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For everybody tired of hearing about police officers shooting family dogs for no good reason, here's a story about ... police officers shooting family dogs for no good reason, splattering a little girl with her beloved pets' blood — and then actually paying damages. That's right, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $225,000 to James and Aisha Keten, though only after a judge suggested that officers came a tad too close to plugging a toddler in the process of handling a search warrant very, very badly: From The Journal: Officers on April 13 were conducting a search warrant, looking...

-snip- Virtually all of America’s poorest cities have been led politically by Democrats for many years, even decades. In 2010, for example, not even one of the ten poorest large cities in the U.S. had elected a Republican mayor since the 1980s. In fact, 8 of the 10 cities had been led exclusively by Democrats for more than half a century. The common thread running through each of these economically decrepit cities is a phenomenon that Harvard scholars Edward Glaeser and Andrei Shleifer famously dubbed “The Curley Effect,” after its prototype, James Michael Curley, who served four non-consecutive terms as...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Police say hundreds of students brawled at Minneapolis South High School after a food fight got out of control. **SNIP** Minneapolis Police spokesman Sgt. Bill Palmer says 200 to 300 students fought and no weapons were used. He says about a dozen officers were on the scene and used chemical spray to break up the fight.

President Barack Obama is coming to Minneapolis on Monday, Feb. 4, to advance his proposals to reduce gun violence, which is a little bit like taking a boat out into the middle of the ocean to discuss the risk of fire in Joshua Tree National Park. Why doesn't he go to Chicago, where there is gun violence? And then, once in Chicago, why wouldn't he discuss that city's problem of gang violence? In fact, so long as he has the itch to take his bully pulpit on the road, Chicago is the natural, ultimate stop. Why, it is ground zero....

A 26-year-old man has been charged after police say he fired shots at a pizza delivery guy, after the man claimed the pizza he ordered was “too small.” Officers were called around 11:31 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 21 to a residence on the 2100 block of Russell Avenue North. The victim, a 45-year-old man, said he was delivering a pizza to the residence when the customer began arguing with him. The customer, identified as Demetrius Patterson, of Chicago, IL, said the size of the pizza was too small and demanded the delivery guy give him both of the pizzas he...

BREAKING: MINNEAPOLIS – Officers are on the scene of a reported shooting at a north Minneapolis business. Hennepin County sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Kiava says deputies were called to a shooting on the city's north side on Thursday. Footage from a television news helicopter shows multiple squad cars encircling a business called Accent Signage Systems in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood.

"This weld is our own version of the golden spike for the transcontinental railroad as it connects the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis," Fuhrmann said. "By connecting Central Corridor Green Line with the Hiawatha Blue Line, we will expand environmentally friendly, affordable transit options for residents of St. Paul, Minneapolis and the region."

The Walker Art Center truly did go to the cats, and the world meowed its approval. On Thursday, Aug. 30, more than 10,000 folks turned up for the outdoor Internet Cat Video Festival at the museum's Open Field area. Organizers had expected 2,500 to 3,000. By Friday afternoon, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, Slate.com, Buzzfeed and Mashable had all contributed articles to the viral purrs going around the Internet. And those stories were shared hundreds of times on Facebook and Twitter. "Internet cat video stories galore today," wrote technology journalist and former New York Times...

If you see military helicopters flying low over Minneapolis, don’t be alarmed. They’re just training in an urban environment. The U.S. Special Operations Command will be conducting exercises until the beginning of September. This week they’re using helicopters, including Black Hawks. They’re not giving out their exact training locations because they don’t want crowds to gather. But you may get a glimpse of the helicopters flying low between 7 p.m. and midnight.

State Democratic leaders are increasing pressure on a DFL legislator not to seek re-election after authorities said he had a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy at a rest stop in Duluth. "I am deeply disappointed with Rep. Kerry Gauthier's conduct," said House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis. "The conduct was wrong and ... I believe he should withdraw from the race for re-election." Last week, the St. Louis County attorney's office decided not to pursue charges against Gauthier, a first-term legislator from Duluth, for allegedly engaging in oral sex with a 17-year-old boy in a wooded area behind the...

