What Is This Thing?

Hi! I’m Molly Priesmeyer, a former investigative reporter and still-obsessive research nerd based in Minneapolis.

I now work as a systems-change strategist and Director of Narrative and Advocacy Strategy — which is mostly a fancier nonprofit-y way of saying I spend a lot of time researching, analyzing, synthesizing, and translating complex public policies, narratives, and systems into something people can actually understand, use, and advocate around in service of the public good.

I also watch a lot of ER lately. And sniff lilacs and peonies. Speaking of peonies, you can also find me on Bluesky as @mollypeonies. Want to connect with any ideas or data? You can email me at mollypriesmeyer@gmail.com.

In January and February, I submitted extensive public-records requests to the Minneapolis Police Department under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. My original plan was to gather documents and source material that could be shared with reporters and others tracking federal enforcement activity, emergency response, public safety, and police accountability in Minneapolis.

After reviewing thousands of pages of records, I identified several issues that appeared significant and warranted deeper reporting and public attention. When local reporters I reached out to did not respond on some of those concerns, or did not have the capacity or larger news editor/organizational support to pursue the stories further, I decided to publish documents and analysis here, so Minneapolis residents can see the records, understand the context, evaluate the questions they raise, and demand the transparency and accountability they are owed from Mayor Frey’s office and MPD leadership.

The records I have received so far cover the period from December 1, 2025, through February 4, 2026. They include emails, incident reports, 911 transcripts, call-for-service data, internal communications, emergency-response records, staffing and deployment materials, outside-agency communications, and federal-local law-enforcement agreements.

Together, they offer a partial but important view into how Mayor Jacob Frey and MPD leadership governed local police power as federal enforcement activity escalated across Minneapolis: How they planned, what they prioritized, how they made command decisions, and what protections they did—or did not—put in place for the community they serve.

This project focuses on what those records reveal about city and MPD leadership, federal enforcement activity, emergency response, public safety, transparency, oversight, and the gap between official messaging and what happened on the ground.

So what does that mean?

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be publishing document-based reporting and analysis drawn from these public records.

I am doing this work as one person, without an editor, newsroom support, or research staff helping sort through thousands of pages of records. I will do my best to be careful, clear, and transparent about what the documents show, what they do not show, and what still needs to be verified.

I also ask for some grace as this work unfolds. These public records are messy, incomplete, and difficult to piece together. I may make mistakes, as humans are wont to do.

"If you see something, say something!"

If you spot a significant error, please message me at mollypriesmeyer@gmail.com and let me know. Accountability to truth, integrity, and each other is part of the collective work—and part of holding public systems to the same standard.

Want to help with deeper-dive data analysis of these records? Reach out to me!

I can point people toward specific documents, questions, spreadsheets, timelines, and patterns that need closer review.

The more eyes reviewing these documents, the better.

Full disclosure: I am admittedly do not have the capacity to support folks in the learning processes of data requests and analysis right now. But if you are comfortable digging independently, checking details, building evidence files and timelines, or helping make messy public records more understandable, please connect!

This may stay focused on this one records project. Or it may become a broader space for analyzing public data, public systems, power, and the records that reveal how influence moves through public policies and institutions.

Either way, this is a place for slower, document-based reporting: what the records show, what they do not show, what still needs to be verified, and what questions public officials still need to answer.

And if you don't reach out, I hope to see you around Minneapolis!