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Minneapolis business owners face 'almost impossible' challenges including crime, regulations

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Minneapolis business owners face 'almost impossible' challenges including crime, regulations


In the early days of the George Floyd riots, while the police were overwhelmed, someone smashed a car into Thurston Jewelers on Lake Street in Minneapolis.  The store was overrun by looters. The display cases were smashed. Lloyd Drilling says he was lucky that the most expensive jewelry was in the safe. Anything that could be carried out the door was stolen.

“So, that basically put us out of business for a few months, and we had to rebuild the store and fix it back up,” says Drilling.

RIOTING, LOOTING LINKED TO GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS LEAVES TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION ACROSS AMERICAN CITIES

The jewelry store bounced back, but the customers did not.

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In the town that pioneered the movement to defund the police, the homeless population is present on most city blocks. Open-air drug use is so common it doesn’t attract attention and petty crime plagues the businesses who were able to re-open.

Minneapolis residents awoke to assess the damage after rioters ignited fires and looted stores all over the city, as peaceful protests turned increasingly violent in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd during an arrest. Here, the 190-unit apartment building under construction, tentatively known as Midtown Corner (right), was burned to the ground at 26th Ave and 29th Street. (Photo by Brian Peterson/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

As a result, Drilling says, the suburban population which used to push his business from surviving to thriving does not come downtown anymore. “I think they feel like they are unsafe in the city, in this area and in the [other] areas. They’re a little scared to come down here,” says Drilling.

SHOP OWNER REVEALS HEART-WRENCHING EXPERIENCE AFTER BLM RIOTS ‘DESTROYED’ HIS STORE ON GOV WALZ’S WATCH

Criminals make every aspect of business difficult in downtown Minneapolis. Koby Rich opened a cosmetic store. He keeps a painted rectangle of plywood on the front door of Rich Girl’s Cosmetics because vandals keep breaking the glass on his front door. He’s tired of spending money to fix it.

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“It makes it tough because vandalism it causes, you know, when your windows get busted out, when you get your doors kicked in when you get your whole store tore up,” says Rich.

A protester holds a sign that says Blue Lives Murder on Friday night, May 29, 2020.  (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Jim Schultz with the Minnesota Private Business Council says there is a direct link to the rise in criminal activity and the leadership of Governor Tim Walz. “A lot of Democrat leaders in the state got behind really reckless policies when it comes to policing and crime,” says Schulz. “And the result was the greatest increase in violent crime in Minnesota’s history. And Tim Walz has presided over that. Minnesota’s businesses continue to feel the effects of that.”

Even without the crime, business owners and business leaders say Minnesota, with Governor Walz at the helm, has not been friendly to job creators.

EX-OFFICER DEREK CHAUVIN CONVICTED IN GEORGE FLOYD’S KILLING IS MOVED TO NEW PRISON MONTHS AFTER STABBING

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The state has the highest statutory corporate tax rate in the United States at 9.8 %. Doug Loon with the Minnesota Chamber of commerce says the Walz administration missed opportunities to grow jobs because the Governor had other priorities. “Many progressive policies passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor have limited the private sector from reaching its economic potential,” says Loon.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic nominee for president, attends a rally to kick off their campaign at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The chamber says Minnesota now ranks 47th out of all the states in the nation for job creation and 46th for Gross Domestic Product.

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Kent Bergman opened the Campanelle restaurant in Lino Lakes, a suburb of Minneapolis. He endured the covid lockdowns. But burdened with taxes and regulations, he’s still living off his own savings, unable to take home a profit. “With all the mandates and everything coming down on us as a restaurant a small business we are in, the state’s making it almost impossible for a small business or a restaurant to make it,” says Bergman.

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Minneapolis, MN

Man killed over Louie Vuitton bag, suspect was on bond for suspected carjacking, charges say

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Man killed over Louie Vuitton bag, suspect was on bond for suspected carjacking, charges say


Minneapolis police are investigating a homicide on Feb. 24, 2026.  (FOX 9)

A man is dead after a witness said he refused to give up a Louis Vuitton bag while being robbed by multiple men at gunpoint. 

Abdirahman Khayre Khayre, 20, is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree robbery for the incident that happened on the evening of Feb. 24 in Minneapolis. 

