MINNEAPOLIS — The city of Minneapolis will pay The Minnesota Star Tribune $31,500 to settle two lawsuits over officials’ failure to turn over public records about a homicide victim and police misconduct complaints against former police Chief Brian O’Hara. The City Council approved the settlements without comment on Thursday. City officials have not responded to a request for comment. The city ...

Curtis DeGidio steadies the new Minnesota Star Tribune sign as it is lifted for installation above the entrance to 650 3rd Av.

Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

MINNEAPOLIS — The city of Minneapolis will pay The Minnesota Star Tribune $31,500 to settle two lawsuits over officials’ failure to turn over public records about a homicide victim and police misconduct complaints against former police Chief Brian O’Hara.

The City Council approved the settlements without comment on Thursday. City officials have not responded to a request for comment.

The city acknowledged that the information sought by reporters was public data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, provided information and agreed to pay the Star Tribune’s legal fees.

“These settlements affirm a fundamental principle: Public information must remain accessible to the public,” Star Tribune Editor Kathleen Hennessey said in a statement. “Government transparency is essential to accountability, particularly when records involve law enforcement and matters of significant public concern.”

In the first lawsuit, reporter Paul Walsh was not given the name of a man who was stabbed to death on Dec. 2 near a homeless encampment in the Kenwood neighborhood. Three weeks later, Walsh still hadn’t been provided the name of the man, even though homicide victims’ names are supposed to be made public and the alleged assailant had been charged with murder.

The Star Tribune sued the city on Dec. 23, saying it repeatedly withheld the names and addresses of homicide victims in the previous 18 months, in violation of the state public records law.

The city settled that case for $23,000.

The second lawsuit, filed Jan. 29, was over police reporter Liz Sawyer’s Nov. 17 request for the name and public information about every member of the public who submitted a misconduct complaint about O’Hara. Ten weeks later, the city still had not released the information, which the news outlet said “constitutes a constructive denial of the request.”

In 1991, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the city must release information identifying people who file complaints against police officers.

“Nevertheless, more than three decades later, the city still does not routinely release this data,” the Star Tribune said in its lawsuit.

In her reply to the lawsuit, City Attorney Kristyn Anderson said the city responded to Sawyer’s request on Feb. 13. The city settled that case for $8,500.

The Star Tribune relies on public records laws to report on government agencies and public officials and said in a statement it “will continue to advocate for timely access to government data on behalf of its journalists, readers and all Minnesotans.”

“These cases were never simply about two records requests,” Hennessey said. “They were about protecting the public’s right to know and ensuring that government agencies honor their obligations under Minnesota law.”

During a committee hearing earlier this month on the settlement, Council Member Jason Chavez questioned the settlements, noting the council hadn’t been briefed on the cases.

“Everyone is entitled to a transparent government,” he said in a statement. “Whether you are the paper of record or a constituent, you should have access to information that impacts the public. Whenever the city fails to meet the publics expectations, they should anticipate accountability. I will always push for that.”