Minneapolis, MN
University of Minnesota says graduate student was detained by ICE
A graduate student at the University of Minnesota was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Thursday at an off-campus residence, the school said in a statement.
Friday’s statement — signed by President Rebecca Cunningham, Vice President for Student Affairs Calvin Phillips and Vice President for Equity and Diversity Mercedes Ramírez Fernández — called the situation “deeply concerning.” The international student is enrolled in the Twin Cities campus, the school said.
The university said it did not have further information or more details on the situation. It also said it had no prior knowledge that the detention was happening and did not share any information with federal agents beforehand.
The school did not release the student’s name. The student’s nationality and visa type and status were unavailable.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to requests for comment Saturday evening.
“It is important to note that our campus departments of public safety, including UMPD, do not enforce federal immigration laws, and our officers do not inquire about an individual’s immigration status,” the UMN statement said. “Their focus remains on public safety, fostering trust and maintaining strong relationships across the University community.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Friday that he had been in touch with DHS to get information, and added that he would share more when he could.
“The University of Minnesota is an international destination for education and research. We have any number of students studying here with visas, and we need answers,” Walz said on X.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the student’s detainment “deeply troubling” in a post on X.
“Educational environments must be places where all students can focus on learning and growing without fear,” Frey said.
This latest arrest comes on the heels of other arrests of international students at American universities.
Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University who led student protests at the New York school last spring, was arrested by federal immigration agents earlier this month and was told his student visa was being revoked.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the United States, was accused of supporting Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. A lawyer of his rejected the claim, saying there is no evidence Khalil provided support of any kind to a terrorist organization.
Khalil is being held in federal custody in Louisiana after U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman ruled he cannot be deported “to preserve the court’s jurisdiction” as it weighs a filing challenging his arrest and planned deportation.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student at Tufts University who is a Turkish national in the U.S. on what her attorney said was a valid student visa, was similarly arrested by federal immigration agents Tuesday and is also being held in Louisiana. Her arrest was caught on video, with Ozturk’s lawyer saying she was on her way to meet friends for iftar, a meal that breaks the day-time fast observed by Muslims during Ramadan, when she was arrested.
A court order Friday blocked Ozturk’s deportation while U.S. District Judge Denise Casper determines whether she has jurisdiction over the case.
An Iranian doctoral student at the University of Alabama, Alireza Doroudi, and a Russian medical researcher at Harvard University, Kseniia Petrova, were both detained by immigration agents this week as well.
A major traffic shift will start on one of Minnesota’s busiest highways Wednesday morning.
Eastbound lanes of Interstate 394 between Louisiana Avenue in St. Louis Park and downtown Minneapolis will be down to two lanes, with no EZ-Pass options. That means getting from the west metro to downtown Minneapolis could be tricky. Officials say drivers should expect increased traffic around St. Louis Park through the fall.
The change comes as westbound I-394 fully reopens after several months of construction, plus a return-to-normal entry to westbound I-394 from westbound Interstate 94 after the Lowry Hill Tunnel.
Crews have been working on the $67 million project since July 2025 to repair and restore more than 30 bridges across the 394 corridor.
While eastbound drivers are finding fewer lanes, westbound drivers are finding freedom
Nathan Bowie with the Minnesota Department of Transportation says construction has been going well and while the reopening of the westbound lanes marks an important milestone, the work is far from over.
“We understand that construction can be an inconvenience. It can be frustrating,” Bowie said. “We’re really asking folks to be patient, plan ahead, give yourself some extra travel time.”
The project also includes several ramp closures, including eastbound I-394 ramps at Penn and Cedar Lake avenues and the connection to westbound I-94.
Bryn Mawr resident Dan Spengler said he’s noticed more drivers shifting to neighborhood streets to avoid backups and expects that to only get worse.
“I believe in what they’re doing, but they need to manage the neighborhoods better because people are driving through the neighborhood with nowhere to go, so they are speeding through neighborhoods,” Spengler said.
Bowie says crews will be putting on signs in neighborhoods where traffic is expected to swell, reminding folks of the speed limit.
Businesses along I-394, like Good Day Cafe, are also feeling the squeeze
“We’d like to have all the roads open, yes,” said manager Jamie Flynn. “I mean, right now we’re very fortunate, for like I said, the guests and sort of the people that know to come here that have been for years and years.”
The new traffic pattern is expected to stay in place through November. Officials want drivers to follow posted detours and pay attention to ensure a smooth transition.
More information about the project is available on the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s website.
Minneapolis, MN
Man sentenced to federal prison for armed robberies of St. Paul bank, Minneapolis Walgreens
A 26-year-old man was sentenced this week to 2 ½ years in federal prison for robbing a Walgreens in Minneapolis, then a St. Paul bank the next day.
Korey Maurese Hale of Minneapolis pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court of Minnesota to one count of armed bank robbery in connection with the June 2024 hold ups.
Hale used the same .22-caliber Mossberg rifle in both robberies, making off with about $200 from Walgreens at Chicago Avenue and 43rd Street and approximately $1,833 from BMO Bank at Snelling and Randolph avenues, according to his January plea agreement. St. Paul police arrested Hale near the bank shortly after the heist.
In an interview with a St. Paul police investigator, Hale said people were trying to kill him and voices in his head made him rob the bank, according to initial charges filed in Ramsey County District Court.
Hale was civilly committed as mentally ill and chemically dependent in September 2024. Eight months later, he was ordered to undergo a federal psychiatric and psychological examination, which found his medication treatment was effective and he was competent to stand trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Forbes wrote in a presentencing memo.
Hale’s sentencing Monday at the federal courthouse in St. Paul includes five years of supervised release following incarceration.
“Once released, if Hale continues to take his medications, continues to receive mental health treatment, and stays away from controlled substances, he will dramatically reduce his risk of recidivism,” Forbes wrote in the memo. “A five-year term of supervision will best ensure that the federal crimes in this case are Hale’s last.”
New analysis shows how misconduct allegations have been handled in the Minneapolis Police Department a week after an ACLU report found that concerns over policing tactics have continued. FOX 9’s Soyoung Kim has the latest.
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