The World Junior Championship tournament kicked off in Minnesota on Friday. For those eager to check it out, there’s a free fan experience called the Bold North Breakaway.
While many people are likely cleaning up from Christmas, hockey fans in St. Paul are coming from all walks of life. Whether it’s inside the RiverCentre or outside at Rice Park, hockey lovers young and old can easily find something to their liking.
The fan festival features bumper cars on ice, s’mores by the fire, a rink where someone can play hockey by themself, a holiday market with over 40 local vendors and more.
WCCO spoke with a father-son duo who flew from Canada.
“I didn’t know Minneapolis is only two hours from Toronto,” said Bryan Forrest of Ontario. “So when I saw that, and it was the World Juniors, figured it would be worth coming.”
The events run through Jan. 5. More information on the festival can be found here.
Loke Krantz, an 18-year-old from Sweden, is spending Christmas Day in a hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota. It’s his first time in the Twin Cities. He’s thousands of miles away from home and couldn’t be happier.
“It’s huge, just to play here,” Krantz said.
He’ll take to the ice at Grand Casino Arena on Friday, playing for his home nation against Slovakia to kick off the 2026 World Junior Championship. The ice hockey tournament, celebrating its 50th year, is returning to the United States for the seventh time. Minnesota has hosted just once before, and bringing the tournament back is anticipated to have an economic benefit. Visit Saint Paul President and CEO Jaimee Lucke Hendrikson wrote an Op-Ed in the Minnesota Star Tribune predicting a $75 million impact in the state.
That’s because, according to Hendrikson, the talent on display will draw fans from across the world.
Krantz is excited to play at the home of the Minnesota Wild, but he’s hoping to make playing in National Hockey League stadiums his full-time job. Over the summer, he was drafted by the Seattle Kraken.
At the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront hotel on Thursday, players and coaches alike were flowing in and out, making final preparations. Andy Boschetto, originally from Boston, is on the coaching staff for Slovakia. He was finalizing training plans while continuing to make Christmas magic for his children.
“We make it work,” Boschetto said. “My wife flew the kids out with her, woke up this morning and did presents, went right to meetings and practice. They were able to take part in some of that, so that’s cool for me as a dad.”
The tournament will be played at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul and the 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s ice hockey team. Team USA is chasing a historic third-straight gold medal with Gophers coach Bob Motzko at the helm.
Boschetto has spent time in Minnesota before and knows what the sport means to those in the region.
“It’s a big hockey community, so it will be a big week,” Boschetto said. “You have a bunch of kids who are under the age of 20 who get to play in front of the world for their country with their pride on the line.”
While the tournament begins on Friday, teams have been in Minnesota for days with warm-up matches and training happening everywhere from Bemidji to Rochester. The tournament will conclude with the gold medal game on Jan. 5.
Christmas gives many a much needed break-including social services and shelters, but people who need those services don’t get a break for the holidays.
Take a moment to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Maybe they don’t have a meal, a roof or someone else to spend Christmas with.
“It’s essential to know that not everyone has those comonalities” said Chasit Higgins of Catholic Charities’ Dorothy Day Place Campus in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In the midst of winter, Higgins says some folks sleep outside. On Christmas, Catholic Charities’ Dorothy Day Place Campus fills those needs with a roof for warmth, food for an empty stomach and an invitation to everyone under the sun.
“There’s people,” said Neal of Saint Paul. “I can go home and be by myself or be amongst people.”
Neal sat down with WCCO on Thursday to share part of his story.
“Holidays don’t mean a lot when you’re by yourself, but when you’re amongst people, you get negative energy, but you also get more positive energy,” he said.
Catholic Charities relied on volunteers to serve the more than 300 guests who received a Christmas Day meal.
A person holds a meal at Catholic Charities’ Dorothy Day Residence in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Dec. 25, 2025.
WCCO
Some helped with the cooking, others helped with the serving and several people brought their musical talents to the table.
