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Nur-D and Minnesota Orchestra blend two different styles on stage
On Friday and Saturday the hip-hop artist will join the Minnesota Orchestra, combining two different styles of music.
MINNEAPOLIS — Since 2018, Nur-D has quickly grown in Minnesota’s music scene. But his music has never sounded quite like this.
On Friday and Saturday the hip-hop artist will join the Minnesota Orchestra, combining two different styles of music.
“This is the biggest thing I’ve ever done in my career,” he said.
On Friday morning, Nur-D, also known as Matt Allen, had his last rehearsal with the group.
“It’s inspiring,” he said. “It’s inspiring to be at this level of musicianship.”
The show was arranged by Andy Thompson.
“It’s a challenge,” said Thompson. “It’s always a challenge. The main goal with these shows is to make everybody happy, to challenge all the musicians. And to also give them something fun to play, and bring out all the different emotions in Matt’s music.”
Nur-D will be showcasing his ups and downs, not shying away from hard topics like the murder of George Floyd, which he explored in his album “38th.”
“I lost fans,” he said. “I did. Something that I’ve learned is that you should be yourself. You should talk about the things that are important to you, and let people make the decision, let them decide how they’re going to respond to you. But I am so lucky to say that my fan base is the best in the world. Because I gained so many more people that I lost.”
Tickets are available at the Minnesota Orchestra’s website and shows are on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
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According to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, the initial investigation indicates that it was an accident.
ST AUGUSTA, Minn. — Alexander “Xander” Mick, the 13-year-old boy who died on Oct. 12 at a haunted hayride, was volunteering when the deadly incident occurred, officials say.
The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office said Mick was a volunteer at the Harvest of Horror Haunted Hayride in St. Augusta when he was run over by a trolley wagon being pulled by a tractor. According to a press release, Mick’s job at the hayride was to frighten the riders being pulled through the cornfield area.
Nobody witnessed the incident, but deputies say that the initial investigation indicates that it was an accident.
Officials say staff and bystanders, including an off-duty police officer and an off-duty medic, immediately started to render aid, but Mick was pronounced dead at the scene.
The obituary described Mick as an active eighth-grader at Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School who was involved in band, choir, robotics, soccer, Taekwondo and Boy Scouts. He was also very involved in his faith community, where he worked with kids and played in the praise band.
“Xander was always so helpful, scientific, very techy, loved computers, was full of energy, had a great sense of humor and an infectious smile. He loved Jesus with all his heart and shared that with others,” reads the obituary published on the Williams Dingmann Funeral Home website. “Xander was kind, very polite, unique, creative, investigative, and saw the good in everyone. He always tried to be first to say, ‘Love you more.’”
The hayride announced last week that it would be closing for the season.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Mick’s family. As of Tuesday, it had raised nearly $41,000, which exceeds the initial goal of $30,000.
“We are so overwhelmed by the love and generosity of our friends and community that helped us reach our goal,” the organizers wrote in an update on the fundraiser. “Any further funds donated after meeting the Mick’s expenses will be used as memorials in Xander’s name to bless families, ministries, and organizations in our communities.”
Of 1,125 applications the department has received so far this year, 60 have been hired. Chief Brian O’Hara says it’s the most in nearly a decade.
MINNEAPOLIS — The number of people applying to the Minneapolis Police Department is up – as of Tuesday morning, that number is up 78% year to date compared to last year. With 1,125 applicants, that seems like a number that would excite the department.
Instead, Chief Brian O’Hara says it’s not nearly enough.
“We will hire more people for sworn positions this year than what we will lose,” O’Hara said. “But the problem is, it’s not good enough.”
“We need to be hiring at least 100 people a year in order to maintain the police department and have a slight increase each year,” he continued.
Despite all those applications, O’Hara says they’ve hired 60 people so far this year – something he says is the most number of people they’ve hired in close to 10 years.
“While we are seeing the increase in applications, we are not seeing as great an increase as we should be in people that are then being forwarded to us to be hired onto the police department,” he said. “And that’s very concerning.”
The chief puts that on their hiring process – something he says needs to change.
“The way the system traditionally has operated is not conducive to the reality of what is needed to get the best candidates in the door. The reality is people can apply here today, they can change their mind next week, and there’s options, endless, endless options in policing around this state,” O’Hara said.
O’Hara says he wants to focus more on keeping applicants engaged throughout the hiring process.
“If we want to get those folks that are considering Minneapolis, we have to stay on them and reassure them and make sure we hold on to them until we actually get them in the door and get them in a position,” he said.
Applicant data came from a city auditor’s report. In that report, diversity among candidates is also discussed.
Of those 1,125 candidates, 85% are male and 15% are female. 64% are minority candidates.
“We need to better target some of our underrepresented communities in the city for the police department, and in particular, you know, the Native and Latino communities,” O’Hara said. “We’ve had tremendous increases in applications, and the vast majority of them are minority applicants.”
The budding new relationship started in the most unlikely of places for 41-year-old Erik Koffski.
MADISON LAKE, Minn. — The story of 41-year-old angler Erik Koffski and his new 16-week-old sidekick began on an early September morning, right before sunrise, as Koffski started fishing in a tournament on Madison Lake in southern Minnesota.
Koffski said for the next half hour, he could hear the roar of a meow before he finally saw a kitten swimming toward him.
Erik said he scooped up the wet little — in Jana’s words — “schmoopy,” who then sat and watched Erik fish for hours.
Once the tournament finished, Erik tried the old, “Nice knowing ya, scram,” trick, but the kitten wouldn’t have it. Erik said the cat followed him to his jeep, hopped in and ultimately sealed their fate.
In the days since, the two have bonded on fishing trip after fishing trip, going home together each time because Erik’s wife and son fell for the feline, too.
All that was left to do was name the kitty.
… and the only name that seemed to make sense? Fisher.
