MINNEAPOLIS — Contractors and security crews methodically worked to remove razor wire and large sections of security fencing around Minneapolis’ former Third Police Precinct building on Monday.

The site has been sitting, seemingly untouched, since it was torched and ransacked by protestors after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

The sight of movement at the site was so surprising for some, that it elicited claps and photos from passersby.

“If they are taking the fences down, it must mean something is happening,” said Marne Detmar, who has spent years walking by the building. “It’s coming back and that’s such a good thing after the devastation that was what happened.”

Detmar, like others in the community, is hopeful the building will be used as a community space in light of that devastation and the years of inaction that followed.

“It’s a painful reminder to this community of what everybody went through,” she said.

“I feel like it’s more a punishment if you think about it,” said Zyanna Goode, who also lives in the neighborhood. “You know, they’ll fix a pot hole that’s inconvenient for early commuters but for our community it’s been like four years. What took so long?” 

The community around the building has seen many changes in that time.

Janice Downing helped lead the transformation of the nearby Coliseum Building, which nearly burned down during the rioting in 2020. Four years later, the Coliseum re-opened as a space for local businesses, non-profits and community members. 

“As we brought our building up, we were like, ‘What about you? Do you. Do it,'” Downing said.

Now, she says they are anxious to hear more about what comes next… next door.

“The city has done multiple listening sessions and I’m like, ‘How many times to do you have to listen in order to get the message that people want you to make this a community-based event center that people can come and use,'” Downing said.

Though plans for the building do include a community space, many questions remain about what it will look like and whether the city council will support plans to turn some of it into an early voting center, which acts as a central location for city elections staff, training and equipment.

“We are a bit a ways away from exactly what it’s all gonna look like,” said Public Works Director Margaret Anderson Kelliher. “But we have heard loud and clear by a 3 to 1 ratio. People really like this idea of a democracy center with community space. And that is our goal is to achieve that.”

In the meantime, community members hope cleanup will finally move quickly, so healing can follow.

“I do not think that it should be used as a political backdrop. It has nothing to do with national politics,” Detmar said. “But I have my thoughts about the city council and some of the city council members and the fact that they have not stepped up when it comes to the police force in general and the police precinct that still stands the way that it is.”

“I think it’s about being a part of the solution,” said Kamal Allah, who also lives nearby. “The talk is cool. Everybody has something to say, but who is going to do something? Who is going to be part of the change, who is going to actually going to stick their neck out and be a part of it.” 

ROCHESTER, Minnesota — In Carlos Simon’s “Fate Now Conquers,” the composer was inspired by a journal entry from Ludwig van Beethoven in 1815 that read, “Iliad. The Twenty-Second Book But Fate now conquers; I am hers; and yet not she shall share In my renown; that life is left to every noble spirit And that some great deed shall beget that all lives shall inherit.”

“When you think about fate, there’s so much unknown; there’s so much uncertainty. And then you just kind of have to go through with it and then really experience it yourself,” said Chia-Hsuan Lin, Rochester Symphony’s new music director. 

Lin can relate. Her journey to conducting came after a life-altering incident. But Lin has always been passionate about music. 

“I was a kid and I was watching TV. It was a piano concerto. And then I saw the pianist on stage doing this… fingers flying on the black and white keys. I was mesmerized. I loved it,” Lin recalled. 

Her parents fostered her curiosity, putting her in piano lessons at the age of 3. 

While growing up in Taiwan, Lin studied piano in elementary school and then percussion. She majored in percussion performance at National Taiwan Normal University. 

“After college, I was applying for graduate programs in the United States and then I was hit by a car. So that kind of changed the trajectory of my career,” Lin said. 

While riding her scooter home to meet a student for a music lesson, a car turned left on a red light and crashed into Lin’s scooter. Lin broke her left wrist and suffered internal bleeding. 

During her time in the hospital and while recovering at home, Lin felt restless. 

“Something was missing and I couldn’t imagine what life would be like without playing music,” she said. 

Not able to play percussion with a broken wrist, Lin said, “I was looking for something during my recovery time after the accident and I thought, let me try conducting.” 

Even though Lin’s wrist healed, by then she was fully focused on conducting — a path she’s not sure she would have taken had it not been for the accident. 

“It really was a big turning point for me,” Lin said. “For me, that was such an important time that changed how I perceive music and also how I perceive life in general. I think it makes me really, really treasure every time that I get to be whether on the podium or be with friends and especially be able to perform with a group of musicians who also love this art.” 

