Minneapolis, MN
Mpls. nonprofits say federal cuts could hurt HIV prevention work
Adrianne Jackson, 39, regularly gets tested for HIV after witnessing a family member contract the virus.
“That’s what made it possible for me to understand how it’s contracted and where to get tested,” Jackson said.
Thanks to an HIV prevention clinic put on by the Aliveness Project and the Indigenous Peoples Task Force at the American Indian Center on Thursday, Jackson was able to get her test for free.
But free clinics like these are in jeopardy after the Trump administration has threatened to cut $700 million in funding for HIV prevention from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The move would affect hundreds of clinics and organizations nationwide.
“If they did that it’d be a horrible decision,” said Jackson. “Events like this make it possible for people who don’t know where to get tested to get help.”
The federal cuts come as two other Minnesota nonprofits, Rainbow Health and the African American AIDS Task Force, closed last year, in part due to state funding cuts. The Aliveness Project took over case management for many of those clients.
The south Minneapolis nonprofit has worked for 40 years to help people living with HIV through case management, food and housing support, free testing and low-cost medications.
The Aliveness Project receives nearly $700,000 a year from the CDC, primarily for HIV prevention work, such as the free clinics, said development manager Sonya Bieza.
That work is a cost-effective way to help slow the spread of HIV, she said.
“It’s just such a slap in the face,” she said. “A lifetime of medical costs for a person living with HIV can be in excess of $500,000 — who has $500,000?”
Minnesota has close to 10,000 people living with a HIV diagnosis, according to the state Department of Health. The state estimates another 1,100 Minnesotans have HIV but are unaware of their status.
A report released by the agency last year showed 324 new infections statewide in 2023, which was a 24% increase from 2022 and the highest increase in more than a decade.
New HIV cases disproportionately affect communities of color, with 66% of new cases being nonwhite patients. Men who have same-sex sexual relations and people who use intravenous drugs are much more at risk of contracting the virus.
The HIV prevention and care team with the Indigenous People’s Task Force is in the fourth year of a five-year contract with the CDC that pays the organization $441,000 per year. Calvin Hylton, the team’s HIV program manager, said the funding allows them to target their HIV prevention efforts and resources on Native American adults who use intravenous drugs.
The loss of funding for that last year would be devastating, and derail the progress they’ve made over the last four years, Hylton said.
“Our program tests on average over 700 people each year for HIV and connects people living with HIV to critical resources to decrease their viral load,” he said. “Our piece of that effort would be completely disrupted and put our community in jeopardy and at risk for another HIV outbreak.”
At Thursday’s clinic, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the federal funding cuts aren’t just hitting public health programs. He cited a letter from the Trump administration weeks ago threatening to cut all federal funding to the city.
“We’re talking about $70 million,” Frey said. “This is money for things like emergency management, this is money that supports our bomb squad … this is money for affordable housing and shelters and health care for our communities.”
Another letter came the next day rescinding many, but not all, of the proposed cuts, which the mayor said illustrates what state and local agencies are contending with.
“We’re all kind of left scratching our heads about what in the world is going on,” he said. “The decisions that are coming down are neither wise nor smart, and they certainly aren’t done in the best interest of the communities that we all are charged with serving and keeping safe and healthy.”
Bieza said she has heard from people who come into their clinic that they’re scared of losing access to the services available at the Aliveness Project. But, she said, despite the uncertainty, the clinic will remain open.
“We want people to know we’re still here, we’re still open and we’re going to figure this out,” she said. “We’re just leaning on our community more than ever.”
The Minneapolis Aquatennial is back for its 87th year.
Organizers said the festival will run July 18-26 with free, family-friendly events across Minneapolis.
The event will kick off with a model sailboat pond at the fountains of the Government Plaza. For more information on all the events, click here.
Minneapolis, MN
Former Obama press aide accused of stealing cash, credit cards, from Minneapolis coworkers to buy kratom
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A former deputy press secretary for the Obama administration was fired from his Minneapolis city job last week after allegedly stealing cash and credit cards from city employees to purchase an herbal supplement used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Adam Fetcher, 42, who served as a communications officer for the city for a year before he was terminated, allegedly stole from his fellow city employees after returning from a work-approved, weeks-long rehabilitation program, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has received the case from authorities and is reviewing it, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital has also reached out to Fetcher’s attorney and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for further comment.
VEGAS LITTLE LEAGUE PRESIDENT ACCUSED OF SPENDING LEAGUE MONEY ON STRIP CLUBS AND ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION MEDS
Adam Fetcher, 42, who once served as a press secretary in the Obama administration, was fired from his communications job for the city of Minneapolis after he allegedly stole cash and charge cards from city employees to purchase kratom, an herbal drug used to treat opioid withdrawal. (City of Minneapolis Instagram; Getty Images)
Fetcher was captured on surveillance cameras at a Minneapolis smoke shop purchasing kratom, which is used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms but carries its own risk of addiction.
He allegedly stole a charge card from a city employee’s purse and made a $481 purchase at the Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor shop, less than a mile from his home, the newspaper reported. Store manager Hamza Zamara said staff helped investigators identify Fetcher as the man who allegedly used fraudulent cards to make the purchase.
