Category: Minneapolis, Minnesota Local News

Centennial boys hockey coach Ritch Menne had no issues with his team receiving a No. 3 seed for this week’s Class 2A state tournament.

In fact, he prefers playing in Thursday’s afternoon quarterfinal at the Xcel Energy Center. Last time he led the Cougars to state, they played in the second evening session game. Centennial won but was unable to refire the engines for the Friday semifinal and lost.

Menne’s other realization: his Cougars were under the radar all season. But not underrated. Menne admitted to having “zero expectations” for this season and believes “even our players will say that they can’t believe we’re here.”

Senior defenseman Ty Escobedo got right to the heart of Centennial’s identity crisis. He texted Menne after Thursday’s 5-2 defeat of Maple Grove, “Not bad for a bunch of nobodies.”

Centennial and Cretin-Derham Hall meet at 1 p.m. Thursday, right after No. 2 seed Chanhassen plays Rochester Century/John Marshall to start a day of quarterfinal action.

The evening session features No. 1 seed Edina against Elk River/Zimmerman. Section playoffs weren’t kind to top seeds this season. Only one survived and advanced: Grand Rapids, rewarded with the No. 5 seed at the state tournament.

The Thunderhawks face a color-coordinated nightcap against No. 4 seed White Bear Lake.

“The only thing I can guarantee is that there will be a lot of orange and black in the stands,” Grand Rapids coach Dan Clafton joked.

On Saturday morning, each head coach cast electronic votes for the other seven qualifying teams in his class. The highest and lowest votes for each team were excluded, and the top five teams were awarded seeds. The remaining three teams were placed by blind draw. This format, scrutinized of late by coaches in many team sports, is expected to be replaced by seeding teams 1-8 beginning next season.

Wednesday’s Class 1A quarterfinals begin with New Ulm and last season’s runner-up, Warroad, the No. 2 seed, at 11 a.m., followed by Northfield against No. 3 St. Cloud Cathedral. The evening session starts with No. 1 seed Hermantown vs. Alexandria, then No. 5 Orono and defending champion Mahtomedi, the No. 4 seed.

“We’re telling our kids to go down there and enjoy the experience,” Clafton said. “To enjoy what they worked for. Hopefully, they will be mature enough to reset in the hours before we play our game.”

Class 2A quarterfinals

Rochester Century/John Marshall (22-4-2) vs. [2] Chanhassen (23-5-0), 11 a.m.

Cretin-Derham Hall (17-10-1) vs. [3] Centennial (19-7-2), 1 p.m.

[1] Edina (23-4-1) vs. Elk River/Zimmerman (18-9-1), 6 p.m.

[4] White Bear Lake (20-7-1) vs. [5] Grand Rapids (17-11-0), 8 p.m.

Class 1A quarterfinals

New Ulm (23-5-0) vs. [2] Warroad (23-5-0), 11 a.m.

Northfield (22-4-2) vs. [3] St. Cloud Cathedral (23-4-1), 1 p.m.

Alexandria (19-9-1) vs. [1] Hermantown (18-8-2), 6 p.m.

[5] Orono (20-8-0) vs. [4] Mahtomedi (17-11-0), 8 p.m.

Emily Omvig of Bismarck, N.D., was visiting friends in Minneapolis when they learned Friday morning that a new kind of bar was opening. Soon they were standing in a long line queuing up for Minnesota’s first watering hole dedicated to women’s sports.

“There’s not a women’s sport that I won’t watch,” Omvig said.

An ensemble of bagpipes and drums welcomed Omvig and other sports fans waiting to be seated at A Bar of Their Own at 2207 E. Franklin Av. Patrons gathered in a circle to watch Jillian Hiscock, the bar’s owner, throw out an underhand softball pitch, signaling the opening of her establishment. Applause broke out as the ball was caught.

Employees quickly checked IDs and ushered people to their seats as the smell of fried food filled the bar. Memorabilia celebrating women’s sports lined the walls, including U.S. soccer legend Mia Hamm’s Wheaties cereal box, a framed photo of the Minnesota Gophers softball jersey from their 2019 Women’s College World Series, and a piece of art that said “Watch women’s sports.”

