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Agate Shelter in downtown Minneapolis may have to close unless it gets funding from city

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Agate Shelter in downtown Minneapolis may have to close unless it gets funding from city


Agate Shelter in downtown Minneapolis may have to close unless it gets funding from city

The Agate Shelter in downtown Minneapolis is in danger of closing, but it may be getting some help from the City of Minneapolis.

“Over 130 people call this place home at any given time,” declares Kyle Hanson, executive director of Agate Housing and Services. “This is temporary and transitional housing for people who are some of the hardest to house in the community.” 

Shawn, 40, who’s lived in the shelter for about two months, says he’s not sure where he’d lived if it closed.

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“Probably back in my car,” he says. “I was in my car since January, lost my job in January. “

The shelter building is a hundred years old, has broken ceilings, leaky plumbing, damaged bathrooms, and buckled floors. It comes as the city is grappling with the homelessness issue.

“The system is tapped out, shelters are full, transitional housing is hard to find,” Hanson explains. “One hundred thirty-plus beds are really hard to come by, and this model is not something that would be able to be easily replaced.”

Government figures show there are 36 active encampments in the city, with 172 people living in them.

The dashboard also shows there were 297 calls to the non-emergency hotline in August regarding people experiencing homeless — the highest in a year.

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“We’re in a moment in our city where we are having a crisis,” says Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez. “We are having a difficult time finding a way to address unsheltered homelessness.”

Now, Chavez and two other council members are proposing to spend $1.5 million — an emergency rehab grant — to pay for repairs at the shelter and at its food shelf.

“What we’re doing in essence is making sure we don’t permanently lose critical housing services in the City of Minneapolis, instead preserve them,” he notes. “Making sure people have a place to go when they’re in a bad situation.”

To receive the grant, Agate will have to secure $1.5 million in matching funds by the end of next year.

“Money is hard to come by in the nonprofit world,” Hanson says. “I have reached out to non-government partners to let them know this new funding has come about.”

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He says without $3-5 million in funding, Agate will have to close the shelter by early October.  

Chavez hopes to discuss the grant plan during a budget committee meeting on Sept. 16.

“Some of our residents will have a place to sleep at night,” he says. “If we were to permanently lose that, that is a very scary situation for many residents in our city, and many more who are unhoused and unsheltered.”

Hanson says if Agate receives the grant, the shelter will temporarily close for about six to 12 months, but he says the nonprofit will work to relocate its clients.

He adds they’ll also try to find jobs within the organization for the 23 employees now working at the shelter.

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Hanson says half of Agate’s employees have experienced homelessness in their lives.

“This is a huge investment from the city into a really important resource for the community,” he explains.

Shawn, meanwhile, says he hopes the shelter can continue functioning after the rehab work.

“We’re not here because we want to be here,” he declares. “Half of us got families, kids, grandkids, and we didn’t want to hit rock bottom. I hope that program stays working — if you want stable housing, there’s stable housing.”

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Minneapolis, MN

Former Minneapolis coach and teacher indicted on 12 counts of criminal sexual conduct

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Former Minneapolis coach and teacher indicted on 12 counts of criminal sexual conduct


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Minneapolis, MN

Ex-Minneapolis Teacher Assaulted A Dozen Kids Under 13: Police

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Ex-Minneapolis Teacher Assaulted A Dozen Kids Under 13: Police


MINNEAPOLIS — A former Minneapolis teacher and coach was indicted on 12 counts of criminal sexual conduct, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Thursday.

The grand jury indictment accuses Aaron Hjermstad, 50, of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving the penetration of 12 different victims all under the age of 13.

Each count carries a sentence of up to life in prison but with the possibility of parole.

Find out what’s happening in Southwest Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hjermstad coached many of the victims or one of their relatives, prosecutors said. The assaults occurred from 2013 to 2021, according to investigators.

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“The number of children who were sexually assaulted by Hjermstad is horrific,” Moriarty said in a statement.

Find out what’s happening in Southwest Minneapoliswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Hjermstad intentionally harmed children who had every right to trust him as their teacher and coach. We will seek lengthy prison sentences to keep children in our community safe.”

The assaults took place while Hjermstad was a physical education and health teacher at The Mastery School and a basketball coach at Hospitality House Youth Development and Harvest Best Academy, authorities said.

Hjermstad is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting four boys he had coached.

But before sentencing on those cases, Hjermstad fled the state. In December 2021, he was pulled over and arrested in Idaho.

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During the traffic stop, police found data showing thousands of videos of him assaulting children, some at his Brooklyn Center home, according to prosecutors. Among them were the 12 victims in this new case, authorities said.

“As a community, we must do more to help abused children come forward and to provide resources to heal the harm inflicted upon them,” Moriarty said. “Abuse is never a child’s fault.”

State and county authorities are encouraging anyone else who was a victim of Hjermstad to come forward “to ensure victims receive the necessary support and resources.”


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City of Minneapolis extends funding deadline for proposed urban farm at Roof Depot site

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City of Minneapolis extends funding deadline for proposed urban farm at Roof Depot site


After a key deadline passed in July, a proposed urban farm project at the Roof Depot site in Minneapolis has new life.

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What’s new?

The decade-long push to redevelop the former Roof Depot warehouse into an urban farm and housing co-op will continue for at least another year. The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday gave developers a one-year extension to purchase the property. 

How will they pay for it?

But gathering the capital to finance the $11.4 million purchase has proven difficult. In May, the state legislature failed to pass a measure that would have forked over the remaining $5.7 million needed to close the deal. The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, a community organization spearheading the effort to purchase the vacant lot, raised $3.7 million itself, with another $2 million coming from the state.

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What are they saying?

“Please see us. We deserve better. And we demand better,” said Kelly Morgan, who lives near the site of the proposed co-op.

He fears what will happen if the project ultimately fails to move forward.

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“It will be another injustice committed against Little Earth of United tribes, specifically, and all of East Phillips residents.”

Background

The city initially planned to convert the property into a public works facility, but abandoned that idea after community pushback. The city then agreed to sell the property to developers, who have struggled to secure the necessary funding. 

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“I don’t think we can ever be 100 percent confident in politics, right?” said State Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, DFL-Minneapolis. “And, as we saw, really heartbreakingly, in May, $5.7 million was on the line and didn’t pass.”

But even if developers secure the required capital, they will need millions more to start construction.

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“It isn’t all roses,” said Council Member Jason Chavez, who represents Ward 9. “Once the state gets this done, which I feel very confident that we can do, the county and the city will need to team up and work together on the development of the project and making sure that this gets off the ground.”

Chavez noted that funding for construction could also come from private sources, such as investors or philanthropists. He said federal grants for that phase of the project are complicated now because developers do not own the property.

The new deadline for developers to close on the property is Sept. 15, 2025.

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