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Meet MOOV: the Minnesota-based rideshare company hoping to fill the gap if Uber and Lyft leave town

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The big question is how feasible MOOV can be when Uber and Lyft have years of experience.

WOODBURY, Minn. — As the Twin Cities draw closer to May 1, Uber and Lyft remain committed to leaving unless a rideshare ordinance passed by the Minneapolis City Council is reversed. While we wait to see if that happens, one Minnesota man says he has the answer.

His rideshare app, is called MOOV.

“Right now, I’m just moving at lightning speed, trying to get this app out there to the users,” said Murid Amini, founder of MOOV. “Hopefully far in advance of May 1.”

Amini says his app is much different than Uber or Lyft – drivers would keep 80% of profits, and he hopes to keep more routine background checks.

“My plan is to go further. I’m envisioning doing a deeper level of background checking, potentially more frequent background checking,” Amini said. “Right now the city requires a minimum annual background check. I probably would want to bring that up to quarterly as soon as I can afford to.”

It’s been a mad rush to get here. Amini says he only recently started creating MOOV.

“Less than three weeks ago, about 17, 18 days ago, went and started the company,” he said.

Amini is a prime example of the American Dream, whether he’s had time to recognize it or not. Born in Afghanistan, Amini and his family came to the U.S. as a child – something that he says lets him empathize with drivers, many of whom are immigrants.

“I talk to these drivers and I get their stories, and it just reminds me of what my parents went through,” he said. “They had a whole career and a whole life they left behind to, you know, get somewhere safe. And, you know, unfortunately, your skills aren’t transferable. And sometimes the only road you have to affording anything or taking care of your family is to drive for a rideshare.”

The big question is how feasible MOOV can be when Uber and Lyft have years of experience. There’s also the fact that there are nearly 10,000 rideshare drivers in Minnesota.

MOOV has had roughly 100 sign-ups so far.

“Yeah, I think it would be fair to say that it would be a massive undertaking,” Sean Lanterman, Director at Computer Forensics in Minneapolis, working in technology, said. 

Lanterman says replicating these companies – especially their costs – will be difficult.

“The reality is, they’re not easy to develop, they’re not easy to implement, and they’re not easy or cheap to sustain,” he said.

Still, Amini is determined, and ready to step in.

“If Uber and Lyft want to pull out of the market and leave it wide open, then I and other rideshares are happy to go and fill the space and meet the need,” he said.

Amini showed us email correspondence between himself and Minneapolis and St. Paul, showing that he’s applied for a rideshare license in those cities. Minneapolis wasn’t able to confirm if MOOV had applied but said there was one company that had submitted for a license.

Amini says MOOV has also reached out for an insurance policy that would cover what they need. We also asked if there were plans to immediately adapt for those who rely on Uber and Lyft for more specific transportation – those who are disabled, using rideshare for medical emergencies or even just to get to school.

“That is an area that may be of interest in the future, it has significantly complex, both regulations and insurance considerations and can get quite expensive,” he said. “I’m not against it. But right now, I need to pick a place to focus and that’s where am I going to have the largest impact the most quickly, and it’s, you know, the everyday rides and of course the accessible rides will be a part of that.”

Amini says he’s spent thousands of dollars of his own money, but is still looking for investors, and will likely need $250,000 to keep operational for the next six months.

Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries



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Former MN State Trooper Shane Roper, charged with manslaughter, requests case dismissal

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The former state trooper is charged with the killing of 18-year-old Olivia Flores.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Editor’s Note: The above video first aired on 8/26/2024.

The former Minnesota State Patrol trooper charged with the killing of an 18-year-old girl is asking for his case to be dismissed and a change of venue for it to be moved out of Olmstead County. 

The former trooper, Shane Roper, and his attorney argue that the “extensive and regional media coverage” jury pools are likely tainted and a fair trial could not be conducted in Olmstead County. 

According to a criminal complaint, Roper was driving 83 miles an hour, full throttle with his lights and siren off when he sped through the busy Rochester intersection by the mall and slammed into 18-year-old Olivia Flores.

Records show he’d been suspended twice and reprimanded twice more for similar behavior.

The order from Roper’s attorney also asks the court to preclude the introduction of any evidence related to prior speeding or traffic incidents involving Roper. 

Roper and his attorney are asking for charges 1-8 to be dismissed for “lack of probable cause.”



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‘This doesn’t change anything’ Biden apology for Native American boarding schools draws mixed reaction

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For the very first time, a sitting President has apologized for boarding schools that tore Native Americans apart and led to countless cases of abuse and death.

