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Uptown Minneapolis house rich with elaborate wood carvings lists for $849K

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Uptown Minneapolis house rich with elaborate wood carvings lists for 9K


The home, built in 1906, is a prime example of decorative dark wood features that were popular at the turn of the 20th century, and that look might be making a comeback.

The Minnesota Star Tribune

In an era where the monochromatic “Millennial gray” color scheme has conquered so many homes’ interior design, the dark and elaborately carved wood decor in this Minneapolis house feels boldly different.

Cris DuBord’s 7,405-square-foot Lowry Hill East home is filled with all sorts of elaborate ornamentation popular among affluent homeowners in 1906, when the house was built. Penny tile, stained glass, an engraved fireplace grate with a hummingbird design.

But most prominent are the dark wood carvings that embellish the beamed ceilings, crown moldings, wainscoting and door and window frames. They’re also present in the ornamental plate rails with grooves to display dishes and the large fireplace mantel adorned with what Minneapolis professional wood-carver Erik Wyckoff called “the scrolly stuff.”

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“It’s really kind of a feast for the eyes to see all the different styles, all the original things that were still in place,” DuBord said. “It is an absolute love-at-first-sight kind of house.”

She enjoyed being in the house after buying it in 2018. But she is no longer living with her former husband, and their four kids have left home. So DuBord downsized to a home in Edina and listed the Minneapolis house at $849,000.

The house has six bedrooms, four on the second floor and two in the attic. There’s a bathroom on each floor.

The main floor also holds a mud room; large living, kitchen and dining rooms; and a music or sitting room. There’s a grand staircase leading to the second floor along with a stairway at the back of the house that climbs up to the attic.

The primary bedroom on the second floor includes a little bump-out room likely designed to hold a baby’s crib or bassinet. DuBord didn’t need it for that purpose — her kids were teenagers at the time — so she put a TV in it. That helped turn the room, which also has a fireplace, into “a grown-up’s sitting room, with an office, TV room and reading room,” she said.

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The couple then picked a different room for their primary bedroom.

The basement is partly finished, and was a place for the DuBords to watch TV, do homework and share a pizza.

“It was home to so many sleepovers, so many fun times for the kids, because it’s giant and has a kitchenette,” DuBord said.

The attic, where two of the kids had their bedrooms, appears to have once been servants’ quarters. The teenagers loved the space, DuBord said.

“It’s like having your own apartment up there, with its own bathroom and giant rooms with views of the city,” she said.

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The house has a small front yard but a large backyard, mostly paved as patio space. Around the patio, the DuBords “landscaped the heck out of it” with perennial borders, Duboard said. They also professionally installed twinkling lights above the patio.

“It’s very private and really kind of magical in the summer,” she said.

Other improvements included updating the bathrooms, adding new insulation that prevents ice dams and refinishing the floors.

The house has a three-car garage and is within easy walking distance of restaurants, shops and stores along nearby Hennepin and Lyndale avenues in Uptown, she said.

The home’s original occupant, Charles F. Osborne, co-owned the Osborne-Clark Lumber Co. that professed to be “distributors of everything in hardwood,” per an ad at the time, said Kathy Kullberg, who has led walking tours of the area.

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Although elaborate wood carving is a feature in a lot of mansions upper-class Minnesotans built around the turn of the 20th century, Osborne’s profession could partly explain the abundance of a particularly valued kind of wood in his home.

The house has a lot of “figured lumber,” or wood with an attractive grain pattern, said David M. Smith of Fresh Air Finishers.

“It’s interesting that the home was built by a lumberman; this would explain the selection of some of the most figured flamed birch I have seen in a Minnesota home,” said Smith, whose company specializes in the restoration of historic woodwork and wood finishes.

Flamed or flame has a curved pattern resembling fire. A dark stain helps further accentuate the carving, Smith said.

Intricate European designs with a lot of carved wood also likely inspired the home’s style.

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“At that time, there was a huge influx of highly trained immigrant labor,” Wyckoff said. “Really highly skilled woodworkers and wood-carvers from Germany, Italy, Switzerland.”

Some designers and decorating magazines have indicated complex carved wood, even in darker hues, is coming back en vogue after years of sleek streamlined looks and blond wood.

