Star Tribune
An essential guide for Twin Cities Marathon runners and their fans ahead of race day
With laces checked, bodies rested and bibs adjusted, about 8,000 runners will take on the 26.2 miles from Minneapolis to St. Paul this Sunday in the 42nd running of the Twin Cities Marathon.
Unseasonably warm weather notwithstanding, Sunday’s marathon and popular TC 10 Mile and other race weekend events signal autumn in the metro and Minnesota like few other public events. As many as 25,000 runners all told will be in the embrace of tens of thousands of spectators out in enthusiastic force to get them to their respective finish lines.
As for the marathon, there will be live music at strategic spots, artwork-in-real-time installations and “cheer squads” as added fuel — all areas that Twin Cities in Motion (TCM), the marathon organizer, takes as seriously as the fine details of logistics like starting corrals and gear drops.
TCM president Dean Orton said the emphasis remains on experience over clock time while coming up with races that appeal to a spectrum of runners and their supporters.
“The more we can understand the passions and the reasons people who are out there challenge themselves, it is inspirational [for our work],” he said.
What time do the races start Sunday?
TC 10 Mile
• 6:55 a.m.: Professionals start
• 7 a.m.: General start
Marathon
• 7:58 a.m.: Wheelers start
• 8 a.m.: General start
What is the weather forecast?
Sunday morning has a slight chance of rain. Saturday’s overnight low is in the high 60s. Otherwise, the National Weather Service says Sunday will feel like August: highs will be in the low to mid-80s, with mostly sunny skies and a dew point of 63 degrees. TCM has alerted all participants to take precautions, like staying well-hydrated, because of the warmth. It is operating all the races under red-flag conditions, meaning “extreme caution, with potentially dangerous conditions.”
What are some popular spots to watch marathoners?
TCM recommends these locations:
• Mile 2 area: along Douglas Avenue. Former Minnesota state Supreme Court Justice (and Vikings great) Alan Page has become an institution for his support, too, delivered by sousaphone. TCM has organized about 40 cheer zones as part of a Cheer Challenge to honor Page and his late wife, Diane, for their longtime marathon backing.
• Miles 4 and 5: The West Bde Maka Ska Parkway between Lake of the Isles and Bde Maka Ska.
• Miles 12 to 14: Runners need the cheers as they approach the half-marathon just off Cedar Avenue and along the eastern shoreline of Lake Nokomis.
• Miles 15 to 21: The West and East river parkways bracketing the Mississippi River.
• Mile 22 to the finish line at the Capitol: Summit Avenue is an especially good time and place to cheer runners digging deep to get it in, but be mindful of access and others looking to spectate.
How can I best follow runners’ progress online?
• During: Ahead of the race, download the TCM app, for Apple and Android, and search for runners (marathon and TC 10) to track live. There also are weekend schedules, course maps and a selfie filter to share race day photos.
• After: Go online to search results (find by person or by event) at MTECResults.com.
How else can I follow along?
KARE 11 is live-streaming both Sunday races at kare11.com/marathon, on its app (including its new KARE 11+ app for Roku and Fire TV) and on its YouTube channel.
What’s new this year? What is worth knowing?
• Gear bag drop-off change: TC 10 Mile runners can’t drop bags at the start on race morning. TCM lost its transportation partner for the race, and 10-milers must drop their bags ahead of time at the Health & Fitness Expo at the RiverCentre St. Paul. Marathoners still can drop a bag at the start line Sunday for transport to the finish line.
• Video-cheer: Run supporters can upload a video to a Cheer Channel that will broadcast as their participant crosses in front of a big screen at the 30-kilometer mark (Mile 18.6). Submissions must be uploaded by 9 p.m. Friday.
• More live art: There are more live art exhibitions this year. Community artists will work on massive canvases during the marathon “to capture the soul of the event,” according to TCM, and will also be present Saturday at the Capitol during the family events. Some of the locations, besides the expo, start and finish line areas, are Bde Maka Ska Parkway at the Xerxes Ave. intersection; Minnehaha Park near Godfrey Circle; and Summit Avenue at the Syndicate Street intersection.
• Planting trees: TCM has partnered with the Department of Natural Resources and the Future Forest Fund to plant one tree on state public lands for every participant in the marathon weekend races, from Saturday’s Diaper Dash to the headliner Sunday from Minneapolis to St. Paul. Orton said the emphasis fits with marathon’s description as “The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America” — to help sustain the beauty in outstate Minnesota, too.
Who are some runners to watch in the marathon and TC 10?
• Dominic Ondoro: The Kenyan is back in pursuit of more Twin Cities glory. A four-time marathon winner, he holds the course record of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 51 seconds, set in 2016.
• Hellen Jepkurgat:The runner from Kenya isn’t a stranger to Minnesota racing. She was second in the 2017 Twin Cities Marathon (2:31:50) to winner Jane Kibii, and won Grandma’s Marathon the same year (2:32:09).
• Tyler Jermann: A Minnesota Distance Elite athlete since 2017, he ran a 2:16:50 at Grandma’s in 2022. His personal best is 2:12:40 during The Marathon Project race in 2020, an event created for elites after the COVID-19 pandemic affected the world’s major marathons.