MINNEAPOLIS — During his first presidential visit to Indian Country on Friday, Joe Biden delivered a historic and emphatic apology, acknowledging 150 years of abuse, trauma and death inflicted by Native American boarding schools.

“I formally apologize, as President of the United States of America, for what we did,” Biden said. “It’s one of the most horrific chapters in American history,” said President Biden.

Christine Diindiisi McCleave, former CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, spent years documenting the stories of boarding school survivors and advocating for justice and accountability by the US leaders.

“My family has two generations of boarding school history that I know of,” McCleave said, during an interview for the KARE 11 Series “Lost History,” which detailed the impact of boarding schools in Minnesota.

During his speech on Friday, President Biden acknowledged the work of the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and efforts to better understand the horrors and generational trauma the schools inflicted.

“Generations of Native children stolen, taken away to places they didn’t know,” Biden said. “Children abused emotionally, physically and sexually abused, forced into hard labor, some put up for adoption without the consent of their birth parents. Some left for dead in unmarked graves.” 

Christine Diindiisi McCleave: “I struggle with what I’m supposed to say and what I really feel.”

Kent Erdahl: “Why do you say that?”

McCleave: “Well, because today is historic and while I am grateful to see this progress being made. I am also realizing just how short it falls… from real reparations, from real healing.”

She knows she’s not the only one who feels that way. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition surveyed survivors in 2016.

“The thing they wanted the least was an apology because, while it is an acknowledgement, it doesn’t change anything,” McCleave said. “The majority of them said they wanted a truth commission. Trying to find out exactly how many boarding schools existed, how many children went to those boarding schools and how many children died at those schools.” 

She says an investigation led by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, whose grandparents and mother were among those sent to these schools did help better understand that impact, but it only scratched the surface.

“They were only able to investigate the Federal Government’s records,” McCleave said. “Half of these schools were run by churches, of various denominations, and so a truth commission would be able to look into those records as well.”

“Nearly one thousand documented Native child deaths, though the real number is likely to be much, much higher,” Biden said on Friday.

Bills in both the House and the Senate could make that commission a reality, but until that happens, Christine says she can’t ignore the politics of an apology that took place in a swing state, just days before an election.

McCleave: “This apology doesn’t change anything for my mother, who was abused as a child. Of for my grandfather who was a abused at a Catholic Indian Boarding School.”

Erdahl: “Do you hope that this isn’t just an election ploy?”

McCleave: “I hope that this apology actually helps that bill get passed. Native American people are no stranger to being political pawns, so you know what, if this is an election ploy so be it, I hope something good comes out of it.”



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Hazelden addiction, recovery experts host first cannabis summit

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Researchers spoke about increased THC potency and the impact on youth brain development.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Whether purchased from dealer or dispensary, weed has become more potent over the years. In 2022, the federal government reported THC levels more than tripled since 1995.

Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Graduate School addressed this Friday at its first cannabis summit. Attendees primarily  included the nonprofit’s graduate students as well as undergraduate students from nearby universities.

Speakers included researchers from the University of Minnesota, Hamline University, Mitchell Hamline School of Law and others.

Ken C. Winters, is a senior scientist at the Oregon Research Institute’s Minnesota location and a consultant for the University of Iowa’s Native Center for Behavioral Health. 

He covered the interplay between youth, cannabis and health.

“It’s not your grandparents’ marijuana these days,” Winters said to the students.

The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Graduate school offers a 2-year program, in which students like John Ryan and William Barksdale are earning counseling degrees in substance use and mental health.

“The takeaway would be that you’ve seen potency levels increase quite a bit, and the research is trying to keep pace with that,” Barksdale said.

“As we saw today, marijuana use has gone up in the last couple years such that it’s eclipsed alcohol use in terms of daily users in the United States,” Ryan added. “It’s is much more concerning now because there is such a higher degree of potency that’s available on a wider basis.”

Ryan says it’s especially concerning for youth.

“The subject of the last presentation, which I found quite engaging, was the specific effects on adolescents,” he said. “So, teenagers and people within that young adult range, the 18 to 25-year-olds because that’s generally the period the most brain development takes place. So that’s the area of concern … but it’s still something that I think is being studied and being observed in the first stages of that.”

Kevin Doyle provided opening remarks. He has more than 35 years of experience as a licensed professional counselor. Today, he’s president and CEO of the grad school.

“Potency, dosage, frequency of use, availability, legal cutoffs in terms of age, all those things need to be talked about,” Doyle said. “Adolescent brain development. We know more and more about that every year. Sometimes it seems like every day we learn more about that.”

“How do we as a treatment community need to be prepared to respond?”

The summit comes as Minnesota works to set rules for the cannabis industry after legalizing the drug for recreational use last year. A public comment period is expected later this fall.



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