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READ MORE: Man fatally shot in south Minneapolis apartment building

Fatal Minneapolis shooting after robbery 

The set-up:

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Minneapolis police responded around 10:42 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Abbott Apartments, located on the 100 block of East 18th Street in the Stevens Square neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Officers then found a dead man in the lobby who had been shot multiple times. 

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A witness to the shooting said he and the victim arrived at the apartments to “hang out” with Khayre, according to the criminal complaint. 

The witness said he became suspicious when Khayre he left the room multiple times and “appeared to be stalling.”

The robbery:

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The complaint states the witness reported three men then came into the room and yelled “Give me everything.” The men were armed with Glock handguns that had extended magazines as well as an AR-style rifle.

They then stole two guns from the witness, and one of them was handed to Khayre.

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When the men demanded a Louis Vuitton bag from the victim, he refused, leading to a fight between them all.

The shooting:

The witness said when he walked toward them, Khayre pointed the witness’ stolen gun at him and racked it. 

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The witness then got out of the room, ran toward the lobby and heard multiple gunshots. He then saw two of the men flee out the back of the building, but didn’t see what direction they went in.

The victim was then found dead. 

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The aftermath:

Khayre was then identified by the witness in a photo lineup, according to the criminal complaint. 

Police say video footage corroborated much of what the witness reported.

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Khayre was on conditional release for a suspected carjacking at the time of the shooting, according to the complaint. 

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

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Minnesota’s Iranian community: Mixed emotions on US-Israel strike

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Minnesota’s Iranian community: Mixed emotions on US-Israel strike


The local Iranian community in Minnesota is expressing mixed emotions following the recent joint U.S.-Israel strike on Iran.

Local reactions to the strike

What we know:

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The strike resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to President Donald Trump and Iranian state media. Many Iranians in Minnesota feel this could lead to freedom for their country.

Nazanin Naferipoor shared that her sister in Iran was initially happy about the strike, believing it might bring about freedom. However, communication has been cut off since the strike began, leaving many worried about their loved ones.

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The other side:

Hamid Kashani from the Minnesota Committee in Support of a Democratic Iran expressed mixed feelings about the strike. While he hopes for change, he is concerned about the potential loss of innocent lives.

Fazy Kowsari emphasized that the attack targeted the government, not the religion, and criticized the political motivations behind the strike.

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Upcoming rally at Nicollet Mall

Why you should care:

A rally is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at Nicollet Mall and 11th Street. Organizers view the U.S. strike as a rescue operation for Iranians held hostage by the regime, rather than an act of war.

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Ex-MN Twins Pitcher Sentenced For Shooting His In-Laws

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Ex-MN Twins Pitcher Sentenced For Shooting His In-Laws


AUBURN, CA — Former Major League Baseball pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering his father-in-law and attempting to murder his mother-in-law in a 2021 ambush-style shooting at a Lake Tahoe-area home.

A Placer County jury previously found Serafini, 51, guilty of fatally shooting 70-year-old Gary Spohr and seriously wounding Spohr’s wife, 68-year-old Wendy Wood, on June 5, 2021, at their home on the lake’s west shore. Wood survived the attack but died a year later.

In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire said that Spohr and Wood were loving grandparents and detailed how Serafini’s crimes had affected the couple’s family members and friends.

“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.

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On the day of the shooting, Serafini’s wife, the victims’ daughter, had taken the children to the lake to visit their grandparents.

Prosecutors said the deadly ambush stemmed from a dispute over a $1.3 million investment in a ranch renovation project. The victims had reportedly contributed the money.

In one text message shown in court, Serafini wrote, “I’m gonna kill them one day,” referencing a dispute over $21,000, prosecutors said.

He also sent other threatening messages, including “I will be coming after you” and “Take me to court,” according to ABC10.

Jurors also found Serafini guilty of several “special circumstance” sentencing enhancements, including lying in wait, use of a firearm, and that the attack was willful, deliberate and premeditated. He was also convicted of first-degree burglary.

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Prosecutors had also charged Serafini with child endangerment, saying he put his infant and toddler sons at risk by having a gun in the home. Jurors found him not guilty on that count.

The case also involved a second defendant, 33-year-old Samantha Scott, who pleaded guilty to being an accessory in February, according to the New York Post.

A left-hander, Serafini was a 1992 first-round pick for the Minnesota Twins. He also played for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies, pitching for six MLB teams over seven seasons.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.





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