Minneapolis businesses, residents displaced following dumpster fire
Several Minneapolis businesses are closed and residents are displaced in Uptown after a dumpster fire caused long-lasting damage.
Three businesses off West Lake Street near the fire had to shut their doors because of damage.
One of those businesses, Face Day Spa, is assessing damages and mapping out how to move forward.
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“I’m still in shock. It just gets a little bit harder, especially as I see bills continuously coming out, and no money coming in,” Matisse Johnson, Face Day Spa owner, said.
It’s been one week since Johnson was told it’s not safe to have clients inside her spa.
The Black-owned business opened up in Uptown five years ago to provide a safe space for the Black community to experience luxury and relaxation.
“I put my blood, sweat, and tears into creating the space, and most importantly, it’s a safe space for my staff,” Johnson said. “People view this as a luxury and somewhere to come and have that experience in the Black community is huge.”
A place of relaxation turned to the center of stress on July 22.
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Around 3:30 a.m. last Monday morning, a security camera caught a man walking up to a dumpster and lighting a fire. The video shows the flames crawl up the building burning everything in its path.
Johnson is now stuck with smoke damage and no electricity.
About 80 appointments per week are canceled and her team is unemployed until further notice.
“It’s hard, it’s really hard. I don’t mean to cry, but this is definitely my baby and I have nothing but this,” Johnson said.
On the top floor of the same building, tenants were sleeping in their apartments when the fire broke out.
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“I was just faced with like a hallway full of smoke and fire coming through the back door,” Rose Opstad, building tenant, said. “It’s really overwhelming.”
Everyone got out safely. Now they’re packing up what didn’t turn to ashes.
The property manager tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that repairing some of the units will take at least five months and cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Back on the first floor, Johnson has to replace furniture and wallpaper and throw out products battered with smoke damage.
Smoke damage can be an invisible threat. In some cases, it can’t be seen, but it’s often trapped in furniture, walls, and floors.
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The damage is forcing her to tear down everything she’s built.
“This is something that I created and that I take pride in and it’s all I have. It’s my only form of income,” Johnson said. “I am going to trust in God and I’m going to work as hard as I’ve worked to get it open.”
A fundraiser has been set up to help the business cover lost wages and rent.
A United Airlines flight bound for Minneapolis from Chicago was reportedly diverted after an “unruly passenger” tried to breach the cockpit late on Friday.
The FBI and police responded to reports of a security concern with the passenger, who was detained by police at the Dane county regional airport in Madison, Wisconsin.
The flight continued its journey to Minneapolis, landing early on Saturday morning, according to FlightAware data. There were no reported injuries among the 147 passengers and six crew members onboard the flight.
A United spokesperson said flight 2005 “landed safely in Madison … to address a security concern with an unruly passenger”.
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The FBI in Milwaukee said the agency was notified of the flight’s diversion, and its agents, along with local law enforcement, responded to the airport.
“A subject was detained by the [local] sheriff’s office, and afterwards passengers resumed their flight,” an FBI spokesperson said.
In air traffic communications reported by NBC News, personnel onboard the plane could be heard discussing the attempted cockpit breach with ground control.
“I do not believe they ever cuffed him, but they were able to finally get control of him after multiple attempts to try to breach the cockpit,” a member of the crew said. “I believe at this point he is seated in a seat and flanked with law enforcement officers on either side.”
Aircraft hijackings are almost unheard of in the US since the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, when four aircraft were taken over by Islamic extremists, including two that crashed into and destroyed New York’s World Trade Center.
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But between 1968 and 1972, known as hijacking’s so-called golden age, more than 130 US planes were hijacked. Many of those hijackers demanded to be flown to Cuba.
CHICAGO (WLS) — A United Airlines flight that left Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Friday was diverted due to an unruly passenger, officials said.
United flight 2005 from Chicago was headed to Minneapolis but landed in Madison, Wisconsin.
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“United flight 2005 from Chicago to Minneapolis landed safely in Madison, Wisconsin to address a security concern with an unruly passenger,” the airline said in a statement. “The flight is expected to continue to Minneapolis later on Friday.”
An ICE agent facing several assault charges in connection with a January shooting involving two Venezuelan people in Minnesota has been arrested in Texas, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
Christian Castro was charged earlier this month with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.
CNN is working to determine whether Castro has an attorney and has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Castro faces those charges in connection with the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man shot in the leg through the front door of a Minneapolis home. The incident took place during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement blitz in the Twin Cities.
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Originally, Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo A. Aljorna were facing federal charges after DHS said they had attacked an agent, prompting him to fire a defensive shot.
But the Justice Department dropped the charges in February, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement said two of its agents, who made false statements about the incident under oath, were placed on administrative leave.