“I have seen a higher number of individuals. I don’t know why,” said Higgins. “But we do have a bit of a population uptick in our population coming through here.”
Neal added, “No matter where we are in life or the route we choose to take, there’s always ups and downs,” said Neal.
He added that it’s how you persevere that is the key.
“Trying to think positive, trying to make positive steps. I stumble and fall and try to get up,” Neal told WCCO.
Catholic Charities says they’re here for anyone who needs help. Learn more here.
A man believed to be part of a group that stole copper wire from streetlights in St. Paul pleaded guilty on Friday.
Court records say Eh Tha Blay, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting third-degree property damage.
If the plea is accepted at his Feb. 13 sentencing, Blay will not have to serve any additional time in prison, according to his petition, but he may have to pay restitution and could be put on probation.
Blay is one of five suspects charged in connection to the copper thefts that took place between Nov. 10, 2023, and Jan. 15, 2024.
Investigators say a confidential informant led them to the group’s ringleader, Kyaw Klay. He allegedly received more than $12,000 from stealing the copper.
Police say Klay rounded up a crew to steal the copper and would then sell it to recycling plants with the help of Paw La.
Klay pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting energy or telecom damage and was sentenced to three years of probation in April. The month before, La was convicted of misdemeanor theft and was ordered to pay more than $1,000 in restitution.
Last year, Nay Thar was sentenced to three years of probation for aiding and abetting first-degree property damage in connection with the thefts.
Another defendant, Aye Mae, was sentenced in May to two years of probation for first-degree damage to property.
Note: The video above originally aired May 1, 2024.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating after St. Paul police officers shot a man who pointed a gun at them on an interstate Sunday afternoon, officials said.
Police were notified by General Motors around 3 p.m. that a motorist in a vehicle stolen in Minneapolis was driving on Interstate 94 toward St. Paul. According to officials, the automaker remotely slowed the vehicle, bringing it to a complete stop on the westbound I-94 ramp from Highway 52 around 3:15 p.m.
The man, who was driving, and a female whose age hasn’t been disclosed, then left the vehicle and started to flee on foot. Police said the man pulled out a handgun and pointed it at officers as he ran.
The officers then fired their “service weapons,” hitting the man once in the leg, according to police. He was taken to the hospital for an injury that’s not life-threatening.
Officials said the female was located and taken into custody shortly after the shooting.
According to police, all officers involved were wearing activated body cameras, though they haven’t said exactly how many shot their weapons.
The identity of the man is expected to be released by the BCA at a later time.
Kendall Coyne Schofield scored her league-leading fifth goal of the season and Nicole Hensley made 27 saves and Minnesota Frost beat the undefeated Boston Fleet 5-2 on Friday night.
Coyne Schofield found the back of the net, poking in a rebound in the first period. Dominique Petrie scored on a tip-in, and the Frost went into the first intermission up 2-0.
After Fleet goalie Aerin Frankel stopped a breakaway early in the second period, the puck got away from her and Britta Curl-Salemme scored on the rebound.
Boston swung momentum its way when it scored two goals in 23 seconds in the third from Olivia Mobley and Riley Brengman. With just over a minute, the Fleet pulled Frankel, and the Frost put away two empty net goals to win their first home game of the season.
Frankel made 25 saves on 28 shots.
Up next
The Fleet will travel to Ottawa to face the Charge on Dec. 27.
The Frost will host the Charge in Chicago on Dec. 21 as part of the league’s Takeover Tour.
A man was rescued from a restricted cave area in Crosby Farm Regional Park late Friday night, according to the St. Paul Fire Department.
The fire department was called to the area around 11:30 p.m. for an emergency involving two young men who were trying to explore the cave system. The pair were able to gain access through a breach at the top of a concreate barrier at the cave’s opening. According to the fire department, the breach was about 10-12 feet above the ground.
The two men used rope to lower themselves to the cave floor, according to the fire department. During the attempt, one of the men feel approximately 25 feet, injuring himself in the process. The second man remained with the injured person until 911 was contacted.
After arriving on scene, fire crews used ground ladders to locate the victims.
Two rescuers entered the cave through the same breach and began a medical assessment. Crews outside the cave worked to make the breach larger so the two men could get out.
WCCO
The injured man was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
After getting the two men out of the cave system, rescue crews remained on scene to confirm there was no one else.
The St. Paul Fire Department says the caves are sealed within city parks for safety reasons.
What should change at the Minnesota State Capitol to increase security? Lawmakers on a panel tasked with recommendations are weighing several options, but remain at odds over what to do.
The Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security — a bipartisan panel that also includes other state officials as advisors — has had four meetings in as many months following the lawmaker shooting attacks in June that killed former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and injured Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
Just a month later, a naked man broke into the Senate chamber after hours, putting a sharper focus on security in the building.
On Friday at its latest meeting, the panel considered joint House and Senate rules for behavior of the public and members during committee hearings when the Legislature is back in session.
They also discussed whether those who work in the building should have regularly scheduled safety drills. At earlier meetings, lawmakers heard about protocols in other states.
“I do think there is something valuable to actually the process of physically where, ‘okay, this is happening—what do I do?’” Said Sen. Bonnie Westlin, DFL-Plymouth. “Because I can get your verbal instructions and written on paper, but I learn by doing, which I think is true for most people.”
But members and the sergeants-at-arms alike acknowledge that doing such training is only effective if people participate, and that it can be challenging.
“Getting anybody to do anything prescriptively at the Capitol is a tall order,” said Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia.
The panel doesn’t have the authority to change any policies or laws on its own; it only can advise the Legislature and the governor’s office on ideas.
Friday’s meeting underscored that members are no closer to consensus than they were when they first began discussions in August in the wake of the recent security incidents. They didn’t give any final OK on either committee decorum or safety drills to be ultimately included in their list of recommendations.
Some of the more difficult topics aren’t settled, either, like whether there should be metal detector screenings before people enter the building or restrictions on carrying firearms.
The goal is to complete recommendations by February, when the Legislature returns for the 2026 session.
“If we can’t reach consensus, I think that it would be disappointing,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, chair of the committee. “However, I also know that members themselves will be able to speak to what they believe the priorities to be and bring those recommendations back to the legislature and to the governor.”
On Tuesday, around 9 a.m., Erik Godinez missed a call from his mother. When he called back, her words made his heart sink.
“She answered and said that ICE had raided Bro-Tex and that they are going to be taking my uncle and my cousin,” Godinez said.
He raced to Bro-Tex, Inc., the paper distribution company in St. Paul, Minnesota. By that time, a crowd had formed, with community activists and neighbors answering calls on social media to respond to what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security later said was an operation that resulted in 14 people being arrested on “immigration operations.”
The federal agency has declined to provide any additional information, including what charges the 14 people face.
As protesters and federal officers clashed, Godinez tried to work out what happened to his family members.
It wasn’t until Wednesday afternoon that he learned that they were both being held at the Sherburne County Jail, which is being used as an ICE detention facility due to an existing agreement between the sheriff’s office and the federal agency. Godinez said he’s barely slept or eaten for about two days.
“What could I have really done? And I just keep playing that image back in my head,” Godinez said, wondering aloud if he could have done more to protect his family.
Federal officials took more than 48 hours to provide any details on the operation, where employees were detained and officers pepper-sprayed protesters outside.
Godinez said that he is concerned for his uncle, Camilo, and his cousin, Jaime. While he said both are undocumented, he noted they were working towards legal citizenship. For Camilo, it’s a story of heartbreak. He had been dreaming of marrying his girlfriend, an American in St. Paul.
“He was a selfless person. He would put the family before himself. He was very, very big on that,” Godinez said. “He left behind someone, a person deeply in love with him and the person that he is. She is completely distraught about that.”
Godinez said both his cousin and uncle are making the choice to self-deport, a process that makes him afraid for their safety. He said Camilo has not been back to Mexico in more than 15 years, and cartels are known to prey on those in vulnerable situations crossing the southern border.
According to two GoFundMe posts, at least two of the 14 people detained are looking to legally fight to remain in the country.
Karla Alarcon Hernandez wrote in support of her father, Carlos Alberto Alcaron Avila’s GoFundMe page, which has raised $38,174 by Friday evening. She stated that they need help after unexpectedly losing their main provider.
“Our lives changed in one moment. My dad has lived in the Saint Paul area for many years, working long hours and doing everything he can to care for us. He has no criminal record, no history of harm, nothing but a life of hard work and love for his family,” Hernandez said.
Their goal is for Avila to come home. That’s also the goal for Alejandra Villagrana, who spoke to WCCO about losing her father, Leonel Villagrana Flores, and uncle, Isaias Villagrana Flores, in Tuesday’s operation.
“It hurts that this is happening right now and they’re being treated this way when all they’ve done is work hard for their families here and in Mexico,” Villagrana said. “It’s inhumane and I don’t think this is right.”
A Bro-Tex spokesperson on Thursday declined to answer questions about the operation or any potential charges business owners face for allegedly employing undocumented workers. On Friday, the business was still in operation with multiple employees going in and out of the facility.
As of Friday night, the federal warrants filed on Tuesday remain sealed.
All walks of life lined up at St. Paul City School on Tuesday with the same mission: to provide.
“That’s a really big thing, being able to provide,” said Maria Stokes, a St. Paul City School teacher.
Two hundred Thanksgiving meals were distributed to this community by Second Harvest Heartland and the Thielen Foundation.
Vikings Wide Receiver Adam Thielen and his family showed up to meet with everyone receiving food and made this moment memorable.
“It’s important for us to get in the community and a great opportunity to do that around the holidays,” Thielen said.
Each family got a turkey breast and a box filled with 15 fixings. Thielen’s kids got involved, too, giving the food directly to the families. It’s a moment this football dad hopes will leave a lasting impression on his kids.
“Just letting them know how important it is to give back, especially to the communities that have done so much for us, my wife and I, and obviously, for them,” Thielen said.
A large free meal like this goes a long way for mom, Teia Davis.
“That dollar really does make a difference. Saving that extra dollar, a couple dollars, makes a big difference, so I’m grateful,” Davis said.
St. Paul City School staff also got to take home a meal. Stokes hopes she can be a role model to her students by standing in line with them.
“It’s okay to ask for help and it’s okay to not be okay,” Stokes said. “So just because they’re going through stuff doesn’t take away that we’re human as well, and we all go through things together.”
The St. Paul City Council has voted to ban cryptocurrency kiosks in the city beginning Dec. 21.
St. Paul city council members in support of the ban said scams involving cryptocurrency kiosks/ATMs particularly impact seniors and those with low incomes.
“A lot of them are along Ford Parkway, where we know that there is a concentration of seniors and older folk,” said St. Paul Council member Saura Jost.
According to the FBI, last year, there were nearly 11,000 complaints of cryptocurrency ATM fraud, resulting in more than $240 million in losses.
Ethan McClelland is the director of government relations at Bitcoin Depot, which the city said has 10 locations in St. Paul.
“Placing a reactionary ban on an industry that is already licensed and regulated by the state, which serves a legitimate financial purpose for many St. Paul residents, is unnecessary and will deprive many customers, particularly those who choose to transact in cash, of their only way to participate in the growing digital economy,” McClelland said.
“Part of the reason they’re becoming so popular is that the people making them have a giant income stream, and the store is putting them in, well, they get a cut of that too,” said Bryce Austin, a Lakeville-based cybersecurity expert with TCE Strategy.
According to Austin, fraud is high because cryptocurrency allows anonymity.
“If they can convince you to go to one of these crypto ATMs and put your cash in there, and send them the Bitcoin, it’s much, much harder to be traced, and it’s almost impossible for you to get your money back,” Austin said.
