Star Tribune
Target Field wins anti-terrorism safety designation that includes reduced liability
Target Field is the 12th Major League Baseball stadium in the U.S. to earn a federal designation that the ballpark provides enhanced protection from terrorist attacks.
The Twins and the Minnesota Ballpark Authority that owns Target Field said Wednesday they received a designation under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act, a program approved by Congress in 2002 and administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The recognition means the ballpark has a federally recognized combination of infrastructure, security technology, staff training and other measures in place to deter and defend against a terrorist attack.
In a statement, Matt Hoy, Twins senior vice president of ballpark operations, said: “Our paramount focus is, and always will be, on the safety, comfort and well-being of every individual that enters Target Field, whether that be for a game, a concert, another major event or our day-to-day operations.”
The DHS designation was created after 9/11 to encourage innovations in security technology and comes with benefits. The Twins and Target Field will have limited liability if an attack takes place because the ballpark’s security measures were vetted by the federal government.
The Vikings and U.S. Bank Stadium first received a SAFETY Act designation in 2020. The designations typically last five years and can be renewed.
A Twins spokesman said the team couldn’t put an exact price tag on winning the SAFETY Act designation because it includes both physical improvements, staff training and policies.
Prior to applying for designation, the team and the ballpark hired a consultant in 2019 to do a threat assessment and identified about $3.2 million worth of upgrades to the security perimeter that was split between Twins and the ballpark authority’s capital project fund.
A participant in an inline skating race held Saturday on Saturday died following the race, race officials announced on a Facebook page Sunday.
Mike Lufholm, 36, of Minneapolis, was remembered in Northshore Inline Marathon organizers’ Facebook post as an active member of the rollerblading community. He died following an apparent medical incident at the race course.
“Mike was a true ambassador for inline skating with a passion for the sport,” one commenter said. Another recalled seeing him in Duluth before the race with his wife and newborn daughter Friday.
Lufholm grew up in northern Minnesota and began skating in middle school, according to his team member profile on Rollerblade.com.
Race officials thanked participants who came to Lufholm’s aid, first responders and medical professionals who helped provide care.
“Our hearts go out to his wife, daughter, family, and all those who were close to him. He made such an impact on the rollerblading community,” the Facebook post said.
A 27-acre wildfire believed to be caused by human activity near Ely in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was 25% contained Sunday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The Wood Lake fire was discovered around 10 a.m. Tuesday on an island on Wood Lake, a news release from the U.S. Forest Service-Superior National Forest said. It caused the closure of an entry point on the lake, as well as several nearby lakes and portages.
“Firefighters made good progress yesterday with higher humidity levels, continuing to reinforce the fire’s containment line,” the news release said Sunday, noting that firefighters are making contingency plans around Moose Lake.
Firefighters from Connecticut are assisting in fighting the fire.
The fire is under investigation, and Superior National Forest law enforcement are seeking any information about how the fire started.
A sheriff’s deputy wounded a man during a standoff in western Minnesota early Sunday.
The Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office was called for a welfare check at a house near Clarkfield, south of Montevideo, Saturday afternoon, the agency said in a news release. When officers arrived, the man they meant to check on fled into a farm field with a rifle, the release said.
Sheriff’s deputies rushed neighbors out of the house next to the field, and said the man pointed his rifle at them before running into the just-vacated house.
Deputies surrounded the house and tried to talk to the person, but called a SWAT team when they could not persuade him to come outside. Members of the Kandiyohi-Meeker-Willmar SWAT team arrived and also tried to talk the person out of the house.
The man fired at the SWAT team, according to the sheriff’s office. A member of that SWAT team shot back, hitting the man in the leg. The standoff continued.
Two other SWAT teams relieved the Kandiyohi-Meeker-Willmar team after about eight hours, according to the sheriff’s office.
Just after 6 a.m. Sunday, the man left the house and shot a long gun at the SWAT teams. Another SWAT team member shot back and hit the man.
The man was taken to HCMC by helicopter and was in stable condition Sunday afternoon.
