Minneapolis, MN
Special events planned for Minneapolis’ oldest cemetery after Underground Railroad designation
Minneapolis’ oldest cemetery gets designation
Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery tells a pre and post Civil War story about the City of Minneapolis, which includes the final resting place for Black soldiers who fought for the Union Army, a woman who escaped slavery and joined a Minnesota regiment on the battlefield as a cook, and William Goodridge who ran an Underground Railroad through his home in York, Pennsylvania.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery tells a pre and post Civil War story about the City of Minneapolis, which includes the final resting place for Black soldiers who fought for the Union Army, a woman who escaped slavery and joined a Minnesota regiment on the battlefield as a cook, and William Goodridge who ran an Underground Railroad through his home in York, Pennsylvania.
Cemetery gets Underground Railroad Distinction
What we know:
Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Minneapolis, established in 1853. Thousands of the city’s working class immigrants are buried there along with 500 of the city’s first African American citizens.
“These are the everyday people who built Minneapolis who lived in Minneapolis and traditionally haven’t had their stories told widely,” says John Crippen, the Executive Director of the Hennepin History Museum. “The cemetery does a great job of saying here’s how these people shaped the community we live in today,” he adds.
Sue Weir is the president of the Board of Friends of Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery and a longtime historian.
She has researched the stories of the people who captured the attention of the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program.
Why it matters:
The Network to Freedom program honors, preserves, and promotes the history of the resistance to slavery.
She says the founders of the cemetery were very active in the anti-slavery movement.
“Martin and Elizabeth Lehman, the original owners, were very much involved in the anti-slavery movement,” says Weir. “They were Baptist and their church was involved.”
Names that helped with the Designation
- Hester Patterson, Freedom Seeker. Patterson escaped slavery, worked as a cook on the battlefields, befriended a surgeon from Minneapolis who helped her get a train ticket to Minnesota.
- Woodford Anderson, Freedom Seeker, and U.S. Colored Troop soldier.
- Charles Broden, Freedom Seeker who, while was not an official member of the U.S. Colored Troop, performed manual labor duties for the Iowa unit.
- William Goodridge, abolitionist, and conductor on the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania.
The Work Behind the Designation
The backstory:
St. Paul native and genealogist Elyse Hill conducted research on Goodridge, Anderson and Broden and submitted her documentation to the National Park Service. Hill specializes in African American genealogy and has extensive experience researching the histories of formerly enslaved African Americans.
What you can do:
The Hennepin History Museum is planning a series of events over the next few months that will focus on the cemetery and African American genealogy in Minnesota. They are also planning a public event in June for the cemetery’s National Park Service designation. Their event on February 27 is sold out, but it will be recorded and later posted on their YouTube channel. You can check out their schedule the museum’s website.
Dig deeper:
Last year, FOX 9 put a spotlight on William Goodridge’s life as a hero of the Underground Railroad:
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has released his timeline for selecting the city’s next police chief following the sudden resignation of former chief Brian O’Hara last month.
Timeline announced
What we know:
Mayor Frey announced a 16-week timeline on Tuesday for a national search for the next chief that will take place in six phases.
The mayor says the search will begin immediately and will start by gathering feedback from community stakeholders.
Phase 1
- Gather feedback from police department employees and hold council focus group.
- Develop police chief position profile and recruit materials.
- Community engagement
- Finalize recruitment strategy
Phase 2
- Launch recruitment campaign
- Post listings
- Accept and review applications
Phase 3: Screening interviews
- Conduct candidate evaluations
- Complete initial screening interviews
- Prepare search report and presentation of candidates
Phase 4: First-round interviews
- First-round interviews held
- The interview panel may include: Officer of Community Safety leaders, Minneapolis Police Department leadership, and police labor leadership.
Phase 5: Second-round interviews
- Second-round interviews held
- The interview panel may include: Officer of Community Safety leadership and city council members.
Phase 6: Final interviews and selection
- Final interviews with Mayor Frey, Office of Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette, and other city leaders held.
- Finalist selected
Nomination process
What’s next:
The mayor anticipates submitting his nominee to the council sometime in October or November. From there, the council will review the nominee and vote on the selection.
What they’re saying:
“Selecting a police chief is one of the most important decisions a mayor can make,” said Frey. “We’ve made significant progress to make Minneapolis safer over the last several years, but we still have work to do. This position demands someone who can lead a complex department, support officers, build trust with residents, and continue delivering results – both fighting crime and making reforms. Filling this role is a priority, so we’re going to conduct a thorough search and get this right.”
The backstory:
Former Chief O’Hara resigned last month after an investigation into allegations of him carrying on relationships with department employees. While the investigation never substantiated any of the allegations against O’Hara, investigations found O’Hara deleted a contact of one of the employees from his work phone. Investigators also say O’Hara violated requested confidentiality during the investigation process.
Bill Peterson was named interim police chief earlier this month. Peterson told media members that he isn’t interested in seeking the full-time gig.
Three people are injured after a shooting in north Minneapolis on Monday night.
The Minneapolis Police Department says that just before 8:20 p.m., officers responded to the report of a shooting on the 1600 block of Girard Avenue North.
Authorities found a man with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds outside a vehicle and a woman in the vehicle with at least one non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Both were brought to the hospital for their injuries.
Police were notified that a third person was injured and found a man hiding in a shed on the 1500 block of Girard Avenue North, who was also brought to the hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
MPD is working to determine what led up to the shooting and how the three people are connected to each other.
No arrests have been made at this time.
A federal judge has quashed a set of grand jury subpoenas targeting Minnesota officials including Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Attorney General Keith Ellison, ruling that the Department of Justice was attempting to “harass” Minnesota leaders into enforcing immigration policy. FOX 9’s Rob Olson has the story.
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