Minneapolis — Nothing gets past Minneapolis Metro Transit bus driver Jayne Arendt-Verhelst on her bus.

But last month, Arendt-Verhelst noticed a problem outside of it. Her bus was approaching an intersection when she saw a woman standing in the middle of the street waving her down. Even though the woman wasn’t at a bus stop, Arendt-Verhelst broke policy, pulled over and let her board.

“When I opened up the door, that’s when I really saw her,” Arendt-Verhelst told CBS News. “I saw her from head to toe and I was just like, wow.”

The woman, who appeared to be homeless, wasn’t wearing any shoes.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like walking around with bare feet on the hot pavement,” Arendt-Verhelst said. “And just, nobody sees you. She’s just kind of invisible, you know?”

But she was not invisible to Arendt-Verhelst, who immediately took the shoes off her own feet and gave them to her.

“I knew that you’re not supposed to drive in your socks, it’s a big no-no, but I couldn’t help it,” said Arendt-Verhelst, who has been a bus driver with Metro Transit for 18 years.

After her good deed, she contacted a supervisor from the bus to inform her of the unplanned stop.

“And I told her what I did. And she (the supervisor) said, ‘Well, you don’t have far back to the garage, so continue.’ I’m like, ‘OK,’” Arendt-Verhelst recounted.

Several riders witnessed that moment, but perhaps no one was more touched by it than passenger Sarah Seldon, who had been homeless before and knew how meaningful a simple kindness can be.

“It really, like, affected me because it was like, oh my gosh, she sees this woman,” Seldon said.

Often, we’re told to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. But in certain moments, it’s even more important to let that someone stand in ours.

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MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Metro Transit is taking extra steps to ensure safe and reliable transit services for several upcoming events in the Twin Cities and is making new changes to light rail and bus services starting on Saturday.

Every quarter, Metro Transit introduces changes to transit services throughout the Twin Cities metro area. These changes adjust the services based on current and projected ridership, available resources, and driver workforce, according to a press release. 

With several upcoming events in the Twin Cities metro and a general increase in ridership, here is what you need to know about the changes starting on Saturday. 

Changes to light rail, bus scheduling

Beginning on Aug. 17, Metro Transit says the light rail will run more frequently, and several bus route services will also have improvements as part of the quarterly service change. 

Here are a few quarterly changes implemented by Metro Transit: 

• On the METRO Blue Line and METRO Green Line, trains will run every 12 minutes between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day. Currently, trains run every 15 minutes.
• Routes 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21, 22, 32, 46 and METRO C Line will have trip and schedule adjustments to accommodate new school end times for Minneapolis Public Schools.
• On weekdays, METRO Orange Line buses will run every 10 minutes between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. northbound and between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. southbound, up from the 15-minute service currently provided during these times. On Sundays, trips will run every 15 minutes.

To see additional changes, click here. 

Upcoming events

The busy stretch of events starts with a Metallica concert at U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 18, a Green Day concert at Target Field on Saturday, and a Def Leppard concert at Target Field on Monday. 

The Minnesota State Fair begins on Thursday, Aug. 22, and runs through Labor Day on Sept. 2. Metro Transit provides up to 87 express buses to transport fairgoers from several park-and-ride locations to the fairgrounds. 

In a press release, Metro Transit said there are plans in place for a busy Aug. 24. Minnesota sports teams, including the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Lynx, Minnesota United, and St. Paul Saints, are each hosting home games on Saturday. Zach Bryan is also performing at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Open Streets event is happening on Lyndale Avenue.

Officials said that before and after large events in the city, additional police officers and staff will help direct fans. Additionally, three-car trains will be used to accommodate an increase in riders.  

Crime down, ridership up 

While additional staff and police officers are present during large events, Metro Transit said that reported crime is down 17.5% when comparing the second quarter of 2024 to the previous year. 

Additionally, ridership has increased 9% for the first half of 2024 when compared to the previous year. 

“Across the organization, there has been a sustained and deliberate effort to make our system safer and more welcoming to riders and frontline transit workers,” General Manager Lesley Kandaras said in a statement earlier this month. “We hear clearly that there is more work to be done but are encouraged by the progress we’re making.”

To learn more about Metro Transit’s progress, visit their website here.

MINNEAPOLIS — Nearly two days after an apartment fire tore through a downtown Minneapolis building, two people were found dead inside.

It wasn’t until Thursday morning when David Hollmon, the property manager,  realized he hadn’t seen one of his tenants since the fire.

“I went to the fire department and told them, ‘Hey I think one of my tenants is still in there.’” Hollmon said.

He said fire officials told him that was impossible and that they swept through the building twice.

But fire crews searched inside the charred building Thursday afternoon and discovered an elderly man in a fourth-floor apartment under piles of the collapsed roof.

“Mr. Kerry was a good dude, a jokester real cool laid-back type of old man,” Hollmon said.

Hours later, firefighters found another body. Hollmon believes it was Kerry’s girlfriend.

“Let’s talk about these people that didn’t make it and how is it they didn’t make it when the man (fire official) said they swept the apartment twice,” Hollmon said.

Both victims have not been identified as of Thursday night.

On Tuesday night, the fire department said they thought everyone got out safe.

“All residents were stated to be accounted, we didn’t hear anyone say that they were missing anyone,” said Assistant Fire Chief Melanie Rucker on Tuesday.

WCCO called again Thursday to ask how firefighters missed two people but haven’t heard back.

The search will continue Friday this time with cadaver dogs. 

Arson investigators continue their search for how this fire started.

“Whoever did this if somebody did this intentionally purposefully, they need to pay, pay,” Hollmon said.