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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Minnesota weather: Warm and hazy weekend ahead
The Brief Hazy sunshine will stick around this weekend through Monday — at times, smoke will reach the surface. It'll be dry and warm this weekend with light winds. The next chance of showers and thunderstorms arrives late Monday into Tuesday. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - This weekend will have temperatures in the 80s with light winds, but smoky sky conditions will persist. Local perspective Temperatures will warm into the lower 80s on Saturday afternoon with light winds. A smoky sky can be expected, with some smoke reaching down to the surface. This will lead to periods of poor air quality that should be monitored. Sunday looks warmer yet with light winds and hazy sunshine. What's next Monday is the hottest day of this forecast. Some areas could hit the 90-degree mark with more of the smoky sunshine and surface smoke possible. A front moves through on Monday night into Tuesday and brings the next chance of showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures trend more seasonable for the rest of the week, likely staying in the mid-70s under a partly sunny sky. A few sprinkles may pass by Thursday and Friday. The Source This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather team.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
City of Landfall proclaims independence, celebrates with party
The Brief The city of Landfall on Thursday proclaimed its independence from Washington County. The city, which is the county's smallest with 843 residents, started decades ago as a private property. Washington County bought the property in the late 1990s for about $7 million; the city recently paid off the bond. LANDFALL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The City of Landfall on Thursday proclaimed its independence from Washington County, ensuring that the mobile home park along I-94 will never be sold. What we know The city of Landfall on Thursday proclaimed its independence from Washington County, cementing its place as an affordable housing community and ensuring that it will never be sold. The city is home to hundreds of income-restricted mobile homes. The backstory The city of Landfall started as a private property with affordable housing in the years after World War II. It became a village in 1959 and a city in 1974. In the early 1990s, it was at risk of being sold and redeveloped before Washington County stepped in and purchased it for about $7 million. The city recently paid off the bond, granting it ownership of the property. What they're saying "We're making a proclamation that the park will never be sold," said Mayor Stan Suedkamp. "It means that we have paid the citizens of Washington County who invested that money to buy the park here, and we had the dream with them." Longtime resident Mary Blaylock remembers when the city faced a possible sale. "The trailer parks around the Twin Cities being sold, something else goes up — people have nowhere to go," she recalled. "But we have this now. We've got it. It's ours."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
National Guard soldier reflects on George Floyd unrest deployment
The Brief Governor Tim Walz signed an Emergency Executive Order on May 28, 2020, declaring a peacetime emergency and activating the Minnesota National Guard. More than 7,000 Soldiers and Airmen were activated to support local law enforcement across the state. The Minnesota National Guard's 2020 mission was focused on "protecting lives, preserving property, and ensuring the right of people to peacefully protest." MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A former Minnesota National Guard solider is opening up about her deployment to assist with security amid rioting and looting following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. Mass demonstrations and civil unrest led to an unprecedented deployment of the National Guard. Five years later, questions remain about the timing of the deployment and mobilization of thousands of soldiers after widespread destruction occurred in the days after Floyd's deadly arrest. Timeline Following days of rioting and civil unrest that damaged and destroyed scores of buildings and businesses in response to the police murder of George Floyd, Gov. Tim Walz signed Emergency Executive Order #20-64 on May 28, 2020. In issuing the order on the same day the Minneapolis Police Department's 3rd Precinct was set ablaze; the governor officially declared a peacetime emergency and activated the Minnesota National Guard. In total, the National Guard said 7,123 soldiers and airmen were activated to support local law enforcement in "protecting lives, preserving property, and ensuring the right of people to peacefully protest." The Minnesota National Guard's 34th Military Police Company, 257th Military Police Company and National Guard Reaction Force units of the 1-151st Field Artillery Battalion and 682nd Engineer Battalion were among the first units activated. The