The idea for the bar came, Hiscock said, when she visited the Sports Bra in Portland, Ore., the first bar of its kind to feature women’s sports. Hiscock had some casual conversations about the concept with friends in October 2022 but wasn’t sure if her aspirations could become reality. After a conversation with Jenny Nguyen, owner of the Sports Bra, she decided to go for it.

Nguyen had one word to describe the feeling of opening the first women’s sports bar: “Frightening.” But people “were just really jazzed about the idea,” she added.

A Bar of Their Own opened its doors less than a week before the sold-out Big Ten women’s basketball tournament, a goal of Hiscock’s. Jaime and Sarah Mills both said they want to watch March Madness there in the future.

“That would be cool to come and watch that,” Jaime Mills said.

Hiscock’s bar opens at a time when women’s sports are growing exponentially, between the emergence of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and Iowa basketball phenom Caitlin Clark showcasing her talents to the world.

“Places like this help that happen,” Hiscock said of growing visibility for women’s sports.

While the restaurant features women’s sports, not everyone who attended the opening were there for that. “I don’t follow sports in the slightest,” said Fred Kreider, who sat at the bar with a drink.

The address once housed Tracy’s Saloon and Eatery, and it still attracts former customers. Kreider said he just wants to support a local Minnesota business. “I hope they do well,” he said.

Nguyen reiterated that while support for women’s sports is growing, a lot of work still needs to be done.

“We have an agenda to push,” Nguyen said. “That’s representation, exposure and access and investment for women.”

Nine juveniles have been charged in connection with a string of 30 armed robberies across Minneapolis over a five-day period in early February, followed by another rash of robberies in the city last weekend.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the charging decisions Friday in a video statement explaining how her office handled the cases and helped Minneapolis police with identifying and charging the youth involved. Police referred a dozen juveniles to Moriarty’s office to consider filing charges.

“If we are brought cases with proof where youth are committing violent crimes we will charge them and hold them accountable,” Moriarty said in the video.

In the first onslaught of robberies, MPD believed they were committed by youth who had stolen a car or cars. The agency referred five cases and four minors were charged. But Moriarty said none of the youth were charged for the robberies that occurred.

“It’s important to understand that simply because a youth may be found in a stolen car does not mean that we can prove that they stole the car. It also doesn’t mean that they were in the car at the time it was used to commit a robbery,” she said.

Two supervisors in Moriarty’s office pored over the 30 police reports to identify patterns. When the next rash of robberies hit the city Feb. 25, MPD referred seven cases and prosecutors charged five. Moriarty said the seven kids were not involved in any of the previous robbery cases.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in a statement Friday that while it’s disappointing when charges are not made when cases are referred to prosecutors, he appreciates the partnership between the county attorney’s office and MPD investigators.

“I continue to be proud of the great police work our officers and investigators do around the clock to address the recent rash of violent robberies committed by juvenile offenders,” O’Hara said. “Our investigators continue to work around the clock to identify all of the different juveniles involved and collecting evidence to build cases. I am confident the MPD strategy is working. I’m also confident we will continue to make more arrests and present more cases for charging.”

The Star Tribune does not typically name juveniles, despite their court cases being public, unless prosecutors signal their intent to certify them as an adult. One of the robbery cases is nonpublic because the child is under the age of 16 and another case is nonpublic because it didn’t result in a felony-level offense. That child is over the age of 16 and was charged with fleeing on foot, a misdemeanor offense. Under state statute, a delinquency or extended jurisdiction juvenile case is public if the child is at least 16 and the offense is a felony.

According to the charges:

Police responded to a carjacking at gunpoint Feb. 9 on East Lake of the Isles Parkway. The victim said she was sitting in the driver’s seat of a BMW rental car around 9 p.m. when three males approached her. One shattered her window and another pushed a gun against her arm and told her to get out or else he would shoot. They pulled her out from the vehicle and fled.

