Star Tribune
Catholic church opposes plan for supportive housing complex in downtown St. Paul
A Catholic church in downtown St. Paul is objecting to a nonprofit developer’s plan to convert a historic dormitory into an 88-unit supportive housing complex, citing an increase in crime tied to a concentration of homeless shelters in the area.
Minneapolis-based Aeon sought a variance from the city to convert the vacant Mary Hall property at 438 Dorothy Day Place into affordable apartments, some of which would become permanent housing for recently homeless individuals.
The city’s zoning code requires such facilities to be at least 600 feet away from other overnight shelters and supportive housing, but Aeon’s project would be 60 feet from Catholic Charities’ downtown St. Paul campus that was completed in 2019.
The Church of the Assumption, located a block away, appealed the variance to the City Council, which will hold a hearing on the decision at its Aug. 7 meeting.
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Paul Treacy, said in a statement that over the last few years, the parish has seen “a dramatic increase in crime, illegal drug sales and use, and other problematic behavior on our streets and campus.”
“To be clear — Assumption does not oppose supportive and affordable housing,” Treacy wrote. “Our decision to appeal this variance approval was driven by a desire for a pause, even if just to allow this and other parts of our city to stabilize.”
Treacy wrote that he and church leaders are concerned about the precedent the variance sets at a time when downtown St. Paul has several vacant buildings, including the former St. Joseph’s Hospital nearby.
He wrote that downtown’s problems have been compounded “by the pattern of other communities around the metro, the state, and beyond sending more of their vulnerable residents to St. Paul or Minneapolis.”
Juan Torres, Aeon’s director of housing development, said the nonprofit plans to continue its conversations with Assumption.
“We share some of the concerns that they have,” Torres said. “We hope that we can work collaboratively with all our neighbors to be able to create a more safe environment in that area.”
Torres said the Mary Hall project has been in the works for many years and received support from the state, county and city.
“This is a really important stepping stone for individuals coming out of homelessness,” he said. “We’re excited to be able to provide permanent supportive housing at a time when there’s such a dramatic need for housing in our region.”
Mary Hall was built in the 1920s as a dorm for student nurses and served a variety of uses over the years. Most recently, it was an emergency homeless shelter following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
Aeon is working to complete its financing this year and aims to start a 16-month construction schedule in the fall or winter, Torres said. The project will cost an estimated $30 million to $34 million.
The nonprofit will partner with Ramsey County and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide housing for formerly homeless people. Other units would be reserved for tenants earning less than 30% of the area median income.
While the services Aeon provides will not overlap with Catholic Charities’ programs at the two-building Dorothy Day Place campus, Torres said he expects the pair will collaborate on efforts to keep the neighborhood safe. Aeon plans to invest a “significant amount” in security, he said.
Both MSA schools have foundations to support their missions, though the report found that MSA “did not obtain required financial reports from its affiliated foundations, including their annual financial statements or their annual reports about fundraising activities.”
The Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf Foundation was inactive between 2020 and 2023 because the foundation board members had moved out-of-state, according to the report. And the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind Foundation did not file as a nonprofit corporation with the Office of the Secretary of State until the auditor’s office inquired about a filing status in May.
In his letter, Wilding said that, by next month, a school administrator for each school will be assigned to act as a liaison between each school and its foundation. But, he added, “The [Minnesota State Academy for the Blind Foundation] is considering its future and may not continue their operations. If this is the case, we will obtain financial documentation of their fund disbursements for record keeping.”
Over the last several months, Wilding wrote, MSA has updated or implemented new procedures to address several concerns, including how payroll and deposits are monitored and how both petty cash expenses and travel expenditures are approved.
A quarterly review of donation acceptance forms will begin in 2025, he said. MSA’s fiscal services director will also work with the state Department of Education “on the process for returning overreported expenditures” — a process Wilding wrote should be completed by January 2025.
Star Tribune
Sentence topping 8 years for man whose ricochet gunshot struck Minneapolis girl, 11, in face
A 45-year-old man received a prison term Tuesday topping eight years for squeezing off automatic gunfire moments into New Year’s Day in Minneapolis that ricocheted and struck a girl in the face while she was looking out her second-story bedroom window.
James William Turner, of Fridley, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition in connection with the shooting of Laneria Wilson, 11, on Jan. 1 near 23rd and Bryant avenues N.
With federal sentencing guidelines recommending a sentence of anywhere from 8⅓ to nearly 10½ years in prison, Judge Ann Montgomery opted for the lowest point in that range and added three years of court supervision after his release.
Ahead of sentencing, prosecutors pointed out to Montgomery that “instead of celebrating New Year’s with her friends or family, [Laneria] spent the evening having bullet fragments removed from her face. The victim could easily have been killed. Moreover, the bullet that struck the 11-year-old appears to be one of 24 shots Turner fired that night — 24 bullets that could have injured or killed innocent people.”
Prosecutors also noted that Turner’s criminal history spans his entire adult life and includes convictions for second-degree assault in Anoka County and domestic assault in Ramsey County. Those convictions barred him from possessing guns or ammunition.
Defense attorney F. Clayton Tyler asked that Turner receive a five-year term, arguing that he has abstained from illicit drugs and alcohol since his arrest and has completed mental health therapy.
Also, Tyler added, while Turner admitted to firing the automatic rifle, “he did not do so maliciously or with intent to hurt or frighten anyone. On the contrary, he considered himself close friends with the child’s mother and had previously babysat the child.”
Laneria’s mother, Shenedra Ross, told the Star Tribune in May that since the shooting, she moved her family about two hours west of Minneapolis, where they had lived previously. In the days after being shot, just shy of her 12th birthday, Ross said, Laneria had difficulty coping and was afraid to be near windows.
A 34-year-old Dilworth man who was hit in the head by a stray bullet Saturday while deer hunting is not expected to survive.
According to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Jace Srur was shot by someone within his hunting party in rural Moorhead on Nov. 9. Authorities had responded around 8 a.m. and provided first aid before an ambulance arrived and Srur was air lifted to Sanford Hospital.
As of Tuesday, Srur’s injuries were considered “life-threatening and non-survivable,” according to the sheriff’s office. The shooting is still under investigation.
On the same day, a 37-year-old man was injured in a hunting accident in Lee Township, Minn., however, his injuries weren’t life threatening.
Saturday was the start of Minnesota’s firearm deer hunting season.
