Kare11
All-female council takes the oath in St. Paul
Four newcomers join three returning members in history-making lineup in the Capital City.
ST PAUL, Minn. — They strode across the stage at the Ordway Center to thunderous applause and took their place in history. The newly minted St. Paul City Council will be an all-female panel for the first time in the city’s 170-year history.
Four newcomers — Anika Bowie, Saura Jost, Hwa Jeong Kim, and Cheniqua Johnson — have joined the returning members Rebecca Noecker, Nelsie Yang, and Mitra Jalali. Together, they represent the youngest and most diverse governing body ever to take office in this town which some have nicknamed “St. Paula” in honor of their electoral feat.
All seven women are younger than 40, and six of them identify as BIPOC — Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. According to the Census Bureau, only 51% of the city’s 307,000 identify as white only, compared to 82% statewide.
In their first meeting Wednesday, the council elected Jalali as their new president. She grew up in St. Paul, the daughter of a Korean immigrant mother and an Iranian immigrant father.
“I know the lifelong experience of being asked, ‘What are you? Where are you from?’ Here. I’m from here. I love you Mom and Bubba for the life experiences that brought me to this stage.”
Jalali said the council will tackle a wide variety of issues, including the housing crisis and rent stabilization. The previous council exempted new construction from the city’s three percent cap on rent increases. A coalition of landlords, construction trade unions and bar owners supported other candidates, but to no avail.
The incoming council president said she’s engaged with people on social media that are fearful of what the seven progressive Democrats will do.
“A lot of people who were comfortable with majority male, majority white institutions in nearly 170 years of city history are suddenly sharply concerned about representation,” Jalali told the Ordway crowd, eliciting a long outburst of cheers and laughter. “My thoughts and prayers are with them in this challenging time.”
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, in his address, noted that he was the only person of color on the council when he was sworn in back in 2008. That same council had only one woman, Kathy Lantry.
“My, how things have changed!”
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said her daughter won’t have to grow up thinking that women are a minority in government and leadership roles.
“For many women, it’s the women that came before us — our aunties, our mothers, our grandmothers, who earned those stripes for us, who brought us that chair at the table so we could join it right away,” Flanagan said. “We don’t simply have to wait to be invited. We get to sit at these tables and be the people who make decisions because of their sacrifices. And we don’t have to ‘wait our turn.’ Our turn is now!”
Council Member Rebecca Noecker said she welcomes the chance to serve with six other women, to chart the direction of the city.
“This community is what this is all about. We are so lucky to live in this time,” Noecker said. “And in this city. And in community with one another.”
This comes 68 years after Elizabeth Decoursey became the first female ever elected to the council.
At least one of the sites was immediately cleared in response to the shootings.
MINNEAPOLIS — By Monday afternoon, there wasn’t a tent in site along the railroad tracks off of E 44th St between Hiawatha and Snelling Avenues. There was only some leftover crime tape.
Just 24 hours prior, two men were killed and a woman was critically hurt in a triple shooting there.
Sunday, a neighbor told KARE what started with one tent in August grew in recent weeks. Police Chief Brian O’Hara and Mayor Jacob Frey held a press conference that day.
“The Third Precinct, this part of the city, has the greatest concentration of homeless encampments so it remains a very serious public safety issue,” O’Hara said. “As soon as these encampments move in, we have a significant increase in crime in the general area and once we’re able to clear them, crime generally does go down.”
Monday, a City of Minneapolis spokesperson confirmed the encampment was “closed earlier today” and that “debris was cleared” from a smaller encampment where yet another triple shooting occurred early Saturday morning.
This one was near E 21st St and 15th Ave S. Three men were shot and one of them died.
Monday afternoon, there was a small fire going and a couple of adults seated outside. A memorial was also placed beside the fencing. The city says there weren’t any structures to remove from the location.
Frey’s office confirmed the immediate closure of the E 44th St encampment was a result of the shootings. However, there were prior discussions about closing it in the near future.
The Mayor’s Office sent KARE 11 the following statement Monday evening:
“The tragic and unacceptable loss of life at homeless encampments underscores the need for immediate action. Encampments are plagued by fentanyl abuse, drug trafficking, and gun violence, and they do not provide a dignified way to live—not for encampment residents and not for the neighbors in surrounding communities.”
“As new encampments form, we are committed to closing them while continuously offering shelter, addiction recovery resources, and support to our homeless residents.”
– Office of Mayor Jacob Frey
A city spokesperson also sent a statement saying the “Minneapolis Homeless Response Team is working right now with the Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County and other service providers to offer unsheltered individuals at both locations the necessary resources, services and shelter.”
“We want to help our residents find suitable arrangements in the most supportive and humane way we can. All of our Minneapolis residents deserve better,” the statement continued.
A police spokesperson confirmed no arrests have been made in either case.
The suspect was 17 at the time of the shooting, but he was charged as an adult.
A St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, more than two years after a drive-by shooting left a 17-year-old dead.
Casimir Semlak, of St. Paul, was charged with shooting 17-year-old Anthony Skelley in May 2022 during an apparent drug deal in South St. Paul. Police say a search of Skelley’s cell phone uncovered that the last number he was in communication with was linked to the suspect.
Semlak was also 17 at the time but was charged in the adult court system.
Following his death, family members told KARE 11 in a statement that Skelley was a junior attending St. Paul Public Schools’ Gateway to College program, and had “a beautiful soul with a cheerful presence and a joyful spirit.”
Semlak will be sentenced in January 2025.
The Moorhead Police Department said Paige Reinke was last seen Sunday wearing a blue sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.
MOORHEAD, Minn. — Officials are asking for the public’s help locating a 17-year-old Moorhead girl that is believed to be endangered.
According to the Moorhead Police Department, Paige Reinke was last seen Sunday near the 2600 block of River Drive North wearing a blue sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) describes her as 5-foot-4, 155 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Moorhead Police Department at 701-451-7660.
