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Tag: Chanhassen News

  • ICE agents surround Chanhassen construction site amid subzero temps

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    Federal agents gathered outside a Twin Cities home construction site Saturday afternoon in an apparent immigration-related standoff with construction workers amid subzero temperatures.

    WCCO’s Frankie McLister reports several law enforcement members, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, were at the site in Chanhassen, where two workers were atop an aerial work platform.

    Several demonstrators and journalists were also at the scene, including Mercado Media, which reports one of the two workers was brought down and placed into an ambulance at about noon. 

    Law enforcement left the premises about an hour later, and family and loved ones of the second worker on the roof came and helped him down. Both men are being treated at an area hospital and are considered to be OK.

    Mercado Media


    Dozens of federal agents have been dispatched to the Twin Cities in recent weeks as part of what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security calls Operation Metro Surge.

    Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary, said in a news release Friday her agents have “arrested more than 400 illegal aliens including pedophiles, rapists, and violent thugs” since the operation began earlier this month.

    Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman announced Friday he had witnessed the aftermath of an ICE raid at his neighborhood coffee shop in Brooklyn Park, Crumbs and Coffee.

    “These are small business owners. Taxpayers. People who invested in our community, created jobs, and served their neighbors every day,” Hoffman wrote. “This isn’t right. And it’s not who we should be targeting if we care about safe, strong communities.”  

    This is a developing story.

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    Stephen Swanson

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  • What should we say to someone who is grieving?

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    As Minnesotans rush to support the Annunciation Church and School community, it can be hard to know what to say. And frankly, what not to say.

    Death is the hardest thing in life. Now, we are all facing it after the mass shooting that killed two children, Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel.

    “We are a society that likes to fix things and make things better. And in grief, we can’t do that,” said Sarah Kroenke, a grief counselor at The Grief Club of Minnesota in Chanhassen.

    The Grief Club is a place where clients like the Rydbergs come often. Kelly and Ella Rydberg have been watching from afar, the scene unfold at Annunciation.

    “Its very heavy cause you can put yourselves back in those first days. And you know what it feels like to be in that moment,” said Kelly.

    In 2022, their lively Carver, Minnesota home suddenly got quieter.

    “He was bigger than life,” said Kelly. “So funny, just had the biggest personality.”

    Ryan Rydberg had three beloved daughters and a wife of 15 years.  

    “We had just celebrated his 40th birthday, had a big party, and two months after that had a heart attack,” said Kelly.

    There was a flood of immediate support. But the words of some were especially comforting to 17-year-old Ella.

    “I just remember one of my neighbors. I was on my way walking upstairs and he goes ‘Ella’ and looks me in the eyes, but he is like ‘I am so sorry.’ You hear from so many people say ‘I am so sorry for your loss’ but few actually mean it. And in that moment, I knew I wasn’t alone,” said Ella.

    Kroenke says less can be more.

    “Just that presence and simplicity of saying I am here, I care for you, you are not alone can make a significant impact,” said Kroenke.

    When talking to those in grief, she says to avoid three common words; “How are you?’

    “That was the worst question,” says Kelly. “Because right after you lose someone you are not ok. They just don’t know what else to say.”

    Another phrase to skip: “I can’t imagine.”

    “Cause that person couldn’t have imagined before they lost their person,” explains Kroenke.

    “You’re so strong,” is another phrase to stay away from, says Ella. “Like I get that that is something that they feel the need to say but I don’t feel strong. You didn’t have a choice. I don’t have a choice and I don’t like when people say that to me.”

    “The best thing that somebody did for me a couple of days after my husband died, they just came over to me and gave me a hug,” says Kelly. “I hardly even knew the person. It was a Mom of my daughter’s friend, and she just walked up to me and gave me a hug. I don’t think she even said anything. But that was what landed.”

    Kelly says a few words that could go with a hug are “I am hurting with you,” and “I don’t know how you feel but I am so sorry.”

    No matter how casually you know someone, the therapist said it’s always helpful to show up at a funeral or send a note or text.  

    Instead of saying, “If you need anything, let me know,” take the burden off of them having to ask by just showing up and doing something.

    Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield

    Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield loves sharing the good news. She hosts a show on Sunday mornings based on local “positivity and empowerment,” leading right into CBS Sunday Morning.

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    Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield

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  • WCCO looks back at covering the death of Prince:

    WCCO looks back at covering the death of Prince:

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    MINNEAPOLIS — It’s a moment in Minnesota history that shocked the world.

    Eight years ago this week, music icon Prince died of an accidental painkiller overdose at his Paisley Park estate.

    It was an emotional day for many Minnesotans and those of us who covered his death. WCCO reporter Reg Chapman and photojournalist Mike Durenberger were the first to arrive on the scene in Chanhassen on April 21, 2016.

    “We were the only ones there, the streets were still wide open, you know, you couldn’t tell anything was happening,” Durenberger said.

    RELATED: Film of Prince at age 11 discovered in archival footage of 1970 Mpls. teachers strike

    Around the same time, WCCO’s Esme Murphy was in a Carver County courtroom covering a murder trial when she noticed the mood change and Carver County deputies move out. 

    “I remember being in that courtroom and just suddenly the deputies were running out and their pagers were going off, the radios were going off, my phone was going off,” Murphy said. “I called the station and they said, ‘Someone has died at Paisley Park and we think it’s Prince, and we want you to go there right away.’”

    Photojournalist Art Phillips was also sent to Chanhassen.   

    75x-pkg-prince-death-wcco5900-00-02-3102.jpg

    WCCO


    “I wasn’t necessarily convinced that this is really what was going on, but as I saw traffic and saw that stuff I’m like OK, there is something that was going on,” Phillips said.

    Durneberger and Chapman were the only news crews there when we saw sheriff deputies in tears standing outside the main entrance. Whatever they saw inside was enough to shake them to their core.

    We were told to move back, and then learned it was Prince inside, and he was gone.

    “You find out and wow, it then became surreal,” Durenberger said.

    “For me, it took a while to kind of take that in,” Phillips said.

    He paused for a moment to snap a picture of the media all lined up outside Paisley Park. 

    Murphy and Chapman spoke with fans and neighbors about this tremendous loss. Before going live, Chapman called his long-time friend and comedian Dave Chappelle to tell him before announcing the news to the world. Prince had been a mentor and friend to Chappelle.

    “And then the word spread and then it became very emotional, people were sobbing, people were crying,” Murphy said.

    She says focusing on work was what got her through the emotional overload of learning it was Prince gone. 

    “What I realized there was how much Prince meant to so many people, and I remember thinking did he really know that? Did he really know how much he meant to people?” Murphy said.

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    Reg Chapman

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  • Community mourns Twin Cities car collector found dead in Chanhassen garage

    Community mourns Twin Cities car collector found dead in Chanhassen garage

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    CHANHASSEN, Minn. — A family is in mourning after a deadly assault in Chanhassen.

    Erik Berger of St. Paul, 33, is being remembered as a pillar of the Twin Cities car community.

    “Huge smile, infectious laugh, extremely intelligent, very loyal to his friends,” said TJ Beadle, a friend.

    The Carver County Sheriff’s Office says Berger’s parents found him inside the Chanhassen AutoPlex last week, a private garage complex for collectors to store and showcase cars.

    Berger died on the scene. Deputies say he was shot and stabbed.

    “I was not aware of any conflict, no,” Beadle said. “That’s why it was all the more shocking. [Erik] was a staple, very well-known, at the Chanhassen Autoplex. His passion was being around his vehicles.”

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    Erik Berger

    TJ Beadle


    Friends say Berger had a considerable car collection.

    “He was more than happy to open it up and show people the type of things he owned and enjoyed,” said Steve Flaten, the Chanhassen AutoPlex board president. “Very heavy in the BMW community as well. Knew people across the country.”

    Beadle says for a lot of people, Berger “was one of the first people that they would call if they needed help with a project or advice on something.”

    The sheriff’s office says Berger knew the man suspected of killing him.

    Deputies say that person was found dead in Minneapolis, apparently by suicide.

    Friends of Berger’s are now left trying to understand how something like this could’ve happened.

    “It’s a huge tragedy to have him taken away from all of us in this manner,” Beadle said. “Just not being able to realize his full potential. He was a bright spot in everybody’s life.”

    Flaten says the man suspected of killing Berger was not a member of the AutoPlex.

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    David Schuman

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