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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Drunken driver who plowed into Park Tavern bar patio, killing 2, pleads guilty to murder
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways A driver pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder charges for being extremely drunk and plowing into a crowded St. Louis Park bar patio on Labor Day weekend, killing two people and injuring a dozen others. Six days before a trial was to begin, Steven Frane Bailey, 56, of St. Louis Park, entered guilty pleas in Hennepin County District Court to two counts of third-degree murder and three counts of criminal vehicular operation causing great bodily harm for the crash at Park Tavern that killed server Kristina Folkerts and Methodist Hospital employee Gabriel Harvey just after 8 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2024. 'Several other people were injured, some critically, and many more were traumatized by the completely unacceptable actions of one individual,' Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at a news conference after the hearing. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Bailey faces between 25 and 30 years in prison at sentencing, which is scheduled for July 28 before Judge Juan Hoyos. The attorney's office will ask that Bailey receive the maximum, Moriarty said. 'This was an entirely avoidable tragedy, and Mr. Bailey is being held accountable for causing it,' she said. 'He will be in prison for a long time to ensure that he cannot hurt anyone else.' The charges say Bailey's blood-alcohol content was more than four times the legal limit to drive when he drove his BMW X5 sport utility vehicle through a metal fence and plowed through the length of the patio. Blood samples that were taken from Bailey at Hennepin County Medical Center and analyzed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension showed his blood-alcohol concentration was 0.335, according to an amended criminal complaint filed in court Wednesday. The legal limit to drive in Minnesota is 0.08. Bailey had five drunken driving convictions between 1985 and 2015. 40 mph without braking Friends and family of the victims filled the courtroom at Wednesday's hearing. Bailey's family members sat on the opposite side of the gallery in the front row. Bailey has been out of jail on $500,000 bond since October and completed residential alcohol treatment. Bailey admitted to the offenses upon questioning by his attorney Tom Sieben. He said he had been drinking vodka at his home before going to the Park Tavern for food. After hitting two vehicles in the parking lot, he accelerated and plowed through a metal fence and into the patio seating area, striking occupied tables and multiple people, only coming to a stop because of an embankment. 'Is it safe to say you were going about 40 mph?' Sieben asked. 'Correct,' Bailey said. Upon further questioning, Bailey agreed that his actions were 'eminently dangerous to others' and 'evinced a depraved mind, without regard for human life' — the key elements of a third-degree murder charge. When police arrived at the scene that night, Bailey was still in his SUV. As officers approached him they reportedly heard him on the phone saying, 'I hit the gas instead of the brake and went right through a thing' and 'I'm probably going to jail,' according to the charges. He made several 'spontaneous' statements such as saying when he was told they were going to perform a field sobriety test, 'You don't need to do fields. I know what I did.' A preliminary breath test at HCMC before the warrant for a blood draw showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.325. 'One of the most horrific videos I've ever seen' Bailey initially faced criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation charges. The attorney's office added the murder counts on Sept. 9, saying prosecutors did not yet have the surveillance video at the time of the original charges, although references to the video were included in police reports. 'Initially, before we saw the video, the assumption was this person hit the accelerator instead of the brake,' Moriarty said Wednesday. … 'It's very clear video from the Park Tavern parking lot at different angles, and it was one of the most horrific videos I've ever seen, unfortunately.' Folkerts, of St. Louis Park, was a 30-year-old mother of three girls and was working as a server at 'her beloved Park Tavern, where she died at the scene that night,' Moriarty said. 'She was a passionate photographer who loved music, live concerts and her Starbucks. Her family described her as a free spirit who found the beauty in everyone.' Harvey, a 30-year-old from Rosemount, was a health unit coordinator at nearby Methodist Hospital and on track to graduate from nursing school that December. He was at the restaurant with several hospital workers celebrating a colleague's last nursing shift. He died that night at HCMC. 'He and his partner, Denzel, had recently become new homeowners,' Moriarty said. 'His family described Gabe as kind, smart, hilarious and so incredibly positive.' Among those injured were four Methodist Hospital nurses, and the amended complaint details the extent of their injuries. Related Articles Tegan D'Albani suffered a broken pelvis, broken legs and ribs and dislocated knees. She was unconscious and intubated for a period of time. Her injuries hinder her ability to complete daily tasks. Laura Knutsen was celebrating her last shift as a nurse in the ICU and was set to start school to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist. She suffered head trauma and lost consciousness during transport to the hospital. Her injuries also included 11 broken ribs and a fractured clavicle, pelvis and vertebrae. Theo Larson was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, suffered facial fractures and has lost all memory of the night of the crash. He has been unable to return to work. The other victims suffered injuries that included bruises, cuts and abrasions.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Drunk-driver who killed two in 2024 crash at Park Tavern pleads guilty
