Shannon Prather and Katie Galioto at the Star Tribune are reporting that steeply rising police costs and more city requirements are some of the reasons so many St. Paul festivals have been put on hold or moved. City leaders and police officials say they are trying to balance safety with community fun. They also are trying not to force taxpayers to supplement events. Festivals now off the calendar in recent years include Cinco de Mayo on the West Side, Highland Fest, Rice Street Parade, St. Patrick’s Day LuckyPalooza block party and Little Mekong Night Market. Community members say it’s unclear if Rondo Days will happen.
The newly formed Minnesota Office for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives was created to provide a lifeline for families searching for their loved ones. Nathan O’Neal at FOX9 is reporting the director, Juliet Rudie, says her office lacks the law enforcement authority required for them to access data needed to track and understand one the state’s most troubling and long-neglected problems.
David Gardner at the Washington Post profiles former NBA player and Minneapolitan Royce White. After the murder of George Floyd, White led several large-scale protests against police brutality. He was hailed as an emerging civil rights activist. Since that summer, White, 31, has publicly rebranded himself as a far-right populist. He has embraced conspiracy theories ranging from the origins of the coronavirus to the integrity of the 2020 presidential election and satanic influences in the federal government.
Bring Me the News reports that Connecticut State Police are searching for a 1989 Ford truck with Minnesota license plate YBN8321 in connection with a homicide investigation. Matthew Candler, 46, is a person of interest in the investigation.
Becky Z. Dernbach at Sahan Journal has a profile of Sarah Lancaster, the first educator of Asian/Pacific Islander heritage to win Minnesota Teacher of the Year.
Relief on wheels will soon be on its way to help the homeless population in the Twin Cities. It’s called the DRIP mobile shower. Volunteers who are skilled with steel and have a desire to help the unhoused plan to bring it to encampments this summer, via Jeff Wagner at WCCO.
The Minnesota Twins announced on Monday that they have recalled infielder Jose Miranda, who is playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s cousin. Infielder Miguel Sanó is on the 10-day injured list with a left knee sprain.
Within a 90-minute span of each other on Friday, KFAN’s Dan Barreiro and Mark Rosen and WCCO’s Chad Hartman all announced that they had tested positive for COVID-19, via Bring Me the News.
From WCCO: A group at Lake Harriet United Methodist Church in Minneapolis is on a mission to build the world’s largest pillow fort, and in turn, give those pillows away to people experiencing homelessness.
I got out of St Paul/Highland Park three years ago after 28 years. I attended many Highland Fests, Grand Old Days, Rondo Days, Tastes of MN, and Riverfests.
Unless they have sufficient police presence, I couldn’t see myself attending these anymore. The social media posts I see of what’s happening in Highland and MacGroveland just scares me, even worse in Frogtown or East Side. St Paul has a big problem, I can’t see anyone of any quality wanting the police chief job. It starts at the top.