Minneapolis, MN
First licensed Somali-owned day care in state damaged in south Minneapolis fire
MINNEAPOLIS — Hours after her home burned down, Hawo Gurey stood on the sidewalk looking at the remains trying to figure out how to rebuild.
Not for herself, though. She was more concerned about the families that had come to rely on the day care business that was also housed inside the property.
“This is very devastating. It’s going to impact my business in a large way. I am no longer going to be able to care for the kids I was going to care for. It’s going to affect the mothers and children that were gonna be taken care of,” Gurey said.
If you learn more about her life story, you’ll find that taking care of others is what Gurey does.
In 1991, Gurey became a refugee of civil war in Somalia, taking a bullet to the shoulder.
“I flee with my siblings and I was able to take care of them. My mother passed away in her own home. She was shot. We came to Kenya and fortunately, I was able to come to America,” she said.
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After several years in a Kenyan refugee camp, Gurey and her young children arrived in Minnesota.
She says she received so much help taking care of her children here, she wanted to pay it forward.
“I started off helping moms who didn’t speak English, who didn’t have people to take care of their kids so they can go to work,” she said. “There’s many parents that were not able to get help or assistance from the government but I was able to help and help them until they are able to get assistance or get help or homes or work.”
Gurey eventually opened the first licensed Somali day care in the state.
Since then, she’s watched over thousands of children until Wednesday morning’s fire.
The Minneapolis Fire Department says the fire started in a dumpster outside in a pile of debris before it spread to two adjacent homes. It’s something Gurey isn’t surprised to hear.
“There was a homeless person living in that corner. And I asked them to move out a few times. I didn’t want to call the police on them I didn’t want to cause them any harm, but they still wouldn’t move,” she said. “I spoke to my landlord two or three times that children were being cared for here and that they need to be doing something about it. So they moved away from my home to the home next door to me. Nothing was really done and this is what it came to. ”
Her focus now is rebuilding and reopening for those families that have come to rely on her.
“I gave many hours to parents so they’re always always have somewhere that safe to bring to their children. From 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., I am the only place that is always there to provide care for children,” she said, pointing at the charred remains of her home and business. “It’s not important of what I had, but who I was caring for it was the most important thing to me.”
The West Bank Business Association has started a GoFundMe to help the business impacted by the fire.
A major traffic shift will start on one of Minnesota’s busiest highways Wednesday morning.
Eastbound lanes of Interstate 394 between Louisiana Avenue in St. Louis Park and downtown Minneapolis will be down to two lanes, with no EZ-Pass options. That means getting from the west metro to downtown Minneapolis could be tricky. Officials say drivers should expect increased traffic around St. Louis Park through the fall.
The change comes as westbound I-394 fully reopens after several months of construction, plus a return-to-normal entry to westbound I-394 from westbound Interstate 94 after the Lowry Hill Tunnel.
Crews have been working on the $67 million project since July 2025 to repair and restore more than 30 bridges across the 394 corridor.
While eastbound drivers are finding fewer lanes, westbound drivers are finding freedom
Nathan Bowie with the Minnesota Department of Transportation says construction has been going well and while the reopening of the westbound lanes marks an important milestone, the work is far from over.
“We understand that construction can be an inconvenience. It can be frustrating,” Bowie said. “We’re really asking folks to be patient, plan ahead, give yourself some extra travel time.”
The project also includes several ramp closures, including eastbound I-394 ramps at Penn and Cedar Lake avenues and the connection to westbound I-94.
Bryn Mawr resident Dan Spengler said he’s noticed more drivers shifting to neighborhood streets to avoid backups and expects that to only get worse.
“I believe in what they’re doing, but they need to manage the neighborhoods better because people are driving through the neighborhood with nowhere to go, so they are speeding through neighborhoods,” Spengler said.
Bowie says crews will be putting on signs in neighborhoods where traffic is expected to swell, reminding folks of the speed limit.
Businesses along I-394, like Good Day Cafe, are also feeling the squeeze
“We’d like to have all the roads open, yes,” said manager Jamie Flynn. “I mean, right now we’re very fortunate, for like I said, the guests and sort of the people that know to come here that have been for years and years.”
The new traffic pattern is expected to stay in place through November. Officials want drivers to follow posted detours and pay attention to ensure a smooth transition.
More information about the project is available on the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s website.
Minneapolis, MN
Man sentenced to federal prison for armed robberies of St. Paul bank, Minneapolis Walgreens
A 26-year-old man was sentenced this week to 2 ½ years in federal prison for robbing a Walgreens in Minneapolis, then a St. Paul bank the next day.
Korey Maurese Hale of Minneapolis pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court of Minnesota to one count of armed bank robbery in connection with the June 2024 hold ups.
Hale used the same .22-caliber Mossberg rifle in both robberies, making off with about $200 from Walgreens at Chicago Avenue and 43rd Street and approximately $1,833 from BMO Bank at Snelling and Randolph avenues, according to his January plea agreement. St. Paul police arrested Hale near the bank shortly after the heist.
In an interview with a St. Paul police investigator, Hale said people were trying to kill him and voices in his head made him rob the bank, according to initial charges filed in Ramsey County District Court.
Hale was civilly committed as mentally ill and chemically dependent in September 2024. Eight months later, he was ordered to undergo a federal psychiatric and psychological examination, which found his medication treatment was effective and he was competent to stand trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Forbes wrote in a presentencing memo.
Hale’s sentencing Monday at the federal courthouse in St. Paul includes five years of supervised release following incarceration.
“Once released, if Hale continues to take his medications, continues to receive mental health treatment, and stays away from controlled substances, he will dramatically reduce his risk of recidivism,” Forbes wrote in the memo. “A five-year term of supervision will best ensure that the federal crimes in this case are Hale’s last.”
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