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Community honors family after fatal Saint Paul fire
On Saturday, the Saint Paul Firefighters Union announced a donation of $10,000 to a family who lost four children to a fire on Jan. 3.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — On Saturday, the community gathered for a vigil to remember four children who died following a Jan. 3. house fire on Arkwright Street in Saint Paul.
“As a parent it is beyond understanding, it is beyond hard,” a family spokesman told a crowd at the American Indian Magnet School.
Emergency crews were called to the Vang family’s home in the middle of the night, while the father, Pa Cheng Vang, was at work.
Firefighters pulled seven people, six children and their mother, from the house.
A 1-year-old boy Muaj, 5-year-old twin girls Sivntxhi and Ntshiab Si, and a 4-year-old boy, Muaj Tshav Ntaj have died.
A family spokesperson said one of the remaining children in the hospital is getting better, but the other child and mother Ker Lor’s progress has been stagnant.
Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter also spoke at Saturday’s vigil, saying “A city is a family of people that have to take care of one another.”
Earlier that day, Saint Paul firefighters spoke about their experiences rescuing the family on the night of the fire.
“As I made my way back to the house, I found all these other victims that I wasn’t aware of to that point,” said one firefighter who was there that night. Others recounted the heavy smoke in the home, and many spoke about the struggle of returning to the house again and again to get the children to safety.
“They did everything they could, they did everything they could,” said Saint Paul Fire Chief Butch Inks. “I couldn’t be more proud to be your fire chief.”
On Saturday, the firefighter’s union announced a donation of $10,000 to the family.
Sixty-three first responders were on the scene that night. Fire investigators believe the blaze was sparked by an unattended candle.
The family started a GoFundMe account to pay for funeral expenses. As of Sunday morning, the account has raised more than $480,000.
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“It’s clear that people are really wanting something like this,” Seth Anderson-Matz with Queermunity said.
MINNEAPOLIS — Queermunity, a dedicated resource center space for the LGBTQ+ community has officially opened its doors in Uptown. Located above Magers & Quinn Booksellers, Queermunity is open to all.
“We’re here and we’re ready for people to use these resources,” Seth Anderson-Matz, outreach and partnerships manager, said.
The space features office rentals, desk rentals, co-working rooms, a coffee shop, a library and more.
“It’s really clear that the community is really thirsty for a place like this, now more than ever, of course, to have a place to to find connection and resources and to be together as a community,” he continued.
Anderson-Matz says he believes this is the first all-ages space like this of it’s kind in the Twin Cities. Queermunity also serves two purposes, he says – a unifier in multiple ways.
That includes unifying the community, and serving as a draw for the community to come to Uptown.
“We say we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re just trying to put all the wheels on the same truck,” Anderson-Matz said.
“We’re really here for the renaissance and revitalization of the area,” he continued.
That unifying message was important for many we spoke with Saturday.
“Local communities need to be built and supported and sustained,” Petty Treason said. “And so seeing more local in Uptown, I just think it makes us all feel seen, you know?”
“It was a really refreshing experience to walk into a group of people and just know that I felt safe and calm and excited to be here,” she continued.
Queermunity is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
According to the SPPD, no officers were injured in the shooting.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating a shooting between the St. Paul police and a person who was killed.
The shooting occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of Bay Street and Watson Avenue, according to a post on X from the department.
According to the SPPD, no officers were injured in the shooting.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The story went viral on the internet and now, thanks to a vigilant following, Gracie Langham’s dog “Mav” has been found and was returned to home.
METAIRIE, La. — A community came together through social media to help a Metairie woman find her emotional support dog who ran off following a car crash.
The story went viral on the internet and now, thanks to a vigilant following, Gracie Langham’s dog “Mav” has been found and returned home.
Langham tells WWL Louisiana’s Meg Farris that Mav was spotted with someone in Pensacola Florida.
On Saturday Langham met with the person in Florida who happily reunited Mav with his owner who had been desperately searching for him since the car crash on Halloween over a week ago.
“Last night at 9:17pm we received a tip that Mav was potentially with a family in Pensacola, FL. This information proved to be accurate, and this morning Mav was happily and safely reunited with his owners in Pensacola!!!! We will not be disclosing the name of the tipster until they give us permission to do so. THANKS BE TO GOD! We are so thankful and appreciative to all who have given their time, efforts, and resources in our search to find Mav. This would not have been possible without you. We are forever grateful for the power of this community and the kind hearts of many. Thank you!!!!!,” said an update on the search in a social media post on a Facebook page dedicated to finding the lost dog.
“We’d like to express our extreme gratitude to the doctors and staff at Clearview Vet Hospital, Excel Signs and Graphics, and the many other businesses and community members who donated to helping get the word out about Mav being missing!”
Now that Mav has been found, we need some time to rest and recharge. For this reason, we will not be providing any additional information or addressing any comments at this time so that we can focus on doing what we need to do for ourselves. Thank you for understanding this and respecting what we need. Thank you.”
IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD AND THE POWER OF PRAYER, TODAY SHOULD BE YOUR PROOF!!!
Posted by Find Mav – Metairie, La on Saturday, November 9, 2024
On Halloween, it had rained, and the streets were wet and slick. Langham told WWL she was driving with her adolescent golden retriever, Mav when she made a turn in Metairie at Clearview and Utica and skidded out.
“All of the airbags deployed, and Mav was very scared, and I was very scared, and I had to kick the door out. He sprinted away from me, and I was screaming his name, and running as fast as I could behind him, but I lost him,” she said.
Startled by the commotion after the crash Mav ran off and after Langham launched a plea on social media, the public search began.
Mav is an emotional support animal offering emotional support to Langham, an LSU dental student, who helps her cope after she lost both of her grandparents recently.
Mav’s family with the Humane Society of Louisiana offered a $5,750 reward for the golden retriever.
Mav has a microchip implant to identify him which may have helped with the search.
Langham says she is so happy that Mav was found safe and being checked out by a veterinarian.
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