Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis Jack and Jill of America partners with V3 to teach critical swim safety skills
Minneapolis Jack and Jill of America partners with V3 to teach critical swim safety skills
On Saturday, dozens of children ages three to 18 signed up to take a plunge with the Minneapolis Jack and Jill of America to learn critical swim safety skills.
Partnering with V3 Sports in Minneapolis, the two groups provided an opportunity for over 75 kids to have swim lessons, teaching them critical skills for what to do in the water and what to do when they or someone else is in trouble.
According to USA Swimming, formal swimming lessons lower the likelihood of a child drowning by 88%.
“Learning how to swim could help; if someone’s drowning, you could save that person’s life,” Kori Poole, one of Saturday’s participants, said.
USA Swimming says 64% of African American children, 45% of Hispanic/Latino children and 40% of Caucasian children have little to no swimming ability, something Marisa Williams with Minneapolis Jack and Jill of America says events like their’s can help change.
“In a lot of Black and brown neighborhoods, swimming is not something that our families have access to,” Williams explained. “So, partnering with V3, we’re able to put together this amazing event where our kids can learn about swim safety, lifeguarding and potentially think about what careers exist in aquatics.”
Malik Rucker, the sports executive director with V3 Sports, says the statistic is shocking but is hopeful for the future, believing events like these can cause a wide impact down the road.
“This is a space where I got a swim instructor that looks like me. I feel comfortable a lifeguard looks like me, and I’m gonna overcome for his fear,” Rucker said.
Context: Sanctuary city policies are motivated in part by the understanding that the federal government has its own immigration enforcement capabilities and does not need permission or cooperation to perform them. Such policies also are motivated by the notion that immigration enforcement is — perhaps depending on the administration, or perhaps inherently — unjust. It cannot be seen as a net positive for society’s governing divisions to subvert one another’s missions. In any case, Minneapolis police are responsible for keeping the peace in the city.
Fact: Those at the scene and others in the aftermath criticized the militarized nature of the operation. The use of masks by some of the law enforcement agents was a particular trigger.
Context: We’re seeing more of that masking — not just helmets and shields, but concealments — especially among federal agents. It diminishes accountability and enhances the intimidation factor, whether on purpose or not. Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director, belittled that concern when he said “is that the issue here, that we’re just upset about the masks? Or is anyone upset about the fact that ICE officers’ families were labeled terrorists?”
Those in law enforcement have hard jobs. We ask them to deal with the worst elements of society, but also to be better than those elements at all times. We demand this professionalism regardless of circumstance, regardless of political culture and regardless of their own psychological wounds. These are reasonable expectations. They’re necessary for the consent of the governed.
Fact: Some officials criticized the excess of the raid. O’Hara and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called it tone-deaf. Frey said community members had “understandable fear. I had the same concern myself.” On Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council ordered a review of the city’s involvement.
Context: All well and good, especially the review, but this is an election year in Minneapolis, and questions of public safety and justice are again where battle lines are being drawn, even though there are other matters, including the evolution of the tax base, that are equally important to the city’s future. Obviously, law enforcement raids like Tuesday’s won’t be announced in advance. Current federal policies will only add to instability. I don’t think the mayor is caught off-guard by the community reactions, but if he wants a sensible public safety milieu to prevail in November, he needs to be seen as not running behind.
MINNEAPOLIS — Residents will gather Saturday in a scenic Minneapolis neighborhood for an annual ritual — the sharpening of a gigantic No. 2 pencil.
The 20-foot-tall (6-meter-tall) pencil was sculpted out of a mammoth oak tree at the home of John and Amy Higgins. The beloved tree was damaged in a storm a few years ago when fierce winds twisted the crown off. Neighbors mourned. A couple even wept. But the Higginses saw it not so much as a loss, but as a chance to give the tree new life.
The sharpening ceremony on their front lawn has evolved into a community spectacle that draws hundreds of people to the leafy neighborhood on Lake of the Isles, complete with music and pageantry. Some people dress as pencils or erasers. Two Swiss alphorn players will provide part of this year’s entertainment. The hosts will commemorate a Minneapolis icon, the late music superstar Prince, by handing out purple pencils on what would have been his 67th birthday.
In the wake of the storm, the Higginses knew they wanted to create a sculpture out of their tree. They envisioned a whimsical piece of pop art that people could recognize, but not a stereotypical chainsaw-carved, north-woods bear. Given the shape and circumference of the log, they came up with the idea of an oversized pencil standing tall in their yard.
“Why a pencil? Everybody uses a pencil,” Amy Higgins said. “Everybody knows a pencil. You see it in school, you see it in people’s work, or drawings, everything. So, it’s just so accessible to everybody, I think, and can easily mean something, and everyone can make what they want of it.”
So they enlisted wood sculptor Curtis Ingvoldstad to transform it into a replica of a classic Trusty brand No. 2 pencil.
“People interpret this however they want to. They should. They should come to this and find whatever they want out of it,” Ingvoldstad said. That’s true even if their reaction is negative, he added. “Whatever you want to bring, you know, it’s you at the end of the day. And it’s a good place. It’s good to have pieces that do that for people.”
John Higgins said they wanted the celebration to pull the community together.
“We tell a story about the dull tip, and we’re gonna get sharp,” he said. “There’s a renewal. We can write a new love letter, a thank you note. We can write a math problem, a to-do list. And that chance for renewal, that promise, people really seem to buy into and understand.”
To keep the point pointy, they haul a giant, custom-made pencil sharpener up the scaffolding that’s erected for the event.
Like a real pencil, this one is ephemeral. Every year they sharpen it, it gets a bit shorter. They’ve taken anywhere from 3 to 10 inches (8 to 25 centimeters) off a year. They haven’t decided how much to shave off this year. They’re OK knowing that they could reduce it to a stub one day. The artist said they’ll let time and life dictate its form — that’s part of the magic.
“Like any ritual, you’ve got to sacrifice something,” Ingvoldstad said. “So we’re sacrificing part of the monumentality of the pencil, so that we can give that to the audience that comes, and say, ‘This is our offering to you, and in goodwill to all the things that you’ve done this year.’”
Minneapolis, MN
Jury deliberations to continue into 2nd day in trial of man accused of killing 5 in Minneapolis crash
Jury deliberations will continue Friday in the trial against Derrick Thompson, who is accused of killing five women in a crash in Minneapolis on June 16, 2023. Jurors were given the case around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.
The women who were killed were identified as Sahra Gesaade, Sabiriin Ali, Salma Abdikadir, Sagal Hersi and Siham Adam.
Thompson faces five counts of criminal vehicular homicide for driving in a grossly negligent manner, five counts of criminal vehicular homicide for causing the crash and then leaving the scene and five counts of third-degree murder. There are three counts relating to each victim’s death.
Jurors will begin deliberations at 11 a.m. Friday. The late start is due to the Eid holiday.
Thompson has already been found guilty on federal charges related to guns and drugs found inside his SUV.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS will have a crew at the courthouse on Friday and will update this article throughout the day.
CLICK HERE for additional case coverage.
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