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Authorities, parents discuss concern about rising youth car theft
As County Attorney Mary Moriarty announces a new coalition to curb youth crime, parents are also sharing concerns about auto thefts and law enforcement response.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Hennepin County Attorney is teaming up with local law enforcement in a new collaboration to curb the recent string of auto thefts involving juveniles, even as parent groups express their own concerns about youth crime and the law enforcement response.
“We know our youth are in crisis,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at a news conference. “What we are trying to do is intervene … because we cannot ignore the early warning signs.”
The new effort involves collaborative meetings between law enforcement and a team made up of county attorneys, child protective services, social workers and educators to identify and share information about at-risk youth. The group can then contact families and connect them with community resources.
Moriarty said the string of car thefts started with a viral online video showing kids how to easily steal certain models of cars; some of the youths involved have been as young as 10 years old.
Moriarty said the goal of the new collaboration is to intervene early to avoid escalating criminal activity and keep kids out of the criminal justice system.
However, when kids are arrested, the county attorney’s office will now work to reach charging decisions more quickly: within one day for youths admitted to juvenile detention, and within five days for kids who are not detained.
Cases involving kids who flee law enforcement will also now be subject to judicial review.
“This model seeks to challenge the traditional model of court-ordered intervention at the end of a charged case,” Moriarty said.
A group of Black parents, community members and youth organizations planned to hold their own noon news conference to discuss concerns about the rise in youth car thefts and high-speed police chases conducted in response.
“It is highly concerning that there have been an abnormally high number of incidents involving our young people, alleged stolen vehicles, dangerous car crashes, and high-speed chases involving police,” attorney, civil rights activist and Wayfinder Foundation Executive Director Nekima Levy Armstrong said in a statement ahead of the news conference. “With summer upon us and the school year coming to an end, it is likely that we could see an increase in these dangerous circumstances that put young people and the public at risk of harm. We can’t stand by and allow this to happen on our watch. There are lives and futures at stake and these challenges require investment in youth employment opportunities, recreational programs, and mental health services.”
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Whether you plan to attend a ballgame in Minneapolis or Fort Myers, the Twins are putting seats up for purchase.
MINNEAPOLIS — Snowflakes are falling but for true fans, it’s never too early to think about baseball season.
The Minnesota Twins announced that tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday for all 2025 home events – regular season games at Target Field, spring training games in Fort Myers and TwinsFest.
Regular season
The 2025 season will include 81 games at Target Field from April through late September. The home opener will be on April 3 against the Houston Astros.
Single-game tickets will go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. If you plan on going to three or more Twins games, consider purchasing a holiday pack of tickets to get a complimentary Twins tree ornament.
Spring training
The Twins will host 17 home games at Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. between Feb. 22 and March 25 as the club preps for the regular season. For more information on these games, click here.
TwinsFest
This annual fan event will take place Jan. 24-25 and feature more than 40 current and former Twins including Carlos Correa, Pablo López, Griffin Jax, Bailey Ober, Bert Blyleven and more.
Fans will experience live music, autograph stations and a youth clinic for aspiring Twins players. Check it out at this link.
MINNEAPOLIS — Australian rock icons ACDC are hitting the road for the band’s first North American tour in nine years, and opening night will take place in Minneapolis.
The “Power Up” tour kicks off at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 10, 2025. Tickets go on sale to the general public at noon, December 6 via the ACDC website. The tour includes 13 stops, winding up on May 18 in Cleveland.
ACDC is a legendary Grammy-winning band that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Lead guitarist Angus Young, singer Brian Johnson and crew just wrapped up a European leg of the tour, named after the band’s 2020 album “Power Up” which they weren’t able to play live due to the COVID pandemic.
They are considered by many to be one of the most influential rock bands in history, with over 200 million albums sold worldwide including “Back in Black,” with 50 million albums sold worldwide and counting. ACDC mega-hits include “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Thunderstruck,” “Dirty Deeds,” Highway to Hell” and “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll).”
“Is it 100% the answer? No, of course not. But it’s another tool in our toolbox.”
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Did you enjoy a nice, juicy bird this Thanksgiving?
You can thank folks like Loren Brey.
“This is my 35th year working in the turkey business,” Brey said. “We sell just under 3 million fertile eggs a year, employ between 8 and 9 full time people.”
Last November – almost a year ago to the day – the re-emergence of the bird flu threatened to bring down the whole thing.
“We lost probably about 15,000 breeder hens,” Brey said. “The first flock that broke here, we just started them, we had a handful of eggs. And I remember that morning when the USDA crew came to euthanize the rest of them he told me ‘You don’t have to be here, you don’t have to watch this.’ It was tough.”
With the outbreak growing, farmers were looking for anything to mitigate the spread. The Bird Control Group has come up with an idea straight out of a spy film: lasers.
Representative Craig Duhr said it all started with a simple idea in the Netherlands in 2012.
“Literally a guy messing around with a green laser light and moved it over some birds and the birds moved,” Duhr said.
Since then, the company’s global reach has expanded, and the technology has evolved.
Duhr explained how it works.
“Green is the brightest spectrum of light the birds see in. So we as humans will see a green dot out there during the daytime hours. The birds see a whole beam – like a laser beam. And they perceive that as they move through the field or a rooftop or the vineyards as a threat. Something coming at them as a predator. So they want to take flight and get out of that area.”
The group has been working with Minnesota farmers to install the technology. The state meanwhile is offering grants – up to $10,000 per farming operation – to help with the cost.
“Right now, I have five lasers running at roughly $15,000 a laser,” he said.
Brey said it’s working. In fact, he’s having more success with it than any other mitigation strategy he’s tried.
“I would say it’s keeping 70 plus percent of the local birds and migratory birds away from the farm,” Brey said. “In the past, what I’ve noticed is under my eaves or in the trees I would see bird nests. I don’t see any of that anymore. So in my mind it’s been a success.”
For now, there’s hope that these high-tech, laser-beam scarecrows continue to do their job.
“We’ve been seeing some good results with it. Is it 100% the answer? No, of course not. But it’s another tool in our toolbox that is helping us.”
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