If anyone asks you for money via your phone, email or text, assume it’s malicious, he said. For those looking to invest in cryptocurrency, Austin said you can do that with large online banks, while avoiding the five to 25% service fees for those who use the ATMs.
“These machines are not a good way to do legitimate cryptocurrency transfers, unless you are in a real hurry for something and are willing to pay that exorbitant fee,” Austin said.
Federal authorities on Tuesday clashed with protesters outside of a business in St. Paul, Minnesota, leaving several people injured.
It started around 10 a.m. outside Bro-Tex, Inc., located in an industrial park off Hampden Avenue, a couple of blocks north of University Avenue West.
Convinced it was an immigration raid, residents responded to a call to action put out by a community network designed, according to protesters at the scene, to protect immigrants.
“These people are not criminals,” said a woman named Angelica. “They are working here, clearly.”
Angelica said her friend’s dad, who is originally from Mexico and now lives in St. Paul, works at Bro-Tex. She said she couldn’t get a hold of him after the dust settled.
“Her dad texted her that ICE was here taking them. They stayed in communication for a little bit, but he lost his phone and I don’t know what else happened,” Angelica said.
After about an hour, many in the crowd walked through the police tape and attempted to stop federal law enforcement from leaving with people they believed were detained inside.
WCCO
WCCO cameras captured a physical confrontation between federal agents, some of them wearing FBI and DEA regalia, and protesters. Agents deployed a chemical irritant on the crowd, and physically removed some community members who were blocking four federal vehicles from leaving.
Fellow protesters helped Angela Deeb after an agent sprayed an irritant at her in front of WCCO cameras.
“Physically, my body hurt, but then of course our hearts hurt today,” Deeb said.
Alejandra Villagrana says her dad was one of the people taken into custody by ICE agents.
“I heard maybe it was 15 people. My uncle was also one of the ones that were taken,” she said. “It was super emotional. I was crying the whole time because I just couldn’t believe it.”
Villagrana says her dad is originally from Mexico and was working with a lawyer to obtain legal status.
“He works two jobs to be able to provide for me and my brother, my mom,” she said.
Villagrana’s family is still trying to find out where her father and uncle are being held.
ICE released a statement regarding the operation on Tuesday afternoon: “Today in St. Paul, ICE, HSI and law enforcement partners conducted court authorized law enforcement activity and served a search warrant in furtherance of a federal criminal investigation. There is no threat to public safety, and the investigation remains ongoing at this time.”
The St. Paul Police Department told WCCO it was informed in the morning of a “search warrant that was going to be executed in relation to a criminal investigation into a business.”
It’s unclear if anyone was detained in connection to immigration, but it’s notable that members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration were also involved in the ICE-led operation.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said he was at the scene and was “in close communication” with the city’s attorney’s office and police department.
“Though we don’t have many details right now, I share the concern and fear this raises for our workers, families, and entire community,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Immigration advocates plan on holding a rally outside the business on Wednesday morning.
In late October, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem came to Minneapolis to provide what she described as an update on ICE operations in the Twin Cities region. Noem claimed that federal agents had arrested more than 4,300 people in the metro area by that point in the year, claiming 3,316 had a criminal history.
Just last week, a teenager in Northfield, Minnesota, captured video of ICE agents detaining his father. In a statement, the agency told WCCO there was an active warrant for the man and that he “endangered the lives of officers, passengers, and bystanders” during the arrest, but the man’s legal representation disputed that.
In a recent 60 Minutes interview with Nora O’Donnell, President Trump said he believed ICE raids “haven’t gone far enough” when asked about footage of ICE detaining legal American citizens, teargassing a Chicago residential neighborhood and smashing a car window.
The U.S. Department of Justice says Timothy Ripley was one of 11 people who were associated with a Mexican drug trafficking organization. Between July 2023 and January 2025, leaders arranged for large quantities of methamphetamine to be delivered to the Twin Cities area, where it was broken down into smaller parcels to sell.