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways The man who was drunk behind the wheel when he crashed into the patio of the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park last summer, killing two people and injuring nine others, has pleaded guilty. After initially pleading not guilty, Steven Bailey, 56, reached a plea deal with prosecutors on Wednesday that has seen him plead guilty to two counts of 3rd-degree murder and three counts of criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm. Under the terms of the deal, Bailey is facing a sentence of 25-30 years in prison. Steven BaileyHennepin County Jail The shocking crash resulted in the deaths of Park Tavern server Kristina Folkerts, 30, of St. Louis Park, and Methodist Hospital employee Gabe Harvey, 30, of Rosemount. The plea deal comes after Hennepin County Attorney's Office filed news charges against Bailey on Tuesday to account for three more people who were injured in the crash, bringing the total number injured to 12. GoFundMe Video evidence showed Bailey would've had a clear view of the patio, tables, umbrellas, and people seated outside when he pulled into the Park Tavern parking lot on the evening of Aug. 31, 2024, and as he was attempting to back into an open parking space, he struck another vehicle. Rather than parking, Bailey began to drive away and "can be seen accelerating at a high rate of speed in what appears to be an attempt to flee the scene," prosecutors said when charges were filed. While attempting to flee, Bailey struck a black SUV that was driving in the parking lot, before accelerating his vehicle through a metal fence and into the patio seating area. Mr. Bailey's BMW struck multiple occupied tables and multiple people. Bailey, who had five previous DWI convictions, gave a breath test reading of 0.325, more than four times the legal limit in Minnesota.
CBS News
05-05-2025
- CBS News
Suspected drunk driver in deadly Park Tavern crash faces new charges as lawmakers push for tougher DWI laws
The man accused of driving drunk and killing two people at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park last September is now facing additional charges. Prosecutors filed new charges against Steven Bailey to account for three more victims who were injured in the crash. This brings the total number of people hurt that night to 12 with some suffering life-altering injuries. Bailey is accused of driving with a blood alcohol content more than four times the legal limit and has a history of five prior DWI convictions in Minnesota. Outside Park Tavern, a memorial of trees now honors the lives lost, Kristina Folkerts, a beloved server, and Gave Harvey, an employee at Methodist Hospital. Prosecutors say Bailey plowed through the restaurant's patio, killing both. In response, lawmakers have introduced new legislation aimed at strengthening Minnesota's DWI laws, particularly around the use of ignition interlock devices, a breathalyzer system that prevent a car from starting if alcohol is detected on a driver's breath. "What we know is that if people the first time people commit a DWI offense, most people don't commit a second, but if you commit a second, then your likelihood of committing a third and a fourth go way up," said Rep. Larry Kraft, DFL-St. Louis Park. Under current law, a person with three DWIs within 10 years must use an interlock device for four years. The new bipartisan bill proposes extending that to 10 years for anyone with three or more convictions in their lifetime. "I hope this can provide some measure of relief, or some measure of knowing that. And, you know, we're building on some of the tragedy that happened to make changes for others," Kraft said. According to the CDC, ignition interlocks reduce repeat DWI offenses by 70% while in use. Records show Bailey had an interlock in his vehicle from 2015 to 2020 following his last conviction. When asked if the proposed law could have prevented the Park Tavern tragedy, Kraft responded: "I mean, he had five priors. So with this legislation in place, he would have had requirements to spend more time on interlock along the way, so hopefully it would have been about changing his behavior earlier, so maybe he wouldn't have had the fourth or the fifth offense." The bill passed the Minnesota House last week and is now headed to the state Senate. "At the end of the day, what we really want is we want this not to happen. We want the people that are committing these multiple offenses to get help and just not to endanger others," Kraft added. Bailey is scheduled to stand trial on May 12. The Senate is expected to take up the bill later this week.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
How the War Against DEI May Kill a Breastfeeding Program in Gary
