Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis homeless encampment near school leaves residents worried
Minneapolis neighbors cry foul over encampment
Residents are saying a neighborhood that once felt like home has morphed into an open drug market and a haven for drug dealers among dozens of people experiencing homelessness – all near a school bus route.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – This school year families living at the Mino-Bimaadiziwin Apartments are worried about their children’s safety, with residents saying a neighborhood that once felt like home has morphed into an open drug market and a haven for drug dealers among dozens of people experiencing homelessness.
Encampment problems
“Our kids can’t even go outside,” father Devon Smith told FOX 9 on Tuesday. “You don’t want your children to be exposed to that, and see these different things, to see these people in this form. I can look to the left and see them in tents with guns, sticking needles in their arms and necks.”
Smith says he’s been calling the city government, police, and politicians, but hasn’t received responses.
“They haven’t addressed us, they haven’t told us anything, and we’re living among this,” Smith says. “School just started today, school buses have to drive past [this].”
At their school bus stop alongside the tents, on Tuesday, Endonnis Lookingelk says she was approached by a man trying to sell her fentanyl, as she held her baby in her arms.
“It’s scary to come outside. We see these people shooting in their arms and legs using in plain sight,” she said. “I don’t come outside. I’m never outside. I don’t let my children come outside.”
City response
Council member Jamal Osman says his office is aware of the burden on residents, and has also received calls from the school system. Now he’s asking Mayor Jacob Frey to take action.
But Osman admits change has been slow to come as the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), Hennepin County, and the city of Minneapolis work together on a plan.
“This is not acceptable, and we continue to deal with it,” Osman said. “But it’s a process, where we have to make sure the dignity and respect of unhoused folks, or even people with addiction, are met.”
“This issue of homelessness and addiction in our neighborhood is not going to go away. We’re all in this together, including the residents,” Osman finished.
The city of Minneapolis sent FOX 9 this statement:
“Encampments do not provide safe or dignified housing. They create health risks for people living in them, as well as in surrounding neighborhoods. The City’s homeless response team is coordinating with a number of government partners and service providers regarding this encampment, which is not on City property.”
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The Minneapolis Aquatennial is back for its 87th year.
Organizers said the festival will run July 18-26 with free, family-friendly events across Minneapolis.
The event will kick off with a model sailboat pond at the fountains of the Government Plaza. For more information on all the events, click here.
Minneapolis, MN
Former Obama press aide accused of stealing cash, credit cards, from Minneapolis coworkers to buy kratom
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A former deputy press secretary for the Obama administration was fired from his Minneapolis city job last week after allegedly stealing cash and credit cards from city employees to purchase an herbal supplement used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Adam Fetcher, 42, who served as a communications officer for the city for a year before he was terminated, allegedly stole from his fellow city employees after returning from a work-approved, weeks-long rehabilitation program, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has received the case from authorities and is reviewing it, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital has also reached out to Fetcher’s attorney and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for further comment.
VEGAS LITTLE LEAGUE PRESIDENT ACCUSED OF SPENDING LEAGUE MONEY ON STRIP CLUBS AND ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION MEDS
Adam Fetcher, 42, who once served as a press secretary in the Obama administration, was fired from his communications job for the city of Minneapolis after he allegedly stole cash and charge cards from city employees to purchase kratom, an herbal drug used to treat opioid withdrawal. (City of Minneapolis Instagram; Getty Images)
Fetcher was captured on surveillance cameras at a Minneapolis smoke shop purchasing kratom, which is used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms but carries its own risk of addiction.
He allegedly stole a charge card from a city employee’s purse and made a $481 purchase at the Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor shop, less than a mile from his home, the newspaper reported. Store manager Hamza Zamara said staff helped investigators identify Fetcher as the man who allegedly used fraudulent cards to make the purchase.
Authorities zeroed in on the shop after a woman called the store claiming that someone had made a purchase using her card without permission. When Fetcher visited the shop again, employees took pictures of him and followed him outside, the news report states. They later gave investigators Fetcher’s vehicle’s license plate number.
OHIO BROTHERS WHO POSED AS MIDDLE EASTERN ROYALTY RECEIVE LENGTHY SENTENCE FOR $21M FRAUD SCHEME
Former U.S. President Barack Obama smiles at the official opening of the Obama Presidential Center on June 19, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais-Pool/Getty Images)
“We told him, ‘Hey, we know what you’re doing,’” Zamara said.
Fetcher, who earned $186,000 annually, was fired on July 1.
“Under Adam’s leadership, the Communications team has reorganized, is fully staffed, and is well positioned to manage the City’s Communications needs,” City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher wrote in an email to staff announcing the termination.
The email did not explain the circumstances of Fetcher’s departure. However, Kelliher wrote in a separate memo that several city employees had reported missing cash, debit, or credit cards, as well as unauthorized charges, noting the incidents happened between mid-May and June.
A kratom leaf and a vape store sign. (Getty Images)
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“I know this information may be concerning and troubling, and I want to assure you that the City takes this sort of report seriously and has acted accordingly,” she wrote, according to the email obtained by the Star Tribune. “Although we cannot provide additional details, we have no reason at this time to believe there is any ongoing risk of theft.”
In addition to serving as deputy national press secretary for the Obama administration, Fetcher went on to hold senior communications roles for Patagonia, Rivian, and Lyft.
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