Minneapolis, MN
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.
“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.
The scene of the crash at 26th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis woman was sentenced for her role in a deadly crash that killed two women and injured two other people in December 2024.
READ MORE: Minneapolis woman charged in fatal high-speed crash faces additional charges
Woman sentenced in fatal Minneapolis crash
Big picture view:
Prosecutors say Teniki Steward drove a Buick Enclave into a bus shelter and a Ford Explorer after speeding through a red light.
Both of the women in the Ford Explorer died in the crash. They were identified as 53-year-old Ester Jean Fulks and 57-year-old Rose Elaine Reece.
During the crash, the Ford Explorer went off the road, injuring a 17-year-old boy who was waiting for a school bus.
The passenger in Steward’s vehicle also suffered injuries.
Minneapolis police said that Steward was also injured in the crash.
Steward pleaded guilty to multiple murder charges.
What they’re saying:
During the sentencing, the daughter of one of the victims had a statement read on her behalf:
“There’s nothing that can truly prepare you for the moment your entire world is taken from you. Losing my mom has left a pain in my heart that words will never be able to explain.”
What’s next:
Minnesota law requires that Steward serves at least two-thirds of her sentence, a bit under eight-and-a-half years, in prison.
Fatal Emerson and 26th crash
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, through surveillance videos from the scene of the crash and witnesses, investigators learned that Steward, driving the Buick Enclave, had been driving at a high rate of speed northbound on Emerson Avenue North.
Before the fatal crash, Steward sped through the intersection of Emerson Avenue North and Broadway Avenue North, running a red light and nearly causing a crash, the charges said.
Steward then continued to speed northbound down Emerson Avenue North, and ran another red light at 26th Avenue North, hitting the Ford Explorer, which was traveling eastbound, according to the complaint.
The Ford Explorer had been at the intersection of Emerson and 26th on a green light.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty shared the following statement:
“This was an egregious act that took Rose and Esther’s lives and injured a child waiting to go to school at a bus stop. Ms. Steward was driving at extremely dangerous speeds on city streets and narrowly avoided multiple collisions before the incident occurred. Third-degree murder charges are appropriate to hold her accountable and protect our community.”
The Source: This story uses information gathered from an Olmsted County court appearance and previous FOX 9 reporting.
A motorcyclist is dead after an early morning crash in Minneapolis Friday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said that at 1:20 a.m., a Suzuki Motorcycle going north on I-35W at Johnson Street hit the left side of the median guard rail.
The motorcycle continued north for about another quarter mile before coming to a rest on the right-hand side.
State Patrol said the rider came to rest on the left shoulder. He was later identified as 21-year-old Andrew James Neuberger.
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The Rochester Spartans boys volleyball team played its second game on consecutive nights. The Spartans beat Minneapolis Camden 3-0.
Rochester’s next game will be Tuesday, April 21, at St. Anthony Village at 7:00 p.m.
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