Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis closes downtown street for first warehouse district live
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – As the Minnesota Twins take on the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field, Minneapolis is taking a swing at bringing a little liveliness to downtown.
The Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District and the City of Minneapolis to block off a block of First Avenue between 5th and 6th streets on weekends for Warehouse District Live.
Organizers say there will be food trucks, picnic tables and free entertainment to create a more welcoming space for people on foot.
“We’re providing more space for people to do the things they want to do: eat, drink, hang out, talk with their friends, have some fun. So that’s the idea. The idea is by closing this off and creating an enhanced entertainment district this space can breathe a little bit as the entertainment district it is,” said Ben Shardlow, with the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District.
In addition to concrete and metal barriers blocking the road, organizers say there will be police officers, a full security team working the perimeter of the block, as well as community outreach groups like Mad Dads and 21 Days of Peace, to make sure the space is as safe as possible.
“It’s less an effort to sell people on the idea that they should come downtown and it’s a recognition that people are downtown and we care about providing a great experience for them while they are here,” said Shardlow.
Nearby businesses hope providing more space for people to have fun downtown is a homerun for them.
“It’s been a rough couple of years since COVID and George Floyd and I think a lot of people in the suburbs have been nervous about coming downtown and hopefully if we give them a reason like this it will bring more people back downtown,” said Marcus Dorn, manager at the Loon Cafe.
Warehouse District Live will run from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights through the end of October.
Minneapolis, MN
3 people shot in Dinkytown early Friday morning
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Authorities are investigating a Dinkytown shooting that left three people injured early Friday morning.
What we know
A SAFE-U Emergency Alert states that three people were shot at the intersection of 4th Street Southeast and 13th Avenue Southeast around 2:15 a.m.
This area is in the heart of Dinkytown, just over half a mile west of Mariucci Arena and Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The shooting happened off of the University of Minnesota campus.
What we don’t know
Police have not released information on whether any U of M students were involved.
No suspect information is currently available.
Minneapolis, MN
Xcel faces challenges with old utility poles
More than two thirds of the utility poles throughout Minnesota are at least a half-century old and records show their failure rate dramatically increases with age, a problem exacerbated by climate change, experts said.
Minneapolis, MN
City Council calls for audit of MPD response to neighbor dispute that led to shooting
A group of Minneapolis city leaders are calling for an independent review of a recent neighbor dispute that ended with one man hospitalized after being shot and another man in custody.
As reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS last week, Davis Moturi says he repeatedly called police about threats made by his neighbor, 54-year-old John Sawchak.
Many city council members are saying a separate review is necessary in this case. Prosecutors say Sawchak shot Moturi after a months-long dispute. Video shows Moturi pruning a tree near the property line and then a pop is heard before he falls to the ground.
However, it took days for officers to arrest Sawchak after prosecutors charged him with the shooting and after city council members called for police to take action.
Moturi also says for nearly a year, he had been reaching out for help from Minneapolis police regarding harassment and threats from Sawchak. On Sunday, Police Chief Brian O’Hara also apologized, saying the department “failed” Moturi.
During Thursday’s meeting, council members called for an independent review of the case in addition to the internal review.
“Seeing another Black man not be delivered the justice that they deserved and to see our police department or leadership initially blame said victim for the cause of their near-death experience — it was disheartening to hear that our actions to bring attention to eight months of inaction was labeled as political,” Ward 2 Council Member Robin Wonsley said.
Early Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson for Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey issued the following statement regarding an independent review into the shooting:
“Mayor Frey fully supports an independent review of this incident. The mayor and City are committed to always doing better, and this means closely examining past actions and finding where there may be ways to improve and grow.
“The mayor extends his condolences to Davis Moturi, his wife, Caroline, and their family and friends. The safety of our residents is a top priority and any form of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and does not align with who we are as a community.
Brian O’Hara will continue to be the Minneapolis Police Chief.”
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