deployment came to an end on June 9 when the last remaining National Guard members were released from state active duty and returned home. What they're saying "It was scary, again, very unprecedented times. Nobody knows what's going to happen next," recalled Elizabeth Preda, who deployed with the Minnesota National Guard's Duluth-based 148th Fighter Wing. Preda was just 19 years old and said she had recently completed her basic training after joining the National Guard straight out of high school. "People ask you, 'Like what did you do in your military career?' And that is kind of like my go-to answer is, welp, 'Do you remember what happened with George Floyd in 2020?' I was part of that." Like many that week in 2020, she and her fellow citizen soldiers were watching the civil unrest escalate in the Twin Cities as calls to deploy the Minnesota National Guard grew louder and louder. She remembered telling her boss at the time, if the call comes, she had to go. She said, every member of her unit was given two hours to mobilize at their Duluth armory as soon as they received their activation orders. "I was telling my boss at work, 'this is going to happen and when it happens, I need to leave.' No ifs, ands, or buts." Once the official call came, Preda's security forces squadron deployed to Saint Paul. They were armed, and had a mission to protect the Capitol from what the FBI said at the time was a credible threat while also protecting the rights of peaceful protesters who gathered on the Capitol grounds. Five years later, Preda still wonders whether they should have deployed sooner given the hundreds of millions of dollars in damages that had already been done, particularly in Minneapolis. "I feel it took a little bit too long," Preda told FOX 9. "That's what I feel like. We could have been down there two days prior. But since it had never happened, maybe there might not have been a right time to do it." Dig deeper Now five years later, some still question the decision-making and timing of the Guard's activation, coming too late to help with security including at the now abandoned and gutted 3rd Precinct police headquarters in south Minneapolis. City and state after-action assessment reports ultimately gave the Minnesota National Guard high marks for its efforts protecting critical infrastructure and human life despite a lack of overall training and experience in handling a large-scale disturbance for an extended period of time. But those reports singled out poor communication and unfamiliarity, particularly with Minneapolis city leaders in requesting the guard's assistance that caused critical delays in approval and deployment of resources. The other side "The Guard got called in as soon as they could," stated Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges. In 2020, Hodges served as the Department of Public Safety's Assistant Commissioner. He took over the statewide incident command from the city of Minneapolis after the events of May 28, 2020 that included angry demonstrators setting the 3rd Precinct on fire. "One of the things that was frustrating to me, is people think you just snap your finger and the Guard shows up. It doesn't happen that way," explained Hodges. Hodges said the Minnesota National Guard had very few soldiers specifically trained to handle the situation on the ground. And complicating the issue further, many of the citizen soldiers were also local members of law enforcement. "So, are we going to have police officers do Guard duty or are we going to use them to do their regular police job function that we need at the time?" asked Hodges. "So, the Guard did get mobilized as quick as it could." Local perspective The Minnesota National Guard and its leader at the time both declined FOX 9 interview requests for our reporting on the deployment and the lessons learned five years later. In addition to the Floyd-related riots, soldiers and airmen were also called upon for security needs around former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial and to assist law enforcement with unrest following the deadly traffic stop police shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center as well as another volatile incident in downtown Minneapolis. All of those deployments and mobilizations occurred within a year time span during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Opening statements in the Derrick Thompson murder trial
