Minneapolis, MN
Taste of Minnesota 2024 returns to downtown Minneapolis this summer
Taste of Minnesota announces return
The Taste of Minnesota is coming back in style for 2023.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The second year of the resurgence of the Taste of Minnesota festival will return to downtown Minneapolis this summer.
Taste of Minnesota 2024 will be held July 6 and 7 from 11 am. to 8 p.m., according to an announcement from the Taste of Minnesota Foundation.
The event will again return to Nicollet Mall, but with an expanded footprint that allows for double the number of food vendors – roughly 60 compared to last year’s 23, according to organizers.
Several thousand attended the event in 2023, which occurred without any major crime incidents – though patrons complained of long lines for food vendors, and few free water stations. But the 2024 iteration can expect “an expanded footprint” and a “greater number of vendors and attractions.”
In 2023, Minneapolis leaders announced the free festival would return to downtown Minneapolis – the first time since it was last held in 2015 in St. Paul.
The event featured musical guests Third Eye Blind on July 2, and Uncle Kracker and Big Boi (from Outkast) on July 3, 2023.
For 2024, the foundation is currently encouraging Minnesota businesses, artists, and food vendors to join its Taste of Minnesota 2024 team.
No musical guests have been announced yet, but chef and TV personality, Andrew Zimmern, will return as the Food Ambassador once again, organizers have said.
Taste of Minnesota returns
A 7-year hiatus came to an end this weekend as Minnesota brought back a summer staple. The Taste of Minnesota drew big crowds on Sunday, its first day. There were long lines to get into Nicollet Mall, but attendees said the lines moved smoothly and were worth it.
The event began in 1983 as a free festival with both food and fireworks at the State Capitol grounds and Harriet Island during the July 4th weekend, but first ended in 2010 following a change in ownership.
Following the original Taste of Minnesota, founder Ron Maddox’s wife Linda briefly revived the event in 2014 and 2015 in a new location in Waconia, before it officially ended a second time.
During the 2023 legislative session, a “Taste of Minnesota” bill was introduced by Rep. Jerry Newton (DFL-Coon Rapids), and Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlain), and would provide $1.8 million in Fiscal Year 2024 from Minnesota’s general fund for a grant to the Downtown Minneapolis Council for infrastructure and costs of the event. At the time, the money was marked as a one-time appropriation.
Organizers have said they will provide an update on funding for the 2024 event in the coming months.
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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