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Early dock installs on Lake Minnetonka due to warm weather
Niccum Docks started installing docks on Lake Minnetonka last Monday — six to seven weeks earlier than usual.
MOUND, Minnesota — UPDATE: Monday afternoon, Freshwater Society and Hennepin County Water Patrol were out on Lake Minnetonka and did not declare ice-out. Freshwater Society’s Chris O’Brien said there is still ice on the Lower Lake.
From sunrise to sunset, crews with Niccum Docks are busy. They started installing docks on Lake Minnetonka last Monday — six to seven weeks earlier than usual.
“I wouldn’t say we were caught off guard, but it was a little unexpected,” said Danny Grady, co-owner of Niccum Docks.
Most of the company’s clients can be found on Lake Minnetonka, which narrowly missed tying the record Monday for earliest ice-out. The current record is March 11, 1878. Lake Minnetonka already broke the record this winter for latest ice-in date, declared January 13.
“It’s got everyone’s hopes up… just to enjoy the summer and the lake… for a little bit lengthier time this year,” Grady said.
Over the weekend, boaters could be seen out on the lake.
“I just picked this boat out this weekend from my cabin and I was like, might as well go out and try it. It’s a nice day,” said Trace Gordon of Mound.
For the next month and a half to two months, Buffalo-based Niccum Docks will be busy from sunrise to sunset.
“The sooner we get a jump on installing these docks, the sooner the customers get their dock in, and then the sooner we get a little bit of a break,” Grady said, adding, “Because… every docking company, us, too, we’re going seven days a week.”
Grady said they are also seeing another year where water levels are lower.
“This spring, it’s up a little bit from last fall, but in the springtime… we expect to lose water in the springtime if we don’t get rain. So we’re anticipating the water levels to drop. We hope they don’t,” Grady said.
Because of it, some customers are choosing to add on to their docks to get it to the right water levels for their lifts to work properly.
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The chief was discussing the shooting of Davis Maturi, who for months had been contact with the MPD about escalating harassment from his neighbor, John Sawchak.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said his department “failed” after a man was shot, allegedly by his neighbor in the city.
“We failed this victim. 100%, because that should not have happened to him,” said O’Hara in a Sunday evening press conference.
The chief was discussing the shooting of Davis Moturi, who for months had been contact with the MPD about escalating harassment from his neighbor, John Sawchak.
Sawchak was charged with shooting Moturi as he was pruning a tree on his front yard on Oct. 23.
Moturi remains hospitalized with a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion.
O’Hara and the MPD came under a heavy attack from the Minneapolis City Council after it was revealed that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office had charged Sawchak, but the MPD had not arrested him.
“MPD still has not arrested the suspect despite charges from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for Attempted Murder, 1st Degree Assault, Stalking, and Harassment and a request from the HCAO for a warrant with $1 million bail. MPD told the HCAO they do not intend to execute the warrant ‘for reasons of officer safety,’” said the letter from the Minneapolis City Council.
“We failed to act urgently enough,” said O’Hara, before citing staffing concerns as a contributing factor.
It was a stark difference from the tone the chief initially took on Friday, then saying “If we wound up in a deadly situation, the headlines would read ‘MPD shot mentally ill person’.”
On Sunday, O’Hara said his previous comments were meant as a response to accusations that the MPD “didn’t care,” about the case.
“This is the result of over-politicizing policing in Minneapolis,” said O’Hara.
O’Hara stated that the MPD will, for the moment, continue waiting for Sawchak to exit his home to arrest him, but the chief added “We are running out of options before we have to escalate the matter.”
The heated back-and-forth between the city council and the chief continued earlier Sunday when Minneapolis City Council member Emily Koski released a statement questioning O’Hara and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey actions in the matter.
“Our Chief of Police is hiding behind excuses, and our Mayor…is just hiding.” said Koski in the statement.