If Cannes and Sundance are a little too highbrow for your tastes a new film festival launching in Minneapolis could be just the ticket. The Internet Cat Video Film Festival is being planned for August 30 on Walker Open Field. While nominations are still open take inspiration from some of the contenders below that show cats in their element, showing off the finer side of being feline. This rather unique (and slightly bizarre) celebration of feline frolics is the first time a festival has been dedicated to kitties. Organisers have clearly cottoned on to the cute cat craze sweeping the...

The first official identified by name in the Fast and Furious gunwalking investigation has been tied to a similar Minnestoa operation in 1996 where “more than 150 guns flow[ed] into the Twin Cities underworld,” Kevin Diaz of the Star Tribune reported yesterday. Identifying supervisor George Gillett, Jr., who is now a cooperating witness in House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform investigations, Diaz reveals “Gillett was a street agent tracking gun store sales to ‘straw buyers’ working for suspected gang members. Some of those guns turned up in drug busts and crime scenes, including one that was found at the...

Vander Lee was sitting with his brother and wife on the patio of Tanners Station in Andover about 7 p.m. Saturday when Clifford punched him once in the head, authorities said. The 43-year-old fell to the ground and struck his head on the concrete patio. Clifford, executive officer of the Minneapolis Police Department's SWAT unit, then left the bar, authorities said. According to the criminal complaint, Clifford said he was with his wife and acquaintances when he heard Brian Vander Lee using offensive language at a nearby table. He said he asked Vander Lee to stop, which he reportedly did...

Minneapolis police want you to know race has nothing to do with an epidemic of violent crime in their downtown. Same for crime reporter Matt McKinney: The recent increase in what he calls “flash mob” violence and mayhem is “random” and “no other real pattern emerges” and the “motivation for the attack remains unclear.” But more and more people in Minneapolis are connecting the violence with groups of blacks marauding through the downtown; beating, hurting, destroying and stealing. Sometimes right in front of police. A lot of it on YouTube. With lots of witnesses – 15 to 20 times over...

There is a price to be paid by reverends who turn their backs on both scripture and their own congregations: The reverend of a St. Paul church says he needs to raise $200,000 to pay off a church loan after most of his followers left because of his support for gay marriage. The Rev. Oliver White runs Grace Community United Church of Christ in St. Paul. The 69-year-old said he needs to raise the money by June 30. “We lost our income when we lost a number of people from our congregation.” White said. White said two-thirds of his followers...

By the end of the century, the Twin Cities area could see eight times as many deaths annually due to extreme heat as it does now, according to a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The projected increase -- from about 14 per year to 121 by century's end -- would be among the steepest experienced by 40 major metro areas. The authors said that is partly because extremely oppressive heat waves would be more of a shock to northern residents' systems.

MINNEAPOLIS -- A woman who became suspicious and called 911 after dropping her son off at a suburban Minneapolis day care provider's home stayed on the line as she went back to the house and discovered three people shot to death, according to transcripts of the call. The Brooklyn Park Police Department released the transcript of the call that took place Monday, minutes after investigators believe a lone male fatally shot DeLois Brown and her elderly parents.

“State [of Minnesota] not rushing to act on Vikings stadium,” fretted the January 13 headline of a column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. New Jersey billionaire Zygi Wilf, owner of the Minnesota Vikings, is seeking about $700 million in taxpayers’ money to build his team a new stadium in the state. The $700 million would be roughly split between state and local taxpayers. Members of one proposed site for the stadium have been especially disgruntled by Wilf’s request to take their money for his business. A group in Ramsey County, which includes the state capital of St. Paul, has collected...