• Breanna Sieracki: An eight-time All America during her collegiate career at Minnesota Duluth, Sieracki has a marathon PR of 2:33:26. Since joining Minnesota Distance Elite in 2017, she has competed in a variety of races, from cross-country distances to the mile to half-marathons.
• Mare Dibaba: The former world marathon champion from Ethiopia also won Olympic bronze in the event (2:24:30) at the Rio Games in 2016 in Brazil. She’ll toe the line at the TC 10 on Sunday.
• James Ngandu: The Kenyan is one of the men’s favorites in the 10-mile race. He has a personal best of 46 minutes, 27 seconds.
A judge acquitted a 37-year-old man of threatening to harm St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Maplewood Mall and concluded that the defendant’s intention was to buy the shopping center and run for mayor.
Andrew Thomas Grzywinski, of St. Paul, was found not guilty late Thursday afternoon by Ramsey County District Judge John Guthmann on two counts of threats of violence.
The suspicion took root when Grzywinski sent a former girlfriend a text on Dec. 27, 2022, showing an assault-style gun on a window ledge, with a message that read, “Maplewood Mall is my idea, and Mayor of St. Paul is an end goal,” according to the charges filed in December 2022.
The woman alerted Woodbury police because Grzywinski was staying at a hotel in that city. A Woodbury police investigator said Grzywinski had been hospitalized Dec. 15-22, 2022, in Pensacola, Fla., “on a mental health hold,” the charges read, and a doctor there said Grzywinski’s threats should be taken seriously.
Woodbury police then notified their counterparts in Maplewood and St. Paul, leading to his arrest and charges.
In returning his verdicts in writing, Guthmann said, “The text message does not state or imply a threat to commit an act of violence. There is nothing expressly or impliedly threatening about the words ‘Maplewood is my idea,’ and the existence of a gun in the background of a panorama photo of a hotel room containing many other objects does not reasonably change the character of those words.”
The judge continued, “To conclude that defendant’s text was intended as an express or implied threat to the Maplewood Mall or anyone inside is entirely speculative and without support in the evidence.”
Guthmann’s filing noted that Grzywinski, who owns his own heating and cooling business, was not mulling or making any threats against the mall or the mayor but had been telling various people close to him that he wanted to buy the mall and run for mayor.
Star Tribune
Critics say Duluth judicial candidate fought improvements to domestic violence work as city attorney
Johnson said this week he felt a victim advocate position was important, but needed to “ask the hard questions” first.
“You have to be careful of what you take on,” he said, when potentially adding employees, considering potential future budget cuts. “I explore all options before jumping into something and that’s what we did with that position.”
After Holtberg’s phone call with Johnson, she said she sought advice from others and brought the opportunity and Johnson’s initial response to former Mayor Emily Larson. Larson confirmed this week that she then directed Johnson to apply for the grant. Funding was awarded to the city, and the position remains grant-funded today. Johnson said he doesn’t think Larson told him to apply, but said her administration was part of the discussion.
“We got it done, and we got it done in a way that’s stuck with the city,” he said. “Just because you ask hard questions doesn’t mean that it’s bad … that’s what I do, and as judge I’ll ask hard questions.”
Retired city prosecutor Mary Asmus said recently that Johnson told her at the time that if that position was added, he would probably need to dismiss someone from the office’s criminal division. This was at a time when criminal caseloads were high, she said. Johnson said he doesn’t recall saying that, but noted that grant funding isn’t guaranteed to last, inevitably affecting budgets and staffing.
“I don’t think he understood the importance of a victim services coordinator to the prosecution of a domestic violence case,” Asmus said, and “he was the first Duluth City Attorney in four decades who had never prosecuted criminal cases for our office.”
The DFL candidate for a Roseville seat in the Minnesota House is pushing back on allegations from his Republican opponent that he doesn’t live in the district he hopes to represent.
Curtis Johnson is currently a member of the Roseville Area Schools board. He has owned a home in Little Canada since 2017, according to Ramsey County property records.
In May he filed to run for the open seat in House District 40B, saying he lived in an apartment complex less than 3 miles from his Little Canada home. The district includes parts of Roseville and Shoreview and has been represented by DFLer Jamie Becker-Finn, who isn’t seeking re-election, since 2017.
In a statement, Johnson said he and his wife decided to move to Roseville last year, but they’ve struggled to find the right house. In the meantime, he’s been renting “a Roseville apartment as my primary residence while we keep searching for a forever home.”
“My wife and our youngest child still live in the house because we didn’t want to disrupt our child’s life by moving the rest of the family into my apartment and then moving them again after we found a house in Roseville,” Johnson’s statement said.
Wikstrom released an ad Oct. 15 that accused Johnson of lying about his residency, but he has not committed to making a legal challenge. A residency challenge would be decided by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
“My confidence level is high that we have a solid case he is not a resident of the district,” Wikstrom said in an interview. He noted that Johnson’s vehicle is often at the Little Canada home and a portable storage container appeared out front days after his political ad went online.
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