Minneapolis, MN
Snow emergency declared as St. Paul, Minneapolis prepare for ‘historic’ snowstorm
As the Twin Cities prepare for what could be one of the largest snowstorms to hit the area in years, the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis have declared snow emergencies and are asking residents to move their vehicles off streets as soon as possible.
Both cities declared snow emergencies effective at 9 p.m. Sunday but asked residents to begin moving vehicles Saturday, the mayors announced in a joint news conference Saturday afternoon in St. Paul.
“Because the forecast calls for an extreme amount of snow, please move your vehicles off night plow routes this evening if you can,” Mayor Koahly Her said. “Moving now will help you avoid becoming stuck in a snowbank, and will give our crews room to work, and make sure you have safe roads to drive on when the time comes.”
City staff at both cities have been “working tirelessly” for the past few days in preparation of the storms, Her said, which if predictions are correct, will be a historic amount of snowfall. Crews have been treating streets to prepare for the snow, she said.
To make it easier for residents to move their vehicles, both cities are offering thousands of free parking spots.
In St. Paul, the city will open the Block 19 Municipal Ramp at Jackson and E. 7th streets in downtown St. Paul for free parking. In addition, as park and recreation lots are plowed, they will also be opened for free parking, Her said. She said residents should check stpaul.gov/snow for updated information.
The mayor also warned that city snow plows will make two passes so even if it looks like plows have been on a street, they may be coming back, she said, so residents should be aware of that before returning vehicles to snow emergency routes.
“Over the past month, Minnesotans have shown again and again how we look out for each other,” Her said. “I ask you now to check on your neighbors and those who may need help. Follow the posted parking rules, and stay off the roads unless travel is essential. This is spring in Minnesota. We’re prepared and ready to respond.”
Mayor Jacob Frey said his city is doing the same.
“The real reason we call a snow emergency is so we can get the plows through,” he said. “We recognize that this may be a very significant snow event. Our snowplow drivers are in the starting blocks and they’re ready to go. For them, this is the Super Bowl. They’ve been preparing for this kind of snow event all year. And I can tell you we’re going to have every single one of them out.”
Sean Kershaw, St. Paul director of public works, said Saturday he had just received an update from the National Weather service and that the forecast continued to call for 12 to 18 inches of snow beginning Saturday night.
“It’s going to be really heavy falling at about two inches an hour overnight,” he said. “That’s a lot of snow. We could get eight inches overnight. Following the heavy snow, tomorrow, the winds will pick up, and there’ll be strong winds that declare a blizzard warning for the whole region. After that, it will get cold … We will begin plowing the streets as soon as it starts snowing. We will be out all night. We will be out all tomorrow.”
Kershaw asked for people to stay off the roads after midnight Saturday and to have vehicles moved off snow emergency routes Saturday evening.
Cars that park in the free lots won’t have to be moved until 5 p.m. Monday, he said. He advised people to check the city websites for updated information.
The city of St. Paul will not have garbage or recycling pickup on Monday, he said, and people who have pick up on Mondays should put their bins out Tuesday morning.
Tim Sexton, public works director in Minneapolis, said the amount of snow predicted from this storm might be one of the top five snow events in history.
“Remember the Dome Buster event from 2010, where the Metrodome collapsed?” he said. “That was about 17 inches of snow. So more than that is forecast, and this is late season, heavy, wet snow. So it’s going to be inconvenient. There is no way around that. But just recognize this could be a historical event.”
Minneapolis, MN
Homicide investigation underway in north Minneapolis after double shooting leaves 16-year-old dead
A 16-year-old boy is dead after a shooting in north Minneapolis on Thursday night.
Police responded to the 1300 block of 18th Avenue North around 5:30 p.m. on a report of multiple shots fired. Officers at the scene found a 16-year-old boy with life-threatening injuries, Minneapolis police said.
He died at the scene, according to Minneapolis police.
A 44-year-old man who was in the area during the shooting was also hit and suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Police say he drove away from the area to a gas station near Broadway Avenue and Knox Avenue North, where officers responded and brought him to the hospital.