This series was produced as part of the Pulitzer Center's StoryReach U.S. Fellowship. In the empty halls of the Gary Neighborhood Services building on Grant Street once stood the Milky Way Cafe, a casual space created for breastfeeding moms to meet, share supporting resources, and consult with professionals. But the clinic, one of the few resources in the city that was customized for maternal and infant care, has been gone for over half a decade. It's one of the reasons why Erishawn Griffin — a Gary mom of three and former professional lactation counselor with the Northwest Indiana office of the federal supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, known as WIC — has made a reputation for herself as a go-to person for questions from curious moms. As resources for breastfeeding mothers in the area have disappeared over the years, she said, information about it has become less accessible. 'Even in the breastfeeding community, with the WIC program, a lot of the programs that were presented in Gary just didn't get a lot of advertisement,' she said, adding that people have not engaged with the resources as much as they hoped. 'Resources were trying to bud, but unfortunately, I just don't think they caught on the way that everyone was hoping for, and it just kind of faded.' Studies have shown that increasing breastfeeding rates in Black communities is an important public health strategy to address the high infant mortality rates that plague the nation. Breastfeeding is an important nutritional source for babies that strengthens their immunity to respiratory illnesses. As projects encouraging breastfeeding in Gary, like the former Milky Way Cafe, have closed, support for breastfeeding mothers has plunged in the region. Fortunately, a new program that aims to help curb breastfeeding disparities in the region is set to come to Gary — if it can withstand anti-DEI efforts by the Trump administration. Methodist Hospital, Gary's only hospital, recently initiated a partnership with CHAMPS, Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Practices, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded program to help hospitals increase exclusive breastfeeding rates, improve maternity care, and decrease racial disparities in both. But the Trump administration has asked federal agencies to eliminate programs that address racial disparities in a wide array of settings, including health care. Glynis Adams, assistant director of perinatal services at Methodist Hospital, said the partnership would be good for improving the area's breastfeeding and infant mortality rates. Adams said their goal is to make the hospital more 'baby friendly,' as defined by the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. The hospital's goal is to increase breastfeeding rates to 80% between its Southlake and Northlake campuses, where it currently hovers at about 40%. Methodist also currently has two lactation counselors between both locations. 'They have the resources, they have the experience, they have the knowledge,' said Adams, after meeting with CHAMPS staff during their visit to Methodist Hospital. 'They hit all the hot topics that we needed to make a successful change.' Currently, topics like breastfeeding are covered as a part of the hospital's prenatal classes. Additionally, patients, especially high risk mothers, are assigned an OB navigator, a registered nurse with experience in obstetrics, to help women through their prenatal and postpartum care, provide informative resources, and community outreach. With the CHAMPS partnership, hospital staff will receive training, strategize more ways to share their resources in the community, and offer training for the public as well, Adams said. Currently, 100 hospitals nationwide are enrolled in the three-year program, which offers training focusing on equity and safety, including '10 steps to successful breastfeeding,' prenatal and postpartum care, and community support. Several studies have suggested there are many breastfeeding benefits for the mom and baby, showing fewer infections, improved quality of sleep, lower obesity rates, decreased risk of asthma, and higher IQ's in infants and children. However, the Black community isn't properly exposed to the benefits of breastfeeding because of stigma and gaps in information, Adams said. 'Back in the day, only poor folks breastfed. To remove ourselves from those stigmas, we chose to bottle-feed. But over the last, I would say, at least 20 years, that stigma has totally changed,' she said. 'I don't think education and communication about the benefits, like everything else, gets to our communities as quickly.' Black communities continue to experience the highest burden related to poor maternal and infant health outcomes, including higher rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, maternal and infant mortality, and lower breastfeeding rates. In Lake County, home to Gary, the infant mortality rate is 7.3 per 1,000 births, which is higher than the state's 6.7 infant mortality rate, and higher than the national rate of 5.4 per 1,000 births, according to the Indiana Department of Health. The 2023 report also said the state's Black infant mortality rate is even higher, 13.2 per live births. In essence, Black infants in Indiana not only die at the highest rates in the state, but at one of the highest rates in the nation. Black women's limited access to breastfeeding education and lactation counselors worsens infant health disparities, according to a 2021 breastfeeding equity study co-authored by Kimarie Bugg, CEO of the nonprofit breastfeeding equity