Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis business owners face 'almost impossible' challenges including crime, regulations
In the early days of the George Floyd riots, while the police were overwhelmed, someone smashed a car into Thurston Jewelers on Lake Street in Minneapolis. The store was overrun by looters. The display cases were smashed. Lloyd Drilling says he was lucky that the most expensive jewelry was in the safe. Anything that could be carried out the door was stolen.
“So, that basically put us out of business for a few months, and we had to rebuild the store and fix it back up,” says Drilling.
RIOTING, LOOTING LINKED TO GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS LEAVES TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION ACROSS AMERICAN CITIES
The jewelry store bounced back, but the customers did not.
In the town that pioneered the movement to defund the police, the homeless population is present on most city blocks. Open-air drug use is so common it doesn’t attract attention and petty crime plagues the businesses who were able to re-open.
Minneapolis residents awoke to assess the damage after rioters ignited fires and looted stores all over the city, as peaceful protests turned increasingly violent in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd during an arrest. Here, the 190-unit apartment building under construction, tentatively known as Midtown Corner (right), was burned to the ground at 26th Ave and 29th Street. (Photo by Brian Peterson/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
As a result, Drilling says, the suburban population which used to push his business from surviving to thriving does not come downtown anymore. “I think they feel like they are unsafe in the city, in this area and in the [other] areas. They’re a little scared to come down here,” says Drilling.
SHOP OWNER REVEALS HEART-WRENCHING EXPERIENCE AFTER BLM RIOTS ‘DESTROYED’ HIS STORE ON GOV WALZ’S WATCH
Criminals make every aspect of business difficult in downtown Minneapolis. Koby Rich opened a cosmetic store. He keeps a painted rectangle of plywood on the front door of Rich Girl’s Cosmetics because vandals keep breaking the glass on his front door. He’s tired of spending money to fix it.
“It makes it tough because vandalism it causes, you know, when your windows get busted out, when you get your doors kicked in when you get your whole store tore up,” says Rich.
A protester holds a sign that says Blue Lives Murder on Friday night, May 29, 2020. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Jim Schultz with the Minnesota Private Business Council says there is a direct link to the rise in criminal activity and the leadership of Governor Tim Walz. “A lot of Democrat leaders in the state got behind really reckless policies when it comes to policing and crime,” says Schulz. “And the result was the greatest increase in violent crime in Minnesota’s history. And Tim Walz has presided over that. Minnesota’s businesses continue to feel the effects of that.”
Even without the crime, business owners and business leaders say Minnesota, with Governor Walz at the helm, has not been friendly to job creators.
EX-OFFICER DEREK CHAUVIN CONVICTED IN GEORGE FLOYD’S KILLING IS MOVED TO NEW PRISON MONTHS AFTER STABBING
The state has the highest statutory corporate tax rate in the United States at 9.8 %. Doug Loon with the Minnesota Chamber of commerce says the Walz administration missed opportunities to grow jobs because the Governor had other priorities. “Many progressive policies passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor have limited the private sector from reaching its economic potential,” says Loon.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic nominee for president, attends a rally to kick off their campaign at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The chamber says Minnesota now ranks 47th out of all the states in the nation for job creation and 46th for Gross Domestic Product.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Kent Bergman opened the Campanelle restaurant in Lino Lakes, a suburb of Minneapolis. He endured the covid lockdowns. But burdened with taxes and regulations, he’s still living off his own savings, unable to take home a profit. “With all the mandates and everything coming down on us as a restaurant a small business we are in, the state’s making it almost impossible for a small business or a restaurant to make it,” says Bergman.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis construction workers call on developers to take stand against ICE
Minneapolis, MN
Fan behind Anthony Edwards’ orange bracelet has beaten cancer
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The story behind Anthony Edwards wearing a bright orange bracelet since last season has received a positive development, after Timberwolves fans learned Luca Wright has beaten leukemia.
Anthony Edwards, Luca Wright connection
What we know:
Last January, the 6-year-old Minnesotan met “Ant” for the first time following a game against the Detroit Pistons, proclaiming him to be his favorite player, and asking him to wear a bracelet that symbolizes leukemia awareness, resilience and support for those affected. During the interaction, the fan had created a sign with a to-do list: “1. Beat Cancer. 2. Be The Next MJ.”
Leukemia is a type of cancer that spreads throughout the bloodstream, infecting bone marrow and a person’s lymphatic system by rapid production of abnormal white blood cells that can’t fight infection.
Since then, the Wolves’ MVP has worn a bracelet that proclaims, “Love Like Luca” on it for every game he has played, vowing to wear it “until he hangs up his sneakers.”
Ant has gone on to explain how the gesture connected with him given that he lost both his mother, Yvette, and grandmother, Shirley, to cancer when he was 14 years old. The No. 5 jersey he wears currently is a tribute to them both.
Luca bracelet latest
Dig deeper:
More than a year later, Wolves fans have received the update they hoped for – now 7-year-old Luca has beaten his cancer.
What’s next:
Ant has since responded to the news with his own social media video, calling it “God’s gift” and saying, “Let’s do this Luca.”
No word yet on whether he intends to keep wearing the bracelet, though he’s previously said he has a stash of replacements near the team bench should one ever be broken.
The Source: Information provided by the Minnesota Timberwolves public relations department.
Minneapolis, MN
Family of Minneapolis brothers killed by cousin says their deaths were preventable:
A Minneapolis family is struggling to make sense of a tragedy that has left them heartbroken.
Family tells WCCO 14-year-old Xavier Barnett and 23-year-old Akwame Stewart were killed Monday.
The brothers were very different, but equally loved. Barnett was a good student and athlete. Stewart was a painter, creative and thoughtful. Two brothers, loved and full of promise, gone.
Police say the accused shooter is their cousin, 23-year-old Eddie Duncan.
Court records show Duncan was released on bail Monday on charges of fleeing law enforcement and possession of a gun modified with an “auto sear switch.”
Court records also show Duncan was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation, but not until next month, on March 24.
Deasia Freeman, Barnett and Stewart’s sister, says this loss could have been prevented.
“They all failed us. We got two innocent lives gone for no reason. Didn’t do nothing to nobody,” Freeman said.
Family members say the system and Duncan’s family let them down.
Freeman says Duncan’s family saw the warning signs and still bailed him out
“If you knew this man was thinking like this, y’all should have kept him in there and he should not even have bail,” she said.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says they noted Duncan was a public safety risk and asked for a high bail, much higher than a typical request.
“In Minnesota, there is a constitutional right to bail, and the bail amount is set by the Court. Our office noted a public safety risk with Mr. Duncan and asked the judge to set bail at $70,000, or $35,000 with conditions; both of which are higher than we would typically request in this scenario. The judge set bail in that amount. Mr. Duncan posted $35,000 bail with conditions of release, as is allowed under the Minnesota Constitution, and was released from custody. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by yesterday’s violence. This was a terrible tragedy for this family and our community,” a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
For Freeman and her family, the hardest part isn’t just the legal process but living each day without their brothers.
Even in the heartbreak, she says the memories of the good days, the laughter and love they shared will carry them through.
“I wish I could get just one more phone call from them asking me where I’m at,” Freeman said as tears rolled down her face.
Court records confirm Duncan left the scene of the crime and fled to nearby Brooklyn Center. There, a search warrant says Duncan “fired a gun at officers, striking two squads,” when police arrived. That’s when officers returned fire, shooting and killing him.
Three officers have been placed on critical incident leave as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension leads the investigation into Duncan’s fatal shooting.
-
World2 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Denver, CO3 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology7 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology7 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics7 days agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT