Minneapolis, MN
Plan calls for light rail through heart of north Mpls
Transportation authorities have actually launched their chosen path for heaven Line expansion from midtown Minneapolis to Brooklyn Park, also as they rush to find up with an additional $500 million to finish the beleaguered Southwest public transportation task.
The suggested 13-mile path of heaven Line Expansion adheres to Lyndale as well as West Broadway Avenues right into north Minneapolis. It quits at North Memorial Wellness Healthcare Facility in Robbinsdale, as well as proceeds along Bottineau Blvd right into Crystal prior to rejoining West Broadway. Coordinators placed the last of the 11 terminals on Oak Grove Parkway near Freeways 610 as well as 169, actions from Target’s suv workplace university.
Nick Landwer, heaven Line expansion’s supervisor of design as well as layout, claimed they thought about a number of courses via north Minneapolis prior to picking West Broadway.
“We reviewed it to our task objectives as well as concepts as well as it truly fits well being a primary road in north Minneapolis where we have the locations that we can link to,” Landwer claimed.
The Metropolitan Council hasn’t exercised a brand-new budget plan yet. A 2018 quote placed the expense at $1.5 billion. The company has actually currently invested a minimum of $129 million on preparation. However that was for a course shown to a BNSF Train products hallway. The Met Council needed to go back to the attracting board in 2020 after it couldn’t get to a contract with BNSF on sharing 8 miles of its right of way.
That very early draft would certainly have mostly bypassed north Minneapolis. Hennepin Area Commissioner Jeffrey Lunde claimed the brand-new strategy is better. For something, he claimed the area currently has the right of way, as well as there would certainly be no demand for a costly collision wall surface in between products as well as LRT tracks — a consider the expense overruns on the Southwest hallway task. And also Lunde, a previous Brooklyn Park mayor, claimed this newest proposition would certainly offer even more individuals that rely upon public transportation.
“We’ve called this line the equity line,” Lunde claimed. “It goes right down the facility of one of the most varied location of the city, varied location of the state. 2 years back after the murder of George Floyd, we were having discussions concerning differences as well as inequalities. It’s time to action in. Below’s something substantial that we can do that will straight influence individuals that don’t have accessibility to dependable transport.”
Minneapolis City Board Participant Jeremiah Ellison invites financial investment in his north side ward. At the very same time, Ellison claimed coordinators require to guarantee that any type of personal growth along the path doesn’t cost homeowners out of their residences.
“For me, the genuine obstacle is mosting likely to be verifying that we can have our cake as well as consume it as well, in a manner of speaking,” Ellison claimed. “Which is, we can purchase our neighborhood as well as truly strive to ensure that the neighborhood gain from those financial investments as well as isn’t displaced by them.”
Ellison claimed such an initiative might consist of aids for inexpensive real estate as well as programs to advertise own a home. The Met Council as well as the College of Minnesota’s Facility for Urban as well as Regional Matters established an anti-displacement job team that consists of 26 homeowners as well as entrepreneur along the path.
Preparation for heaven Line expansion has actually been underway for greater than a years, however the task continues to be in its extremely onset. The Met Council’s essential concern right now is finishing the Eco-friendly Line expansion to Eden Pasture.
Significant design obstacles have actually placed the Eco-friendly Line expansion task 3 years behind routine as well as concerning $750 million over budget plan. Objection at the Minnesota Capitol has actually triggered the Legal Auditor’s workplace to take a look at the expense overruns.
And also it might minimize the hunger amongst legislators for an additional public transportation task. State Rep. Jon Koznick, R-Lakeville, remains on your home Transport Money as well as Plan Board. Koznick claimed he as well as a lot of his fellow Republicans sustain public transportation along the Bottineau hallway, simply not public transportation.
“We’ve suggested the whole time that we can do a range of normal bus path solution, reveal bus solution, as well as bus fast transportation along this path to offer these neighborhoods for possibly half or 60 percent of the expense of what they’re suggesting below,” Koznick claimed.
Federal matching funds are important for significant transportation tasks, however heaven Line expansion does not yet have that cash. If financing as well as design strategies form, the Met Council’s Nick Landwer claimed the earliest that building and construction might start is 2025, as well as traveler solution in 2028.
MPR Information’ Tim Nelson added reporting for this tale.
You make MPR Information feasible. Private contributions lag the clearness in insurance coverage from our press reporters throughout the state, tales that link us, as well as discussions that supply point of views. Aid guarantee MPR continues to be a source that brings Minnesotans with each other.
Contribute today. A present of $17 makes a distinction.
Minneapolis, MN
Federal appeals court rejects Minneapolis officer’s bid to dismiss Amir Locke Lawsuit
A federal appeals court has rejected Minneapolis police officer Mark Hanneman’s attempt to dismiss a civil lawsuit filed by the parents of Amir Locke, the 22-year-old Black man he fatally shot during a no-knock SWAT raid in 2022.
In a ruling issued this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit dismissed Hanneman’s appeal for dismissal on the basis of qualified immunity — a legal defense that protects officers from civil lawsuits unless they violate clearly established constitutional rights. The court said it lacked jurisdiction to intervene because the appeal rested on disputed facts, which must be resolved at the trial court level.
The decision means the lawsuit brought by Locke’s family will proceed.
Locke’s parents, Karen Wells and Andre Locke, filed suit under federal civil rights law and Minnesota’s wrongful death statute. They argue Hanneman violated their son’s Fourth Amendment rights and that the City of Minneapolis failed to train officers or stop longstanding unconstitutional practices that led to Locke’s death.
