isi Breen, an organizer with the newly-created Twin Cities Tenant Union. [🎧City Cast Twin Cities]

  • Tipping point: Breen said rent relief proposals on the table now, like a bill allocating $50 million toward emergency rental assistance, aren’t moving fast enough to make it to March 1. But the strike will only happen if there’s enough public support. Organizers must get 10,000 people to pledge to withhold rent, which they estimate would result in a $15 million impact. [Twin Cities Tenants Union]
  • Mutual aid: Restaurant critic Kirstie Kimball has been helping raise money for hundreds of families, including rent. But Kimball says mutual aid efforts have reached a “fever pitch.” People are exhausted, and attention is waning. Organizers agree it’s not a long-term solution. “We can’t GoFund our way out of paying rent,” Breen said. [🎧City Cast Twin Cities]

What the Cities Are Talking About

About that drawdown: The Department of Homeland Security says around 500 agents remain in the state (before the surge, there were about 150 agents). But official data is sparse. So the Star Tribune and Minnesota Reformer looked at crowdsourced ICE sightings and found they have declined noticeably in the cities, but reports in the suburbs have increased. There’s the caveat that crowdsourced info doesn’t capture nearly all arrests, but in the absence of federal transparency, it’s what we have. [Star Tribune / Minnesota Reformer]

Too late?: Dee DePass reports that the drawdown may be too late for small businesses. The owners of El Sazon tell her they may file for bankruptcy; they’ve already temporarily shut three of their five locations and owe $200,000 in back rent. While several organizations are offering emergency grants, the money may not come soon enough. [Star Tribune]

Closing time: The Rice Street watering hole, Born’s Bar, closed earlier this month after the St. Paul City Council voted to revoke its liquor license due to unpaid taxes. Michael Born, who has been managing his father’s bar, said on social media that the bar would come back someday. [Pioneer Press]

Adults and children build forts out of cardboard boxes and blankets. Lampshades hang from the ceiling.
A production of “Forts! Build Your Own Adventure” in Chicago. (Andi McDaniel / City Cast Twin Cities)

Serious fortitude: “Forts! Build Your Own Adventure” is a production from the Children’s Theatre Company that provides all the materials a child could want to create their own hideaway. The lighting changes through the hour, soundscaped by bird chirps and crickets. There’s even an adults-only slot. [Bring Me The News]

Black history: Under the direction of McKinley Boston, the University of Minnesota's first Black athletic director, the college’s facilities transformed from one of the worst to one of the best among the Big Ten. Boston spearheaded the Williams Arena renovation and a new Mariucci Arena in the early 90s. [Spokesman-Recorder]

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Sean’s crossword this week is all Minnesota nicknames. Good luck!

— Tiffany

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