Later that night, police spotted another stolen vehicle that was being trailed by the BMW. Officers initiated a pursuit and the BMW crashed into two unoccupied cars. Two males fled through the alley between Irving and Humboldt avenues N. Officers searched the area and found a suspect hiding. Upon arrest, police recovered a handgun on the 17-year-old from Brooklyn Park. The teenager was charged with felony gun possession, fleeing on foot and riding in a stolen vehicle, a misdemeanor.

On Feb. 11, a Kia Sportage was stolen from a church parking lot in south Minneapolis at 39th Street and Nicollet Avenue. The officers spotted the car and initiated a seven-minute pursuit on Lowry Avenue until the vehicle crashed on Plymouth Avenue N. Two passengers fled and one dropped a firearm on the sidewalk. The driver, a 16-year-old from Minneapolis, attempted to flee but was caught by a police dog. He was charged with fleeing in a vehicle, theft of a vehicle and fleeing on foot.

A short while later, police arrested the passenger, a 16-year-old from Minneapolis, who dropped the gun. He was charged with felony possession, fleeing on foot and riding in a stolen vehicle.

Police responded to the robbery spree Feb. 25 involving a Mazda occupied by juveniles armed with guns. A 17-year-old from Richfield was charged with three felony counts of aiding and abetting first-degree robbery and unlawful gun possession.

Three 17-year-olds from Minneapolis were charged Monday with simple robbery and aiding and abetting simple robbery in connection to the theft of a vehicle the night of Feb. 26. A woman was walking up to her apartment on Girard Avenue South when a group of four males ran up behind her and stole her keys. Police found the vehicle occupied by the suspects later that night and placed them under arrest.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Voters in Minnesota will head to the polls for the 2024 presidential primary on Super Tuesday.

If you still need to register to vote, here’s what to know.

How to register online to vote in Minnesota

Registering to vote online is easy and can be done on the Minnesota Secretary of State website. 

But first, you’ll need your Minnesota driver’s license or Minnesota identification card number, or the last four numbers of your Social Security number. You’ll also need to have an email address handy. And make sure you’re eligible to vote in Minnesota. 

How to register by mail to vote in Minnesota

If you want to register by mail, you can download a paper form to print and fill out. You then mail the completed form to your county election office. You can also mail it to the Secretary of State:

Secretary of State
First National Bank Building
332 Minnesota St., Suite N201
St. Paul, MN 55101

How to register in person to vote in Minnesota

Drop off the aforementioned form at your county election office or the Secretary of State’s office. You can also register when you arrive to vote, detailed below. 

How to register to vote in Minnesota on election day

You can always register when you arrive to vote. You’ll need to bring at least one proof of residence. These include an identification card with your current name and address, photo ID and a document with current name and address, a college student ID with a housing list and more. You can also print out a factsheet with a list of what’s required to register in person. 

RELATED: Who’s running for president in 2024? Meet the candidates – and the ones who’ve dropped out

How to register to vote in Minnesota if you’re a new citizen 

If you’re a new citizen, make sure you have your Certification of Naturalization before you register to vote. Otherwise, the process should be the same. 

How to check your voter registration status in Minnesota

If you’re unsure whether or not you’re already registered, or would like to see the status of your recent registration, you can do so on the SOS website. 

How to check if you’re eligible to vote in Minnesota

Voting requirements include being a U.S. citizen, being at least 18 years old on Election Day, being a Minnesota resident for 20 days, not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction and not under a court order that revokes your right to vote. More details on eligibility can be found on the SOS website. 

Voter registration deadlines in Minnesota

The deadline for both online and mail-in registration is 21 days before Election Day. Notably, mail-in registration must be received 21 days before Election Day. 

In-person registration is available up to and including on Election Day. 

