Minneapolis, MN

At 81, there’s no slowing down for Sharing and Caring Hands’ Mary Jo Copeland

Published

2 years ago

March 4, 2024

Press Room

At 81, there’s no slowing down for Sharing and Caring Hands’ Mary Jo Copeland

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s a name many in Minnesota have heard: Mary Jo Copeland.

She’s the woman behind Sharing & Caring Hands and Mary’s Place in Minneapolis.

“I’ve been wanting to change the world since I’ve been a little girl,” Copeland said.

And there’s little doubt that Copeland has changed the world, or at least her small corner of it.

Sharing & Caring Hands’ Copeland meets with Pope Francis (from 2015)

“I think the most gratifying thing is the power that, the grace that God has given me to bring people hope,” she said. “Hope is not just a wish, it’s a promise.”

It’s a promise that started in the 1980s when she volunteered for Catholic Charities, then branched out on her own.

“I found a little storefront over on Glenwood Avenue and I got my own place in 1985,” she said.

That was the start of Sharing & Caring Hands. In 1995, she opened Mary’s Place, a transitional housing complex. Two years later, a drop-in center was added that serves more than 1,000 people a day.

One of the people Copeland has served is Phillip Wylie.

Mary Jo Copeland

WCCO

“She changed my life around,” Wylie said.

Wylie came to Minneapolis from Chicago and says if it wasn’t for Copeland, he’d be living a very different life.

“When I came here she said, ‘Hold your head up. You arrive here and me and God is gonna take care of you.’ And I was like whoa (laughs)! I’d never heard nothing like that in my life, ever, and it kind of changed me.”

Wylie now works for Copeland, as does Missy Brown.

“Me and my children stay here and she offered me a job,” Brown said.

Mary Jo Copeland receives 2nd highest civilian honor from President Obama (from 2013)

She thanks Copeland for believing in her.

“Hope, life in general. She taught me actually how to live my life again, instead of just being, ‘Oh I can’t do this, I can’t do that,’” she said. “She made me stand up and look at myself like you can do anything. And I was like I got it, I can do anything.”

Copeland gives all her thanks to God.

“I think Jesus in heaven said, ‘Now this is a stubborn little girl, I’m gonna use her,’” Copeland said. “And ever since then I was just, I was always trying to be better.”

Copeland is 81, but she doesn’t let that slow her down. She did tell us she now takes Fridays off.

Marielle Mohs

Marielle Mohs is thrilled to be telling stories in her home state of Minnesota. She grew up in Eden Prairie and South Minneapolis.

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Minneapolis, MN

‘She’s pregnant’: Trump’s immigration agent drags woman through Minneapolis street, kneels on her; video goes viral

Published

9 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

‘She’s pregnant’: Trump’s immigration agent drags woman through Minneapolis street, kneels on her; video goes viral

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents violently dragged a woman in Minneapolis this week, and pinned her face down on snow-filled streets as onlookers screamed. According to ICE officials, they were deployed for ‘targeted vehicle stop,’ when protesters swarmed the agents. Soon after several onlookers including journalists saw an ICE agent holding a woman on the ground. The video of the incident has now gone viral on social media with people criticising ICE for their violent methods. The Minneapolis police chief criticised federal immigration enforcement tactics after the chaotic scene.

What exactly happened?

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According to the video, ICE agents handcuffed a pregnant woman, and violently pinned her to the ground by forcing her onto her stomach and pressed their body weight into her even as the crowd shouted that she was pregnant. According to ICE, the incident happened during ‘Operation Metro Surge.’

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that ICE did not appear to take steps to de-escalate the situation as bystanders shouted at agents and threw snowballs in an attempt to save the woman. “We have been training our officers for the last five years very, very intensely on de-escalation, but unfortunately that is … often not what we are seeing from other agencies in the city,” O’Hara said. O’Hara also accused ICE of stoking fear, including the practice of hiding their identities with masks and unmarked clothes.

This comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration has increased immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minnesota – Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Trump called Somali immigrants there “garbage” and said they should be deported after dozens of people, including Somali immigrants, were charged in a fraud scheme.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis PD chief worries about ‘instability’ created by ICE operation

Published

21 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Minneapolis PD chief worries about ‘instability’ created by ICE operation

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara expressed concerns about the “instability” created by the ongoing ICE operations in Minneapolis during a sit-down interview on FOX 9 All Day on Wednesday.

O’Hara on ICE operation

What they’re saying:

Speaking with FOX 9’s Amy Hockert, Chief O’Hara said the issue isn’t necessarily what the agents are doing in enforcing federal law but rather the tactics they are using to go about their business.

“I think it’s been very destabilizing for a lot of people in the community,” explained Chief O’Hara. “A significant portion of the city are immigrants and that sort of instability is something that criminals and bad actors can take advantage of and that’s been the concern.”

Identifying ICE

Big picture view:

O’Hara says he is also concerned about masked federal authorities. Often, ICE agents will be masked, in unmarked squads, and not wearing visible identification of their law enforcement status. Chief O’Hara said a bad actor posing as law enforcement is a legitimate concern, pointing to the murders of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband at the hands of a man posing as a police officer.

“Two or three months ago, the FBI put out a law enforcement bulletin saying that there were people committing violent crimes in cities around the country that were posing as ICE,” O’Hara said. “And it urged ICE to better identify themselves during law enforcement operations. And so that’s not just something I came up with – that’s something the FBI has been recommending.”

O’Hara says the department has also responded to calls from people who’ve encountered federal law enforcement and were unsure if they were legitimate.

“We have had calls from people who aren’t sure,” said O’Hara. “We’ve responded, and it turns out it was federal law enforcement. In other cases, it turns out it wasn’t. It was someone with a gun. We’ve had it happen both ways.”

ImmigrationMinneapolis Police DepartmentCrime and Public SafetyMinneapolis

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Minneapolis, MN

BCA identifies armed suspect, Minneapolis officer who fired shots at him

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

BCA identifies armed suspect, Minneapolis officer who fired shots at him

The armed man and an officer who fired shots at him in Minneapolis last week have been identified by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

The BCA identified the suspect as 26-year-old Hanun Mohamed Awow and the Minneapolis police officer who fired his gun as Ariel Luna Sanchez.

Sanchez has three years of law enforcement experience and has been placed on critical incident leave, the BCA said.

Minneapolis police officer shoots at armed man, BCA investigating: MPD

According to the BCA, officers responded around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday to a 911 call from a resident on the 3000 block of Fifth Avenue South, who said a neighbor had pointed a gun at their mom.

The caller told Minneapolis police that the neighbor, later identified as Awow, had a handgun and went back into his apartment. Officers went to Awow’s apartment and he opened the door and stepped out with a gun in his hand.

Police shouted for him to drop the gun and that’s when Sanchez fired shots, the BCA says.

Awow, who was not injured, was taken into custody by police. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said last week that he believed Awow was intoxicated at the time of the incident.

BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun from the scene and body cameras worn by officers.

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