“Interior designers at the really high end always need to be one step ahead of the mass market,” said Wyckoff, who works on wood-carving jobs throughout the country. “They pushed minimalism to its outside edge. On both coasts, they’re moving back to highly detailed design. Maximalism is in again.”

Correction: A previous version of this story misattributed a quote. Wood-carver Erik Wyckoff:said “At that time, there was a huge influx of highly trained immigrant labor. Really highly skilled woodworkers and wood-carvers from Germany, Italy, Switzerland.”



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Minneapolis, MN

City officials report less speeding at corners with traffic cameras in Minneapolis

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City officials report less speeding at corners with traffic cameras in Minneapolis


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Minneapolis man sentenced to nearly 30 years for murder of Deshaun Hill

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Minneapolis man sentenced to nearly 30 years for murder of Deshaun Hill



A Minneapolis man who pleaded guilty to murdering a high school student in 2022 was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison on Monday.

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It was the second time Cody Fohrenkam was sentenced for fatally shooting 15-year-old Deshaun Hill. He was convicted and sentenced to more than 38 years in prison in February 2023, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction and granted him a retrial based on illegally obtained incriminating statements.

Fohrenkam, 33, agreed to a plea deal as his second trial was set to start, pleading guilty to one count of second-degree intentional murder in exchange for Monday’s 340-month sentence. The judge presiding over the hearing gave him credit for 1,476 days already served.

Fohrenkam shot and killed Hill while Hill was walking to a bus stop just blocks from Minneapolis North High School, where Hill was a star quarterback and honor roll student.

One of Hill’s aunts said in a statement shortly before the judge sentenced Fohrenkam that her nephew was “full of life.”

“When he spoke, you listened. He had a soft spirit and a good heart,” she said. “Deshaun was an artist who, as you all know, he took his education seriously. He had dreams and goals. He worked hard to make his family proud.”

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Man on Conditional Release Now Charged in Minneapolis Murder — MNCRIME.com

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Man on Conditional Release Now Charged in Minneapolis Murder — MNCRIME.com


A man is now charged with murder after prosecutors say a robbery inside a Minneapolis apartment building ended in a fatal shooting.

Prosecutors say the man was on conditional release after being charged with first-degree armed carjacking for an incident in Minneapolis last September.

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The killing happened Feb. 24 inside the Abbott Apartments lounge area on the 100 block of East 18th Street, where police found an adult man dead from gunshot wounds after reports of a shooting.

Court documents state the victim and a friend went to the building to meet 20-year-old Abdirahman Khayre Khayre. A witness stated Khayre left the room several times and appeared to be stalling before three armed men entered and demanded property. The men were described as carrying two Glock-style handguns with extended magazines and an AR-style rifle. During the robbery, the suspects demanded a Louis Vuitton bag belonging to the victim. When the victim resisted, a struggle broke out. The witness stated that two guns were taken from him during the robbery.

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The witness told investigators Khayre was handed one of the stolen guns and then pointed it at him, causing him to flee into the lobby. Moments later, multiple gunshots were heard. The witness returned and found the victim shot. Surveillance footage from other areas of the building reportedly corroborated key parts of the account, and the witness later identified Khayre in a photo lineup, according to the complaint.

PREVIOUSLY: Man Shot and Killed Inside Minneapolis Apartment Building

Authorities say Khayre was on conditional release at the time of the killing in a separate Hennepin County case involving a September 2025 armed carjacking.

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In that earlier case, prosecutors alleged Khayre and others confronted a woman in a garage near 19th Street and Nicollet Avenue, pointed handguns at her and forced her to give up the keys to a Dodge Challenger before fleeing in the stolen vehicle. Officers later located the vehicle and arrested multiple suspects, including Khayre, who was identified as the driver.

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Court records show Khayre posted a $75,000 non-cash bond and was released under conditions requiring him to remain law-abiding, have no possession of firearms or ammunition, avoid alcohol and controlled substances and complete treatment.

Khayre is now charged with second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony and first-degree aggravated robbery. He made an initial court appearance Friday, where a judge set bail at $1 million. If convicted of second-degree felony murder, he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

The homicide investigation remains ongoing. Authorities have not yet released the identity of the victim. Anyone with information is asked to contact Minneapolis police by emailing policetips@minneapolismn.gov or calling 612-673-5845. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or online. Information leading to an arrest and conviction may be eligible for a financial reward.

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