Thursday, March 7, 2013
A thief takes advantage of a moment of inattentiveness at Lyndale neighborhood gas station.
Early on the morning of Mar. 1, a driver pulled into the gas station on the corner of Nicollet Ave and 35th Street for what would prove to be a very expensive refreshment, according to a report filed by Minneapolis police officers. It was just after 4 a.m. as the 31-year old pulled up to pump number two at the Super America and got out of his car. He strode across the apron to the station's convenience store, but left his car running—it was late, and he wanted a cup of coffee to ward off the pre-dawn darkness. He wouldn't be gone long. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a stranger walk in his direction with a funny gait. He seemed either drunk or high, but inconsequential either way. He swung open the gas station door and sidled up …
Monday, February 25, 2013
The Soo Visual Arts Center's store in the former Yeti Records space will be a home for special projects.
The corner of Nicollet Ave and 35th Street just got a new store—after a fashion. Once an pop-up holiday art shop for the 2012 Christmas season, the Soo Visual Arts Center's SooLOCAL is set to become a permanent fixture on the corner, according to the center's director, Carolyn Payne. "It's a storefront on a very busy street, with a lot of foot traffic. It's very good fit for SooVAC," Payne explained, using the Whittier-based gallery's acronym. "It's nice to see it be a gallery again" following a stint as a record store, she added. Payne said retail won't be a big part of SooLOCAL, although the popular holiday pop-up shop may well return next holiday season. "We book shows (in the main gallery) a year and a half out," she explained, …
Saturday, February 23, 2013
With credit tight for small businesses, local cafe is in similar spot to many local small businesses.
To most folks who've stepped inside Dan Swenson-Klatt's doors at 3700 Nicollet Ave, Butter Bakery Cafe would not seem like much of a credit risk. Flocks of people step up to the counter morning, noon, and night, for their taste of the eatery's delicious output. However, when Swenson-Klatt went shopping for loans to help him move his business down the street to its new location in the Nicollet Square building, he found his bankers a little reluctant to give him a loan, according to a profile in the Star Tribune: “I’ve gone back a couple times, and there seems less hesitation, but they don’t seem ready yet,” Dan Swenson-Klatt said the other morning after shoveling his south Minneapolis sidewalk and greeting customers. “So far, I use their …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
City officials offering updates on Nicollet Ave streetcar project.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
A roundup of crimes and incidents reported to the Minneapolis Police Department Feb. 4 and 5.
Feb. 4 A resident of the 3300 block of Blaisdell Ave South had a fairly unfortunate morning, but an excellent excuse for being late to work. Around 6:30 a.m., they started their car, but realized they had left their wallet inside. They ran back into their home to grab the missing item, but when they emerged minutes later, the car had vanished. The thief barely made it 10 minutes away before smashing into another car and fleeing on foot. The police report grimly noted "the car was not driveable" after the crash. Two 20-year old men were arrested on the 6100 block of Lyndale Ave South and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on narcotics charges just before 8 p.m. The police report reads a bit like a mad lib. It notes that police seized an …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Open houses planned to showcase project's advances.
The Nicollet-Central Corridor transit study advances apace. On Wednesday, City of Minneapolis officials released a map showing proposed routes and a list of stops for a streetcar or "enhanced bus" line through the core of the city. Tellingly, the line is broken by a big green box indicating the site of the current KMart Lake Street store, with a note saying the route from 28th Street to Lake Street is still up for debate. City officials are hoping to find a way to re-open the stretch of Nicollet Ave that once ran right through the store. Mayor RT Rybak has said the KMart project likely won't attract the necessary private capital until a new Bus Rapid Transit station is built at the intersection of Interstate 35W and Lake Street. See …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
A roundup of crimes and incidents reported by the Minneapolis Police Department Jan. 7 and 8.
Two CARAG residents and one Savage resident were robbed at gunpoint late Tuesday night, according to a report filed by officers with the Minneapolis Police Department. The trio, all in their mid-20's, were seated in their vehicle on the 3400 block of Colfax Avenue South around 10 p.m. They told police they were waiting for a friend, when three other men appeared out of the night. Allegedly wielding at least one gun, the men robbed the car's occupants of unspecified objects before fleeing. Police say they recovered finger prints from the car's door handle. The police report did not indicate any reason why the three were targeted. Other Incidents - Jan. 8 A Kingfield resident reported their minivan's window was smashed overnight while the …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
A roundup of crimes and incidents reported to and by the Minneapolis Police Department on Dec. 5 and 6.
Wednesday morning, an unfortunate 12-year old woke up an hour late for school, according to a report filed by officers with the Minneapolis Police Department. Bravely, he started out for Anthony Middle School. By the time he reached the intersection of 48th and Nicollet, though, it was already 10:30 a.m.—an hour passed Anthony's start time. That's when officers patrolling Tangletown spotted him. Police pulled over to question the boy, as he "appeared to be a juvenile," according to the police report's legalese. On finding out that he was late for school, they gave him a ride to Anthony and released the boy to school staff. To top it all off, the boy seems to have escaped being cited for truancy. Other incidents Around 3 a.m. on Dec. 6, …
Bar in the Lyndale neighborhood asking for unspecified monetary damages.
Thursday morning, the owner of a bar in the Lyndale neighborhood filed a lawsuit suit against the City of Minneapolis, alleging discrimination and retaliation by city business inspectors and a senior police commander. Champion's Bar and Grill, located at the intersection of Blaisdell Avenue South and Lake Street, was the target of a large police sting operation in late 2011 and early 2012 that resulted in charges against 14 drug users and small-time drug dealers. In the lawsuit, owner Rick Nelson claims that the Minneapolis Police Department's commander initiated the operation and conspired with city license inspectors to target his bar with trumped-up licensing violations. He also claims that he and his staff work diligently to prevent …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
A roundup of crimes and incidents reported to and by the Minneapolis Police Department on Dec. 4.
A truck owner woke up to an unpleasant—if strange—surprise on Tuesday morning in Linden Hills, according to a report filed by officers with the Minneapolis Police Department. After parking their vehicle near the corner of 44th Street and Vincent Avenue South around 8:30 p.m. on Monday night, the driver left for the night. When they returned at 7:30 a.m. the next morning, they discovered their car was missing two wheels. Some time during the night, unknown thieves put all four corners of the vehicle on blocks, removed the front two tires, and made off with all 24 lug nuts off each wheel. The rear two tires were left on the truck, while the culprits piled the other two on the boulevard, leaning on a tree. No similar thefts were reported in …
AmberG
9:00 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
That's funny, Kingfielder! Thanks for the laugh. more ›