A Minneapolis community pillar is celebrating 93 years in service by opening the first Northside Community Safety Resource Center inside of the building.

Shiloh Temple is kicking off another anniversary with a new chapter.

The funding, designing and execution of this project came together in a year, which is a quick turnaround, project managers explained.

Building the foundation for north Minneapolis’ future has been Shiloh Temple’s mission for decades.

“Providing the right services, love, joy, peace, goodness, gentleness and so forth. That is what we’re here for,” Bishop Richard Howell at Shiloh Temple said.

With this $2 million makeover, the community is getting new tools to thrive.

Construction workers installed brand new doors, freshly painted walls and bulletproof windows. It’s a special request acknowledging a disturbing reality.

“Funerals, violence in this community. I felt like, ‘What do we do? What can we do to bring peace in our neighborhoods?’” Howell said.

Northside residents will have access to their first community safety resource center and an expanded food shelf that serves at least 400 people per day.

“Minneapolis is resource-rich and always have been access-poor, right? We know Minnesota has resources, but where do people of color access them?” said Pastor Jalilia Abdul-Brown from nonprofit Change Starts with Community.

Change Starts with Community wanted to make the process easy.

In the space, wrap-around resources will address food insecurity, violence prevention and youth development in one room.

“We’re in a community that has seen the most violence, but also a lack of resources and a lack of investment,” Abdul-Brown said.

The state, Hennepin County and a group of donors wanted to stop that cycle by donating time and money to see the project come to life.

PCL Construction, Leo A Daly and 4 The Hungry Project Management and Consulting are among many donors who believed in the vision.

“Knowing that we can contribute to helping them get access to the services that Shiloh Cares Food Shelf provides, I think that’s incredible, just to be a small part of it,” Amanda Kelsey, PCL construction, said.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house is Sunday, Oct. 6, at 10 a.m. at Shiloh Temple.

Church officials will be joined by local and state leaders and lawmakers to debut the space to the community. The public is welcome to attend.

“Vibrancy is returning because we’re understanding the power that we have in this community,” Howell said.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis police say a 10-year-old boy has been arrested after stealing a car and driving recklessly near a crowded school playground, nearly hitting children who were playing outside.

What we know

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said on Friday morning that the incident happened on Sept. 20 at the playground outside of Nellie Stone Johnson School in north Minneapolis. 

Police say surveillance footage shows the boy driving the stolen vehicle back and forth on the grass behind the playground before moving onto the sidewalk, just feet away from the playground, with children playing and standing nearby. No children were struck by the 10-year-old driver, according to a press release.

Chief O’Hara said the boy was identified as the driver on Thursday and has been arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention on probable cause of second-degree assault.

Digging deeper

This isn’t the first time the 10-year-old boy has been accused of stealing a car. Police explained the boy had been arrested on at least two other occasions for crimes related to auto theft. Chief O’Hara added that the 10-year-old is listed as a suspect in more than a dozen other cases, including for auto theft, assault with a dangerous weapon and robbery. 

The boy has a criminal history dating back to May 2023, with around 30 records—most of which are runaway incidents. O’Hara said the 10-year-old’s family is cooperating with law enforcement and has asked for help to “keep their son or anyone else from being injured or killed,” according to a press release. 

What they’re saying 

Chief O’Hara expressed concern about the child’s alleged repeated criminal activity and released a statement saying:

“It is unfathomable that a 10-year-old boy has had this level of criminal activity without effective intervention. Prison is not an acceptable option for a 10-year-old boy. But the adults who can stop this behavior going forward must act now. This is only one example of the revolving door we’re dealing with – arresting and re-arresting the same juveniles for auto-theft and other violent crimes. This is a complex issue, and we need every entity involved in intervention to come together immediately to establish short- and long-term solutions.”

What we don’t know 

Police have not yet revealed details about when or how the car was stolen or how long the child was allegedly driving it. 

Additionally, further information on the boy’s other suspected crimes has not been released.