Star Tribune
Second Minneapolis mosque set afire in two days, public’s help sought finding suspect
One day after someone started a fire in a bathroom of a south Minneapolis mosque, another fire was set on the third floor of a different mosque less than a mile away.
Dozens of Muslim community leaders and imams condemned the alleged attacks at a Tuesday news conference at the Masjid Al Rahma mosque, the site of the second mosque fire. Several raised concerns that the alleged anti-Muslim attack Monday could have been more tragic, given that about 50 day care children and 50 worshipers were inside.
“When these attacks happen, it’s to our children, and that’s what makes it even more disturbing and personal for me,” said Nimco Ahmed, president of the Somali American Coalition Action Fund, as she held her 3-year-old daughter. “It’s very sad because this state that we call home is so precious to us.”
About 6:30 p.m. Monday, security guard Bahikoro Kouyate said he noticed smoke and fire coming from a third floor hallway at the Mercy Islamic Center, which contains the mosque in the 2600 block of Bloomington Avenue. The building was evacuated, including the day care in the basement. He said it was fortunate a fire station was directly across the street.
“Thank God the fire (department) was here,” Kouyate said.
The flames were fully extinguished by 7:30 p.m., the Minneapolis Fire Department said. Early estimates indicate the damages could be $50,000, community leaders said.
Minneapolis police responded Sunday about 7 p.m. to the fire at the Masjid Omar Islamic Center, in the 24 Somali Mall in the Ventura Village neighborhood. The suspect, described as a white man, entered the building with a red gas canister filled with flammable liquid before lighting a fire in the bathroom, according to a news release from the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Worshippers used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire, CAIR said.
Police released security photos of the suspect, who appeared to be wearing a black skullcap, glasses, a blue facemask and a gray hoodie.
Police suspect the man in both mosque fires, along with previous property damage incidents, including one in January, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at the news conference.
O’Hara said police are investigating whether it was an anti-Muslim bias crime, and said he meets with with victims anytime there’s a possible hate crime incident.
In response, the department is increasing the presence of officers at Muslim community centers and is taking other protective measures that O’Hara did not detail. Crime prevention specialists were sent to mosques to advise staff on how to increase security at the sites, he said.
“We’re very confident that we will be able to bring this person to justice, but in the meantime we cannot afford to have anything else happen, and we want to be able to ensure that all people can be safe,” O’Hara said.
Police ask that anyone with information about the suspect to email policetips@minneapolismn.gov or call 612-673-5845. CAIR Minnesota announced a $5,000 reward to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest.
More than a dozen news conference speakers voiced support for the Muslim community and lamented that it is too often the target of Islamophobic attacks.
“We’ve got to do something,” said Minneapolis Council Member Jamal Osman. “Hate cannot win in our state.”
A solidarity event is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at the Masjid Al Rahma mosque.
The Lynx are in the hot seat.
The team lost Game 3 of the WNBA Finals series against the New York Liberty on Wednesday night 77-80, setting the stage for a decisive match at Target Center on Friday night. Fans in the arena reacted with resounding disappointment after Sabrina Ionescu sunk a three-pointer to break away from the tie game and dashed the Lynx’s chance at forcing overtime.
Before we get to the reactions, first things first: The Lynx set an attendance record, filling Target Center with 19,521 spectators for the first time in franchise history. That’s nearly 500 more than when Caitlin Clark was in town with the Indiana Fever earlier this year.
Despite leading by double digits for much of the game, the Lynx began the fourth quarter with a one-point lead over the Liberty and struggled to stay more than two or three points ahead throughout.
The Liberty took the lead with minutes to go in the fourth quarter and folks were practically despondent.
Of course, there were people who were in it solely for the spectacle. Nothing more.
The Lynx took a commanding lead early in the first quarter and ended the first half in winning position, setting a particularly jovial mood among the fanbase to start the game.
Inside Target Center, arena announcers spent a few minutes before the game harassing Lynx fans — and Liberty fans — who had not yet donned the complementary T-shirts draped over every seat.
DULUTH – The Minnesota and Wisconsin transportation departments will make upgrades to the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge in the summer of 2025, in preparation for the structure to become the premiere route between this city and Superior during reconstruction of the Blatnik Bridge.
Built in 1961, the Blatnik Bridge carries 33,000 vehicles per day along Interstate 535 and Hwy. 53. It will be entirely rebuilt, starting in 2027, with the help of $1 billion in federal funding announced earlier this year. MnDOT and WisDOT are splitting the remaining costs of the project, about $4 million each.
According to MnDOT, projects on the Bong Bridge will include spot painting, concrete surface repairs to the bridge abutments, concrete sealer on the deck, replacing rubber strip seal membranes on the main span’s joints and replacing light poles on the bridge and its points of entry. It’s expected to take two months, transportation officials said during a recent meeting at the Superior Public Library.
During this time there will be occasional lane closures, detours at the off-ramps, and for about three weeks the sidewalk path alongside the bridge will be closed.
The Bong Bridge, which crosses the St. Louis River, opened to traffic in 1985 and is the lesser-used of the two bridges. Officials said they want to keep maintenance to a minimum on the span during the Blatnik project, which is expected to take four years.
Red Wing will celebrate the grand opening of its first permanent set of pickleball courts next week with an “inaugural play” on the six courts at Colvill Park on the banks of the Mississippi, between a couple of marinas and next to the aquatic center.
Among the first to get to play on the new courts will be David Anderson, who brought pickleball to the local YMCA in 2008, before the nationwide pickleball craze took hold, and Denny Yecke, at 92 the oldest pickleball player in Red Wing.
The inaugural play begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday, with a rain date of the next day. Afterward will be food and celebration at the Colvill Park Courtyard building.
Tim Sletten, the city’s former police chief, discovered America’s fastest-growing sport a decade ago after he retired. With fellow members of the Red Wing Pickleball Group, he’d play indoors at the local YMCA or outdoors at a local school, on courts made for other sports. But they didn’t have a permanent place, so they approached the city about building one.
When a city feasibility study came up with a high cost, about $350,000, Sletten’s group got together to raise money.
The courts are even opening ahead of schedule, originally set for 2025.
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