organization Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE). ROSE, based in Atlanta, is helping CHAMPS to launch in Gary and offers training and educational resources to reduce Black breastfeeding disparities. Overall, Indiana's breastfeeding rates have increased over the past decade, increasing from 67.8% in 2012 to 73% in 2022, according to the latest Indiana WIC breastfeeding report available. However, while breastfeeding initiation rates have increased across all racial groups, including Hispanic, Asian, and white, Black breastfeeding initiation rates remain the lowest among all racial groups, at nearly 75% Similarly, Black women on average breastfeed for shorter durations than other racial groups. Without the CHAMPS program, Gary, a city already in need of more maternity care resources, could see these disparities worsen. The CHAMPS program, funded by a CDC grant and led by Boston Medical Center's Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) is at risk under the Trump administration's attack on diversity equity and inclusion programs and federal funding, according to Bugg. A spokesperson for CHAMPS declined to comment on the record. As public health agencies like the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and CDC are flagged to remove now-banned words like 'diversity,' 'science-based' and 'fetus' from their program budgets, projects like CHAMPS are increasingly vulnerable to cuts. Bugg said that the future of ROSE and other organizations like hers is uncertain. She has been instructed to change a lot of the language in ROSE's budget. 'So we are definitely navigating the current hostile environment, and we have to be very careful with that, because this is a CDC grant,' Bugg said. 'So right now, to tell you the truth, we are up in the air and looking for updates. Every day, we have been instructed to change a lot of language. We will continue, you know, to do the work that we applied to do, but right now we're just not sure if we will receive the funding.' Bugg added that the CHAMPS project depends on a year-to-year renewal process, spanning from October to September, but with changes in the administration, a renewal is not guaranteed. However, she believes in the tenacity and resilience of the Black community to weather uncertain storms. 'This is not the first time that Black people have gone through stuff like this. Our ancestors definitely had it worse,' she said. 'We are extremely resilient. We are tired of having to be so resilient, but we are.' Until then, Gary moms like Griffin are looking forward to Methodist's partnership with CHAMPS, saying that the initiative is exciting — and necessary. 'I'll be excited to see how that will affect the community, for sure, with them [Methodist] being such a huge part of the medical care here in the area,' she said. The post How the War Against DEI May Kill a Breastfeeding Program in Gary appeared first on Capital B Gary.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In wake of deadly Park Tavern crash, lawmakers propose tougher DWI laws
Two state lawmakers are proposing a bipartisan bill that would crack down on repeat drunk drivers — a response to last summer's horrific Park Tavern Restaurant crash in St. Louis Park. The August 31 incident, in which 56-year-old Steven Bailey — who already had a criminal record for drunk driving, with five previous DWIs — crashed into the restaurant's patio, killing two people and injuring nine others. Those killed were Park Tavern server Kristina Folkerts, 30, of St. Louis Park, and Methodist Hospital employee Gabe Harvey, 30, of Rosemount. Bailey was found to be four times over the legal limit at the time of the crash. On Friday, Representative Larry Kraft and Senator Ron Latz, two DFLers whose respective districts include St. Louis Park, announced the new legislation in a press conference at Park Tavern. The bill, which will soon be introduced in the legislature, would do the following if approved, according to a news release: Significantly increase the amount of time drivers with multiple offenses are required to be on ignition interlock — a breathalyzer device connected to a car's ignition Remove obstacles for offenders to use ignition interlock systems, encouraging more to sign up for the program Double the lookback period for DWI, meaning DWI convictions would stay on an offender's record for 20 years instead of the current 10 in Minnesota; this, in turn, would allow prosecutors to argue for enhanced penalties against repeat drunk drivers 'Since this tragedy, it has been a top priority of mine to try and stop people who have a recurring problem with drinking and driving from killing or injuring Minnesotans," said Rep. Kraft in a statement. "This bipartisan legislation is focused on improving public safety and is a critical step toward prevention and safer roads for everyone.' 'A tragedy like the one we saw last September should never happen again in any community in Minnesota. This bill takes meaningful action that will help keep recurring offenders from getting behind the wheel when they're inebriated,' said Senator Latz. 'This proposal will have an immediate, positive impact on our state, and I believe it will help save lives.' The release notes that the legislation is being proposed "together with workers, advocates, and family members of victims." The lawmakers say the bill is expected to receive hearings "in the coming week," in committees of both the state House and Senate. You can watch the full press conference below:
