Latest news with #GondaBuilding
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Austin man who talked about blowing up Rochester, St. Paul buildings faces firearm charges
Jun. 10—AUSTIN, Minn. — An Austin man is facing criminal charges after telling two individuals that he would use a pipe bomb to "hypothetically" blow up Rochester and St. Paul buildings. Jonathan Julio Nique, 22, is charged with eight counts of possession of firearms without serial numbers after showing two people an alleged homemade pipe bomb, his 30 firearms and a "stockpile of ammunition" in his garage. The individuals reported what they saw to the Austin Police Department on May 25, claiming that Nique had previously talked about blowing up the Gonda Building and the city-county Government Center, both in Rochester. Nique was placed on $50,000 conditional bail or $250,000 unconditional bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 17. According to the criminal complaint, the Austin Police Department received a report on May 25 that Nique had been "experimenting with explosives, making threatening comments and acting in a concerning extremist-type behavior." The witness told police they were recently inside Nique's garage, at his residence in Austin, when they observed a device that resembled a pipe bomb. Nique also made a comment to the witness about how easily he could "blow up a building" with his pipe bomb, the complaint said. Two witnesses told law enforcement that Nique had approximately 30 firearms in his residence, which included manufactured firearms, homemade firearms and 3D-printed firearms. According to the complaint, he also had a "stockpile of ammunition." Nique told the witnesses that no one is allowed in his garage and that he monitors people if they are in his garage. The witnesses told police Nique is known to use cocaine and sometimes says "unhinged things," the complaint said. One incident they referenced was when they were all talking about an attack at an IVF clinic. In response, Nique said it is easy to build a pipe bomb. According to the complaint, Nique was then asked what building he would blow up, to which he responded with a list of buildings, including the Gonda Building, the city-county Government Center, the Minnesota State Capitol Building and a synagogue. The witnesses said Nique had "white nationalist viewpoints" and had previously made racist comments. Nique told the witnesses he is "anti-law enforcement" and talks about the Ruby Ridge standoff, an 11-day standoff in 1992 between federal agents and a man who failed to appear in court on firearm charges. Two weeks prior, the witnesses said, Nique had gone to the hospital for a hand injury after shaking a medicine bottle with a metal cylinder and match shavings inside. One witness believed Nique was making "Armstrong's Mixture," a type of explosive, according to the complaint. After executing a search warrant on May 28, law enforcement found eight firearms without serial numbers, the complaint said. Several of the guns appeared to have been manufactured using a 3D printer. The guns were all capable of firing, the complaint said. Police found the suspected pipe bomb, but it did not have explosives inside it. The bomb squad, which assisted with the search, located containers with smaller metal objects and suspected matchstick powder inside. Nique was arrested the same day for possession of two .22-caliber rounds inside a courthouse. According to the criminal complaint, he dropped the rounds on his way through Mower County Courthouse security. He agreed to speak with law enforcement and denied making a pipe bomb or practicing with explosives. He said he was "joking" when he made comments about blowing up government and religious buildings.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mayo Clinic continues to work on Kellen Building with $6 million fit-up of ninth floor
Feb. 18—ROCHESTER — Mayo Clinic continues work on its Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Building research center with a $6 million "fit-up" on the ninth floor of the 11-story tower in downtown Rochester. On Feb. 13, Mayo Clinic filed a building permit for the "Entire Fit-Up of the 9th Floor of the Kellen Research Building" at 305 Fourth Ave. SW. The valuation of the project was listed as $6.02 million. Nine of the Kellen building's floors are devoted to medical research with up to six to seven labs operating on each floor. An estimated 50 to 60 scientists were anticipated to work on each floor, when the building opened. Mayo Clinic did not respond to questions this week about the buildout of the Kellen Building, timeline for the work or what kind of research is expected to happen on the ninth floor. The $120 million tower opened its doors in December 2023 with access to the first two floors reserved for a lobby, coffee shop and meeting area as well as the first few floors housing research labs. Mayo Clinic originally announced a much smaller version of the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Building in 2019. By 2021, the plan had almost tripled in size from a four-story building to 11 stories. Mayo Clinic's Dr. Gregory Gores described the Kellen Building housing advanced scientific research that follows a more flexible, "non-ownership" model. "This building will not only be a solution shop developing insights that lead to therapeutic applications. It will foster science with an open atmosphere. ... It gives us a new capability, a new direction of momentum," he said in 2023. "It is a big shift." The Kellen Building is Mayo Clinic's first major Rochester building to open since the Gonda Building in 2001. The 21-floor Gonda also cost $120 million to build. The Kellen Building is also notable because it is not part of the $5 billion "Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Rochester" initiative. Mayo Clinic's major downtown construction is expected to be led by "Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Rochester" projects through 2030.