The FBI said it searched eight addresses in Minneapolis and Chicago as part of a terrorism investigation Friday. Warrants suggest agents were looking for connections between local anti-war activists and terrorist groups in Colombia and the Middle East. FBI spokesman Steve Warfield told The Associated Press agents served six warrants in Minneapolis and two in Chicago. "These were search warrants only," Warfield said. "We're not anticipating any arrests at this time. They're seeking evidence relating to activities concerning the material support of terrorism." The homes of longtime Minneapolis anti-war activists Mick Kelly, Jess Sundin and Meredith Aby were among those...

MINNEAPOLIS – When Meredith Aby met with members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2006, she asked what it would take to get them to stop fighting. Jess Sundin did the same during her trip to Colombia 11 years ago. They returned and openly wrote and spoke about their experiences, while criticizing the U.S. government’s involvement in that country. FBI documents recently found by the anti-war activists suggest the trips may have started an investigation into apparent connections between local activists and radical groups in Colombia and the Middle East. One document says the probe expanded to include...

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) – Police arrested nine people at the Mall of America Monday, the day after Christmas, after multiple fights broke out, authorities said. Mall of America officials released a statement saying that around 4:20 p.m. 50 juveniles caused a large disturbance in the north food court. Witnesses said the fights started after there were reports that rappers Lil’ Wayne and Drake were visiting the Mall. Police, however, did not comment on these rumors.Cmdr. Mark Stehlik of Bloomington police said in a press conference that 30 officers responded to the fight and arrested five people (both adults and juveniles)...

The Minneapolis City Council approved a $1 million settlement Friday after a botched drug raid in 2010 in which an officer threw a "flash-bang" grenade into a Minneapolis apartment burning the flesh off a woman's leg. The payout to Rickia Russell, who suffered permanent injuries, was the third largest payout for alleged Minneapolis police misconduct on record. --SNIP-- On the night of Feb. 16, 2010, 18 officers were executing a search warrant on the apartment at 5753 Sander Drive based on a tip that narcotics were being sold at the address by someone named David Conley. In what Bennett called...

Labor Raid: The FBI raids the Chicago home of a local union leader looking for terrorist connections as the union's former chief is investigated for corruption. Why are we not surprised? Thuggery and corruption are not quite synonyms for unionism, but it gets very close when you consider the Service Employees International Union, formerly led by Andy Stern. From being involved in fraudulent voter registration in Texas to beating up Tea Party activists outside town hall meetings in Missouri, SEIU's reputation is well-established. Now we can possibly add a linkage to terrorism. On Friday, the FBI searched eight addresses in...

MINNEAPOLIS - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is blasting two high-profile leaders in the metro Somali community as anti-Muslim ahead of a conference with police departments to discuss Somali culture -- and the public spat is testing the limits of tolerance. The controversial claim comes from a group that is no stranger to controversy itself, and the conflict centers over who speaks for the local Somali community, which is a complicated mesh of 15 separate groups with deep cultural and religious divides. "I'm not anti-Muslim," said Omar Jamal. "I'm anti-Islamic terrorism." Omar Jamal and Abdi Bihi were the first...

Quote: www.fbi.gov/stlouis/press-releases/2011/local-man-pleads-guilty-to-providing-material-support-to-terrorist-organization Local Man Pleads Guilty to Providing Material Support to Terrorist Organization U.S. Attorney’s Office November 03, 2011 Eastern District of Missouri ST. LOUIS—The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that Mohamud Abdi Yusuf, 31, pled guilty to providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. According to court documents, from February 2008 through at least July 2009, Yusuf, conspired with others to provide money to al Shabaab, which was designated by the U.S. State Department as a foreign terrorist organization in February 2008. Yusuf transferred money to al Shabaab under fictitious names and telephone numbers utilizing money remitting...

