Star Tribune
Man mauled to death by 4 pitbulls behind his Brooklyn Center home
A man was mauled by four pitbull dogs outside his Brooklyn Center home and died after suffering bites over “a majority of his body,” officials said.
The incident occurred Thursday afternoon behind a house in the 5700 block of N. Halifax Avenue, police said.
The man, in his 20s, died Thursday night at a nearby hospital, said Police Cmd. Tony Gruenig. The victim’s identity has yet to be released.
Officers who responded to the scene deployed a nonlethal round and struck at least one of the dogs, which sent all four of the animals from the backyard into the residence, according to police.
“The victim had most of his clothing ripped off and had extensive bites on a majority of his body,” a statement from police read.
The dogs live elsewhere and the man was caring for them for the day, Gruenig said.
No one else was at the home at the time, the commander said, leaving it uncertain how much time passed between the attack and when “a neighbor just came out” and saw what happened.
Gruenig said police are trying to figure out what prompted the American pitbull terriers to attack the man. So far, police have not determined whether anybody is criminally liable for the mauling.
Emergency responders did an immediate ventilation procedure on the victim before he was taken to a nearby hospital for surgery, the statement continued.
Before he died, police initially thought the man was going to pull through and spend several weeks in the hospital.
All of the dogs were transported and quarantined at Pups Under Police Security (PUPS), an animal holding facility in Maple Grove for Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Crystal, Maple Grove, New Hope, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
The future of the dogs will be determined after they undergo a dangerous dog evaluation, according to police.
Star Tribune
St. Paul City Council bucks Mayor Carter in passing lower tax increase
“You’ve got to be able to say, ‘Here’s how much we want to spend, and here’s what we want the impact to be,’” Carter said.
During the council meeting, Johnson, the Ward 7 council member, alluded to those statements, saying people have used such language to try to discredit women in leadership, especially young women. This is the first budget from St. Paul’s new all-women council.
Staff writer James Walsh contributed to this report.
Star Tribune
Downtown St. Paul’s Lowry Apartments condemned, displacing tenants
After months of maintenance problems and safety concerns in downtown St. Paul’s Lowry Apartments, city officials condemned the building, forcing dozens of tenants to abruptly relocate to hotels this week.
On Monday afternoon, city staff responded to a plumbing leak in the 11-story building at 345 Wabasha St. N. Officials reported significant damage and signs of vandalism, including copper wire theft that left electrical systems exposed. The leak also raised concerns about mold.
To make repairs, the building’s water must be shut off — a move that would leave tenants without boiler heat and fire sprinklers, Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher said in a Tuesday email to state Rep. Maria Isa Pérez-Vega and City Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who represent the area.
After determining heat and water could not be restored quickly, Tincher wrote: “There was no other option than to conclude the building was not safe for residents to stay.”
Property manager Halverson and Blaiser Group (HBG) agreed to provide alternative housing for tenants for up to 30 days, Tincher said. City staff worked with Ramsey County’s Housing Stability team and Metro Transit to help 71 residents pack and move.
Before then, the building belonged to downtown St. Paul’s largest property owner, Madison Equities. After the January death of the company’s founder and longtime principal, Jim Crockarell, the dire state of the group’s real estate portfolio became apparent.
The Lowry Apartments, the sole property with a high concentration of low-income housing, quickly became the most troubled. Residents reported frequent break-ins, pest infestations, inoperable elevators and more, to no avail.
Star Tribune
Metro Transit allocated $12 million to boost security, cleanliness on Twin Cities light rail and buses
They will be soon. With more money to spend, Metro Transit plans to bring on 40 more this year. With their ranks growing, TRIP agents, clad in blue, have recently started covering the Metro C and D rapid transit lines between Brooklyn Center and downtown Minneapolis.
The big investment in public safety initiatives comes as Metro Transit is seeing an uptick in ridership that plunged dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been slow to recover. This year ridership has been a bright spot, the agency said.
Through October, the agency has provided 40.1 million rides, up 7% compared with the first 10 months of 2023. In September, the agency saw its highest monthly ridership in four years, averaging nearly 157,000 rides on weekdays, agency data shows.
At the same time, crime is down 8.4% during the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same time period last year, according to Metro Transit Interim Police Chief Joe Dotseth. However, problems still persist.
On Nov. 29, Sharif Darryl Walker-El, Jr., 33, was fatally shot on a Green Line train in St. Paul. Just a week earlier, a woman was shot in the leg while on the train and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Earlier this year, a robbery attempt on the Green Line in St. Paul left a passenger shot and wounded.
“Our officers are spending time on the system and sending a clear message to everyone: Crime will not be tolerated on transit,” Dotseth said. “And we will work to ensure those commit those crimes are held accountable.”
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