Kare11
A look inside of Toys For Tots Twin Cities Mall of America warehouse headquarters
Mall of America donated retail space for Toys For Tots Twin Cities warehouse.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Santa’s workshop isn’t the only place working overtime to make the holiday season merry. The elves at the new Toys For Tots Twin Cities headquarters have different uniforms.
For the first time in the program’s history, Toys For Tots has a dedicated space at the Mall of America to collect, sort and box donations.
Mall of America donated 50,000 square feet of retail space, a donation that makes a major difference, according to Toys for Tots Twin Cities campaign coordinator Staff Sgt. Tyree Stevens.
“We have our day jobs, you know, operational forces during the day and then we’re turn into Santa’s elves at night, “Stevens said. “Mall of America’s donation is well over $100,000. We get to put those resources back in to our overall goal of giving back.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have them part of our Mall of America family this holiday season,” said Mall of America Director of community Relations Sara Durhman. “We’re able to come together and donated nearly 400 toys to get them started!”
In the southeast court on Level 1, boxes of new toys and constant flowing shift of Marine volunteers are doing their best to achieve a new giving goal this year.
“When I first took over, they collected 206,000 toys and we collected 240 after. That’s not enough for me,” Stevens said. “I know there’s people out there who need toys. So the goal is to hit 300,000.”
“I know we’re already 30% ahead of our numbers from last year, as far as our income for distribution. So that’s been it’s been a blessing,” assistant coordinator Sgt. Elle Mckinzie said.
Stevens said it is going to take as many donations as possible to surpass the 300,000 toy goal. He believes the mission behind the work makes all of the effort worth it.
“So I think it’s absolutely amazing that the families come here to go grab those toys so we can see that we can remind ourselves every year why we do this,” Stevens said.
Anyone who would like to contribute to the the 2023 Toys for Tots campaign can drop off a new, unwrapped toy at KARE 11 until Dec. 13.
Daily tent hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. KARE 11 is located at the corner of Olsen Memorial Highway and General Mills Boulevard in Golden Valley.
For more information, click here.
The 44th annual festival highlighted traditional Hmong dances, attire, customs and food.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Sunday, Dec. 1 marked the first day of the Hmong New Year, and tens of thousands of people in St. Paul celebrated in style.
The annual Hmong New Year festival took place at the RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul and was organized by the United Hmong Family, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and representing Hmong culture.
The two-day celebration broke the attendance record on Saturday, attracting more than 19,000 people, according to United Hmong Family president Mee Vang. She estimated roughly 10,000 people would attend on Sunday.
Forty six years ago, Minnesota’s annual Hmong New Year festival started as a way to bring families together, Vang explained. “Blessing the home, sweeping away the old year and then calling all the souls home for many of our family members that have been working or traveling, so that everyone can come together and reunite after the last harvest,” she said.
Because of a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, this weekend marked 44 years of the annual festival. It also marked nearly 50 years since the first wave of Hmong people arrived in the United States after the end of the Secret War in 1975.
“I came to America in April of 1976,” St. Paul resident Ntxoov Kaim Moua said. “At that time, it was very difficult for us because the language, because the climate, because the cultural differences.”
Moua and his family moved from Laos to Thailand then to Wisconsin before settling in Minnesota. He has lived in St. Paul for 12 years. “I would like to have the young people maintain our culture, our traditions and especially the Hmong New Year,” Moua said.
With more than 94,000 Hmong residents, Minnesota is now home to one of the largest Hmong communities in the country.
“I love my community here, whether you’re Hmong or not Hmong. We just have such a beautiful culture and being able to say that all of these communities, especially marginalized communities, are all Minnesotan,” Vang said.
Upon arrival, the officers located the man and attempted life-saving measures, but the man died at the scene, according to the police.
ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Rochester Police Department is investigating after officers found a man fatally shot in a home.
According to to the Rochester PD, officers were called to a home on the 1400 block of Manor Woods Drive just after 1 a.m. on Saturday where a man had been shot.
According to KARE 11 affiliate KTTC, Rochester police said a man at the house initially called them because he had shot another man who had entered his house and assaulted him.
Upon arrival, the officers located the man and attempted life-saving measures, but the man died at the scene, according to the police.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Kare11
Michigan, Ohio State fight broken up with police pepper spray after Wolverines stun Buckeyes 13-10
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he understood the actions of his players. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said everybody needs to do better.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A fight broke out at midfield after Michigan stunned No. 2 Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday as Wolverines players attempted to plant their flag and were met by Buckeyes who confronted them.
Police had to use pepper spray to break up the players, who threw punches and shoves in the melee that overshadowed the rivalry game.
Ohio State police said in a statement “multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray.” Ohio State police will investigate the fight, according to the statement.
After the Ohio State players confronted their bitter rivals at midfield, defensive end Jack Sawyer grabbed the top of the Wolverines’ flag and ripped it off the pole as the brawl moved toward the Michigan bench. Eventually, police officers rushed into the ugly scene.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he understood the actions of his players.
“There are some prideful guys on our team who weren’t going to sit back and let that happen,” Day said.
The two Ohio State players made available after the game brushed off questions about it.
Michigan running back Kalel Mullings, who rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, didn’t like how the Buckeyes players involved themselves in the Wolverines’ postgame celebration. He called it “classless.”
“For such a great game, you hate to see stuff like that after the game,” he said in an on-field interview with Fox Sports. “It’s just bad for the sport, bad for college football. But at the end of the day, you know some people got to — they got to learn how to lose, man. … We had 60 minutes, we had four quarters, to do all that fighting.”
Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said everybody needs to do better.
“So much emotions on both sides,” he said. “Rivalry games get heated, especially this one. It’s the biggest one in the country, so we got to handle that better.”