The day after playing in a Minneapolis concert, Cory Smoot - also known as Flattus Maximus, the guitarist for metal band GWAR - was found dead on the band's tour bus Thursday. GWAR frontman Dave Brockie released a statement Thursday to Brooklyn, N.Y.-based MetalSucks, an online site featuring posts on heavy metal music. "Cory was found deceased this morning as the band prepared for a border crossing. There is no word as to the cause of death and the members of GWAR are completely shocked and devastated that this has occurred. At this point there is no word on arrangements...

Give some credit to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, even if the outcome of the Evanovich case was nothing more than common sense. Darren Evanovich and his sister participated in an armed robbery outside of a grocery store in Minneapolis last week, which they concluded by pistol-whipping the middle-aged woman they robbed. A Good Samaritan chased after Evanovich, but Evanovich pulled the gun when he turned the corner. Unfortunately for Evanovich, the Good Samaritan had a carry permit and a handgun of his own — which he drew and fired after Evanovich drew first. Evanovich died almost immediately, and the...

Minnesota Somalis said Sunday that they believe a man who made a tape posted by an al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group and then blew himself up in an attack on an African Union base in Mogadishu was a U.S. citizen from Minneapolis. The young man, who would be at least the fourth American and possibly the third Minnesotan to become a suicide bomber in Somalia, urges other young people not to "just chill all day" and instead fight nonbelievers around the world. The website Somalimemo.net, often used by the al-Shabab militia, said Somali-American bomber Abdisalan Taqabalahullaah had emigrated to the United...

The same study used to justify $270,000 in retroactive raises to Minneapolis Public Schools administrators could be used by the district to cut the compensation of its unionized staff. District leaders say the report, which found that hundreds of employees are paid above-market rates, will be used in contract talks as the district seeks pay and benefit freezes and other concessions from union-represented staffers. The study, compiled by Public Sector Personnel Consultants, found that 30 percent of union-represented employees, excluding teachers, are paid above a maximum proposed salary plan, costing the district more than $6 million per year. "Unions just...

NEW YORK (AP) — While more U.S. cities are resorting to force to break up the Wall Street protests, many others — Philadelphia, New York, Minneapolis and Portland, Ore., among them — are content to let the demonstrations go on for now.New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for example, said Friday that the several hundred protesters sleeping in Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters of the movement that began in mid-September, can stay as long as they obey the law."I can't talk about other cities," he said. "Our responsibilities are protect your rights and your safety. And I think we're trying to...

Police called him a "Good Samaritan," but Minneapolis detectives were still investigating Friday the case of a man who shot and killed an armed robber he chased down the night before. The man who fired the fatal shot had a permit for his handgun and told police he used the weapon after the fleeing robber turned and confronted him behind a restaurant. Police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said the department was leaning toward classifying the shooting as self-defense. "However, decisions on charging are left up to the county attorney's office. And since there's a death, it might even be taken...

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police say a man who witnessed an elderly woman being robbed and pistol-whipped shot and killed her attacker. Authorities say the armed robber confronted the woman in the parking lot of a grocery store about 10 p.m. Thursday, took her purse and hit her in the head with his gun. A man who witnessed the robbery chased the suspect and shot him. When police arrived, the witness told officers he had a permit to carry a gun and that he had shot the armed robbery suspect during a confrontation outside a nearby restaurant. He told officers where...

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 26, 2011—A professor has been censored twice, reported to the "threat assessment team," and threatened with criminal charges because of satirical postings on his office door. Campus police at the University of Wisconsin–Stout (UWS) censored theater professor James Miller's poster depicting a quotation from actor Nathan Fillion's character in the television series Firefly, and the police chief threatened Miller with criminal charges for disorderly conduct. After UWS censored his second poster, which stated, "Warning: Fascism," Miller came to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help. "Colleges and universities are supposed to foster brave and bold...

MINNEAPOLIS - A developer who wants to open a microbrew pub in Minneapolis has a unique business plan. For a $1,000 investment, neighbors can be part owner of the Smokehouse Brewpub and get free beer for life. Developer Jamie Robinson says free beer is among the equity options for the $800,000 restaurant and bar. The project needs $175,000 for a down payment and is targeting investors $1,000 at a time. Kelly Neisen has seized the opportunity. Neisen says as a homeowner she has a stake in seeing her neighborhood succeed. Minneapolis council member Gary Schiff says people crave something authentic,...

Lopez, of Coon Rapids, and two married couples he knows were attacked by a gang of 10 men ages 16 to early 20s, shortly after the group of friends left the Aqua nightclub in the city's Warehouse District early Sept. 2. The brazen assault took place not more than 30 feet from the 1st Police Precinct station on Fourth Street between Hennepin Avenue and First Avenue North. Now, if I were going to get assaulted, I would think that being next to a police station would be the best place to be. Help is next door, right? Not that morning,...

A series of fights broke out after a teen dance party in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday night, causing wild scenes on busy streets, and leading to the arrests of three participants. Early news reports called the action a "riot," but that term has since been downgraded to "mini-riot." The trouble started as hundreds of teenagers poured out of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which was hosting the "Big Bash 2" dance party. During the party, kids had scuffled with event security, leading to a police call, an early end to the party, and an exodus of riled-up kids. As a...

The MinnPost.com's David Brauer says the surprising switch "will happen before the opening of the Minnesota Vikings regular season September 11, and conceivably, early in the exhibition schedule." The NFL team is already simulcast on both KFAN-AM and KTLK-FM, and Clear Channel was already planning to simulcast the college football games of the University of Minnesota Gophers. The flip will put the potentially more lucrative all-sports KFAN franchise, with its strong 25-54 male demos, on a Class C1 signal with 100,000 watts at 922 feet. The KTLK-FM talk format, which replaced jazz KJZI in January 2006, will find a new...

Until alerted to the problem, city of Minneapolis posted a list of suggested tornado-repair contractors that included 22 that were unlicensed. After warning North Side tornado victims to avoid "unlicensed, unscrupulous contractors," Minneapolis officials failed to take their own advice and circulated a list that included 22 companies that were not licensed to perform home repairs

Abdirahman Warsame at Terror Free Somalia informed us late last night that messages appearing on known al-Shabaab websites indicate that a suicide bomber who carried out on attack on AMISOM forces in Mogadishu on Monday was a Somali-American from the Minneapolis area. A twenty-two minute audio was posted on the Somali Memo website (article and audio have since disappeared) that included a segment of an English-speaking Somali speaker — apparently the suicide bomber — who encourages Muslims in the West to “die for their religion.” Another article on Somali Memo identifies the speaker as Asadullahi Axmed “al-Imriiki” (“the American”), a...

Minneapolis Police are adding patrols to the northside to prevent looting. Broadway Liquor Outlet lost thousands of dollars in inventory because of looters right after the storm hit Sunday. Police say they've had a few reports of looting at homes and businesses.

Islamic Group Asks Napolitano To Investigate ‘Islamophobic’ Trainers Tuesday, May 24, 2011 By Penny Starr (CNSNews.com) – An Islamic civil rights group has sent a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security asking her to investigate whether “outside trainers” in charge of training national security personnel are “Islamophobic.” On Monday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, distributed a press release about the letter, of the same date, addressed to Janet Napolitano. CAIR charges in the letter that an “agency-wide” probe should be launched to determine if trainers “offer hostile, stereotypical and grossly inaccurate information about Muslims and Islam” as...

Soon after a tornado ripped through North Minneapolis pm Sunday afternoon, an estimated 20 looters ripped off Broadway Liquor Outlet. The high winds that downed trees and tore off roofs in the area also smashed the glass storefront of the liquor store at 2201 W. Broadway Ave., which was closed. The looters stole liquor, cigarettes and cash, said owner Dean Rose. The store had plywood boards nailed to its exterior by 7:30 p.m., but broken glass and cases of beer could be seen scattered on the floor inside. Rose said Sunday night he didn't know the extent of the theft....