READ MORE: Ready to vote in 2024? Here are the dates for Republican and Democratic primaries and caucuses, presidential election

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Our downtown neighbor, Dr. Richard D. Lentz is a clinical and forensic psychiatrist at Park Nicollet Health Services and a retired Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota. He has extensive experience with individuals and families who have coped with traumatic brain injury (TBI). He is also an author. His first novel, Accidental Journey, explores traumatic brain injury. We talked to him about the inspiration for the novel, narrative medicine and his future writing plans. March is Brain Injury Awareness Month – so it’s an ideal time to pick up the novel, support a local author and learn about this common injury. You can also see Dr. Lentz discuss his book on March 11 at Magers & Quinn Booksellers – register here for the event. 

Q:  Thank you for speaking with us. Is this your first novel? What inspired you to write a novel about traumatic brain injury? 

A:  Yes, this is my first novel. As a clinical and forensic psychiatrist, I treated patients and families with traumatic brain injury, testified in brain injury cases as a forensic psychiatrist –  and realized that the public knows very little about TBI. Even physicians sometimes missed it! In retirement, I chose fiction as the best vehicle to make accessible this common, real, and poorly understood affliction – a story I was passionate to tell for its social value. 

Q:  Were the characters in Accidental Journey based on real people, or did you create them from scratch?

A:  All the characters – Jeff, Cate, and the kids – are fictional. No patient I have encountered would think this as their story. However, I did use my experience and knowledge to create characters who reflect real problems that TBI patients and their families face, in the acute phase and during prolonged treatment and recovery. 

Q:  Can you tell us about narrative medicine and why you believe it is helpful in cases of TBI? 

A:  Narrative medicine is a broad concept that means using story to help clinicians and the public understand the healthcare experiences of patients and families. It begins with understanding every patient as a unique person, knowing their stories, what their lives are like, taking detailed histories that goes far beyond the problems for which they seek care. A novel that tells stories like Cate and Jeff’s, immersing one in the injury and pulling the reader through their experience, falls within that broad definition. 

Dr. Richard D. LentzQ:  How did you balance the medical aspects with the emotional and personal experiences of the characters?

A:  Brain injury affects one’s ability to remember, to process information, to relate to others. It affects one’s personhood, so a person with TBI cannot separate the medical aspects from their emotional and personal experiences. That said, there are medical events that take place over time as the consequences of the injury unfold, with emotional impact for individuals and families. An interesting story must be emotionally real, not just inform. In writing Accidental Journey, I had two audiences in mind, those who want to know more about TBI, and those who enjoy literary fiction. 

Q:  Were there moments that were particularly difficult to capture in your narrative? Did you face any unique challenges in conveying medical information in a fictional narrative? 

A:  Jeff, following his particular kind of TBI, lacks insight into how his injury has affected him. Because of this, he cannot tell us what he feels or thinks. Jeff has to reconstruct his experience from fragments of memory and emotion. The story relies on the interactions of Jeff’s wife and children with Jeff, what they observe and feel, to tell the story of Jeff’s injury. 

Q:  What message or awareness do you hope readers gain from Accidental Journey? 

A:  My hope is that readers acquire knowledge and experience empathy – a greater understanding of how TBI affects individuals and families and compassion for what they endure. 

Q:  Let’s talk about your future writing plans. Do you plan to explore similar themes or medical topics in your future works? 

A:  Sports injuries and war injuries are often in the news. Accidental Journey is about an accident, since accidents – falls, motor vehicle crashes (also assaults and abuse) – cause the great majority of TBIs. I have in mind the story of a soldier and the story of an athlete. 

Q:  Wonderful! Might we see you leading or participating in book club discussions of Accidental Journey? 

A:  I have presented my work, with readings, to book groups. It’s fun for me, and responses have been positive. 

Q:  How may we follow your news? 

A:  I have a website, RichardDLentz.com. I hope to keep my book in the news, especially around March, which is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and around the Holidays. At any time of the year, books make wonderful gifts!

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Copies of Accidental Journey are available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble Online, and can be ordered at book stores. The book is also available to libraries and bookstores through Ingram, and is in both paperback and Kindle formats.

