Minneapolis, MN
Return of Target employees brings jolt of life to downtown Minneapolis
Darryl Freeman has worked in a downtown Minneapolis parking ramp near Target headquarters for the last eight months. This week, for the first time, he watched as the four-story ramp at 9th and LaSalle headed toward capacity.
“It’s a pretty nice crowd today,” Freeman said on Tuesday. Most days the ramp is more like half full, he said. The attendant at another ramp nearby said it was the busiest it’s been in years.
Target employees are back in town.
Once the main feeder of the downtown workforce, the retail giant’s employees have largely worked from home since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. In December, Target announced that it had asked employees to spend at least one week per quarter working out of one of its three downtown office buildings.
The skyways that pass by Target’s downtown store bustled on Tuesday with business casual-attired people, many sporting the easily spotted white security badge with the red logo that marks the company’s employees. Some were seeing each other for the first time since they were hired.
Target’s voluntary return-to-office week comes amid mounting pressure from downtown boosters and Mayor Jacob Frey for businesses to bring workers back and toss a lifeline to the eateries and other establishments that once relied on their patronage.
As they wound through the skyway, a pair of Target employees chatted about a quirk in the company payroll software. Another small group gathered at Qdoba for a meal. Several rushed through the throng to make an afternoon meeting.
Data scientist Mikey Lara said he typically meets with his team about once a week at the company’s northern campus in Brooklyn Park. But he’s seldom seen this many fellow Target employees together in one place.
“I know, it’s crazy,” Lara said as he passed through a security turnstile and disappeared into an elevator.
Derek Figueroa said he met some fellow team members for the first time, and that it’s been nice to spend time in person with colleagues. But he still prefers working from home, he said.
“I like it, but I do prefer to stay home because it’s more cost-effective, and efficient for me, in terms of time,” said Figueroa, who is 25 and lives in Uptown.
Figueroa stressed that the in-office week was not a company mandate. Most Target employees approached by Star Tribune reporters on Tuesday declined to speak on the record about the company’s policies.
Lines for some downtown lunch spots snaked out into the skyways. Still, some service business workers that cater to the downtown crowd said it still didn’t really feel like pre-pandemic times.
“It hasn’t been more people,” said Cuong Le, who works at Elegant Nails & Spa in the skyway. Nearby, his coworker polished the nails of the the store’s lone customer.
Most of the salon’s customers live downtown, Le said. The shop once served a number of Target employees, he added. But that was before the pandemic.
The influx of corporate workers came too late for the Coconut Whisk Café and Bubble Tea Shop on Nicollet Mall. The shop is closing at the end of the month, as the owners plan to shift toward selling pancake and cookie mixtures. Co-owner Myles Olson said more Target workers back downtown might have been positive, but time ran out.
“I wish I would have been able to see what the impact would be,” Olson said.
Across the street from the downtown Target store, the 801 Fish restaurant had a modest-sized crowd around lunchtime. Chad Waldon, the regional service director for 801 Restaurants, said he hopes Target’s new policy is just an opening volley in a move toward more in-person work.
“We want to see it return to weekly, to see these guys downtown, to show them a good time, and give them a good reason to not go home right after work,” Waldon said.
As of now, Target leaders have so far only committed to asking employees to work in-office four times a year.
Michael Roper, who was holding a cardboard sign asking for money on the sidewalk, said he noticed “a lot” more people on Monday walking past him. He made over $9 in 15 minutes.
Sueweda Bashir, a freshman at the University of St. Thomas’ downtown campus, regularly visits the downtown Target store for an energy drink before her afternoon classes. She usually breezes through the store’s self-checkout. But on Tuesday, she encountered the longest lines she’s seen since the start of the fall semester.
“It has never been this busy,” Bashir said.
Her friend Abdiwali Yusef, who goes by A&W, raised an eyebrow as he scanned the bustling crowd about a 100 feet from the downtown Target store’s downtown entrance. He hadn’t noticed the red-and-white employee badges until a reporter pointed them out.
“There was no parking today,” Yusef said. “I’m just starting to put two and two together.”
A Minneapolis man who pleaded guilty to murdering a high school student in 2022 was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison on Monday.
It was the second time Cody Fohrenkam was sentenced for fatally shooting 15-year-old Deshaun Hill. He was convicted and sentenced to more than 38 years in prison in February 2023, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction and granted him a retrial based on illegally obtained incriminating statements.
Fohrenkam, 33, agreed to a plea deal as his second trial was set to start, pleading guilty to one count of second-degree intentional murder in exchange for Monday’s 340-month sentence. The judge presiding over the hearing gave him credit for 1,476 days already served.
