Category: Minneapolis, Minnesota Local News

Minneapolis police arrested three male juveniles in a string of robberies that occurred Sunday during separate crime sprees on opposite sides of the city.

Four robberies took place within 18 minutes in the city’s Fifth Precinct in south Minneapolis on Sunday morning, according to data provided by police in a news release Monday. The precinct stopped responding to calls for service for 45 minutes in order to triage limited resources toward the robbery reports, part of a new protocol to thwart active threats with the department’s depleted staffing.

A half-hour later, police responded to another carjacking followed by an armed robbery across the river in northeast Minneapolis.

In total, there were 16 incidents including robberies, armed robberies and carjackings between 10:45 a.m. and 9:24 p.m. on Sunday, according to the news release. Nine of the 16 incidents involved suspects threatening people with handguns, police said.

In a 15-minute period between 8:25 and 8:40 p.m., there were four armed robberies reported in different areas of Uptown, according to the police data.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the suspects are young and mostly targeted female victims, in some cases at gunpoint. No one was injured in the robberies.

Around 9:25 p.m., an officer located a black Mazda CX5 that was was carjacked earlier and used in several of the robberies, according to the release. The Mazda crossed the Lowry Bridge at a high speed and was followed by a gray Mazda, which also had been carjacked, police said.

Officers pursued the black Mazda to the 1700 block of Newton Avenue North and before a foot chase led to the arrest of a 17-year-old suspect who was hiding under a vehicle, according to police. The teenager was booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center. A handgun was recovered.

The gray Mazda crashed and rolled over after hitting a parked Tesla near the intersection of Sheridan Avenue North and West Farwell Avenue, police said. Two more teenagers, ages 17 and 14, were taken to HCMC for non-life-threatening injuries. They were medically cleared before being booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center. Police believe at least two suspects are still at large.

The weekend incidents may be connected to a string of similar robberies that occurred in Minneapolis earlier this month, O’Hara said.

“This again appears to be the same MO, the same groups of juveniles, that we suspect were involved in the previous robbery spree,” he said. “We’ve had investigators working around the clock to try to identify all the different individuals involved. However, we believe this is more than one group. And we suspect today it may have been two groups of juveniles working in tandem that committed these crimes.”

So far this year, 237 robberies have been reported in Minneapolis, on pace to match the average from the past three years, but up 34% from the same time in 2023 — marking a setback for downward progress in violent crime seen last year — according to police dashboard data.

Earlier this month, O’Hara issued a departmentwide memo to reallocate resources during a robbery spree. The protocol directs patrol officers across the city who are not on a high-priority call or actively engaged in another emergency to respond to the area of the robbery spree. All lower priority calls are to be suspended, and police are told to cease breaks, writing reports and other non-emergent duties, until the threat is over, according to the memo.

O’Hara said the police response Sunday “did have the intended effect” of stopping the crime sprees. He asked the public to be on the lookout for groups of young people circling a block in stolen cars looking for potential victims, and urged anyone who sees suspicious activity to report it as soon as possible.

“It’s also important for people to know, if you happen to be a victim of one of these crimes, remember that property can be replaced,” he said.

Police say they are still investigating and will release more information as it becomes available.

More than a week after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey fired the city’s civil rights director, her supporters defended her integrity and questioned the termination.

Alberder Gillespie, who was fired Feb. 16 on grounds she was hampering efforts at police oversight, sat quietly in the audience of a City Council committee meeting Monday that served as a forum for supporters, including several prominent figures, to air their thoughts.

“The timing of the dismissal and seemingly immediate news coverage while Ms. Gillespie was on vacation raises serious questions,” said Marquita Stephens, president and CEO of the Urban League Twin Cities.

Stephens noted, as did others who spoke, that on the day Gillespie was fired, some media, including the Star Tribune, swiftly obtained city documents that painted an unflattering picture of Gillespie as obstructionist toward attempts to improve both effectiveness and transparency in civilian oversight of police misconduct.

But the ouster of a senior Black official had another impact, said Thomas Berry, program director of the Black Civic Network. “It was like a gut punch to the community,” Berry said. “This is the second time in a whole year calendar that we’ve had a dismissal of a Black appointed official, and the way that they were talked about in the papers is uncalled for.” Berry was also referring to the widely reported ouster last year of Tyeastia Green, the city’s previous director of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.

Cedric Alexander, Frey’s former commissioner of community safety, submitted a statement praising Gillespie’s “unmatched” integrity. “Losing someone of her caliber and dedication is a significant setback for accountability and the progress of police reform, given her lifelong history of advocating for civil rights,” it read in part.

The occasion for the public comments was created by Council Member Robin Wonsley, who chairs the Administration & Enterprise Oversight Committee. A critic of Frey and his administration, Wonsley on Monday moved forward with what amounts to a request for information to “create a healthier culture within our workforce,” a reference to a yearslong flashpoint of allegations by some of an unhealthy, even racist, culture inside City Hall.

As she has since her firing, Gillespie declined to comment. At one point, she clutched her chest in a gesture of gratitude to Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, who spoke to her directly, thanking her for her service and apologizing “for how things were rolled out.”

Ellison said he was treading carefully, however, since he’s not aware of all the facts.

“I am not qualified to know whether there was or was not cause to move on from Director Gillespie’s leadership,” Ellison said. “What I am, I think, qualified to say is that your integrity is unquestionable, and when people move on from the city, they should be allowed to do so with their dignity intact. It is my opinion that that was not allowed to happen.”

LAUREN WOELFEL

Becker • gymnastics

Woelfel capped her career in style, with an individual state title to go along with a team championship.

The senior won the Class 1A individual title on the balance beam with a score of 9.45 a day after helping the Bulldogs capture the team state championship with a score of 143.575 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. It was the initial team state title for the program.

“What makes her a champion is her ability to calm her mind and find that perfect level of focus even in high-pressure moments,” Becker coach Jen Harmoning said.

Woelfel also had the Bulldogs’ high score on the balance beam with a mark of 9.325 during the team competition. She was the team’s top all-around performer in the team competition, registering a personal-best mark of 36.3.

“For her to nail her beam routine at sections, then team day at state and finally individual day at state to win the gold medal was incredible and certainly a testament to her determination and grit,” Harmoning said.

The three-sport athlete has now medaled in three different sports at the state meet; she is a diver in the fall and pole vaulter in the spring. The team title was her first.

“She is the epitome of a student-athlete, excelling both in the classroom and in sports,” Harmoning said. “Lauren’s attention to detail and her effort to practice her best every day is rare. She is not willing to settle for good enough.”

It didn’t come without a price. Woelfel suffered a foot injury that plagued her during track season last spring and sidelined her the entire summer and into the fall. She wasn’t fully healed when she started training for gymnastics and suffered a hip injury.

“It was really an uphill battle for her all season long to try to get back to where she felt she should be,” Harmoning said. “There were tough moments to work through, but she continued to persevere.”

ROHAN D’SOUZA LARSON

Edina • swimming

The senior won two individual events (50-yard freestyle and 100 breaststroke) and was a member of two winning relay teams (200 freestyle and medley), helping the Hornets win the Class 2A, Section 6 championship. “Rohan has been a leader since he joined the team four years ago,” Edina coach Scott Johnson said. “He is not too far off our team record in the breaststroke [55.44]. We are very excited to see what he can do in the state meet.”

MARISA FROST

Centennial • basketball

Frost has played a big role in the Cougars winning 12 of their past 15 games. The North Dakota State recruit is averaging 25.3 points per game during that stretch. A 5-9, lefthanded senior point guard, she is the program’s second-leading all-time scorer and is closing in on 1,600 career points. She holds school records for career steals (333) and steals in a game (12). “Marisa has been doing an incredible amount for us this season,” Centennial coach Jamie Sobolik said. “Marisa is more than a great scorer. She is also one of the best on-ball defenders in the state.”

JOHAN KRASEAN

Minneapolis • hockey

The junior forward has helped Minneapolis get one win away from a state tournament berth. Krasean netted a hat trick in a 6-3 victory over Delano in the semifinals and had two goals and two assists in a 6-1 triumph over Mound Westonka in the quarterfinals of the Class 1A, Section 2 tournament. He has 24 goals and 12 assists this season. “He had one goal last year and has 24 this year. That’s a big step,” Minneapolis coach Joe Dziedzic said. “He’s got a good motor and high compete level.”

CALEY GRABER

Northfield • wrestling

Graber became the third girl to qualify for the boys wrestling state tournament, winning the Class 3A, Section 1 championship at 107 pounds. The sophomore is ranked sixth in the state in the weight class by The Guillotine. She is 41-4 this season after beating Owatonna’s No. 10-ranked wrestler 4-2 in the finals. “She beat a very tough kid in the finals,” Northfield coach Geoff Staab said. “Caley is a gamer.” Graber is the 11th-ranked girl in the nation at 105 pounds by Flowrestling.

JALEN LANGSY

Shakopee • basketball

Langsy put together the best three-game stretch of his career, including back-to-back games of 40 points or more for the Sabers (20-4), ranked fifth in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News. The 6-0 senior guard averaged 40 points per game over that period, including a career-best 44 in an 81-69 overtime victory over Eagan. He shot 76 percent from the floor, including 70 percent from three-point range. “He shines brightest in the biggest games, and his competitive joy is on display every day,” Shakopee coach Jake Dammann said. “Truly a special individual and player.”

DAKOTA ESGET

North Branch • gymnastics

Esget successfully defended her Class 1A uneven parallel bars individual championship with a score of 9.5, vaulting her to the all-around title with a mark of 37.575. She finished second in the floor exercise (9.525) and vault (9.725). “Dakota had an amazing state meet,” North Branch coach Christine Johnson said. “She stayed focused and positive from the start of the meet to the end and concentrated on enjoying the experience.”

Nominate an athlete: Send an email with supporting information to preps@startribune.com. Include a photo and a link, if available, to video.

The Winn Tee Pee Cottage Motel in Winona is long gone. So is the Cassius Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, whose flamboyant owner was the first Black man to secure a liquor license in the segregated city. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and the Harlem Globetrotters once bunked at St. Paul’s Wilson Villa, now a modest home that forlornly overlooks Interstate 94.

All were listed in the Minnesota chapters of the Green Book, a slim volume marking places of refuge and safety across the country for Black travelers in the pre-Civil Rights era.

First published in 1936 by Victor Green, a New York City mailman, the “Negro Motorist Green Book” directed African-American motorists to restaurants, hotels, beauty salons, gas stations, barber shops, boarding houses and private homes that welcomed them. Decades later in 2018, the Green Book was memorialized in a movie bearing the same name.

Some Minnesotans may be surprised that Green Book sites actually existed here and not just in the Deep South and more populous states and cities in the North. A dedicated cadre of mapping experts and other researchers in the Twin Cities who share a love of history have documented most of the sites across the state.

Their work comes as Virginia lawmakers begin to memorialize Green Book sites throughout the commonwealth. The effort is championed by Jeion Ward, a Democrat in the Virginia General Assembly, who hopes the idea will catch on in other states.

“The Green Book is like the traveler’s bible if you were Black,” Ward said. “You had to have it. It could have been your life if you ended up somewhere you weren’t supposed to be and not just in the South.”

 

About 80 locations in Minnesota were listed in the Green Book over 30 years, many in predominantly African-American neighborhoods. Some, including Rondo in St. Paul and parts of north Minneapolis, were razed to make way for Interstates 94 and 35W in the 1950s.

