For MPR, Matt Sepic and Jon Collins report, “A 911 transcript released by the city of Minneapolis Monday afternoon documents the dramatic minutes after Andrew Tekle Sundberg allegedly fired a weapon into his neighbor’s apartment. Sundberg, known by friends and loved ones as Tekle, his Ethiopian name, was shot to death by police snipers after a six-hour standoff early Thursday morning in the Seward neighborhood. … During the 911 call, a woman later identified as Arabella Foss-Yarbrough, told dispatchers that at least two bullets had been fired through her apartment and gone straight through the wall.”
Caroline Cummings reports for WCCO-TV: “Gov. Tim Walz said a state court case striking down several of the Minnesota’s abortion restrictions as unconstitutional is settled, and that he won’t ask the attorney general to appeal the ruling. … A Ramsey County judge last week ruled many restrictions violate Minnesotans’ right to an abortion under the state constitution affirmed by Doe v. Gomez, a 1995 state Supreme Court case. The laws blocked include a 24-hour waiting period; parental notification if a minor seeks an abortion; disclosure of certain medical information before the procedure; and a provision that only allowed doctors to perform abortions.”
In the Star Tribune, Tim Harlow writes: “Anoka County and Metro Transit can’t agree on who should pay to run the Northstar commuter rail line more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic caused ridership to plummet. The Anoka County Board has made what it calls its ‘full and final payment’ to cover the county’s share of 2022 operating costs for Northstar, but Metro Transit says the $1.95 million check does not fulfill the county’s obligations. Metro Transit and Anoka County have been battling over payments for two years.”
For Patch.com William Bornhoft says, “During a rally at the state Capitol for abortion rights on Sunday, groups Our Justice and Pro-Choice Minnesota called on the city of Minneapolis to provide funding for abortions. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe. v. Wade, Our Justice says it expects a ‘dramatic increase’ in people traveling to Minnesota for abortion. Of its immediate neighbors, the state of Minnesota has the least restrictive abortion laws in effect. Minneapolis Council Members Aisha Chughtai and Robin Wonsley, along with the local abortion rights groups, are calling on Mayor Jacob Frey to include funding for abortion in his upcoming proposed budget.”
Jess Fleming writes in the Pioneer Press: “Twin Cities chef and restaurateur Brian Ingram is in Washington, D.C., this week to testify before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on crime and how it has affected his businesses and employees. Ingram, owner of Hope Breakfast Bar, The Gnome and upcoming downtown St. Paul supper club The Apostle, has been outspoken about the effect that crime — specifically seven burglaries of his restaurant and offices — has had on him and his staff. … Ingram said he agreed to the invitation from Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, and chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., on the condition that he not have to choose a political side.”
At KARE-TV, Devin Ramey says, “The Minnesota Aurora FC is now one win away from becoming league champion in both the team’s and USL W League’s inaugural season, but the Twin Cities’ latest sports team success story likely couldn’t have happened without home crowds that are larger than some professional women’s soccer teams. … Through eight home games, in both the regular and postseason, the Aurora averaged 5,518 fans per game, which would have been in the top half of the NWSL for average attendance, based on the latest average attendance numbers collected by Soccer Stadium Digest.”
In The Washington Post Fred Bernstein writes, “Claes Oldenburg, a Swedish-born artist whose lighthearted caricatures of everyday things — such as monumetal renderings of lipstick and binoculars as well as “soft sculptures” of hamburgers and ice cream cones — made him a leading force in pop art, died July 18 at his home in Manhattan. He was 93. … Mr. Oldenburg’s outdoor installations included a giant cherry balanced on a spoon in the sculpture garden at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis … .”
The AP reports: “North Dakota’s only abortion clinic has gone to court seeking to block a trigger law banning abortion in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of a national right to abortion. The state lawsuit from the Red River Women’s Clinic is asking a judge to declare the state ban unconstitutional — or at least to extend the July 28 date when it would take effect.”
I’m siding with Arabella Foss-Yarbrough on this one.
Reading the Mpr piece, it refers to the service records of the two police who fired the shots, which us not terribly relevant since it is highly likely they eoukd not shoot unless approved by superiors. And not sure how good the body cam footage would be from across the street.
And the media selectively not showing his social media posts showing multiple handguns and rants.
And what would be the point of that? Unless they want to explore how hard it is to commit someone in this state or most states it does little. People can be many things, including engaging in violence and also having mental health and drug issues. If he was in a psychotic episode, he has no insight.
This could have been a shining moment for community based mental health crisis intervention and deescalation. It failed miserably.
It was a 6 hour standoff. 6 HOURS!! Was anybody there from the groups saying police don’t handle mental health incidents correctly? Someone could have driven to Mayo in Rochester to pick up expert psychologists and back with 3 hours left to talk with the man. How long after the shooting did protests and vigils start?
Ms Foss-Yarbrough has every right to be angry about what happened and she asked a very important question: Would as many people be at a vigil if she were killed instead?