A motorcyclist who was speeding from law enforcement a week ago in Minneapolis and crashed into a police squad car has died, officials said Friday.

The motorcyclist, identified earlier by HCMC as 24-year-old Dante Anthony Bjorklund, of Richfield, hit a stationary State Patrol vehicle late in the afternoon on June 14, the Minneapolis Police Department said.

While police disclosed that Bjorklund succumbed to his injuries, they did not say when he died.

Meggan Bjorklund said her son has donated organs to benefit four people, according to an online fundraising effort.

Police spokesman Brian Feintech said the motorcyclist was being pursued on Minneapolis highways, but the chase was called off once he entered residential streets in south Minneapolis.

Police did not say why the patrol began chasing the motorcycle, but emergency dispatch audio following the crash indicated the motorcycle was traveling at speeds over 100 miles per hour.

A patrol helicopter tracked the motorcycle until it crashed into the stationary patrol squad with its emergency lights activated at the intersection of S. Cedar Avenue and E. 51st Street, Feintech said.

Minneapolis police are leading the investigation into the crash, while the patrol is reviewing the circumstances of the pursuit.

Star Tribune staff writer Louis Krauss contributed to this story.

Body camera videos recorded by three officers on the evening of June 12 show how a brief foot chase ended in a fatal shooting. 

According to police, a caller reported being threatened by a man with a gun around 9:19 p.m. The man, later identified as Michael Warren Ristow, 39, was described by the 911 caller as carrying a 9 mm or .22-caliber pistol.  

The videos start from when officers Enoch Langford, Abdirizaq Mumin and Chaz Wilson exit their police squad cars and chase after Ristow. At times, the officers yell after Ristow demanding that he stop running and “drop the gun.”

Langford is ahead of the other two officers during the chase. Ristow, who appears to be wearing a backpack, falls down next to a chain link fence. 

Langford calls out to him, “Don’t. Drop the gun! Drop it!”

Ristow’s back is to the officer and according to the transcription on the video says “Get away.” The police video includes a graphic indicating that they believe Ristow was “manipulating” the gun as his back is turned to Langford.

Langford again yells, “Drop the f—ing gun!”

The officer fires as Ristow rotates so his right side is visible and has what appears to be a gun in his right hand that is pointed at the ground. Gunfire from the other officers also rings out.

According to the video transcription, Ristow yells, “Ah, it hurts. Kill me.”

Langford radios in that shots have been fired. He continues to tell Ristow to drop the gun and then to not reach for it.

Minneapolis police posted body camera videos from its officers on the department’s YouTube channel. A warning: The videos are graphic.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara didn’t comment on the details of the shooting because it is still under investigation by the BCA. However, he said the gun officers took from Ristow was jammed.  O’Hara wouldn’t speculate on whether Ristow tried to fire it. 

Officers Langford, Wilson and Mumin all fired their guns during the incident and are on leave while the BCA continues its investigation.

Minneapolis police published body camera video from its officers on the Minneapolis YouTube channel. Warning: The video is graphic.

Meleah Maynard said goodbye to the grass in her Minneapolis yard and never looked back. Her neighbor Brenda Schultz also ditched most of the grass for drought-tolerant flowers, shrubs and trees that are also bird-, bee- and butterfly-friendly.

“It’s just the right thing to do for pollinators and to do away with chemicals,” Schultz said. Plus, “I just didn’t want to mow.”

The neighbors are among a growing movement of those turning to no- or less-grass lawns. While a carpet of green has long been the standard for American homes, according to the National Wildlife Federation, 12% of U.S. adults plan to convert part of their lawns to natural or native landscapes this year.

Going “lawnless” is seen as an eco-conscious alternative to the No Mow May or Less Mow May movements. Although well-intentioned, No Mow May began in the U.K., where native dandelions, henbit and chickweed benefit their native bee population. But, depending on your region, it might be more ideal to mow less in May rather than not at all.

“It is not a one-size-fits-all approach as U.S. growing zones vary significantly,” stated the Wildlife Federation study. “While reducing the amount you mow can be a great first step, high grass can unintentionally promote the growth of invasive species that may outcompete native flora.”