Authorities zeroed in on the shop after a woman called the store claiming that someone had made a purchase using her card without permission. When Fetcher visited the shop again, employees took pictures of him and followed him outside, the news report states. They later gave investigators Fetcher’s vehicle’s license plate number.
OHIO BROTHERS WHO POSED AS MIDDLE EASTERN ROYALTY RECEIVE LENGTHY SENTENCE FOR $21M FRAUD SCHEME
Former U.S. President Barack Obama smiles at the official opening of the Obama Presidential Center on June 19, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais-Pool/Getty Images)
“We told him, ‘Hey, we know what you’re doing,’” Zamara said.
Fetcher, who earned $186,000 annually, was fired on July 1.
“Under Adam’s leadership, the Communications team has reorganized, is fully staffed, and is well positioned to manage the City’s Communications needs,” City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher wrote in an email to staff announcing the termination.
The email did not explain the circumstances of Fetcher’s departure. However, Kelliher wrote in a separate memo that several city employees had reported missing cash, debit, or credit cards, as well as unauthorized charges, noting the incidents happened between mid-May and June.
A kratom leaf and a vape store sign. (Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“I know this information may be concerning and troubling, and I want to assure you that the City takes this sort of report seriously and has acted accordingly,” she wrote, according to the email obtained by the Star Tribune. “Although we cannot provide additional details, we have no reason at this time to believe there is any ongoing risk of theft.”
In addition to serving as deputy national press secretary for the Obama administration, Fetcher went on to hold senior communications roles for Patagonia, Rivian, and Lyft.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis police highlight missing person found by drone as city weighs aerial tech program
Minneapolis police officers and a K-9 had been looking for a man for about three-and-a-half hours. A drone found him nine minutes after it launched.
That’s according to a police report documenting the search for 82-year-old Bob Stewart, a Marine veteran who had gone missing after he went for a walk on the city’s north side. His wife began to get worried when he didn’t return home back in May.
“It was frightening, though. I remember just thinking, ‘This can’t be how this ends. This just can’t be,’” Linda Stewart said.
Bob said that he had fallen into Shingle Creek in Webber Park in north Minneapolis.
“[I] slipped right in the mud, and gravel, and water and everything, slid right in. Lay there for about, on and off, five hours,” Bob Stewart said.
The drone operator for the Minneapolis Police Department wrote in his report that he spotted Bob Stewart after noticing an “anomaly” through the vegetation in a densely wooded area of the park. It was Bob Stewart, trying to climb out. With the drone operator keeping an eye on him from above, officers on the ground got to him.
“We’re both very faithful people and believe that everything happens for a reason, so I was praying, Bob was praying,” Linda Stewart said.
The couple is overjoyed that everyone got home safe, saying they have no interest in the politics involved in police using drones.
Minneapolis police are citing the May incident as a positive example of how the technology can be used to keep the public safe. This week, MPD presented information to the City Council about trying out a drones-as-first-responders program. The key difference is that, at the moment, police can launch a drone at the scene from a vehicle once they’ve already arrived at an emergency. If adopted, the first responder program would send a drone in response to an emergency call ahead of officers, allowing them to start documenting the scene far faster.
Officials say it would be a free 75-day trial period in the 4th Precinct with the company Skydio, Inc., and the drones would have police markings and flash red and blue lights. They say the goal is to see if drones can improve emergency response times, make both the public and the first responders safer and help clear calls when police aren’t needed.
Several other Minnesota agencies already use the drones, including in St. Paul and Minnetonka, but Minneapolis residents pushed back Wednesday, expressing concerns about surveillance and the company the city could potentially contract with.
Councilmember LaTrisha Vetaw, who represents the part of Minneapolis where the pilot program would be launched, said she supports the measure. She says that she has been talking to constituents about this for at least a few years.
“I went to a demo and I was like, ‘Wow, let’s try this,’” Vetaw said. “This footage is going to be deleted after seven days if it’s not used in an investigation. This is stored with MPD. This is not Skydio’s footage. This is MPD’s footage.”
The council is set to take a vote on the pilot program on Thursday.
-
Los Angeles, Ca21 minutes ago19-year-old arrested, accused of distributing marijuana to minors across Riverside County
-
Detroit, MI43 minutes agoPhillies end the Tigers’ winning streak at 6 with a 4-2 victory
-
San Francisco, CA51 minutes agoGiants select Barry Bonds’ nephew Peyton in third round
-
Dallas, TX58 minutes agoMark Cuban takes legal action against the Dallas Mavericks ownership over proposed arena deal
-
Miami, FL1 hour agoSouth Florida businesses report economic boom, as FIFA officials estimate a billion dollar economic impact
-
Boston, MA1 hour agoForecast: Looking ahead to toasty temps next week
-
Denver, CO1 hour agoDenver weather: Warming trend continues this weekend and into next week
-
Seattle, WA1 hour agoTech Investor Vinod Khosla to Acquire the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks for $9.6 Billion