The Rochester Symphony celebrated its season opener earlier this month with Lin as the new music director. The former director, Jere Lantz, retired in 2022 after more than 40 years. 

For the 2023/2024 season, final candidates were invited to conduct a concert. 

“There’s just something compelling about the way she conducts. She’s very efficient and precise. You know what she wants. She shows it really quickly which all of us who are pros really appreciate. Let’s get it done,” said Karen Hansen, a clarinetist who has been with the Rochester Symphony since 1991. 

Hansen also served on the search committee. 

“She’s very passionate and I felt even when she was doing her audition time that she really drew a lot of out of the orchestra, musically, just by what she shows. Now as we’re working with her, we get more into the details of things she wants to tweak and shape,” Hansen said. 

For the season opener, the Rochester Symphony’s program, “Immortal Beethoven” showcased “the exhilarating power of music.” The program included Simon’s “Fate Now Conquers,” Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. 

“Music creates this unlimited space and place for imagination. How I feel might be different from how you feel, but I really want to… create that joined moment that we’re all here and to go through the struggle, the intimate moment and the unknown, and then see where Beethoven take us to that triumph, celebratory last movement in Beethoven 5. I want to share that there might be struggle, you might feel there’s fate, but Beethoven conquered it all with his art. I really want to share that with everybody,” Lin said. 

When asked if she saw parallels between the program and Lin’s own life, she smiled and said, “Maybe. Maybe unconsciously. I didn’t think about it that much at the time when we were looking at the program, but maybe unconsciously something is there inspiring me.”

Rochester Symphony’s next concert, “Sleepers Awake” is November 16 and will feature the Rochester Symphony Chorale. 

Lin also does some guest conducting in the Twin Cities. In December, she will conduct Tony DeSare with the Minnesota Orchestra. 

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police are planning a “full review” after the arrest of a man who allegedly shot his neighbor last week on the city’s south side. The case drew criticism because the suspect was not arrested sooner, with the police chief saying the victim had been failed. 

Early Monday morning, officials took 54-year-old John Herbert Sawchak into custody after a multi-hour standoff at his home on the 3500 block of Grand Avenue S. 

Sawchak was charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, stalking and harassment. He allegedly shot his neighbor, Davis Moturi, who was pruning a tree on the line between their two properties. The criminal complaint goes on to detail numerous complaints of harassment the Moturis experienced since purchasing their house in September 2023.

RELATED: Man charged after shooting his neighbor in Minneapolis

“We failed this victim 100% because that should not have happened to him,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara in a Sunday evening press conference.

It was a different tone than O’Hara had on Friday when he defended not yet arresting Sawchak, saying “If we wound up in a deadly situation, the headlines would read ‘MPD shot mentally ill person.'”

Anger and blame was directed at MPD by ranking members of the Minneapolis City Council for allegedly failing to act on Moturi’s numerous complaints against Sawchak before the shooting, and failing to arrest him immediately after the shooting.

Following the arrest early Monday morning, O’Hara said in a press release a full post-incident review will be initiated. O’Hara said the police department will make changes, find weaknesses and “institutionalize any necessary protocols that will ensure a proper level of urgency, efficiency, and effectiveness.” 

“We must continually review our actions to ensure we are doing and being our best. Under my leadership, we will be a learning organization. We will take the time to review the facts surrounding the incidents that can have a rippling impact that starts with a victim and continues throughout the community. The shooting of Davis Moturi is one of those incidents,” the press release from MPD said. 

Mayor Jacob Frey released a statement Monday evening supporting O’Hara and the review. His full statement reads:

My heart is with Davis Moturi, his wife, and their families. Any time a community member experiences gun violence, it is unacceptable.

I support Chief O’Hara’s decision to conduct a post-incident review of this entire case, including Mr. Moturi’s complaints to police, the shooting that injured him, and the arrest of his alleged shooter that followed. Our City is committed to always doing better, and this means closely examining our past actions and finding when there are concrete ways to improve, grow, and learn. 

Our police department will continue to do the hard work to improve how they respond to complex situations like this one while dealing with a difficult staffing shortage. 

And this situation was indeed complex. Given reports of mental illness, presence of firearms, possibility of explosives—and all of this in a residential neighborhood— a careful and methodical approach was required to ensure that lives were not lost. 

Even the slightest miscalculation could have resulted in the suspect, members of the community, Minneapolis police officers, or our law enforcement partners being killed. Our officers worked to de-escalate the situation and arrest the alleged perpetrator in the service of justice. I am grateful the arrest was made.