Twenty-one of Minnesota’s Green Book sites still are standing, but most of the others now are parking lots, housing complexes, apartment and office buildings.

Only two Minnesota businesses continue to operate under the same name and in the same location where they were listed in the Green Book: the St. Paul Hotel, listed as the Hotel St. Paul, and the Lexington Restaurant, also in the capital city.

Craig Ritacco, general manager of the Lexington, said he’d never heard of the Green Book, but was pleased to learn the signature St. Paul restaurant was on the list. “That’s great,” he said “I learn something new every day about the restaurant.”

Documenting long-ago and presumably forgotten sites may seem like folly to some, but researchers say it is critical for younger generations to understand the layers of systemic racism that existed well north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Green Book sites “were places of strength and resistance in our communities. They should be remembered,” said Shana Crosson, a University of Minnesota data scientist, historian and self-professed “map geek.”

Frank White, a Rondo elder and historian, remembers. As more middle-class Blacks purchased automobiles in mid-century America, they were ready to take road trips. “You felt you could go somewhere and see something just like everyone else when, in reality, that wasn’t the case because you wouldn’t be welcome,” he said.

A road trip by car meant families had to plan carefully, bringing extra food and fuel to make sure they could reach their destination. White recalls his grandmother packing a giant basket of fried chicken and ham sandwiches before departing St. Paul to visit relatives in Kansas. He realized later she knew exactly where they could safely picnic and fuel up.

“You had to have a strategic plan,” he said. “You could run into things that were devastating, in addition to not being served.”

Ward, the Virginia lawmaker who is 70, remembers, too. “Growing up, we didn’t realize people could go into restaurants and eat, because we never did,” she said. “The only place to go to the bathroom was in the woods.”

About two years ago, St. Paul historian Erin Que discovered a professional acquaintance was researching Green Book sites for a website through the University of Virginia, her alma mater. Que volunteered to take on the Minnesota locations.

The research involved combing through aerial maps, land records, city guides, newspaper clippings, ads and other historical materials. “My task was to figure out whether it was demolished, still there or something else,” she said.

Que then visited many of them and took photos of what was left. She says it’s still a work in progress — four Green Book sites in Motley, a tiny town west of Brainerd, remain a mystery.

About a quarter of the sites are still standing, but are largely used for purposes different from those featured in the Green Book.

For example, the Boulevard Hotel, a 1950s-era motor court-style lodging at 56th and Lyndale Avenue S. in Minneapolis, was listed in the 1961 Green Book. It changed into the Metro Inn, became a temporary homeless shelter for Hennepin County, and was recently transformed into affordable apartments.

Rondo native Nieeta Presley researched a piece for the Ramsey County History magazine in 2022 detailing the vibrant life of Rondo’s nine Green Book sites. They included G&G Barbeque, which advertised “Barbeque — Beer — Regular Meals,” and Jim’s Place, a popular tavern for locals and out-of-town guests that was known for its “congenial atmosphere and very good beer.”

“A lot of these stories aren’t told or written down or archived,” said Presley, retired executive director of the Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corp.

Other Green Book sites were in Rochester, Winona, St. Cloud and Duluth, as well as small towns in central Minnesota close to lake resorts.

“It was disappointing once I realized three-quarters of the sites were demolished,” Que said. “I was hoping that there would be more, just to have that physical presence and opportunity to interpret that history and bring it to the daylight. Who owned these places? Were they owned by African Americans or by allies? I thought it might spark some interest or start a conversation.”

Across town, at the University of Minnesota, Crosson and Melinda Kernik, spatial technology experts at the Borchert Map Library, also mapped Green Book sites for use in middle and high school classrooms.

They found between 76 and 80 sites. “It’s not as straightforward as one would think because places closed, changed hands, dropped away,” Crosson said.

“For students, this is really powerful when making maps of a place that show racism in our community,” she added. “It shows what happened here. It was very empowering to them.”

