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Volunteers still needed to help shovel snow for seniors
Two months after first asking, Senior Community Services is still looking for volunteer and paid shoveling help in Hennepin County.
PLYMOUTH, Minn. — So far this winter, work as a volunteer snow shoveler has been a breeze.
“It’s been very simple,” said Jeff Larsen, who spent a few minutes shoveling about an inch of light snow at a neighbor’s home in Plymouth. “I’m actually not supposed to do it unless it’s more than like 2 inches, but I don’t want her to slip.”
Larsen started volunteering to clear snow last winter. In the midst of record snowfall, Senior Community Services began reaching out in search of both volunteer and paid positions to help meet demand from seniors who were living at home but unable to keep up with clearing their driveways and sidewalks.
This winter, the snow has been slow to fall, but demand keeps piling up.
“People are asking for help, so it’s a good thing to do,” Larsen said.
Following an early snow scare on Halloween, Senior Community Services told KARE 11 that the waitlist for snow removal had grown to more than 200 seniors, and they made the difficult decision to stop taking new requests until they could find more people to help.
“We have need all across Hennepin County,” Jon Burkhow told KARE 11 in October. “So if you live in Bloomington or Minneapolis, we have an older adult in your city for sure, maybe not that far from your home, so usually people don’t have to drive very far.”
Following that initial story, that more than 50 new people have signed up to either volunteer or shovel driveways for about $20 per hour.
“I think a lot of people don’t know about us, so it’s great to get the word out there,” Burkhow said. “I think when they hear about it, they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I can help out in my community. I can help an older person who can’t shovel on their own anymore.”
Though he’s grateful for the response, he says there are still at least 150 seniors on that waitlist with winter really beginning to set in.
“We’ve still got two or three months of winter left probably,” Burkhow said. “Sometimes it snows into April, and a lot of our volunteers — once they make that connection — they’ll come back for the next winter, too.”
Larsen says his decision to come back for another season was even easier than the shoveling so far.
“For me, it’s somewhat selfish,” Larsen said. “I actually feel really good when I help her out, so… it’s a nice feeling.”
It’s an even better feeling for Susan Stoll, the neighbor he helps.
“It’s just an outstanding program, and he’s such a nice guy,” Stoll said. “Even if it’s just a little snow, he wants to shovel it because he wants to stay on top of it.
“He’s really become a friend. He’s sort of my winter angel. He watches over me.”
For more information on how to volunteer or work as paid shoveler through Senior Community Services, click here.
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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.