Fohrenkam shot and killed Hill while Hill was walking to a bus stop just blocks from Minneapolis North High School, where Hill was a star quarterback and honor roll student.
One of Hill’s aunts said in a statement shortly before the judge sentenced Fohrenkam that her nephew was “full of life.”
“When he spoke, you listened. He had a soft spirit and a good heart,” she said. “Deshaun was an artist who, as you all know, he took his education seriously. He had dreams and goals. He worked hard to make his family proud.”
This story will be updated.
A man is now charged with murder after prosecutors say a robbery inside a Minneapolis apartment building ended in a fatal shooting.
Prosecutors say the man was on conditional release after being charged with first-degree armed carjacking for an incident in Minneapolis last September.
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The killing happened Feb. 24 inside the Abbott Apartments lounge area on the 100 block of East 18th Street, where police found an adult man dead from gunshot wounds after reports of a shooting.
Court documents state the victim and a friend went to the building to meet 20-year-old Abdirahman Khayre Khayre. A witness stated Khayre left the room several times and appeared to be stalling before three armed men entered and demanded property. The men were described as carrying two Glock-style handguns with extended magazines and an AR-style rifle. During the robbery, the suspects demanded a Louis Vuitton bag belonging to the victim. When the victim resisted, a struggle broke out. The witness stated that two guns were taken from him during the robbery.
The witness told investigators Khayre was handed one of the stolen guns and then pointed it at him, causing him to flee into the lobby. Moments later, multiple gunshots were heard. The witness returned and found the victim shot. Surveillance footage from other areas of the building reportedly corroborated key parts of the account, and the witness later identified Khayre in a photo lineup, according to the complaint.
PREVIOUSLY: Man Shot and Killed Inside Minneapolis Apartment Building
Authorities say Khayre was on conditional release at the time of the killing in a separate Hennepin County case involving a September 2025 armed carjacking.
READ MORE > Minneapolis coverage
In that earlier case, prosecutors alleged Khayre and others confronted a woman in a garage near 19th Street and Nicollet Avenue, pointed handguns at her and forced her to give up the keys to a Dodge Challenger before fleeing in the stolen vehicle. Officers later located the vehicle and arrested multiple suspects, including Khayre, who was identified as the driver.
Court records show Khayre posted a $75,000 non-cash bond and was released under conditions requiring him to remain law-abiding, have no possession of firearms or ammunition, avoid alcohol and controlled substances and complete treatment.
Khayre is now charged with second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony and first-degree aggravated robbery. He made an initial court appearance Friday, where a judge set bail at $1 million. If convicted of second-degree felony murder, he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
The homicide investigation remains ongoing. Authorities have not yet released the identity of the victim. Anyone with information is asked to contact Minneapolis police by emailing policetips@minneapolismn.gov or calling 612-673-5845. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or online. Information leading to an arrest and conviction may be eligible for a financial reward.
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Minneapolis, MN
Man killed over Louie Vuitton bag, suspect was on bond for suspected carjacking, charges say
Minneapolis police are investigating a homicide on Feb. 24, 2026. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A man is dead after a witness said he refused to give up a Louis Vuitton bag while being robbed by multiple men at gunpoint.
Abdirahman Khayre Khayre, 20, is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree robbery for the incident that happened on the evening of Feb. 24 in Minneapolis.
READ MORE: Man fatally shot in south Minneapolis apartment building
Fatal Minneapolis shooting after robbery
The set-up:
Minneapolis police responded around 10:42 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Abbott Apartments, located on the 100 block of East 18th Street in the Stevens Square neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Officers then found a dead man in the lobby who had been shot multiple times.
A witness to the shooting said he and the victim arrived at the apartments to “hang out” with Khayre, according to the criminal complaint.
The witness said he became suspicious when Khayre he left the room multiple times and “appeared to be stalling.”
The robbery:
The complaint states the witness reported three men then came into the room and yelled “Give me everything.” The men were armed with Glock handguns that had extended magazines as well as an AR-style rifle.
They then stole two guns from the witness, and one of them was handed to Khayre.
When the men demanded a Louis Vuitton bag from the victim, he refused, leading to a fight between them all.
The shooting:
The witness said when he walked toward them, Khayre pointed the witness’ stolen gun at him and racked it.
The witness then got out of the room, ran toward the lobby and heard multiple gunshots. He then saw two of the men flee out the back of the building, but didn’t see what direction they went in.
The victim was then found dead.
The aftermath:
Khayre was then identified by the witness in a photo lineup, according to the criminal complaint.
Police say video footage corroborated much of what the witness reported.
Khayre was on conditional release for a suspected carjacking at the time of the shooting, according to the complaint.
The Source: This story uses information gathered from a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County and previous FOX 9 reporting.
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