The Brief Derrick Thompson, 29, is charged with 15 counts of criminal vehicular homicide and 3rd degree murder. The prosecutor told jurors the evidence is clear that Thompson was driving a rented SUV at more than 90 miles an hour and slammed into a car at the intersection on Lake Street in Minneapolis, killing 5 young women. Thompson's defense attorney told jurors the evidence will show Thompson's brother may have been driving. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The opening statements were short and to the point. A Hennepin County prosecutor told jurors the evidence is clear that 29-year-old Derrick Thompson was the one behind the wheel. The defense attorney said the evidence will show it could have been someone else, namely Thompson's brother. What we know Thompson is charged with 15 counts of criminal vehicular homicide and third-degree murder. There are three counts for each of the five young women who were killed: Salma Abdikadir, Sahra Gesaade, Sagal Hersi, Siham Odhowa and Sabiriin Ali. During opening statements, jurors saw a video of the rented Cadillac Escalade slamming into the car the young women were in. The prosecutor told them they would see more during the course of the trial. "They never stood a chance," said Joseph Paquette, a Hennepin County Assistant Attorney. "The defendant T-boned the Honda Civic. What resulted isn't sufficiently described as a crash or a collision. It was an explosion." The video brought gasps and tears from the courtroom gallery, filled with family and friends of the five victims. The other side Thompson's defense attorney, Tyler Bliss, told jurors the state can't prove the case. In fact, he told them, the evidence would show someone else may have been driving. In a court filing earlier in the week, they named Thompson's brother as an "alternative perpetrator." "When the dust settles, the smoke clears, you'll see multiple doors to this vehicle open," Bliss said in his opening statement. "You will see the DNA of multiple people in this car who are seen renting the vehicle 35 minutes before this occurs." Dig deeper Thompson rented the SUV at the airport less than a half hour before the crash. His brother was there to drop him off, prosecutors say, but security cameras showed only Thompson inside when he drove off. Jurors will also hear from an eyewitness who will testify they saw Thompson get out of the SUV driver's seat and walk away, as well as another who recorded Thompson approaching him and asking for a ride. The first witness on the stand was an ex-girlfriend of Thompson, who said he told her he was driving. The second witness was the state trooper who clocked the SUV at 95 miles per hour and was trying to catch up to make a stop. He testified that at the crash site only one of the SUV's doors was open. It was the driver's door. His testimony continues Friday. The trial is expected to wrap up next week.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Former MN State Patrol trooper pleads not guilty in deadly Rochester crash
The Brief A former Minnesota State Patrol trooper pleaded not guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and manslaughter stemming from a deadly crash in May 2024. Shane Roper, 33, was terminated from the patrol after department leaders said his "reckless" actions caused the death of 18-year-old Oliva Flores. A jury trial is tentatively set for early March 2026, with pre-trial motions set to begin in late February. ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - A former State Trooper charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide pleaded not guilty, setting the case up for trial next year. Shane Roper, 33, is accused of causing a crash that resulted in the death of 18-yaer-old Olivia Flores in Rochester when he was allegedly speeding in a Minnesota State Patrol cruiser without its emergency lights activated. Court records show a jury trial is tentatively set to start on March 2, 2026. READ MORE: 'Reckless' actions of former MN trooper decried by agency leaders for fatal crash Big picture view The fatal three-vehicle crash happened near Apache Mall in Rochester, Minnesota, on May 18. Investigators say a Ford Focus was westbound on 12th Street Southwest when it turned south into the mall. The Focus was then struck by a Minnesota State Patrol cruiser that was driven by Roper, which was eastbound on the same street. Flores, of Owatonna, was a passenger in the Ford Focus and was killed in the crash. A Toyota RAV4 then ended up in the ditch after the Ford Focus was pushed into it. A total of six people, including Roper, were injured in the crash. Roper's employment with the Minnesota State Patrol was terminated in September 2024, with agency leaders calling his actions "reckless." READ MORE: MN State Trooper charged in Rochester crash that killed teen no longer employed Dig deeper The personnel file Roper reveals he had faced disciplinary action for four previous crashes before the fatal wreck. The file shows Roper was involved in four crashes between February 2019 and April 2023 before the crash outside Apache Mall in May that killed Flores. Reviewing his behavior before the crash, investigators found several instances where Roper drove at high speeds in just the three hours before he crashed into the vehicle carrying Flores. Roper was suspended for a day in two of the crashes and reprimanded for the other MORE: File shows MN trooper involved in 4 crashes before deadly Rochester wreck Just before the deadly crash in Rochester, investigators said he was driving at an excessive speed on a city street – apparently trying to catch up with a driver who had committed a minor traffic offense. The Source This story uses information from public court records and past FOX 9 reporting.
