Dozens of Black and Brown children filled the pool at V3 Sports Center in north Minneapolis this weekend for a free swim‑safety event focused on building confidence and expanding access to water‑safety skills.
Jack and Jill of America’s Minneapolis chapter hosted its second annual JJ Swim safety event, drawing more than 80 kids — a 60% increase from last year, according to organizers. Children in grades kindergarten to seniors in high school attended.
“I just got to go faster, faster, faster, faster,” said swimmer Jaden Walker as he pushed himself through the water.
He later shared his personal benchmark for a full lap.
Advertisement
“One lap down and back would be 27 seconds for me,” Jaden said.
While some kids focused on speed, instructors emphasized the importance of basic safety and comfort in the water.
A teen lifeguard working the event said many kids her age still lack essential swim skills.
“I think a lot of kids my age or younger don’t know how to swim, and it limits the exercise you can do and the fun you can have, especially over the summer,” said 15‑year‑old lifeguard Taylor Williams.
V3 staff guided students through several stations.
Advertisement
“They are learning basic things, breathing, floating, forward movement, and then we’re doing life jacket fitting over there, and we’re doing CPR,” said V3 Sports Aquatics Program Assistant Dejah Teetzle.
Organizers say the event is designed to make swimming accessible and welcoming for families who have historically had fewer opportunities to learn.
“It’s electrifying in here. The kids are having such a good time,” said Marisa Williams, with Jack and Jill.
She added that the turnout reflects the need for programs like this.
“It just makes us feel really good that we’re exposing Black and Brown children to the water in a way that they feel really good about.”
Advertisement
The CDC reports that Black people of all ages have some of the highest drowning rates in the country, and Black and Brown children are less likely to receive formal swim lessons.
The agency also notes that Black children face a significantly higher risk of drowning in swimming pools compared to white children, a disparity tied to decades of limited access to pools, lessons and water‑safety resources.
For many families, the event was also about challenging the narrative.
“I feel like it’s very important that we’re breaking the stereotype and that we’re also bettering our community by doing events like this,” said swimmer Aneya Bliss.
Young swimmers left with big dreams sparked by their time in the water.
Advertisement
“I would love to be a lifeguard, and maybe even go to the Olympics someday,” Jaden said.
Teetzle said early exposure matters and that ages 1 to 3 are an important time to introduce children to water comfort and basic skills. The center also offers adult lessons for those learning later in life.
An ICE agent facing several assault charges in connection with a January shooting involving two Venezuelan people in Minnesota has been arrested in Texas, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
Christian Castro was charged earlier this month with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.
CNN is working to determine whether Castro has an attorney and has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Castro faces those charges in connection with the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man shot in the leg through the front door of a Minneapolis home. The incident took place during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement blitz in the Twin Cities.
Advertisement
Originally, Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo A. Aljorna were facing federal charges after DHS said they had attacked an agent, prompting him to fire a defensive shot.
But the Justice Department dropped the charges in February, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement said two of its agents, who made false statements about the incident under oath, were placed on administrative leave.
FOX 9’s Erika Mrazik has your Thursday evening and extended forecast. Our temperatures continue to feel more like July than May, and we’ll continue to see plenty of sun.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an air quality alert for the Twin Cities starting Friday.
Air quality alert in Twin Cities
Advertisement
What we know:
MPCA says that ground-level ozone will be at unhealthy levels in the Twin Cities on Friday. An air quality will be in place from noon to 9 p.m.
An air quality alert in the Twin Cities. Graphic courtesy of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. (Supplied)
Advertisement
Sunny skies, low humidity and warm temperatures make for favorable conditions pollutants to react with sunlight to make ground-level ozone. MPCA says the ozone will subside as the sun sets.
Who is most affected by poor air quality?
Dig deeper:
Advertisement
People with asthma or other breathing conditions like COPD, chronic bronchitis and emphysema will be affected by poor quality. They can experience symptoms like difficulty deep breathing, shortness of breath, throat soreness, wheezing, coughing and unusual fatigue.
Additionally, children, teenagers and people of all ages who are doing heavy physical activity outside.
Advertisement
What you can do:
MPCA recommends taking it easy while outside and limiting physical activity.
To help reduce pollution, use public transit or carpool when possible, fill up your car’s tank at dawn or dusk and avoid backyard fires.
Advertisement
The Source: A press release from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
After the murder of George Floyd, the Minneapolis Police Department lost hundreds of officers and was a “depleted police department,” a statement from former Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara’s attorney said.
The chief “made significant progress in rebuilding community trust and pride within the ranks of MPD,” the statement reads.
At the memorial to Alex Pretti, who was killed during Operation Metro Surge, part of the attorney statement hits home. It says the city was constantly on the “precipice of igniting the spark that would set the city on fire again” and it claims O’Hara helped mitigate the violent clashes.
Most people WCCO spoke with around several Minneapolis neighborhoods say O’Hara had their respect.
Advertisement
“I was watching the Twins game on my phone and the announcement came over and I was like, ‘Whoa, what’s that all about?’” said Marta Knick as she was heading to the Guthrie Theatre.
“I was very sad because we’re more than the sum of our mistakes,” said Minneapolis resident Howard Dotson.
Hours after the announcement, community members were eager to learn more about the one challenged with leading the most scrutinized police department in the country.
“What’s heartbreaking the most is he was in a high-level position of leaderhip and he dropped the ball,” said Michael Wilson, who works at Pimento Jamaican Kitchen.
Some are giving grace more than others.
Advertisement
“He may have made a mistake but that doesn’t erase his four years of transformational work in the MPD,” Dotson added.
O’Hara joined the department in November 2022, two-and-a-half years after the murder of Floyd.
“You have to reestablish culture. I feel like he did an amazing job at that and was front-facing, which is good,” said Wilson.
That wasn’t the chief’s only challenge. Just within the past year, he responded to the Annunciation Catholic School shooting and Operation Metro Surge.
“I was pleased with the whole way he handled the Metro Surge thing,” said Ruth Lipker on the Stone Arch Bridge.
Advertisement
In the statement from his attorney, O’Hara says he was “proud to serve Minneapolis and remains grateful to the officers and community partners who did difficult work under extraordinary pressure.”
“Yeah, he was invested in his job and the community. but he had personal investments in that job as well,” said Minneapolis resident Donald Turner.
Now, Minneapolis residents are looking ahead.
“We have change, again, and because we have change, I think we’re in the place to create a positive outlook or negative outlook,” Wilson told WCCO.
“I always have hope for the city. The city’s bigger than any of us and I love living here,” another man added while walking the Stone Arch Bridge.
Advertisement
In the recent statement from his attorney, there was zero comment on the investigation that occurred. Those WCCO spoke to continued to have questions about that.
