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Indigenous activist advocating for re-use of 2 Minneapolis properties to help those struggling with opioids

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Indigenous activist advocating for re-use of 2 Minneapolis properties to help those struggling with opioids


Indigenous activist lays out vision to reclaim land for memorial garden, treatment hub

A thin stretch of land along East Franklin Avenue in south Minneapolis is fenced in and overgrown.

Several ‘no trespassing- MNDOT’ signs hang prominently around the one-and-a-half-acre site.

“Well, right now we’re looking at a bunch of concrete and light poles that we have put in here,” he says. “Because they don’t want an encampment to develop here again.”

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But where some might see blight, Indigenous activist Mike Forcia sees opportunity.

“I would like to see this a memorial garden for all those we’ve lost to the opioid epidemic that our community’s been suffering from,” he explains. “We could have all of our community here selling their beadwork, selling their wild rice, selling their artwork.”

At least two encampments have been set up and cleared here in recent years, sometimes known as ‘The Wall of Forgotten Natives.’

At a nearby overpass, there are groups of people experiencing homelessness and hypodermic needles on the ground.

“We’re not dealing with homelessness and addiction,” Forcia declares. “You go under this bridge, there’s at least a hundred people there right now, and the shelter is right there, 100 feet away.”

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Forcia says he’s contacted MnDOT in hopes the agency would turn over the property to the Native American community.

In a statement, MnDOT says it’s open to the proposal and is exploring the idea with tribal organizations and local government. 

“You know, I’ve lost quite a lot of friends due to it,” says Sanchez Brown. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Brown says she’s had her own struggles with substance use disorder.

She hopes the memorial space or garden could be the start of something new for the area.

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“I think it would be beautiful to see,” Brown says. “I’d actually like to see a lot more happen to Franklin as far as buildings remodeled, things like that.”

But Forcia also wants a land-back of East Phillips Park.

He’s calling the proposal to re-use the six-and-a-half-acre park, including the gym, ‘The Red Road Village Plan.’

“Right now, if we close down the encampments, we could use that spot as a navigation center,” Forcia says. “Similar to what they had a few years ago at the Red Lake apartment building.”

He envisions a treatment center and a shelter at the gym for people experiencing homelessness.

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The plan would include a tiny home village with culturally based wraparound services, including addiction treatment and employment services. 

However, the bar for the Red Road Village project appears to be high.

An MPRB spokesperson notes East Phillips Park is a thriving neighborhood park that’s part of a master planning project. 

She says in order to dispose of the land, the board would have to determine the property was no longer needed for a park purpose and a district judge would have to sign off on the sale.

That’s according to the Minneapolis City Charter.

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But Forcia says he’ll keep on advocating for both projects.
  
“We’re not asking the city for any money, we’re not asking the park board for any money,” he says. “We’re asking for the land back. Once you give us the land back, we’ll take care of our own people.”



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Minneapolis, MN

MN weather: Bright with highs in the 50s Monday

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MN weather: Bright with highs in the 50s Monday


Expect a pleasant Monday with light breezes, filtered sunshine, and highs in the 50s. Temperatures cool into the 40s this week with chances for rain and snow. FOX 9 meteorologist Cody Matz has the full forecast.

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Murder charges filed in 2020 shooting that took life of young mother

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Murder charges filed in 2020 shooting that took life of young mother


A man who admitted to firing the shots that killed an 18-year-old mother in south Minneapolis back in May 2020 is charged with murder. 

The criminal complaint names Malcom Chan Johnson, 33, of Minneapolis, as a suspect in the fatal shooting after he told police he didn’t know there was a woman in the car he was shooting at.

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The shooting claimed the life of Arionna Buckanaga, who was set to graduate high school a month after she was shot. 

READ MORE: Vigil held for woman shot in vehicle in south Minneapolis

Man charged for 2020 shooting death of Arionna Buckanaga

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Fatal shooting:

Court documents show the shooting happened near the intersection of 39th Street East and Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis at about 11:25 p.m. on May 4, 2020.

Officers found Arionna in the driver’s seat of a crashed Ford Mustang, with a gunshot wound to her head. She died at the hospital days later.

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Her boyfriend, who was a passenger in the Mustang, told police he did not know who shot at the vehicle. 

Investigation:

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The criminal complaint states officers found an abandoned Chevy Suburban with bullet holes in the hood about a mile-and-a-half away from the scene of the shooting. The bullet holes appeared to be consistent with the driver of the vehicle shooting over the hood and accidentally striking the vehicle. 

Investigators also found 32 shell casings at the scene of the shooting. About two weeks later, police found two Glock 9mm handguns in a compost bin about eight blocks away from the shooting. Law enforcement officials determined the two guns fired the 32 shots.

DNA swabs taken from the Suburban were found to match Malcom Chan Johnson and another man, Namiri Tanner. Tests on the firearms also revealed a mixture of DNA that also matched Tanner.

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Court documents say authorities then spoke to a witness on March 20, 2025, who told them Johnson confessed to the shooting and that Johnson had a “gang feud” with Arionna’s boyfriend.

Confession:

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Police then spoke to Namiri Tanner, who is in a federal prison in Kentucky. 

The complaint states Tanner confessed to shooting at the Mustang and from the passenger’s seat and said that Johnson was shooting from the driver’s seat, firing over the hood. Tanner added that the two men abandoned the Suburban and ditched the guns in a trash can. 

Authorities then interviewed Johnson on March 4, 2026. He admitted driving the Suburban and firing one of the guns.

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Johnson said he thought Arionna’s boyfriend was in the Mustang, but didn’t know she was as well, and said he did not mean to kill her, according to the complaint.

What we don’t know:

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It’s unclear if Tanner will face charges in the case. Tanner is being held in federal prison on a drug case. However, it appears he is due to be released next month.

The Source: This story uses information from a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County Court and previous FOX 9 reporting. 

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Railyard fire in Minneapolis: Six semi-tractors burned

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Railyard fire in Minneapolis: Six semi-tractors burned


The semi-tractors that were on fire in Minneapolis.  (FOX 9)

Early Saturday, the Minneapolis Fire Department responded to several semi-tractors on fire in a railyard.

Crews respond to fires and explosions

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What we know:

Firefighters arrived at the railyard at 29th Avenue Northeast and Central Avenue Northeast around 12:15 a.m. They found six semi-tractors fully engulfed in flames. 

Authorities say the railroad company confirmed that there were no hazardous materials in the area, and Xcel Energy was contacted to shut down a nearby electrical line exposed to the fire. 

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The fire came under control in about 20 minutes, fire officials said. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries reported in the incident.

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What we don’t know:

The exact cause of the fire remains unknown as investigations continue.

The Source: Information from the Minneapolis Fire Department.

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