The Green Book was updated annually until the final 1966-1967 edition was printed.

Last fall, the first Green Book marker was unveiled at the Bay Shore Hotel on Virginia’s coast. This resonated with Ward, who spent time as a child on what was then a segregated Bayshore Beach. “Same water, same sand, but we could not be together,” she said.

Although there were more than 300 Green Book sites in Virginia, the program is being rolled out in deliberate fashion. So far, three Green Book placards have been placed at existing highway markers, and more are in the works.

The highway historical marker program in Minnesota was suspended in the early aughts, according to Allison Ortiz, spokesperson for the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS). There are currently 206 such markers across the state, but that doesn’t include thousands of others placed by counties, cities and regions.

MNHS is conducting an inventory of its markers to determine their physical condition and interpretive message, Ortiz said.

Minnesota’s own Green Book researchers say there’s a broader story to be told. “So much architectural history has focused on European Americans,” Que said. “When people think of a historic site, they often think of large, grand buildings like the Capitol and mansions on Summit Avenue.

“We have so many more layers to our history.”

A few weeks ago, inquisitive Drive reader John got on eastbound Interstate 94 at the Cretin Avenue-Vandalia Street interchange in St. Paul. He noticed gates at the top of the ramp that, if lowered, would prevent traffic from getting onto the freeway.

He wondered how long the gates had been there and, in an email, wanted to know, “What’s this all about?”

The Minnesota Department of Transportation installed gates at the top of entrance ramps leading from Cretin Avenue to both eastbound and westbound I-94 last spring as part of a pilot project, spokeswoman Anne Meyer said.

Additionally, the agency installed ramp gates at several other locations along I-94 and Interstate 35W. In Minneapolis, they included on-ramps from: Lyndale Avenue to eastbound I-94, northbound and southbound Hennepin Avenue to eastbound I-94, 25th Avenue to westbound I-94, S. 4th Street to northbound I-35W, and from 4th Street-University Avenue to southbound I-35W.

In St. Paul, there is a set at University-Franklin avenues to eastbound and westbound 94 via Hwy. 280.

The ramps were selected because they are at interchanges that experience heavy traffic volume. The ramps also take lots of MnDOT staff and time to shut down when severe or fatal crashes, truck rollovers, pavement failures or other emergencies occur and traffic needs to be diverted, Meyer said.

The gates, Meyer said, are “another tool in the tool box” that MnDOT can use to keep additional traffic from entering the freeway in places where there a few exits allowing motorists to get off.

MnDOT often deploys several of its big orange maintenance trucks to block entrance ramps. The gates allow for a single MnDOT worker to deal with several locations. The employee unlocks the gate, manually lowers it into place across the lane and drives to the next location, Meyer said.

When an incident is cleared, a MnDOT employee returns to the gate and — just like on the airlines — puts it back in its upright and locked position.

“It is not done remotely,” Meyer said.

To Meyer’s knowledge, MnDOT has not used the new ones in the metro yet. But the gates have been used outstate for years. The agency has several gates along Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota and I-94 in northwestern Minnesota that are used to close interstates, primarily during severe weather, Meyer said.

Hennepin Avenue rebuild takes home gold

And the gold medal in the Municipal Streets and Intersections category goes to … drumroll please … Minneapolis. The city won the honor during the 34th annual Excellence in Concrete Pavement awards put on by the Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota (CPAM) and its national partner, the American Concrete Paving Association.

The $40 million project that began in 2020 included a new roadway paved with concrete 9 inches deep, wider sidewalks, trees and planters and new signals for improved pedestrian crossings. Major utilities were replaced.

“Hennepin Avenue will stand the test of time as a resilient roadway,” said CPAM Executive Director Matt Zeller. “This concrete pavement will serve users for decades to come.”

Scott County took home a Silver Award in the same category for reconstruction of County Road 83 between Hwy. 169 and 4th Avenue in Shakopee.