Star Tribune
Radio personality, media trailblazer Norma Jean Williams lifted community
Norma Jean Williams was a woman who opened her home to strangers, opened her network to aspiring professionals, and told jokes that could make a room full of people laugh.
Williams, the former publisher of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, a family run publication focused on African Americans since 1934, died June 6. She was 81.
Born in Des Moines in 1941, Williams moved to Minneapolis in 1965 to help run the family business. She would interview African American celebrities visiting Minneapolis like Eartha Kitt, Rosa Parks, James Brownand B.B. King for the newspaper. Her weekly column provided opportunities for singles to meet.
Williams was also a radio personality on Twin Cities radio stations KMOJ and KFAI and was an amateur stand-up comedian.
To Tracey Williams-Dillard, Williams’ second-born daughter, Williams was more than a mother. She was a mentor and a best friend. Williams-Dillard is now publisher of the Spokesman-Recorder, and like her mother, has a strong passion for media.
“All these parallel things,” Williams-Dillard said. “I didn’t connect the dots at the time. I was doing everything mom was doing. She set up the stage for me to be on it, and I’m able to do exactly what she was able to do. I’m so ever grateful for her to have instilled that in me.”
Williams-Dillard created her own series for the publication, and associated dinner events.
In 1980, Williams took under her wing a 20-something from Chicago trying to wiggle his way into the Twin Cities’ events scene.
Pete Rhodes had moved to Minnesota to grow his events company, Boss Productions, and landed a job as Williams’ assistant, accompanying her during her interviews and other meetings.
Rhodes’ association with Williams opened several doors and opportunities, he said, including the chance to meet, and take a photo with Parks.
“When you were with her, you felt like a celebrity,” Rhodes said. “Everyone knew her.”
Rhodes went on to launch his own events, including the Minnesota Black Music Awards, which Williams supported. Williams instilled in Rhodes the importance of media in the African American community, and the BMA blossomed into a network cable channel highlighting Black culture and the contributions of African Americans to music and business.
Trailblazing in media made Williams known throughout the city. Her quieter efforts in the community also made her an inspiration, Williams-Dillard said.
“I could go on and on with insane stories where people were homeless and they just basically had nowhere to go and mom just opened up her house to them,” she said.
Williams’ mother, Launa Newman, was the same way. “They did it without expectation of payback,” Williams-Dillard said.
In her early 50s, Williams went back to school to become a certified nurse assistant to care for the elderly.
She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Wallace Jackman,and is survived by her children Vicky, Tracey, James Jr., Greg and Tina, and her brother Wallace Jackman Jr., 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held June 17 at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Minneapolis.
In recognition of her contributions, Gov. Tim Walz declared June 17 as Norma Jean Williams Day in the state of Minnesota. A proclamation was read at her memorial service by state officials.
“It was well deserved,” Williams-Dillard said.
Star Tribune
Betty Danger’s bar sold to new owner for $3.5 million
Betty Danger’s, the quirky northeast Minneapolis bar known for its Ferris wheel and miniature golf, has been sold for $3.5 million.
The property, located at 2501 Marshall St. NE and 2519 Marshall St. NE, was purchased on Nov. 15, according to the certificate of real estate value filed with the state. The primary buyer of the site is entrepreneur Joe Radaich, according to Taylor VerMeer, a spokeswoman for an undisclosed project planned for the site.
“While I can confirm that Joe Radaich is the primary buyer listed on this project, we are not able to share anything more at this time,” VerMeer said in an email.
Radaich has operated bars in the past, including Sporty’s Pub and Grill, which later became Como Tap. Radaich no longer operates Como Tap, an employee said on Tuesday. Radaich did not return requests for comment. Attempts to reach Leslie Bock, the Betty Danger’s previous owner, were unsuccessful.
The property’s mortgage payments are set at $18,886 per month with a 6.15% interest rate, the state filings show.
Star Tribune
Minneapolis nonprofit that fed low-income kids will dissolve after state investigation
A Minneapolis nonprofit that served food to low-income kids has agreed to dissolve itself after a state investigation found it violated laws regarding its operations and financial transactions.
The move was announced Tuesday by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office began investigating Gar Gaar Family Services, also known as the Youth Leadership Academy, after it was denied from participating in a federally funded program to provide food to students after school.
The investigation then found additional issues, including:
An attorney who has represented Gar Gaar, Barbara Berens, could not be reached Tuesday afternoon. Neither Ali or Morioka have been charged in criminal court.
The settlement by the state and Gar Gaar requires it to begin the dissolution process within 60 days of a court’s approval. The nonprofit then must transfer its assets to other charitable organizations with a similar mission.
Gar Gaar, which means “help” in Somali, launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to help students in need, especially those in the Somali community. The group served meals outside of the school year as part of the Summer Food Service Program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture but managed by the Minnesota Department of Education.
Gar Gaar received $21 million in reimbursements for serving 7 million meals — the top provider of summer meals in Minnesota in 2021.
Star Tribune
O.J. Simpson’s ex-bodyguard did not have murder confession, police find
What would have been a wild story was quickly put to rest Tuesday when Bloomington police issued a statement clarifying that no, it was not in possession of a recorded O.J. Simpson murder confession.
TMZ reported Tuesday afternoon that Bloomington police may have unwittingly come into possession of such a recording after arresting a former bodyguard of Simpson’s more than two years ago.
But about two hours after that report published, the suburban police department sent out a release that said the belongings seized during the arrest of Iroc Avelli had been inspected and officers “did not locate any information of evidentiary value for the Los Angeles Police Department.”
Here’s what police said happened:
Bloomington police arrested Avelli under suspicion of assault on March 3, 2022. Several items were taken by police in the process, including a backpack which contained multiple thumb drives, according to a statement.
They said Avelli and his attorney said one of the thumb drives in the backpack contained a recording of Simpson confessing to the infamous 1994 murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman, according to Bloomington police.
A search warrant was granted to inspect the thumb drives. A copy was obtained by TMZ, dated June 26, and the document only said the results from the search were “pending.”
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