Augsburg College is host to two civic events this week that are open to the public as well as to students, faculty, and staff interested in attending. On Tuesday, May 24, we will host a U.S. Naturalization Ceremony which will confer U.S. citizenship to new citizens from more than 50 countries. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. in Hoversten Chapel, and will welcome these candidates for citizenship as well as their family members and friends. The Augsburg community is welcome to attend as space allows. On Friday, May 27, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will meet with members of...

With their guns drawn, police surrounded a man who reportedly was trying to get through security at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with a bomb in a carry-on bag. It was a drill, but the trouble was no one had told the cops, who thought it was real. ... The routine drill conducted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began about 2:40 p.m. last Thursday, when a man with a fake bomb in his bag attempted to get through the security at checkpoint 2, which is near the United, American and U.S. Airways airlines ticketing counters, Hogan said. The screener...

The Uptown robbers struck again Tuesday night, only this time their victim was armed, police say. Edward Curtis, 61, who described himself to police as an ex-Marine, fired several shots at a group of men who attacked him as he got out of his car near his apartment, according to police records. Curtis thinks he may have struck one of the men, said Minneapolis Police Lt. Mike Fossum. "He had just parked his car in the parking lot," said Fossum. "These guys blitzed him. They just started kicking his ass. He managed to get off three rounds." The suspects, one...

With the increasing scrutiny teachers have received lately over the union-collective bargaining sagas, one would think valuable time would be given to the classroom basics (reading, writing, ‘rithmetic) of educating children. However, that time is also being given to topics that may not create students who’ll be better prepared to compete in the global workforce… This year, the 12th Annual White Privilege Conference will be held in Minneapolis and according to their website, should help you get your privileged, liberal mind right. The sponsor list is not available on the conference website, however some of the people promoting it are...

One of the issues we raised in the Jan. NER article, What Rep. Peter King Could Do About Radicalization of American Muslims was the broken humanitarian refugee program run by our State Department, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration Control and Enforcement agency and Department of Health and Human services, Office of Refugee Resettlement. We drew attention to the example of Somali Muslims who have posed terrorist threats here and abroad, rejected assimilation and lived off of taxpayer-funded welfare and MEDICAID while sending hundreds of millions of dollars home to war-torn Islamist Somalia wracked by civil war perpetrated by al Qaeda...

They’re calling it the parcel puppy. A Minneapolis woman is charged with animal cruelty after police say she tried to send a puppy through the mail. The poodle-mixed pup is being held temporarily at the animal control office in Minneapolis but still belongs to the woman who allegedly tried to mail it — 39-year-old Stacey Champion. “Clearly there wasn’t a whole lot of thought that went into this,” said Sgt. Angela Dodge with the Minneapolis Police Department. Dodge said last Tuesday Champion took the puppy to the Loring Post Office. The puppy was in a box with a priority sticker...

A Minneapolis woman has been cited for animal cruelty after postal workers say they discovered a puppy in a box she was mailing to Georgia. Police say the box was taped shut and had no air holes. And, had it been sent for delivery, the box would have been put in an airplane's unheated and non-pressurized cargo hold. Sgt. William Palmer says the Postal Service told police the dog would have died. Postal Service spokesman Pete Nowacki says post office employees became suspicious when the box fell off the counter after the woman left last Tuesday. Postal inspectors were summoned,...

Minneapolis may have dropped a notch on the "Most Literate City" list this week, but the metropolis picked up a new title: Gayest City in America. That's according to the Advocate, the national gay news magazine based in Los Angeles. The city came from nowhere to snatch the tiara from last year's winner, Atlanta, which slid to No. 7. "This was Minneapolis' first appearance [on the second annual list], and it shot right to the top," said Matthew Breen, executive editor for the Advocate. What makes Minneapolis so gay, so suddenly? The Advocate changed its criteria for making the list,...