Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2026

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is one of the world's most influential people, according to Time magazine.

Frey made the 2026 TIME100, which recognizes "the stories that are shaping the world each year and the people who write them."

"I'm grateful to receive this recognition from TIME, but I know this honor belongs to our entire city. It belongs to the thousands of Minneapolis residents who showed up day after day to protect and support their neighbors and defend our democracy," Frey said in a statement to WCCO. "Being mayor of this city is a profound honor, and I look forward to using any influence I have to serve the city I love."

The magazine praised Frey for his response to federal agents surging into the city and killing two of its residents earlier this year, highlighting how he "directed the unprecedented logistical response" and told the agents to "Get the f*** out of Minneapolis" during a news conference.

"As the enforcement surge recedes, Frey is trying to knit together a city where businesses and daily life were hollowed out by fear," Time's Julia Terruso wrote. "The nuts and bolts of governing are part of his pushback, he told TIME—filling potholes, keeping services running, 'showing that we can have Democratically run cities that can work.'"

Frey parlayed the spotlight placed on Minneapolis during the surge into an appearance on "The Daily Show" and a speech at a counterprogramming event to President Trump's State of the Union, where he called on Americans to resist federal overreach.

As the federal surge has waned, if not totally ended, Frey has sparred with the Minneapolis City Council over an ordinance to temporarily force landlords to delay evictions. After the council passed the measure, which would have required landlords to wait twice as long to file an eviction notice, Frey vetoed it. The mayor instead highlighted millions of dollars in rental assistance available to residents. The council failed to override the veto.

That was just the latest dispute between the mayor and his council. Just last week, the council voted down Toddrick Barnette's reappointment as community safety commissioner. Barnette was the second person to hold the position, which was created during Frey's tenure.

Last year, he vetoed a measure that would have directed public health resources to homeless encampments, saying it would "incentivize encampments to grow." Other vetoes during his second term included a resolution supporting a cease-fire in Gaza, a city budget he called "problematic," a minimum wage ordinance for rideshare drivers and the creation of a labor standards board.

In November, Frey was elected to his third term as mayor. His office named housing, safety and "economic opportunity" as priorities for the next four years.