In January 2025, someone owed a leader a “substantial amount of money” which they couldn’t pay for. Ripley and three of the others who were charged lured the person who owed money to a location in St. Paul, chained them to a pole and held them against their will, the justice department said.
Ripley, of Maple Grove, Minnesota, was federally indicted with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to kidnap. He pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of firearm possession. The state had charged Ripley with one count each of kidnapping for a reward and kidnapping to commit great bodily harm, but those charges were dropped in favor of the federal case.
The historic Hamm’s Brewery stands on the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota, and much of the complex has sat empty for over two decades.
Now, the St. Paul City Council says they’ve taken an important step toward redeveloping the property. In early November, the council voted unanimously to designate the space as a heritage preservation site.
“This landmark is more than a collection of old buildings, it’s a cornerstone of our city’s identity,” said Council member Cheniqua Johnson. “It’s a symbol of resilience and a bridge between our industrial past and our creative future.”
The city say this designation could lead to state and federal tax credits that would help cut the cost of redevelopment.
“Renovating and restoring historic buildings like these which have been vacant and in decline since 1997 is much more expensive than building new construction and tax credits are a tool intended to bridge this gap,” explained Ashley Bisner, vice president of development at JB Vang, during a previous city council meeting.
The Housing and Redevelopment Authority selected JB Vang as the tentative developer in 2023, after acquiring the southern part of the brewery in 2004.
The City of St. Paul says the redevelopment plan would take vacant land and unused buildings and turn it into 196 units of affordable housing and commercial space. 86 of those units would be inside the historic brewery and new construction would house 110 units.
Rendering of Hamm’s Brewery redevelopment.
JB Vang
However, not everyone in the complex is on board.
“Over the objections and concerns of all private property owners at the Hamm’s site, the City of Saint Paul pushed forward a roundabout historic designation process. This was just the latest in a series of efforts by the city to prop up a single developer at the expense of existing, successful, locally-owned businesses,” a spokesperson for Saint Paul Brewing wrote in an email to WCCO.
For several years, Saint Paul Brewing has served beer and food to customers from a building within the Hamm’s complex. The company is accusing the city of focusing on constructing a new building, rather than staying true to their original aim of developing historic structures.
Saint Paul Brewing has also taken issue with the location of the new construction, which would land on a city owned, shared parking lot that currently accommodates their customers. The company was part of a lawsuit filed over the summer against the city, which accuses St. Paul of unlawful zoning, retaliation and “destruction of the parking lot.” The lawsuit asks for, among other things, an easement over the surface lot for parking purposes and $50,000 in damages.
“JB Vang has shown great faith by listening to the community and has made accommodations that include more parking and a willingness to work with existing businesses and neighbors,” said Bisner during a city council meeting.
The tentative developer is still asking for feedback on the project and says construction could start in 2027.
Police say man is dead and a woman is hospitalized after a reported assault in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday.
The city’s police department said officers responded to an apartment building on the 1500 block of Westminster Street around 11:40 a.m. They found a man with wounds on his back and head, and despite care from both police and medics, he died at the scene.
The woman who reported the assault was taken to a hospital with injuries, but is expected to be OK, police said.
While no one has been arrested, police said the public is not in danger. They are investigating what led to the man’s death.
A Tesla driver who authorities said was speeding when he caused a fatal crash in St. Paul, Minnesota, said he had no memory of the collision afterward, according to court documents.
Musab Kosar, a 22-year-old man from Fridley, Minnesota, was charged with one count of criminal vehicular homicide in Ramsey County on Thursday.
A state trooper first saw the speeding Tesla on the ramp from Pascal Street to eastbound Interstate 94 around 2 a.m. Wednesday, a criminal complaint states. Authorities allege the driver was going nearly 30 mph over the speed limit at the time, and subsequently reached speeds in excess of 100 mph.
