Minneapolis, MN
Minnesotans dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene
(FOX 9) – Hurricane Helene’s destructive path claimed at least 51 lives across five states, and hundreds were rescued from flooding and damage. The aftermath left neighborhoods underwater and millions without power.
MacKenzie Stein from Minnesota is without power at least until Monday. She moved to St. Petersburg, Florida recently, and evacuated from her home before the Category 4 storm hit. Now, she’s left again waiting for her power to come back on in her apartment.
READ MORE: Helene latest: Live updates from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and the Carolinas
“Not even a month ago I moved there, and I got hit with a Category 4 hurricane,” said Stein.
Stein moved to Florida last November from Minnesota.
“When I went to go drive onto my road, my road was actually flooded. Right outside I could see when I pulled up there was about five or six cars stuck out there in the road,” said Stein.
Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend Region with 140 miles per hour winds, with lots of damage on the Barrier Islands.
“Terrible. I’ve lived here since 1983. We’ve been here when other hurricanes come through. I’m actually from Minnesota, but we get down here every couple of months, and yeah, this is probably one of the worst ones,” said Paul Chadbourn from Minnesota.
Stein was relieved there wasn’t any flooding in her apartment. But now she’s without power and air conditioning, leaving her worried about her cats.
“I gave it a few hours, and then I got the notice that they weren’t going to be putting the power back up until Monday,” said Stein.
Mackenzie is hoping her power comes back on Monday. She also mentioned some of her neighbors stayed through the hurricane at her apartment complex.
Now without any air conditioning, they’re forced to find hotels after the storm passed through.
Helene weakened to a tropical depression Friday afternoon.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis officials weigh new permit system for unlicensed fruit vendors
One option presented to some vendors has been to register for the state’s Cottage Food Producer permit, based on a 2015 law that allows people to “make and sell certain nonpotentially hazardous food and canned goods in Minnesota without a license.”
Chavez said that’s a step in the wrong direction. Such a permit would allow vendors to sell homemade baked goods and pickled fruits and vegetables, but still wouldn’t allow them to operate on city sidewalks or in traffic.
“People might apply, but it isn’t actually going to address the root issue that people are struggling with,” he said.
The issue is one of equity according to Chowdhury, who said some vendors don’t have the necessary knowledge or resources because they’re still new to the country. Licensing or permit fees become barriers for new vendors trying to become compliant.
“When it comes to folks that are immigrants, new to our community, that’s an incredible barrier. So if we’re going to do economic empowerment, that’s the barrier that we want to help resolve, and so I’m 100 percent supportive of waiving these fees,” she said.
A street vendor near Lake Street and Portland Avenue in south Minneapolis. (Dymanh Chhoun, Sahan Journal)
Claudia Lainez, workers’ center director at COPAL, a Latino advocacy organization, said they have been monitoring the growth of street vendors across the metro area specifically because many are undocumented. She said vendors tend to be women because men, even undocumented, typically struggle less to find work.
Minneapolis, MN
South Minneapolis’ Whittier neighborhood leads city in gun violence
Those who are targeted often don’t bother filing a formal police report, he said, because of the perception no one will ever be held accountable. Victims are given a case number and frequently receive no follow-up from authorities.
“What will they do about it?” Dakane said. “It’s a waste of time.”
O’Hara acknowledged that understaffing remains a chronic issue at MPD, but urged residents to report such crimes so they can better track the problem. The department launched a “South Side React” team earlier this year to proactively address rising crime, he said, and has seen some success with its new robbery protocol, which redeploys resources and pauses all other service calls to thwart robbery sprees in a specific area.
Police officials sought to expand ShotSpotter, the city’s acoustic gunshot detection system, this summer to broader swaths of south Minneapolis experiencing surges in gun violence, but were forced to roll back the coverage plan over concerns by members of the City Council’s progressive wing, who have expressed skepticism about its ability to curb gun violence. The more limited expansion does not stretch into south Whittier, O’Hara noted, or the nearby hot spot of 19th and Nicollet, where police have seen much spillover.
“I don’t feel safe in my own frickin’ neighborhood,” said Chris Sonnesyn, 59, a longtime Whittier resident who was assaulted in July. When Sonnesyn, an independent contractor, discovered that a homeless man had broken into a client’s apartment and caused $500 in damage, he offered the man a job rather than calling police.
To Sonnesyn’s surprise, the man showed up for work the next day and spent several hours mowing lawns. But as Sonnesyn went to the garage to grab him a soda, the man pulled a rope from his backpack and attempted to strangle Sonnesyn.
Minneapolis, MN
Increased patrols, curfew for teens after increased violence in downtown Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Police and violence prevention groups are stepping up patrols and setting a curfew this weekend. The changes come after several deadly late-night incidents earlier this month.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara tells FOX 9 there are multiple agencies on standby in case more violence breaks out. They have also set an 11 p.m. curfew for teens in hopes of preventing another tragedy.
“The last two weekends the problem we’ve been seeing particularly at 5th and Hennepin is a lot a teenagers that are down here hanging out throughout the afternoon and late at night when really there’s nothing for them to get into but trouble,” said O’Hara.
O’Hara is looking for a peaceful weekend in the city.
Last weekend a shooting at 5th and Hennepin left two men dead and two teenage girls injured. In that same area two weeks prior, a woman drove a car into a crowd, killing another teenage girl.
O’Hara is now looking for everyone to come together and stop the violence.
“There’s several community-based violence interrupters that are out here, several different groups,” said O’Hara.
One of the community groups involved in this weekend’s efforts is T.O.U.C.H Outreach.
“The plan right now is just to come out and meet some of these young people where they’re at. Identify some of the young people we already have relationships with,” said Muhammad Abdul-Ahad, the Executive Director of T.O.U.C.H Outreach.
“We’re taking mostly a community engagement approach because these are some of the kids that are from our communities that we come from,” said Abdul-Ahad.
Friday night’s curfew is at 11 p.m. for teens in downtown Minneapolis. The shooting last weekend happened just before two in the morning.
“3 o’clock in the morning kids need to be home and be in bed by that time, waking up to do something the next weekend morning. Get into some fun activities.,” said Abdul-Ahad.
The violence interrupter groups plan to be out in the community until three in the morning.
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