Minnesota

Officers from 65+ law enforcement agencies staffing Minnesota State Fair police force

Published

1 year ago

August 23, 2024

Officers from 65+ law enforcement agencies staffing Minnesota State Fair police force

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Welcoming hundreds of thousands of people to the Minnesota State Fair and keeping them safe is no small task.

Minnesota State Fair Police Chief Ron Knafla is overseeing 185 officers from more than 65 agencies.

He says the biggest thing is having a visual presence.

“It’s a community engagement detail,” Knafla said. “They’re out interacting with the public, being visible, interacting with the kids, assisting with medicals, assisting with lost kids.”

There are also undercover officers dressed in plainclothes as well as police from several partnering agencies.

Metal detectors and bag checks greet people at the entrances.

Guns aren’t allowed, but two years ago, there was a shooting in the Midway.

Knafla says they’ve taken steps to prevent anything like that from happening again.

“Increased the height of some of the fences, made the fences a little more difficult to climb, added barbed wire around the perimeter and we added a lot of cameras and improved lighting around the perimeter,” he said.

Outside the fairgrounds, St. Paul police are running traffic control and patrols.

Once again, they’re collaborating with nearby neighbors as well as the Community Ambassadors, a violence interrupter group focused on defusing tensions among young people.

“We talk to them and say, ‘Not here. This is a community and a family event. If you need something talk to us. Let’s talk through whatever situation it is.’” said Randy Freeman, one of the Ambassadors.

There are about 50 ambassadors who will be walking the neighborhood streets from 4 p.m. to midnight every day of the fair.

“Folks can feel assured that the Fair’s a safe place to come, probably the safest place in Minnesota right now,” Knafla said.

David Schuman

David joined the WCCO team in April 2020, previously working at CBS 58 in Milwaukee. Prior to that, he worked in Las Vegas. While there, David covered several stories in the national spotlight, including the October 1 mass shooting and political visits from President Barack Obama and candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

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Minnesota

Mid-morning Minnesota winter weather update

Published

1 hour ago

November 29, 2025

Press Room

Mid-morning Minnesota winter weather update

Winter Storm Warning

until SUN 12:00 AM CST, Pipestone County, Cottonwood County, Rock County, Jackson County, Lyon County, Murray County, Nobles County, Faribault County, Watonwan County, Waseca County, Steele County, Freeborn County, Martin County, Redwood County, Blue Earth County, Brown County, Nicollet County

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Minnesota

Obituary for Marcie Moe at Johnson Funeral Service

Published

20 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

Obituary for Marcie Moe at Johnson Funeral Service

Marcie Lee Moe age 65, of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, formerly of Grygla, MN, passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones. Born on December 10, 1959 in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Marcie was the beloved daughter of Adrian Severance Johnson and Edna Irene Christianson Johnson. Marcie was baptized at St.

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Minnesota

5 key takeaways from Minnesota’s loss to Stanford at the Acrisure Invitational

Published

2 days ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

5 key takeaways from Minnesota’s loss to Stanford at the Acrisure Invitational

Minnesota began its Acrisure Invitational journey with some great energy against Stanford, but an injury to starting point guard Chansey Willis Jr. was too much to overcome in a hard-fought 72-68 loss. Here’s what we learned.

Minnesota has been without North Dakota transfer BJ Omot and Maryland transfer Chance Stephens in every regular-season game, while starting big man Robert Vaihola missed his second straight game on Thursday with a knee injury. Things got even more scarce after two early fouls sent Willis to the bench, and he came out of the locker room with a boot on his right ankle.

The Gophers were already not a very deep team, so taking away four rotational players is a massive issue for Niko Medved and a rebuilding program.

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With Vaihola out for the second straight game due to a knee injury, Minnesota slid Grove into the starting lineup for the first time in his college career. Nehemiah Turner did not see the floor after starting last week’s loss to San Francisco, and it was an eight-man rotation.

The Gophers coughed up 14 turnovers on Thursday night, compared to only eight for Stanford. The biggest difference was that Minnesota’s turnovers resulted in 27 Cardinal points. It’s hard to point to any other stat as the largest factor in Thursday’s result.

Reynolds was the first player off the bench for Minnesota, and he provided some serious energy to begin Thursday night’s game. He had a career-high 16 points in last week’s loss to San Francisco, and it looked like he would remain at that level against Stanford, but he struggled in the second half with six points, six rebounds, four assists and six turnovers on the night.

Asuma generated all the headlines when he opted to stay with the Gophers through the coaching change, but Grove also returned after redshirting last season. The 6-foot-9 big man from Alexandria, Minnesota, got the biggest opportunity of his college career against Stanford. He finished with five points and one rebound in 19 minutes. Medved opted to roll with Durkin in the closing lineup.

The Gophers will face Santa Clara on Friday night in the consolation game of the Acrisure Invitational.

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