A blaze leveled the large Camp Nenookaasi homeless encampment Thursday, sending billowing smoke over south Minneapolis as residents were forced to evacuate.

Camp leader Nicole Mason said she was at the site when she noticed a yurt was on fire. Several neighbors said they heard explosions amid the flames.

“I went to get an extinguisher and saw the fire was spreading from yurt to yurt, so I thought the first thing was to get everyone out,” Mason said.

A call came in a little after noon about the fire in the 1100 block of E. 28th Street, Fire Chief Bryan Tyner said at a news conference. Firefighters evacuated roughly 50 nearby residents and put out the blaze in about 30 minutes, the chief said.

An investigation into the cause of the fire was underway Thursday. Propane tanks could be seen scattered around the camp’s remains, and Tyner said the flammability of the site made for a “very dangerous situation.”

“What we saw today is kind of our worst fear when you have that situation,” Tyner said.

Two people suffered minor injuries, one with burned hands and another with smoke inhalation, Tyner said. Neither needed to be hospitalized.

At the news conference, Mayor Jacob Frey reiterated past statements that large homeless encampments aren’t safe for the people living there “and they’re not safe for the surrounding neighbors.”

The city’s Homeless Response Team and outreach workers from other organizations were at the site offering to connect people to shelter and providing clothing and water, according to a fire department news release. A Metro Transit bus was also on the scene to provide a warm place for people who were evacuated.

Ashley Jensen, who lives in a house next to the encampment, was waiting behind caution tape on the sidewalk as firefighters inspected her home. Some of the house’s siding melted and the interior was flooded with water from fire hoses.

“Everyone was screaming and running around, and that’s why I evacuated,” Jensen said. She said she heard several explosions before running down the sidewalk, and that camp residents “were trying to grab their things and get out, but the fire was spreading super fast.”

Jensen said she was asked by the City Attorney’s Office just days before the fire whether she had safety concerns about the camp. “Absolutely, on so many levels,” she said.

The encampment was the latest iteration of Camp Nenookaasi, which has moved multiple times after the city dismantled and fenced off its previous locations.

Many of the camp’s residents are Native Americans with tribal affiliations, struggling with a complex mix of addiction and trauma. Those issues have made it difficult for them to use sober emergency shelters, and complicate the work of the nonprofit agencies trying to match them with services and suitable housing.

The city recently contracted with the for-profit group Helix Health and Housing Services to assist with finding housing solutions for Camp Nenookaasi residents. So far it has connected over 100 people with low-barrier housing, City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher said at the news conference.

Mason said some camp residents have had issues with the housing that Helix selected for them, such as not feeling safe with their roommates.

While Frey told reporters the city’s approach to finding long-term housing solutions is working. City Council Member Jason Chavez disagreed. He said he doesn’t think the city’s solutions are working.

“If the administration had a plan, as in an encampment response, one can beg the question that just maybe people would be using different things to keep each other warm, but there is no policy,” Chavez said.

Frey took issue with Chavez’s comments Thursday night.

“We do have a strategy that’s less dangerous — it’s called getting people indoors,” the mayor said.

Several Minneapolis City Council members, including Chavez, are pushing a “safe outdoor spaces” ordinance, which would permit outdoor encampments in certain circumstances. In a phone interview, Chavez stressed that Frey has the authority to decide on camp closures.

Mason said some of the camp residents had already moved Thursday to a new location, in the 2800 block of 14th Avenue S.

“It was scary that as we were running out, the fires were coming. We didn’t know how fast they were going to catch up to us,” she said.

Staff writers Susan Du and Dave Orrick contributed to this story.

One person is dead following a late afternoon shooting Thursday in north Minneapolis.

Witnesses and law enforcement sources confirmed the shooting, believed to be a drive-by which occurred at 4:30 p.m. at the intersection of 39th and Sheridan avenues N., one block north of Dowling Avenue.

The victim’s body remained on the scene surrounded by witnesses and distraught family members. Police were expected to release more details Thursday night.

This is a breaking news update. Return to startribune.com for more details.