Investigators are looking into the circumstances around the shooting. No arrests have been made.
A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS photographer captured evidence markers with bullet casings, crime scene tape and a large number of first responders.
“This is another heartbreaking act of violence that has left a young person dead, another individual wounded, and families suffering unimaginable pain,” said Chief O’Hara. “Our investigators are working urgently to determine exactly what happened and to identify every person responsible for this violence.”
Editor’s note: A spokesperson for Minneapolis police initially told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the victim was a “young adult man.” A later update from police said the victim was a juvenile.
To get the latest updates on this story sent to your mobile device, download the KSTP app at the links below.
On the eve of Stephen Colbert‘s final Late Show, the host invited Bruce Springsteen to the stage for a fitting performance of his protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis.” Earlier this year, the musician and the E Street Band live-debuted the track during their politically charged Land of Hope and Dreams tour.
In a way that felt bittersweet, Colbert announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, Bruce Springsteen.” As his spotlight faded and focused on the singer, Springsteen made it clear why he was there for the late-night series penultimate episode. “I’m here in support tonight of Stephen, because you’re the first guy in America who lost his show because we’ve got a president who can’t take a joke,” Springsteen said. “And because Larry and David Ellison feel they need to kiss his ass to get what they want.”
He added, “Stephen, these are small-minded people who got no idea what the freedoms of this beautiful country are supposed to be about. This is for you.”
The singer then launched into an emotional performance of “Streets of Minneapolis,” which was written in reaction to ICE’s brutal immigration crackdown in the city, and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Last year, CBS announced it was cancelling The Late Show, claiming the move was “purely a financial decision.” It’s been speculated that CBS’s parent company Paramount pulled the plug to curry favor with Donald Trump — who Colbert frequently called out during his show — and the FCC to ensure a merger between Paramount and Skydance would go through. As Springsteen highlighted before his performance on Wednesday night, Paramount is helmed by David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle.
A procession of stars have lined up for Colbert’s closing weeks, with guests including Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and original host David Letterman, who returned to throw CBS property off the Ed Sullivan Theater roof. Recent musical guests include David Byrne, the Strokes, Michael Stipe, Chris Stapleton, and Foo Fighters, who previously served as the final musical guest of Letterman’s Late Show.
When speaking to The New York Times last month, Colbert discussed his decision to cover political topics and lean into current events, and how that often drew the ire of the Trump administration. “Comedians are anti-authoritarian by nature,” Colbert said. “And authoritarians are never going to like anybody to laugh at them. The number of newspeople who have said to me or Jon Stewart or any of the guys who do this, ‘God, I wish I could say what you say on air.’ And we can. I think that upsets them. I think it might be upsetting that we really do not live in their world of principalities and powers.”
Two women have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the death of a decorated U.S. Army veteran.
Amos Ferrier, 38, was responding to an attempted auto theft in south Minneapolis on Friday. Police say Ferrier, who was an Army medic, confronted the suspects as they tried to steal his car. He was either struck by or jumped on the hood of the suspects’ getaway car.
Ferrier was badly hurt and later died after he was thrown from the hood, police say.
So far this year, the Minneapolis Police Department has seen about 2,300 motor vehicle thefts. That’s a 24% increase from this time last year.
“Post-2020, post-George Floyd, all that stuff, the auto thefts went on a huge increase,” said Bryan Hermerding, a lieutenant who supervises the auto theft task force for Hennepin County.
This year, the sheriff’s office officially teamed up with the Edina, Minnetonka and St. Louis Park police departments to crack down on car crimes
“Outside of Minneapolis, we’ve seen a significant decrease in auto thefts in some ofthose suburban cities,” he said.
Through April, the task force has recovered 228 stolen vehicles and arrested 72 people, primarily kids.
“Any time that you can multiply resources and get people working on the same page and working together towards one common goal is huge,” he said.
While Minneapolis isn’t a part of the task force, Hermerding says they do work together and there have been talks of them joining.
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