The trooper followed the Tesla sans lights or sirens and saw the driver turn the vehicle’s lights off while exiting at Dale Street. At the top of the ramp, the trooper found a crash between the Tesla and a Toyota RAV4.
The RAV4’s driver, 31-year-old Benjamin Villano, was killed in the crash. When the trooper checked on the Tesla, he found Kosar and a passenger “covered in blood and in significant pain, and both claimed no memory of the crash,” the complaint states. Both were taken to a hospital, where again Kosar said he did not recall the collision.
The passenger, identified by police as a 19-year-old woman, said she had previously asked Kosar to stop speeding, “but she didn’t believe he was speeding that evening,” the complaint states.
If convicted, Kosar faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
Police are investigating after they say a driver hit and killed a woman in St. Paul on Thursday evening.
Officers responded to the area of Saint Anthony Avenue and Aldine Street around 5:15 p.m. on a report that a pedestrian had been hit, according to the St. Paul Police Department.
Upon arrival, officers found a woman suffering from a leg injury and head trauma. She was transported to Regions Hospital, where she died a short time later.
Witnesses told investigators a dark-colored SUV hit her and fled the scene before officers arrived, police say.
A search is underway for the vehicle and its driver.
The City of Chicago is suing the U.S. Department of Justice over restrictions on community policing hiring that the Johnson administration says are illegal.
The city of St. Paul, Minnesota, joined the federal lawsuit as well, which challenges what Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says are “illegal conditions” imposed on a $6.25 million grant from the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Program.
The lawsuit claims the Justice Department has unlawfully restricted the grant by requiring cities to certify they do not use the grant funds to operate any Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, programs.
The suit says the Trump Administration does not have the authority to impose these new conditions, and that the DOJ’s action violates constitutional separation of powers, as they have not been authorized by Congress, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
The suit alleges the new requirements “effectively hold community policing funds hostage to the administration’s political agenda.”
The city said Chicago has received the COPS grant since 2009, using it to recruit and train officers who build trust in communities to improve public safety around the city. This year’s grant was earmarked to hire approximately 50 officers filling critical vacancies, the city said.
Chicago and St. Paul are asking the federal court to declare the conditions illegal, restrain the Justice Department from enforcing them and vacate the requirements as void. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois.
St. Paul, Minnesota has adopted a comprehensive gun violence prevention ordinance on Wednesday. The ordinance bans assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. It was passed unanimously by the City Council.
The ordinance will not take effect until the state preemption law is lifted.
The passing of the ordinance comes after state lawmakers and city leaders called for stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting.
St. Paul is the first Minnesota city, in a coalition of 17, to adopt a gun prevention ordinance. Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Minnetonka, Richfield, Rochester and several others are hoping to adopt a similar measure.
Currently, a state preemption law does not allow for individual cities to make their own ordinances over gun mandates.
“Saint Paul stands ready to act on day one when the state lifts preemption,” said Mayor Melvin Carter. “This ordinance represents a collective effort by local leaders taking a long-overdue step to protect our children, families, and neighbors.”
The ordinance does establish five provisions:
Banning the possession of assault weapons, large-capacity magazines and binary triggers within city limits
Prohibit “ghost guns,” by requiring serial numbers on all firearms
Restricting firearms in certain public places such as parks, libraries, recreation centers and city buildings
Require clear signage in public facilities
Define enforcement authority and penalties
The ordinance does exclude active-duty law enforcement and military personnel.
Authorities are investigating a fatal crash in St. Paul early Wednesday morning.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a driver in a Tesla Model 3 was traveling at a “high rate of speed” while exiting to Dale Street from eastbound Interstate 94. The motorist then collided with another motorist in a Toyota Rav4 who was crossing the intersection. The crash occurred shortly before 3 a.m.
A 22-year-old Fridley man was driving the Tesla with a 19-year-old St. Paul woman in the passenger seat. A 31-year-old St. Paul man was the driver and sole occupant of the Toyota.
Details are limited and authorities have not released the conditions of those involved in the crash.