This past winter, in the frigid streets of Minneapolis, hundreds of courageous Minnesotans took an unprecedented stand for open government.

Peaceful and unarmed, they used cell phones to document federal overreach and abuses of law, including violent attacks on immigrant communities. Confronted with guns and masked federal agents willing to intimidate them to the point of deadly force, they persisted, producing video evidence to hold federal power to account.

Minnesotans for Open Government (MNOG) now honors these brave community observers with the 37th annual John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award, made to “individuals and groups who demonstrate through expression and action commitment to the idea that a popular and democratic government can never realize the aspirations of the founding fathers without the participation of an informed electorate. An informed electorate cannot exist without access to information.”

The achievement of these community observers is both unprecedented and historically significant. 

• The observers’ pervasive use of cell phones widened the lens of journalism to provide Minneapolis — and the world — a panoramic view of events that would otherwise have been lost to history. 
• They showed the nation how defenders of truth can mobilize the power of single individuals to shape public dialogue. 
• The scale of their effort in terms of numbers and duration, the coordinated use of technology and the interaction between journalists and the greater community was precedent-setting.

MNOG has invited several community observers to accept the award on behalf of everyone at a ceremony at 5 p.m. on May 27th. Details about location will be announced soon via another newsletter or on our website.

Since the award is made to all who participated in the effort, all awardees are invited to participate in the award ceremony and a group photo. Contact us at [email protected] with questions.

–Mary Pattock

MNOG will be awarding Jane E. Kirtley with the John Borger Lifetime Achievement Award.

Kirtley, who is retiring from the University of Minnesota at the end of this academic year, has been a sterling contributor to Minnesota's public records advocacy. 

She has served the Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication with distinction for nearly 27 years as the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law and, since 2000, as Director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law. Kirtley is also an affiliated faculty member at the University of Minnesota Law School.

She educated the public on the importance of freedom of information; took action by filing amicus briefs to assure that government and other institutions comply with the law and policies that maximize transparency; operated the Silha Center in a manner that afforded the greatest possible access to government information; and made a substantial, sustained and lasting contribution to open government in Minnesota and elsewhere.

The ceremony will be held May 27, 2026 at 5 p.m. Location and other details are still being worked out.

-Hal Davis

MNOG board members have been actively involved in trying to stop or narrow problematic legislation moving at the Minnesota Legislature, and in supporting bills that benefit government transparency. This includes a Statewide Inspector General bill, returning transparency to the Attorney General’s office and data about payments withheld by state agencies due to fraud concerns.

See our website for details.

The 2026 legislative session will be the last for two lawmakers who have done exceptional work on behalf of government transparency — Senator Warren Limmer and Representative Sandra Feist.  During their legislative careers, both worked across the aisle to protect the public’s right to know, including by co-authoring a bill to ensure that the public had access to more information about the workings of the Minnesota Fusion Center — the state’s law enforcement intelligence center.

–Matt Ehling

On April 20, 2026, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an opinion in litigation between the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) and the Minnesota POST Board.  In its opinion, the Court rejected an over-broad interpretation of “personnel data” that had been embraced by the district court.  

Minnesotans for Open Government (MNOG) had filed an amicus brief in the case, asking the Court to reconsider the district court’s interpretation, in order to ensure public access to important government data.

–Matt Ehling

The MNOG Help Line received an inquiry about public access to Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) meetings, an organization that is subject to the state’s open meetings law.

MAC holds its meetings behind the federal security "wall" at the MSP airport.  To go to a meeting, citizens must provide an enhanced driver license.  If they do not, they are subject to $49 screening by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The inquiry to MNOG asked if this process was in violation of the state’s Open Meeting Law.  MNOG contacted MAC and got a response from the agency’s general counsel.

The response stated that MAC has no control over the TSA identification procedure. At an earlier point in time, MAC reimbursed citizens for the $49 dollar fee but only for up to three times. Now, MAC reimburses all fee payments. The counsel also told us that MAC has posted information about reimbursements and how citizens could receive free airport parking on its website.  

Based on this information, it appears that MAC is doing what it can to comply with the open meeting law, within the security limitations imposed by the federal government. 

Two questions remain: MAC posts citizen friendly information on its website. It is not clear how citizens are able to find that information and act on it. Second, it is also not clear why MAC holds its meetings within the airport terminal. MAC owns other property near the airport which would be more citizen friendly and not subject citizens to more privacy intrusions by the federal government.

— Don Gemberling

1. Minn. bill to ban NDAs in local government faces headwinds after early momentum (InForum) Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, said “NDAs are a way to circumvent Chapter 13.”

 2. Dave Bicking, who laid groundwork for Minnesota activism, dies at 75 (Minnesota Star Tribune) He joined Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), helping residents file cases against officers while helping the organization reform police training standards.

3. A Redditor Criticized ICE. Trump Is Trying to Unmask Them by Dragging the Company to a Secret Grand Jury. (The Intercept) After news outlets identified Jonathan Ross as the ICE officer who shot and killed Renee Good, 37, in Minneapolis, a Reddit user shared that Ross had lived in Chaska, Minnesota; grew up in Indiana; and served in the Indiana National Guard. With the secret tribunal in Washington,  lawyer Lauren Regan says: “They are able to strong-arm information that they were denied through the courts legally.”

 4. Walz wants legislators’ emails to be public. But it’s not up to him. (Minnesota Star Tribune) Matt Ehling: The administration has “not always been the most forthcoming with their own records.”

 5. Some Twin Cities suburbs shut off license plate cameras over data sharing concerns (Minnesota Star Tribune) Residents aired concerns about privacy after the federal immigration enforcement surge.

–Hal Davis