Instead, reducing the size of one’s lawn — and filling it with plants — is becoming a sustainable option. Benefits also include reducing water usage and the use of fertilizers and herbicides.

Cory Barton, owner and garden designer of Twin Cities-based Grateful Beds, said those wanting lawn-free yards now account for half of her business. With this type of landscape design showing no signs of slowing down, Barton said it’s an exciting time to be creative.

“Lawns are a relaxing thing for your eye and you can design your gardens so you can have that same experience [without grass],” she said.

And if these Twin Cities yards are any indication, there’s more than one way to create a lawn-less landscape.

An urban woodland

You can spot designer Cory Barton’s work in numerous front yards — good-looking no-lawn to very-little-lawn designs that look casual and carefree, stylish but not styled.

In Charlotte “Shotsie” Forsythe’s small front yard in Minneapolis, Barton used three understory trees that provide habitat for pollinators: redbud, weeping larch and Golden Shadows pagoda dogwood.

The garden designer also likes to throw in bold statement plants to add architectural interest. For Forsythe’s garden, she chose oversized foliage such as deep green rodgersia and black-green ligularia, with mysterious-looking purple undersides.

Such foliage is planted alongside more low-key pulmonaria, pachysandra, golden creeping Jenny and hostas. The result is a charming woodland vignette the Forsythes can view from their porch, Barton said.

For anyone starting out, the garden designer suggested planting foliage with varying textures and creating a consistent palette to avoid a “cacophony of color.” For example, color combinations such as chartreuse-green-blue, red-purple-blue, or yellow-red-orange work well together.

Barton also likes to use paths, water features and seating to welcome and lure visitors no matter the size of a space. “[Create a] background, foreground, height, mystery — even in a small garden,” she said. Then repeat plants “with a few showstoppers for drama.”

Manicured to the max

Brenda Schultz removed all the grass in her front yard and most of her backyard (she kept only a small square patch). When it came to landscaping, she took inspiration from European gardens with manicured hedges.

“I worked for Medtronic for a number of years and I used to travel a lot. They sent me over to Switzerland for a number of years, England, France, Germany,” Schultz said. “I really loved that four-square design and so that’s what I did.”

The master gardener uses boxwood for hedges to create structure. She then fills the center of each square with hydrangea trees and perennials such as daylilies and, a favorite, astilbe, “because the rabbits don’t eat them.”

Schultz also recommends native plants such as baptisia and Joe-Pye. They “have a deep root system that can take drought better than other types of perennials,” she said.

A tiered approach

Growing under old burr oaks, garden author Meleah Maynard and her husband Mike’s shady lawn was struggling and, between that and the master gardener’s enthusiasm for all things plants, they decided to hand-strip all of the grass from their front yard. “We didn’t want to use synthetic fertilizers and weedkillers to maintain it to the standards of the time,” Meleah said.

Mike, a 3-D artist, built paths and changed the elevation to create visual interest and convenient access around the garden. Next, they sourced plants from neighbors who were giving them away.

“We didn’t have to buy anything,” Meleah said.

Under the oak canopies, they added native pagoda dogwood and nannyberry. For structure, they planted perennials like black snakeroot and goatsbeard throughout the garden.

“They quickly grow tall and shrub-like and bloom with long-lasting beautiful white flowers that bees love to visit, and are just a mainstay of the whole garden,” she said.

Wild ginger, geranium, lady’s mantle, astilbe, hostas and periwinkle cover all the ground beneath the understory trees, eliminating the need for mulch and choking out most weeds. In the fall, they grind up the oak leaves and toss them into the beds to feed the soil.

Maynard’s yard includes a sign showing that it is a Certified Wildlife Habitat a designation given by the National Wildlife Federation for scapes that provide “basic habitat element needed for wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover and places to raise young.”

Her advice for people wanting to lose their lawn is to start small, take it slow and have a rough sketch in mind. “I would make a plan for where I wanted trees and shrubs, where the paths would go, before I filled it in with other plants,” Meleah said.

Rhonda Hayes is a Twin Cities-based Extension Master Gardener, writer and author of “Pollinator Friendly Gardening.”