Star Tribune
Suspects targeted, executed Iowa man in St. Paul parking lot
An Iowa man visiting St. Paul was “targeted and executed” following a night out with friends earlier this week, according to murder charges filed against his alleged killer.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged 22-year-old Kueth Chuol Ngut with two counts of second-degree murder. His appeared in court Friday and is scheduled to reappear on Oct. 24. Judge Kelly Olmstead set bail at $3 million.
On Friday the St. Paul Police Department identified the victim as Lul Dak Chak, 32, of Ames, Iowa, who bowled with friends sometime before being gunned down. According to charging documents, Ngut and another suspect planned to kill Chak.
Just past midnight on Sept. 17, a caller reported hearing gunshots and someone lying on the ground the parking lot of an apartment building at 1222 University Avenue West. Police found Chak there with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso, neck and face. He was unconscious and not breathing. A cell phone, broken necklace and 19 bullet casings were nearby.
Medics pronounced him dead at the scene, and an autopsy by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner confirmed that Chak died from nine gunshot wounds.
Chak’s cousin witnessed the shooting, telling police that they were smoking outside the apartment complex after returning from a birthday party. Chak told her he was buying narcotics. Moments later, a man exited a Subaru parked in the lot and began shooting at them. The cousin dropped to the ground and said that Chak leaped in front to protect her.
A friend who also witnessed the shooting said the three were outside for a smoke when a person wearing all black got out of the front passenger seat of a vehicle and shot at them. They also claimed that the car was in the lot with its headlights off before shots rang.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage which showed the Subaru driving in the area 20 minutes before the shooting, moving to different spots in the parking lot. When Chak walked outside, two peopled got out of the car and shot at him. He fell to the ground.
The YMCA of the North has laid off 69 employees as the nonprofit continues to struggle financially due to inflation, rising expenses and changing consumer behaviors.
Leaders at the Y, formerly the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities, confirmed Friday that 59 full-time employees and about 10 part-timers were laid off the first week of September, making up about 1.8% of its workforce.
“This included every aspect of the Y,” said Michelle Edgerton, the Y’s executive vice president of advancement. “It’s a sad moment at the Y, because … our team members are impacted. At the same time, we are looking at what is necessary for us to remain present in our community as long as our community needs us.”
The Y is one of the largest nonprofits in Minnesota and the third-largest YMCA in the U.S. The organization has reported deficits every year since 2020, when it shuttered its gyms due to the COVID-19 outbreak and lost thousands of memberships.
In 2020, the organization had 82,000 members; that number had fallen to 54,000 members in 2024, although numbers are increasing now, Edgerton said. Before the latest layoffs, the organization had 3,900 employees, down from 6,700 workers in 2020.
The Y, which had a budget of about $160 million this year and last year, ran a deficit of $10 million in 2023 and anticipates having a $6 million deficit this year, Edgerton said.
According to its tax filings, the organization had a $10 million deficit in 2022, up from a $7.6 million shortfall in 2021 and a $2.5 million deficit in 2020. Edgerton said the Y is on track to break even in 2025.
The YMCA isn’t the only nonprofit confronting difficult finances. A new survey released Thursday showed that nearly 80% of Minnesota nonprofits have less than 12 months before they face financial distress, the highest number of organizations struggling financially since the summer of 2020.
Minnesotans affected by this year’s flooding will have additional time to apply for federal aid.
The deadline has been moved back to Oct. 27 to apply for individual assistance grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a statement from the agency said Friday afternoon. The grants are meant to help Minnesotans financially recovering from the flooding that swamped parts of northeast and southern Minnesota in June and July.
Minnesotan flood survivors can also apply for low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Disaster loans up to $500,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, a recent statement from the agency said. Homeowners and renters can also apply for a loan of up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.
The deadline for SBA loans for physical property damage is Sept. 30, and Minnesotans are encouraged to apply for FEMA grants and the SBA low-interest disaster loan assistance at the same time.
“Our purpose is to provide exceptional airport experiences so Minnesota thrives, and this prestigious recognition demonstrates that we are delivering for our travelers,” Brian Ryks, CEO and executive director of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which owns and operates MSP, said in a statement. “This award also acknowledges the work and focus of all airport employees and our partners who ensure our airport facilities, services and hospitality are maintained at the highest levels and exceed travelers’ expectations.”
As a frequent flier who relies on MSP to do my 9-to-5 job and all the travel it demands, I’m pleased.
I’m a Wisconsin native who lacks the emotional ties to the highs and lows within the Minnesota sports scene. I don’t have stories about going to the Minnesota State Fair as a kid. And I’m also a transplant who always feels like a hypocrite whenever I talk about Prince (I was into “Thriller” more than “Purple Rain” in the 1980s).
But the airport? My pride in that facility is probably my most Minnesotan quality.
I’ve visited more than 75 American airports as a fulltime sportswriter for a national outlet. And when you spend that much time on the road, you learn to appreciate — and resent — some of the characteristics at each stop.
