Minneapolis, MN
South Minneapolis’ Whittier neighborhood leads city in gun violence
Those who are targeted often don’t bother filing a formal police report, he said, because of the perception no one will ever be held accountable. Victims are given a case number and frequently receive no follow-up from authorities.
“What will they do about it?” Dakane said. “It’s a waste of time.”
O’Hara acknowledged that understaffing remains a chronic issue at MPD, but urged residents to report such crimes so they can better track the problem. The department launched a “South Side React” team earlier this year to proactively address rising crime, he said, and has seen some success with its new robbery protocol, which redeploys resources and pauses all other service calls to thwart robbery sprees in a specific area.
Police officials sought to expand ShotSpotter, the city’s acoustic gunshot detection system, this summer to broader swaths of south Minneapolis experiencing surges in gun violence, but were forced to roll back the coverage plan over concerns by members of the City Council’s progressive wing, who have expressed skepticism about its ability to curb gun violence. The more limited expansion does not stretch into south Whittier, O’Hara noted, or the nearby hot spot of 19th and Nicollet, where police have seen much spillover.
“I don’t feel safe in my own frickin’ neighborhood,” said Chris Sonnesyn, 59, a longtime Whittier resident who was assaulted in July. When Sonnesyn, an independent contractor, discovered that a homeless man had broken into a client’s apartment and caused $500 in damage, he offered the man a job rather than calling police.
To Sonnesyn’s surprise, the man showed up for work the next day and spent several hours mowing lawns. But as Sonnesyn went to the garage to grab him a soda, the man pulled a rope from his backpack and attempted to strangle Sonnesyn.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis closes three beaches ahead of 4th of July weekend due to high e. coli levels
A stretch of Interstate 94 in Minneapolis has reopened after a fatal crash closed it for hours Wednesday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said the crash occurred on westbound I-94 near Interstate 35W around 2:30 a.m. The patrol said the crash was fatal, but did not say how many people or vehicles were involved.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation said the road was cleared just before 6:15 a.m., and a WCCO crew at the scene saw traffic moving through.
This story will be updated.
Minneapolis, MN
North Minneapolis Heritage Park tenants swelter as $500K grant sits locked for furnaces
Apartment complex A/C problem
Scorching heat is making life miserable for some at Heritage Park apartments in north Minneapolis. FOX 9’s Mike Manzoni explains the situation.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Tenants at a north Minneapolis apartment complex are struggling to stay cool as broken air conditioning and other problems remain unresolved during another day of high temperatures.
Tenants at Heritage Park turn to fans as heat rises
What we know:
Several tenants at Heritage Park are relying on fans to keep cool, but temperatures inside the apartments are still reaching the 80s.
“How I’m trying to keep cool is with this fan. I have another fan in that room,” Eddie Robinson, a tenant, told FOX 9 on Monday. “It’s an oven.”
Beyond the lack of air conditioning, tenants are facing other challenges inside and outside the building.
Some apartments have mold and dirty floors, while the exterior shows broken staircases and boarded-up windows.
Repairs and funding struggles at Heritage Park
The backstory:
The court-appointed receiver, Minnetonka-based Certus Financial, said it is waiting for a $5.1 million grant to help with repairs. There is $500,000 in city grant money available, but it can only be used for furnaces, which does not help tenants during the summer heat.
The property receives $85,000 each month from the federal government to help maintain the 200 public housing apartments.
Despite this, the complex is still losing $250,000 every month, according to the firm’s manager, Will Haase.
The property has 440 units, with nearly half set aside for public housing. More than half of the units are vacant, worsening the property’s financial situation.
Haase said his firm is working on patching 30 roofs to address leaks and has already replaced 168 furnaces. While there are still a couple of hundred open work orders, that number is down from more than 2,000 when the receivership began six months ago.
When asked if razing the complex could be an option, he said that is “never not in play.”
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