MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A 24-year-old driver was arrested late Friday night after crashing into a Minnesota State Patrol squad car on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis.

State Patrol squad car hit

The backstory:

The Minnesota State Patrol said just before 10 p.m., a state trooper was responding to a two-vehicle crash on I-94 near Franklin Avenue. While on the scene, a Toyota Camry driver struck the unoccupied squad car from behind. The squad car had its emergency lights on at the time.

MnDOT traffic cameras captured the moment the Camry driver slammed into the back of the squad car. The impact pushed the squad car into what appeared to be a tow truck. The Camry came to rest in a neighboring lane, causing approaching traffic to veer to avoid the vehicles.

The State Patrol said a passenger in the Camry sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the crash. The driver, a 24-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of DWI. 

The crash remains under investigation. 

It’s time to sip, stroll and make merry memories as you bring cheer to Minneapolis with the Polar Bear Pub Crawl. 

Twelve downtown Minneapolis bars are taking part in the cool adventure with each serving up festive libations to warm your holiday spirit.

The Local on Nicollet Mall is one stop along the pub crawl ready to help you celebrate winter.

“This year we have what we’re calling The Bear Hug. Essentially we are saying it’s a warm embrace in a glass,” said general manager Brad Johnson. 

The Bear Hug is bourbon, pomegranate, raspberry with Chambord, maple syrup and a little bit of lemon juice.

Participants ride the Holly Trolley to the stops, said Kitty Fahey with the Minneapolis Downtown Council.

“Kind of on or near Nicollet Mall is the primary pubs, then we also have two other spots in North Loop,” Fahey said. “We have early check-in over at Fulton and then we have an afterparty at Graves.”

The Minnesota Lottery will be on hand to give away prizes at certain locations.

“We’re also doing this really fun new thing this year, a scavenger hunt. It’s an app called Goose Chase,” she said. “So you download that and we have activities in each of these locations that you have to find.”

Participants can win theater tickets, and retail is open as pop-up shops along the pub crawl route.

Barrio is another pub using libations to warm those who take part.

“Just seeing people have fun during Christmas and the holiday season, everyone’s coming around, they’re smiling, they’re having a good time and we get to fuel some of their fire, with alcohol [laughs]!” said assistant general manager Steffani Vestal. “We are making Coco Festivo. So it is a fun twist on the piña colada with tequilla instead of rum. We use reposado tequila. It’s going to have notes of vanilla, that’s why it plays so well with the sweetness and the fun. And Coco Lopez, which is our coconut cream, and fresh-squeezed pineapple juice, a little bit of fresh-squeezed lime.”

The Polar Bear Pub Crawl is just one part of Winterapolis, according to R.T. Rybak, former Minneapolis mayor and current CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation. He says it’s all about celebrating the creativity, culture and community that makes Minneapolis shine all winter long.    

“This year in Winterapolis it’s really about taking that same spirit of the ‘Bold North’ and tying together things like the light-up we had of the holiday trees, with this pub crawl, with all of the things in the Dayton’s Market, with Nordic Soundscapes down at the Orchestra, and put it all together with the kite festival and the loppet, and just tell people, ‘Hey, it’s cold. Yeah! Good! Get out there and do stuff!’”

Tickets are still available. They’re only $30 dollars per person or $100 for a group of four.

Minneapolis faces challenges in funding a project that community safety leaders deem necessary for reform.

An amendment in the city’s new budget has redirected $5.5 million from a proposed Public Safety Training and Wellness Center to pedestrian and bicyclist safety. This change has brought the project back to the drawing board and could jeopardize millions in state bonding dollars intended to help fund it.

“You hit this snag, hit this bump in a road, and it does get frustrating,” said Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette.

Despite the setback, Barnette remains hopeful.

“I think our first responders deserve that,” Barnette said, emphasizing the need for a new center to improve training and address mental health for first responders.

The project is estimated to cost $38 million, with half expected from the city and the other half from state bonding dollars.

Barnette explained that the center is necessary to meet reform requirements under a settlement agreement with the state — he also said it’s not just for police officers, but everyone under the Office of Community Safety umbrella, including firefighters and those in the 911 call center.

“Is there no other place to take care of this training and this wellness right now?” 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reporter Ben Henry asked. 

“If you look at the facilities assessments that were done there, none of our facilities are adequate,” Barnette replied.

Council member Robin Wonsley has expressed concerns about the planning process, stating, “This body should not approve this project.” The council later diverted $5.5 million from the training center to pedestrian and bicyclist safety in the 2026 budget.

“These dollars are better invested into things we do know will have a measurable benefit for the public, like making investments into our traffic calming programs,” Wonsley said.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS attempted to contact Wonsley for further comments on the traffic projects and concerns about potential cost increases due to delays, but did not hear back.

Commissioner Barnette is worried about the risk to state dollars. “We’re trying to offset the things that we’re doing, and so you’re going to see increase in probably property tax,” he said.

The settlement agreement does not specifically mandate a new training facility or detail officer training methods, but requires the city to support the department’s efforts if current facilities are inadequate.