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Hyundai announces free anti-theft software clinic in Minneapolis
The first mobile clinic will be open Friday to customers at the old Kmart parking lot in Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS — Hyundai owners are getting some long-awaited news while thefts of vehicles continue to soar.
Starting Friday, customers can get a free software upgrade that the automaker all but guarantees will fix the design flaw that has made the cars so easy to steal.
The first clinic will be at the old Kmart parking lot, starting at 8 a.m. Minneapolis Police Chief Dan O’Hara says as many as six Hyundai vehicles are still being stolen every day in the city.
“It’s incredibly frustrating because this problem has exploded,” said Chief O’Hara.
The Minneapolis Police Department had reported 40 vehicles stolen in 2021 to now 2,150 this year alone.
The crime is often posted on social media and is due to a design flaw with the vehicle’s traditional key. It makes certain models easy to start — sometimes with just a USB port. Many people have criticized the automaker for not fixing it fast enough.
“It’s a big undertaking for any company to be able to do this, but we understand it’s a huge inconvenience for our customers,” said Hyundai Vice President of After Sales David VandeLinde.
Hyundai first rolled out an alarm system, then free steering wheel locks and now mobile clinics at cities across the country. One clinic was most recently set up in Chicago and serviced nearly 850 cars in three days.
Technicians take as little as 20 minutes to install the software on any vehicle with a key — not those with a push button start — that are made between 2011 and 2021.
“It takes time to engineer a specific software solution for each of the vehicles, but in a matter of weeks, we had all of the software launched,” said VandeLinde, who reports Hyundai has made nearly a million upgrades since launching it mid-February. It’s also reporting a high success rate.
“We have not been able to validate a theft post solution that’s attributed to failure of the software,” said VandeLinde.
Federal guidelines also mean that a recall has not been met, despite Chief O’Hara calling for one. He says the software is the next best thing.
“If we can’t mandate to get all these cars off the road to get them fixed as soon as possible, we need to do everything else we possibly can,” said Chief O’Hara.
The clinic will also run Sunday and Monday in St. Paul at Allianz Field.
Date: Friday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 11.
Location: Minneapolis: Former Kmart Parking Lot
Address: 10 W. Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55408
Date: Sunday, Nov. 12 and Monday, Nov. 13
Location: St. Paul: Allianz Arena – Shopping Center Parking Lot
Address: 400 Snelling Ave, N. St. Paul, MN 55104
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Police are investigating after three men were shot early on Saturday morning.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police are investigating after three men were shot in the Ventura Village neighborhood early Saturday morning.
According to Minneapolis police, officers were called to the area around East 21st Street and South 15th Avenue around 5 a.m. Saturday.
Officers found three men had been shot. One of the men died and the two others were taken to the hospital with what police described as life-threatening injuries.
Officials said the shooting happened at a small homeless encampment.
Police have not announced any arrests as of Saturday morning.
KARE 11 will update this story as more information is made available.
This Halloween the chocolate shop is getting very festive.
MARINE ON SAINT CROIX, Minn. — A small sweet shop in a Minnesota river town has won some BIG awards for its chocolates.
St. Croix Chocolate Company in Marine on St. Croix has won national and international awards including Best of Show in this year’s America’s Division of the International Chocolate Awards.
Their chocolates are available at the St. Croix Chocolate Company kitchen or online.
This Halloween they are selling a Halloween Countdown Calendar that features 14 prize-winning recipes made into ghosts, bats, skulls and other spooky configurations. They also have a Boo Bag-handled tote that comes with their “best of” Halloween assortment.
Owner and Chocolatier, Robyn Dochterman, joined KARE 11 Saturday to share what St. Croix Chocolate Company has to offer.
MINNEAPOLIS — Making pasta at home is relatively simple, as long as you have the right tools.
October is National Pasta Month and Red Rabbit‘s Corporate Chef, Adam Lerner, joined KARE 11 Saturday to show us how to make homemade noodles in the confines of your own kitchen.
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