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A reporter’s story about St. Paul City Hall
Star Tribune reporter James Walsh tells the story about getting stuck in St. Paul City Hall back in January while covering a city council meeting.
ST PAUL, Minn. — After 30-plus years reporting news across Minnesota, James Walsh admits he covers less ground than he used to.
“I don’t go anywhere fast anymore,” he said. “I don’t do well on stairs anymore. This is about the extent of it for me now.”
After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014, he knew his body and mobility would deteriorate, so he focused on covering St Paul. And these days, even that would be nearly impossible without the use of his wheelchair.
“Your world shrinks, and I am an absolute witness to my world shrinking as this disease has progressed,” he said.
The latest example of that came after he covered a late St. Paul City Council meeting in January.
“I wrote my story and I was done about 8:30… and I get out of the door and everything is dark,” said Walsh. “And I go down to the skyway that I had come in earlier in the day and it was locked and blocked. I couldn’t get out.”
After taking the elevator to the first floor, he realized the nearest door was also locked.
“I rolled around and finally I went to the Kellogg Avenue entrance and there was a security desk there and there was a guard there, and I told him, ‘Hey, I need to get out,'” Walsh said.
He says the guard eventually found a janitor, who unlocked a door and helped him get outside where he thought he could make his way across the street to gain access through the city hall annex.
“And that was locked too,” he said. “So now I’m outside and I have to figure out a way, how to get back into the skyway system at 8:50 at night.”
Eventually, he said, he flagged down a woman in an apartment lobby down the block who let him through another locked door to access the skyway and make it to his car.
“If it would have been snowy or icy, it would have been not even an option for me,” Walsh said. “I might have been really stuck.”
That’s when this veteran reporter began asking questions — and realized the difference between ADA compliance and actual accessibility.
“They basically told me that that’s one of those situations where, technically, the building is accessible,” he said. “But I think the argument could be made that, without the skyway access, people in wheelchairs are probably less likely to go. And they’re less likely to participate in going to city council meetings, never mind someone like me who has to cover it.”
And that is why — with the encouragement of an editor — he is now covering his own story.
“If you don’t know that something is lacking, then you can’t fix it,” Walsh said. “So maybe the best that comes out of this is, this highlights the things that they need to do and it makes them easier for them to find the way to do it.”
And for the record, he believes the city’s response will soon go beyond saying sorry.
“They recognized there there things that need to be improved and I think they want to do that,” Walsh said. “I really didn’t know how difficult it was, until I found out how difficult it is.”
The City of St. Paul does have a new accessibility coordinator that started in December, and were among the officials that apologized to Walsh, adding that they are working with Mayor Melvin Carter and several departments on ADA updates.
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“The Power of a Transformed Woman” is Twyla Martin’s raw, unapologetic story about strength, transformation and rising above trauma.
ST PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota author and motivational speaker has written a new book and is holding a panel discussion.
“The Power of a Transformed Woman” is Twyla Martin’s raw, unapologetic story about strength, transformation, and rising above trauma.
On Friday, Nov. 1, Martin will speak with a panel at CSPS Hall in St. Paul about her book release.
- Twyla Martin – Author
- Nekima Levy Armstrong – Civil rights attorney, activities, and community organizer
- Chantel Sings – Powerhouse vocalist, songwriter, and performer
- Ashley DuBose – Singer, songwriter
- Jamela Pettiford – Vocalist and actress
- Lissa Jones – Speaker, advocate for African American history and culture
- Robin Hickman-Winfield – Producer, filmmaker, and CEO of SoulTouch Productions
- Alana Carrington – Creative professional with expertise in the arts, education, and community development
The letter penned by Lakes Area Vineyard lead pastor Troy Easton said Beau Shroyer of Detroit Lakes was “killed in an act of violence while serving Jesus” in Angola.
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — The leader of a church in northwestern Minnesota announced in a letter to his congregation that one of its members was killed during a Christian mission trip to Africa.
The letter penned by Lakes Area Vineyard lead pastor Troy Easton said Beau Shroyer of Detroit Lakes was “killed in an act of violence while serving Jesus” in Angola, and that many details about Shroyer’s death are still unknown.
“At this point, there are many details about what’s happened that are still unknown, however, we have been in contact with his wife Jackie, and are doing what we can to come alongside them in this shocking and awful time,” the pastor’s letter said.
According to Easton, Shroyer and his wife shared five children.
Arrangements to celebrate Shroyer’s life are still uncertain, the letter read, but Easton said the church will share updates with the public when more information becomes available.
Easton’s letter indicates Shroyer was in Africa with SIM USA, an organization long involved in “cross-cultural missions.”
Investigators say 27-year-old Mayan Deng Mayan shot a man following an argument at the unlicensed party at an Uptown business.
MINNEAPOLIS — A man will serve a sentence of more than 34 years in prison after pleading guilty in a fatal shooting at an after-hours party in Minneapolis.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says 27-year-old Mayan Deng Mayan was sentenced to 414 months, or 34 1/2 years in prison for the murder, which took place outside an Uptown Minneapolis business that was holding an after-bar party the morning of Sept. 18, 2022.
Police were dispatched to the Fade Barber Shop on the 1600 block of Harmon Place just before 5:30 a.m. and found 28-year-old Birahim Gildersleve of Rochester suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds.
Gildersleve was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center but did not survive.
Investigators learned the shooting followed a verbal argument outside the party and used surveillance video and a license plate reader to identify Mayan as the shooter. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder.
“Mr. Mayan took the life of Birahim Gildersleve and in doing so, devastated Mr. Gildersleve’s loved ones and damaged a community,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “There is no sentence that can repair the harm, but today’s sentence delivers accountability for Mr. Mayan and is in the interest of public safety.”
Mayan will be credited for 585 days already served.