The shooting occurred on Feb. 2, 2022, after Minneapolis SWAT officers executed a no-knock warrant in a downtown apartment. Locke, who was not a suspect in the investigation, was asleep on a couch when police entered. Body camera footage shows him holding a handgun — which he legally owned — before the officer fired three fatal shots.
Lawyers for Hanneman and the city argued that the body camera footage showed Locke raising and pointing the gun at officers, and that Hanneman reasonably feared for his life. They asked the district court to grant Hanneman qualified immunity and dismiss the suit. But the district court declined, ruling that the footage was too dark and inconclusive to disprove the family’s claims.
According to the complaint — and based on what the lower court called “dim, unclear images” — Locke was in the process of lowering the barrel of his gun toward the ground and attempting to comply with commands when he was shot. The court found it plausible that Locke never aimed the weapon at police.
On appeal, Hanneman’s attorneys pointed to a single still image they said showed Locke pointing the gun. But the appellate court rejected that interpretation, writing: “The image does not show definitively what direction the barrel is pointing or whether officers are located in the direction of the barrel.”
Minneapolis, MN
Men facing federal drug charges after authorities seize nearly 900 pounds of meth in Minneapolis
Two men have been federally indicted in what officials are calling “one of the largest” drug busts in Minnesota history.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson announced Thursday that Joel Casas-Santiago, 46, and Guillermo Mercado-Chaparro, 44, have both been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Mercado-Chaparro is also charged with illegal reentry by a removed alien.
The two men were arrested and charged after authorities seized nearly 900 pounds of meth from two vehicles earlier this month, charges say. Authorities initially reported 960 pounds of meth had been recovered.
“A 900-pound haul like this doesn’t just show intent to distribute. It shows intent to poison entire communities,” Thompson said. “We will not let Minnesota become a distribution hub for cartel-scale operations. This prosecution is just the beginning.”
Court documents say an undercover police officer bought a pound of meth from Mercado-Chaparro. Through surveillance after the purchase, police learned he was traveling around south Minneapolis to conduct several suspected drug deals.
St. Paul Police Department
Several days later, charges say police observed Mercado-Chaparro receive two large bags from his truck’s bed and place them in a nearby Jeep.
Authorities eventually stopped the Jeep with Casas-Santiago and Mercado-Chaparro inside. A drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to the odor of drugs. During a search of the Jeep, police found more than 250 pounds of meth, according to charging documents.
Police then obtained a search warrant for Mercado-Chaparro’s truck, where they seized more than 630 pounds of meth from the bed, court documents say.
FBI Director Dan Bongino said on social media that the arrests and seizure were part of “a hit targeting drug trafficking rings you’ll hear about soon.”
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office also charged the men with first-degree drug sales.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Twin Cities group is doing its best to prevent violence and get drug needles off the streets. The only city contract to pick up needles used for illegal drug injection is with the community group, “A Mother’s Love.”
What is A Mother’s Love?
The backstory:
“A Mother’s Love” is known for their anti-violence work and focus on improving the lives of women and children. But they also do needle pick-up.
Used drug needles are a major problem in Minneapolis, as drug use is a problem.
While there are needle disposal boxes in the city, they’re often not used, and the used needles are tossed on the ground.
Thousands of needles cleaned up
By the numbers:
In 2024, AML picked up about 2,500 needles. That included 311 calls and the street sweeps. It did not include the boxes the city places for needle disposal. The 2025 numbers do include that though, and it’s up to 2,700 collected so far this year.
What do they pick up?
What they’re saying:
The crew encounters all kinds of potentially dangerous situations picking up the used needles.
“Oh yeah, you have needles with blood, full of blood. Why? Because they didn’t do it correctly or they shot it all in. Then they let the blood fill it back up and they took the needle out and just threw it,” said crew leader Cordell Burton. He goes on to say, “I don’t think nobody ever been stuck on our crew yet. Because we take precaution. We don’t go through kicking stuff when you do stuff like that. That’s when the needle can fly up and stick you in your leg.”
Tracking the numbers
Dig deeper:
The Minnesota Department of Human Services keeps numbers on injected drug use by asking questions about use in licensed treatment facilities. In 2021, 13,000 people injected illegal drugs. In 2022, 11,700 and in 2023, there were about 10,500. The 2024 numbers are not in yet.
The Source: Cordell Burton, A Mother’s Love. Lisa Clemons, A Mother’s Love. Monique Flowers, A Mother’s Love and the Minnesota Department of Human Services
–
US post office in San Jose catches fire after vehicle crashes into building
7 injured, 1 critically, in chain-reaction crash near Bishop Arts, Dallas police say
Five-star RB Derrek Cooper commits to Texas over Miami, others
Roxbury Unity Parade celebrates Black culture and honors residents in Boston
Denver man gets 48 years in prison for murder of teen in 2022
-
News1 week agoVideo: Clashes After Immigration Raid at California Cannabis Farm
-
News1 week agoTrump heads to Texas as recovery efforts from deadly flood continue
-
World1 week agoNew amnesty law for human rights abuses in Peru prompts fury, action
-
Movie Reviews1 week agoMaalik Movie Review – Gulte
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago‘Doora Theera Yaana’ movie review: Mansore’s mature take on relationships is filled with relatable moments
-
Politics1 week agoDemocrat John Fetterman declares support for ICE, condemning any calls for abolition as 'outrageous'
-
Technology1 week agoIt’s the final day of Prime Day 2025, and the deals are still live
-
Technology1 week agoHere are 58 Prime Day deals you can still nab for $50 or less