Minneapolis, MN
Sammy McDowell remembered as ‘pillar’ of his north Minneapolis community
Hundreds of people came out to celebrate the life of the popular restaurant owner Sammy McDowell, 48, on Tuesday night.
His community of family, friends and fellow parishioners gathered in the parking lot of Shiloh Temple International Ministries in north Minneapolis.
Sammy McDowell poses for a photo at his restaurant.
David Pierini | North News 2019
Many of the adults and children arrived at the community picnic carrying balloons of various colors and shapes. At around 6:30 p.m., the crowd released the balloons in tandem with members of communities in six states around the country where McDowell had roots.
“Sammy was a pillar of this community. Sammy loved everybody,” Shiloh minister Arnetta Phillips told the crowd. “He could give you the shirt off his back if you needed it; he would do it.”
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Minister Arnetta Phillips (right) speaks at Shiloh Temple in north Minneapolis on Tuesday during Sammy McDowell’s memorial picnic.
Liam James Doyle for MPR News
McDowell owned Sammy’s Avenue Eatery located along West Broadway Avenue on the city’s north side.
An entrepreneur who aimed to boost economic development in the area, McDowell was also remembered by friends and community members as a singer as well as a calming presence on the northside during COVID and during the unrest which followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.
McDowell was also a longtime member of Shiloh Temple. And according to Bishop Richard D. Howell, Jr. McDowell was in attendance at the church last Sunday.
“I don’t believe he was feeling well when he stepped into the church house. He was just sitting there, kind of quiet,” Howell said. “Some people noticed that he was not the same.”
McDowell collapsed toward the end of the service. He was taken to North Memorial Hospital where doctors tried to save him but he later died, Howell said.
Howell said McDowell’s death was a shock to the community.
“Some people just didn’t know how to process their grieving after the abrupt loss of Sammy,” he said. “And so we felt like well, maybe this would be a good time for the grieving community to come together, and have some Sammy stories, share some good news about him and release some balloons together.”
It’s appropriate, considering the man.
“He was all about community. He was a champion of the community. He was a gentle giant,” Howell said.
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Priscilla Roberts, a senior executive admin at Shiloh, has been a member of the church for 25 years. She met McDowell the year she joined Shiloh and they were friends ever since.
“He’s always been the same,” she said. “Very giving, incredibly warm, always looking out for other people.”
Roberts met him when he was part of the choir.
“He did his own CDs,” she said. “I loved his voice.”
Roberts said elders used to say that people could move between the outhouse to the penthouse. In other words, people can interact with others the same way in different scenarios.
“That was Sammy. He would give a man a cup of coffee on the street corner and able to just serve the same coffee to Gov. Walz,” she said. “It didn’t matter to him.”
One of McDowell’s friends, Brian Bogan, attended the event with his two children.
Brian Bogan, who has been friends with McDowell for over 25 years, at Shiloh Temple in north Minneapolis on Tuesday.
Liam James Doyle for MPR News
“He meant everything because he just really wanted to see the community thrive,” said Bogan, who has been friends with McDowell for over 25 years. “Like he wanted more for the community than he wanted for himself.”
Church officials say funeral details have not yet been finalized.
The scene of the crash at 26th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North in Minneapolis. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis woman was sentenced for her role in a deadly crash that killed two women and injured two other people in December 2024.
READ MORE: Minneapolis woman charged in fatal high-speed crash faces additional charges
Woman sentenced in fatal Minneapolis crash
Big picture view:
Prosecutors say Teniki Steward drove a Buick Enclave into a bus shelter and a Ford Explorer after speeding through a red light.
Both of the women in the Ford Explorer died in the crash. They were identified as 53-year-old Ester Jean Fulks and 57-year-old Rose Elaine Reece.
During the crash, the Ford Explorer went off the road, injuring a 17-year-old boy who was waiting for a school bus.
The passenger in Steward’s vehicle also suffered injuries.
Minneapolis police said that Steward was also injured in the crash.
Steward pleaded guilty to multiple murder charges.
What they’re saying:
During the sentencing, the daughter of one of the victims had a statement read on her behalf:
“There’s nothing that can truly prepare you for the moment your entire world is taken from you. Losing my mom has left a pain in my heart that words will never be able to explain.”
What’s next:
Minnesota law requires that Steward serves at least two-thirds of her sentence, a bit under eight-and-a-half years, in prison.
Fatal Emerson and 26th crash
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, through surveillance videos from the scene of the crash and witnesses, investigators learned that Steward, driving the Buick Enclave, had been driving at a high rate of speed northbound on Emerson Avenue North.
Before the fatal crash, Steward sped through the intersection of Emerson Avenue North and Broadway Avenue North, running a red light and nearly causing a crash, the charges said.
Steward then continued to speed northbound down Emerson Avenue North, and ran another red light at 26th Avenue North, hitting the Ford Explorer, which was traveling eastbound, according to the complaint.
The Ford Explorer had been at the intersection of Emerson and 26th on a green light.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty shared the following statement:
“This was an egregious act that took Rose and Esther’s lives and injured a child waiting to go to school at a bus stop. Ms. Steward was driving at extremely dangerous speeds on city streets and narrowly avoided multiple collisions before the incident occurred. Third-degree murder charges are appropriate to hold her accountable and protect our community.”
The Source: This story uses information gathered from an Olmsted County court appearance and previous FOX 9 reporting.
A motorcyclist is dead after an early morning crash in Minneapolis Friday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said that at 1:20 a.m., a Suzuki Motorcycle going north on I-35W at Johnson Street hit the left side of the median guard rail.
The motorcycle continued north for about another quarter mile before coming to a rest on the right-hand side.
State Patrol said the rider came to rest on the left shoulder. He was later identified as 21-year-old Andrew James Neuberger.
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The Rochester Spartans boys volleyball team played its second game on consecutive nights. The Spartans beat Minneapolis Camden 3-0.
Rochester’s next game will be Tuesday, April 21, at St. Anthony Village at 7:00 p.m.
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