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https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/210525053512- minneapolis-business-damage-file.jpg? q=x_3,y_311,h_1684,w_2993,c_crop/h_720,w_1280/f_webp

It’s been 365 days since George Floyd was murdered by a police
officer on a Minneapolis street. Many of the city’s residents and
small business owners that serve them are still reeling from the
fallout.

Local business leaders say rising crime and a divided state
government have obstructed their city’s ongoing recovery from both
the pandemic and the civil unrest that erupted following Floyd’s
death. Business leaders also said the city’s uneven economic rebound
has exacerbated its already troubling inequality, mirroring
America’s K-shaped economic recovery.

Target (TGT), Walgreen (WBA)s, Cup Foods and other major
corporations whose Minneapolis stores were burned, vandalized and
looted last year have rebuilt, refurbished and reopened their
locations. Some restaurant and retail chains have opted to
permanently leave town, but it’s the city’s small business community
that has struggled the most, in part because they lack state and
federal government aid.

The local business community is counting on Congress to pass
President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act to provide $500
million in funding to help the state’s recovery efforts, said
Jonathan Weinhagen, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional
Chamber. He noted that 47% of employment in the Twin Cities region
of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, comes from small business
owners.

“Some businesses have been able to get back online and reopen their stores,” he said. “The flip side is businesses that were under-
insured are staring at a pile of rubble.”

Rebuilding Minneapolis
More than 1,500 businesses in the Twin Cities were damaged or
destroyed between May 24 and June 16 of last year during the unrest
following Floyd’s murder, according to a state House of
Representatives daily session report published in February.

The city of Minneapolis has estimated it will cost $350 million to
fully restore its buildings to what they were. Other officials
pointed out many of those buildings were built decades ago and said
it will cost much more to ensure they comply with current city and
state laws governing new construction.

“We don’t have an accurate number, but it’s certainly more than $1 billion,” Democratic state senator Patricia Torres Ray told CNN
Business. “Rebuilding Minneapolis is a very expensive proposal.”

Funds held up
Ray and other leaders pointed out Minnesota is the only state in the
nation that has a divided legislature, with a Democratic majority
controlling the state House and a Republican majority holding power
in the state Senate.

Democrats in the House have supported a bill to provide a total of
$300 million to Twin City businesses damaged during the riots, but
Ray and several local business leaders said GOP state senators have
refused to support the measure even though Minneapolis generates 3.5
times more in tax revenue than it receives in state aid, according
to a February report published by local research firm MacCallum
Ross. Ray said the report shows granting Minneapolis the relief aid
it needs will benefit the entire state, not just the region.

“The Republicans in the Minnesota senate have argued that the damage
that was done by rioters in the community is not something we have
the obligation to rebuild,” Ray said. “This community has been
impacted by the civil unrest and it’s no different than what
happened during the tragic events of any other time.”

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/business/minneapolis-businesses- after-floyd-protests/index.html

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