Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis park board cuts power to two houseboats off Nicollet Island
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – There are two houseboats moored off Nicollet Island, and so they have been warned that they needed to go away by Thursday or enforcement motion could be taken. Nevertheless, in an interview with FOX 9, one of many homeowners stated the houseboat is his dwelling and he’d like to remain.
Cory Parkos is the primary to confess that life on a houseboat is available in waves.
“It is a totally different way of life,” Parkos stated. “There’s occasions when it is a daydream. There’s occasions when it is a nightmare – once you acquired excessive water … and you do not know if you are going to make it via the evening.”
However regardless of these nights, Parkos fortunately calls his houseboat his dwelling. He’s moored the boat on the Mississippi River off Nicollet Island for 15 years and rented close by earlier than that.
“There’s been boats right here for in all probability 40 years, and I have been part of them for the final 20,” he stated.
However his future there’s wanting murky. On Thursday morning, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board lower the facility to his boat and the houseboat subsequent door, and gave them citations.
On July 28, the board despatched the houseboat homeowners letters saying they’d till Sept. 1 to go away the island. The letter additionally stated if the homeowners don’t take away the houseboats, the board will together with some other private belongings, and that houseboat homeowners might be liable for all charges associated to elimination and storage.
Captain Cory Parkos and his houseboat at Nicollet Island. (FOX 9)
The board despatched FOX 9 an announcement saying partly, “The MPRB has an ordinance that prohibits anybody from mooring any boats within the Mississippi River abutting or adjoining any park or parkway. The MPRB doesn’t have any settlement or permits with the homeowners of the 2 houseboats moored at Nicollet Island.”
Parkos is best often called “Captain Cory” via his native enterprise, Minneapolis Water Taxi. Not solely is the houseboat his dwelling deal with, however Parkos additionally retains his water taxis moored to the houseboat.
He stated the board has supplied Growth Island as a substitute for the water taxis however not the boat itself.
“In the event that they kick me out, the Hennepin County sheriff says ‘you gotta go,’ then I will go. However within the meantime, we’ll see what the ultimate resolution is,” he stated.
Two houseboats stay at Nicollet Island after Thursday’s deadline. (FOX 9)
Parkos remains to be weighing whether or not to take authorized motion. However he stated his greater concern is for the way forward for the piece of land off West Island Avenue the place he is moored and whether or not the general public will proceed to have entry to the land.
“We’ll have to seek out out what the precise authorized standing is of this stunning quay is as a result of we do not wish to destroy it,” Parkos stated.
Right here’s extra of the board’s assertion to FOX 9:
“For a number of months, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) has been responding to houseboats which have been moored on MPRB property on the river with out having permits from the MPRB to take action. On July 28, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board despatched letters to houseboat homeowners advising them they should unmoor their boats and take away them from Nicollet Island by September 1, 2022. Houseboat homeowners have been knowledgeable that in the event that they failed to take action, enforcement motion could be taken by the MPRB starting right now, together with elimination of energy.”
Minneapolis, MN
Court filings from Minneapolis man accused of shooting neighbor show pattern of harassment
MINNEAPOLIS — Newly uncovered court documents accuse John Sawchak of a long history of violence.
The documents accuse Sawchak of striking a neighbor with a wooden stick, slashing the tires of a police car and threatening to kill other neighbors.
Last week, Davis Moturi said he was doing yard work outside his south Minneapolis home when Sawchak shot him.
Sawchak is charged with attempted murder for the shooting Moturi. His bail is set at $1 million.
Court documents show Sawchak’s issues with neighbors spans nearly a decade.
A request for a restraining order in 2015 is from a mother of three, who lived in the same home where Moturi lives now.
According to one of the documents, the mother wrote “Kids are afraid of sleeping in their rooms or using the restroom by themselves” and “I’m really afraid that something terrible might happen before something is done.”
In the same restraining order, she said, “police told us to keep calling” but “whenever they do come, John is already in his house and they can’t get him.”
In 2016, Carole Megarry filed for a restraining order after she said Sawchak would yell at her and record her.
The now-77-year-old writing at the time, “she was thinking [of] leaving the neighborhood and moving someplace where I do not have to worry about this man.”
“It was definitely intimidating, certainly state of vigilance always looking and listening,” Megarry said.
Instead of leaving, she adapted.
In 2022, things took a violent turn when she let her dog out.
“He came after me with a piece of lumbar about 4 inches long. He was yelling at me and chasing,” Megarry recalled. “I was afraid I could have been killed.”
Since that time, Megarry said she’s avoided Sawchak, going as far as not even walking in the alley of her home.
Neighbors said they are upset with how police handled the situation and how they let this situation with Sawchak go unnoticed.
Megarry said many neighbors knew not to engage with him and just ignore him.
While Sawchak’s home remains boarded up, neighbors like Megarry say they feel safer knowing he’s in custody, but at the same time, uneasy.
On Friday, the Minneapolis NAACP said dereliction of duty led to the shooting and wants a sincere apology from Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara and Mayor Jacob Frey. Minneapolis public information officers say O’Hara already did that during a press conference this week.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis bridge getting $34 million in federal funding for improvements, repairs
MINNEAPOLIS — A project to improve the Nicollet Avenue Bridge is getting $34.2 million in federal funding.
The funding is part of a $635 million grant for 22 small and medium-sized bridge projects around the U.S., according to the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration.
The bridge, which stands over Minnehaha Creek in Minneapolis’ Tangletown neighborhood, was built in 1923 and underwent repairs in 1973, according to the city.
Federal officials say over 10,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day.
The city is planning to replace the bridge’s sidewalks, drainage and lighting systems and create protected bike lanes.
The money for the grant is part of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which was signed into law in 2021.
During construction, the bridge will be closed to all cars, bikes and pedestrians. Timing on construction is undecided, according to the city.
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.
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