Star Tribune
Three-story loon statue headed to park near Allianz Field
A nearly three-story loon statue will be the focal point of a St. Paul park planned for the United Village development surrounding Allianz Field.
The steel bird, posed as if it’s taking flight, will measure nearly 33 feet high and 88 feet wide, the Snelling-Midway Redevelopment Group announced Friday. The sculpture will be crafted by Andy Scott, a Scottish artist with more than 90 installations around the world.
“The role art will play in the United Village development has been part of its planning from the very beginning,” Snelling-Midway partner and Minnesota United FC soccer team owner Bill McGuire said in a statement.
Installation of the sculpture at the southeast corner of Snelling and University avenues is planned for early summer, the release said.
In a statement, Scott said that after learning about the project, it became “quickly apparent” to him that the sculpture would take the shape of a loon.
“It’s so symbolic of Minnesota, the natural environment that has helped define it and the people who have called it home throughout its history,” he said.
Long-awaited development on the 35-acre site surrounding the stadium began this fall, after delays attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and riots following the death of George Floyd. Buildings nearby, including the Midway Shopping Center and Big Top Liquors store, sat charred and vacant for more than a year. Bulldozers finally demolished the structures in late 2021.
In addition to the one-acre park, the $160 million first phase includes plans for an all-abilities playground, an office building, a hotel and two restaurants. McGuire has said he expects housing to be built in future phases.
The City Council, acting as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), on Wednesday voted to allocate up to $13 million of tax increment generated by private development on the site towards public infrastructure, such as roads. The HRA also approved a $4 million forgivable loan, backed by tax-increment financing left over from other projects in the city, to assist with construction of the restaurants and office building.
“The development we are supporting now is what attracts investments to the underperforming properties in the area,” St. Paul Planning and Economic Development Director Nicolle Goodman said during the meeting.
Council Member Russel Balenger, who represents the area, said he’s heard from constituents who are excited to see the site coming alive.
“I’m very excited about moving forward with this, and I think it’s already been a great addition to the community,” he said.
Two men are dead and one woman was injured in a shooting at a homeless encampment in south Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, police said. It was the second shooting at a Minneapolis encampment this weekend.
At about 2:20 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a reported shooting in the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue near the railroad tracks at the small encampment between Snelling and Hiawatha avenues. At the scene, officers found two men with fatal gunshot wounds, said Sgt. Garrett Parten Minneapolis Police spokesman. Responders rendered aid, but both men died at the scene.
A woman was found at the scene with life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital where she was being treated Sunday night, he said. Police have yet to say whether the three were living at the encampment.
Officers detained three people, who Parten said have since been released after police found they were not believed to be involved in the shooting. No suspects had been identified as of 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The shooting is the second at a southside homeless encampment this weekend. One man died and two were critically injured early Saturday at an encampment shooting near E. 21st Street and 15th Avenue S. On Sunday, the man was identified as Deven Leonard Caston, 31, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“We don’t know if there’s a connection between this homeless encampment shooting and the one that occurred yesterday,” Parten said on Sunday. “That is a consideration of the investigation. We can’t rule it out.”
Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury, who represents the area and lives nearby, was at the site of the shooting Sunday afternoon. She said officials need information about what happened to better understand how to address situations like this long-term.
“This is an absolute tragedy, and this type of violence should never occur within our city,” she said. “It really makes me think about how we need to look at this more systemically and not just take a whack-a-mole approach and expect the problem to go away.
During Sunday’s Twitch stream, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez played Madden while discussing making homebuying more accessible, building affordable housing, eliminating student loan debt and raising the federal minimum wage.
After the match, Walz showed off his Sega skills in a round of “Crazy Taxi,” the Y2K-era racing game where gamers play as a taxi driver picking up passengers and taking them to their destination for cash.
Walz called himself a “first-generation gamer” and recalled playing “Crazy Taxi” when he bought a Sega Dreamcast. He also mentioned the Minnesota Star Tribune’s coverage of how his old game console was sold and ended up with a Plymouth resident, who still has it.
Afterward, Walz and Ocasio-Cortez watched a short clip of Trump denying on Rogan’s podcast that he lost the 2020 presidential election. Democrat Joe Biden won that year.
Ocasio-Cortez during the livestream also showed viewers her farm on the cozy, indie game Stardew Valley. Walz said the game reminded him of Minnesota: “You’ve got mining,” he said. “You’ve got agriculture. You’ve got snow.”
Before Walz headed out to a rally in Nevada, he pleaded with viewers to vote. More than 12,000 viewers tuned into the livestream on Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch channel. More watched from Harris’ channel.
”Hey guys, they’re now scrambling and trying to call us Nazis and fascists,” said Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, who draped a sparkly ”MAGA” jacket over the lectern as she spoke. ”And you know what they’re claiming, guys? It’s very scary. They’re claiming we’re going to go after them and try and put them in jail. Well, ain’t that rich?”
Declared Hogan in his characteristic raspy growl: ”I don’t see no stinkin’ Nazis in here.”
Trump has denounced the four criminal indictments brought against him as politically motivated. He has ramped up his denunciations in recent weeks of ”enemies from within,” naming domestic political rivals, and suggested he would use the military to go after them. Harris, in turn, has called Trump a ”fascist.”
The arena was full hours before Trump was scheduled to speak. Outside the arena, the sidewalks were overflowing with Trump supporters in red ”Make America Great Again” hats. There was a heavy security presence. Streets were blocked off and access to Penn Station was restricted.
In the crowd was Philip D’Agostino, a longtime Trump backer from Queens, the borough where Trump grew up. The 64-year-old said it was appropriate for Trump to be speaking at a place bills itself as ”the world’s most famous arena.”
”It just goes to show ya that he has a bigger following of any man that has ever lived,” D’Agostino said.
