Minneapolis, MN

Ex-Minneapolis officer who killed 911 caller leaves prison

Published

2 years ago

June 27, 2022

Ex-Minneapolis officer who killed 911 caller leaves prison

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed lady who referred to as 911 to report a potential sexual assault within the alley behind her house was launched from jail on parole Monday, months after his homicide conviction was overturned and he was resentenced on a lesser cost.

The Minnesota Division of Corrections web site stated Mohamed Noor, 36, was positioned beneath the supervision of Hennepin County Neighborhood Corrections. He was freed 18 days shy of the fifth anniversary of the July 15, 2017, deadly taking pictures of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old twin U.S.-Australian citizen and yoga trainer who was engaged to be married.

Corrections Division spokesman Nicholas Kimball confirmed that Noor was launched Monday morning. He stated he couldn’t verify the place Noor might be dwelling, however that launched offenders are usually supervised by the county the place they reside.

Noor’s lawyer, Thomas Plunkett, didn’t instantly return a name looking for remark. On Friday he stated he wished to respect Noor’s privateness.

Noor was initially convicted of third-degree homicide and manslaughter, however final yr the Minnesota Supreme Court docket tossed out his homicide conviction and 12 1/2-year sentence, saying that cost did not apply to the case. He was resentenced to 4 years and 9 months on the manslaughter cost.

In Minnesota, it’s presumed {that a} defendant with good conduct will serve two-thirds of a sentence in jail and the remaining on parole. Noor might be on supervised launch till Jan. 24, 2024.

Damond’s stepmother, Maryan Heffernan, stated in a telephone interview Friday that the timing of Noor’s launch — so near the anniversary of Damond’s demise — was painful.

“We’re very upset. However we’re not shocked. We’ve been watching occasions in Minneapolis from miles away and we’re nonetheless bewildered in regards to the cost being dropped and we’re nonetheless bewildered in regards to the tradition of the Minneapolis Police Division,” Heffernan stated.

Noor testified in 2019 that he and his associate had been driving slowly in an alley when a loud bang on their police SUV made him worry for his or her lives. He stated a girl appeared on the associate’s driver’s facet window and raised her proper arm earlier than he fired a shot from the passenger seat to cease what he thought was a menace.

Noor, who’s Somali American, was believed to be the primary Minnesota officer convicted of homicide for an on-duty taking pictures. Since Noor’s conviction, former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin, who’s white, was convicted of homicide within the Might 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black man who was pinned to the pavement beneath Chauvin’s knee. After Noor’s conviction, Minneapolis agreed to pay $20 million to Damond’s household.

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Minneapolis, MN

iHeart Minneapolis Adds Past Royal Eric Lonnquist as Sales SVP – Radio Ink

Published

3 hours ago

June 17, 2024

Press Room

iHeart Minneapolis Adds Past Royal Eric Lonnquist as Sales SVP – Radio Ink

Eric Lonnquist has been named Senior Vice President of Sales for iHeartMedia Minneapolis, encompassing nine stations including music, talk, and news formats. Lonnquist brings more than 20 years of sales experience in the Minneapolis Market.

After starting his career playing professional baseball for the Kansas City Royals for two years post-college, he transitioned into media sales at then-Clear Channel Radio. Most recently, he held a role in Major Market Sales at Paycor and previously served in sales leadership roles at SAP Concur and Center.

As the Minneapolis cluster’s Senior Vice President of Sales, Lonnquist will lead a team of five managers and 25 account executives. He will report to Market President Greg Alexander.

Alexander said, “Eric Lonnquist is a seasoned sales professional in the Minneapolis market. His extensive background in media sales, combined with his leadership roles in major market sales makes him the perfect fit for our team. We are excited to have Eric lead our sales strategy and drive our continued success across our iconic broadcast and digital platforms.”

Lonnquist added, “I’m incredibly grateful and excited to be joining the iHeartMedia team in Minneapolis. I look forward to leveraging our strong cross-platform presence and working with such a talented team to help our clients achieve their advertising goals. Together, we will continue to deliver unparalleled results and drive success for our partners.”

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Minneapolis, MN

Four local gymnasts headed to Olympic Trials in Minneapolis

Published

10 hours ago

June 17, 2024

Press Room

Four local gymnasts headed to Olympic Trials in Minneapolis

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — What is the threshold for success for an athlete?

Well, everyone is different.

For some, it’s making the starting lineup on varsity.

For others, it’s securing that college athletic scholarship and playing at the next level, and maybe even getting to the pros.

But for four local trampoline gymnasts, they’re eyeing something bigger….the Olympics.

Paul Bretscher, Cody Gesuelli, Maia Amano, and Trinity Van Natta, all returned from Lima, Peru, after competing at the Pan American Championships for Team USA in Trampoline Gymnastics.

All are returning with a gold medal in hand.

“I actually just came off of a knee injury, so I tore several ligaments in my knee back in April of last year and I had surgery for that. And so this was my first international competition since that injury. So for me, it was all about like, you know, proving to myself that I can still compete on an international stage and um, I think I was able to do that because I ended up getting a personal best score,” said Maia Amano.

These four are members of the USA Gymnastics Senior National Team, so winning gold silver or bronze is nothing new to them.

Right now, they’re already eyeing the next competition, the Olympic Trials in Minneapolis starting on June 27.

“Normally on the equipment, we do 17 and a half hours,” said Paul Bretscher, “We normally go and work workout, doing weightlifting and strength and conditioning, probably 2 to 3 more times in the week.”

“A lot of my training and preparation since Peru going into nationals has been sort of focused on that mental block. I do three days a week in the morning and then every day, Monday through Friday in the evening. So in the mornings, I focus on just working my skills individually,” said Trinity Van Natta.

“I’m trying to get into a better mindset. I think the last Olympic trial, I kind of put too much pressure on myself and I was expecting a greater result. When that didn’t happen, you know, that hurt my feelings quite a bit. But, you know, luckily we had Peru the week after the last Olympic trials, and so it was a good rebound for me,” said Cody Geuselli.

For these athletes, qualifying for the 2024 Olympics is the mountaintop.

“That’s been my goal since I was probably 12 years old,” said Amano.

“I’ve been competing with the goal of going to the Olympics for probably my whole trampoline career,” said Bretscher.

“It’d be a culmination of all the sacrifices that I made for this sport. You know, I’ve moved twice already around the country for it to just, you know, train and try to compete at my best. So it would just be the icing on the cake,” added Gesuelli.

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