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Hack on dealerships leaves MN car dealers handwriting documents
“You’re buying a 2024 Ford Bronco, and here we are doing things like, you know, back in the 60s and 70s,” Amber Zimmerman said.
ROSEVILLE, Minn. — There are few things that computers haven’t made easier. When they go down, it’s an issue, and an annoying one at that.
For many car dealerships across the state, that’s what’s happening right now, as a cyberattack affects the systems they use for nearly all aspects of their jobs.
“I’ve never seen this before,” Amber Zimmerman, business manager at Midway Ford in Roseville, said.
“This is way different,” Mark Bjornnes, who works in service, echoed.
That software from CDK Global handles much of their day to day operations. Now, things take much longer than before.
“About a half hour from the time I get all the paperwork ready, and then the person’s leaving my office,” Zimmerman said. “Right now, that’s taking more like an hour and a half, because we have to handwrite all of the contracts.”
With the software down, car dealers are back to doing things old school, by hand.
“You’re buying a 2024 Ford Bronco, and here we are doing things like, you know, back in the 60s and 70s,” Zimmerman said, laughing.
According to Scott Lambert with the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association, there are more than 130 dealerships across the state who are seeing issues thanks to the hack. Nationally, CDK Global has software in more than 15,000 locations.
As the issue continues – now lasting over a week – there are concerns about how long this could last.
“They have to remember to write down their hours of how much it took, what time they got paid on a vehicle, so we can pay them,” Bjornnes said.
It’s unclear how long this system outage could be. When the system does eventually return, there will be more work as documents done by hand will have to be entered into their system.
“Frustrating because when this does come back online, we’ll have to take the stack of paperwork, enter it all in manually into the system, then go into our other system to collect the money,” Bjornnes said. “It’s just a long process, it’s gonna be a lot of extra hours working.”
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Walz plans to address Minnesotans on Friday afternoon about his “path forward” following the 2024 presidential ticket loss.
ST PAUL, Minn. — For the first time since the 2024 presidential election, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will deliver public remarks about the election and his “path forward” on Friday, according to a spokesperson.
KARE 11 will stream Gov. Walz’s remarks live at 2:30 on kare11.com, the KARE 11 YouTube channel, and the KARE 11+ app for TV.
Walz was named the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee in late summer, just days after Vice President Kamala Harris was elevated to the top of the Democrats’ presidential ticket when incumbent President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
Since then, Walz toured the country campaigning for the Harris-Walz ticket, and participated in the one and only Vice Presidential Debate against Republican Senator (and now Vice President-elect) JD Vance in October.
The Harris-Walz ticket won Minnesota, but lost the national electoral vote to President-elect Donald Trump.
Located in Minneapolis’ North Loop, this Italian restaurant offers an array of pastas, cocktails and more.
MINNEAPOLIS — After a stressful week, consider taking a night off and trying a fresh and delicious restaurant.
Dario serves handmade pasta, veggies and cocktails in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis. If you’re looking for something heartier, check out the steaks and other meats on the menu.
The restaurant is open for dinner seven days a week, and also can host private parties. For more information, click here.
Council Member Jason Chavez said council members are exploring two new ordinances, based off of successes in other cities including Duluth and Denver.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis city council member Andrea Jenkins led a community town hall meeting Thursday evening to address homeless encampments across the city. The meeting was not open to the public but some community members invited by the city were in attendance.
Several weeks ago, Jenkins formed a community think tank comprised of city staff and neighbors who met over the course of three meetings.
Thursday’s town hall follows a string of violence at homeless encampments, including a deadly shooting in which two people were killed on Sunday, Oct. 27.
“I would imagine it’s terrifying, and sometimes what people say is they feel safer in these encampments than they do in shelters,” Jenkins said ahead of Thursday’s meeting. “But I I don’t hear any people being shot in shelters and lots of people being shot in encampments.”
Jenkins said she wants to give people an opportunity to express their concerns and offer solutions.
“We want to hear some of the thoughts that people feel like can help us resolve some of these issues that are impacting our neighbors and our communities and most importantly, the unhoused individuals that are out here on the street suffering,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins admitted that within the think tank meetings, differences of opinions emerged. Their conversations revolved around three main topics: housing options, safe spaces and supportive services.
Council Member Jason Chavez said council members are exploring two new ordinances, based off of successes in other cities including Duluth and Denver.
According to Chavez, a Safe Parking Ordinance would provide a safe location for people to park and sleep in their vehicles overnight. A Safe Outdoor Space ordinance creates a location designated as a safe outdoor shelter site designated by the city. To utilize the space, people would have to complete a screening process.
In South Minneapolis, an encampment stretches across several blocks. Angelique Beaumaster, who is currently unhoused, said the solution begins with people who are in the encampments feeling heard by elected officials.
“Sit down like they did once before and talk to people who are actually out here,” Beaumaster said. “Talk to people who are out here, who want a solution, who want help.”
In September, Minneapolis city council members passed the Encampment Removal Reporting Ordinance. The measure requires the city to submit two quarterly reports regarding its response to encampment removals and evictions.
