Star Tribune
Twin Cities YMCA lays off 69 employees amid struggling finances
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.
”This senseless act of violence has touched each of us, whether directly or indirectly,” he said at the school’s homecoming convocation Sunday morning.
A pastor who leads the Tuskegee National Alumni Association told those at Sunday’s convocation service that the shooting is a reminder of the fragility of life.
”It is in moments like these that we need to be reminded not to stand on our own understanding because in a moment like this, I don’t have understanding,” said the Rev. James Quincy III.
”I can only rely on my faith, and my prayer for our entire family, this community, as we close out this marvelous family reunion that we shared this week,” Quincy said, “and most importantly because of that faith walk and that trust in God, that we have resilience, resilience in the time of trouble.”
Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama — the school’s opponent for Tuskegee’s homecoming football game on Saturday — released a statement expressing sympathy.
”Today, our hearts are with the Tuskegee family as they face the tragic aftermath of the recent shooting on campus,” the college said. ”We extend our deepest condolences to those impacted and pray for healing and justice. Miles College stands with you in this difficult time.”
Star Tribune
Billie Eilish visits vintage store in former Minneapolis White Castle ahead of Xcel Energy Center shows
Pop star Billie Eilish stopped at VINTAGE, a south Minneapolis vintage store located in a historic former White Castle, on Saturday, the store’s owner confirmed.
Singer and songwriter Eilish is in town playing two sold-out nights at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. She stopped in at VINTAGE on Lyndale Avenue near closing time, store owner Justin Schaefer said, describing her visit as a “complete surprise.”
“She seemed very into the vibe of the shop,” Schaefer said. “She was quoted as saying, ‘this place is so awesome.’”
The “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” and “What Was I Made For?” singer bought a ‘60s cooking apron with a female nude on it, which Schaefer described as “very punk.” She also bought a 1950s Coca-Cola work shirt and a black and white striped ‘60s referee jacket, Schaefer said. Members of her entourage also bought items.
At the store, Eilish posed for a photo with Schaefer’s 11-year-old son, who Schaefer said “played it cool.”
“My son was the most excited, which is the best,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer wondered how Eilish found his shop, which he said carries niche items.
“I don’t really know how she found it, probably like anybody else,” he said. “People are always curious what’s in this 1930s White Castle on the National Register of Historic Places.”
Star Tribune
Paris to deploy 4,000 police officers for France-Israel soccer match following violence in Amsterdam
PARIS — Paris police said Sunday that 4,000 officers and 1,600 stadium staff will be deployed for a France-Israel soccer match to ensure security in and around the stadium and on public transportation a week after violence against Israeli fans in Amsterdam.
France and Israel are playing in a UEFA Nations League match on Thursday.
”There’s a context, tensions that make that match a high-risk event for us,” Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said on French news broadcaster BFM TV, adding authorities ”won’t tolerate” any violence.
Nuñez said that 2,500 police officers would be deployed around the Stade de France stadium, north of the French capital, in addition to 1,500 others in Paris and on public transportation.
”There will be an anti-terrorist security perimeter around the stadium,” Nuñez said. Security checks will be ”reinforced,” he added, including with systematic pat-downs and bag searches.
Nuñez said that French organizers have been in contact with Israeli authorities and security forces in order to prepare for the match.
Israeli fans were assaulted last week after a soccer game in Amsterdam by hordes of young people apparently riled up by calls on social media to target Jewish people, according to Dutch authorities. Five people were treated at hospitals and dozens were arrested after the attacks, which were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Amsterdam, Israel and across Europe.
On Sunday, Dutch police detained several people for taking part in a demonstration in central Amsterdam that had been outlawed following the violence targeting Israeli fans, a local broadcaster reported.
