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MSP Airport to build ‘sensory rooms’ to alleviate travel stress

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Two “sensory rooms” are planned for the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport — “calming spaces” for stressed-out travelers who may be experiencing “sensory overload.”

The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which owns and operates MSP, announced the new rooms on Tuesday and said in a news release that it will partner with Fraser, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit, to design the sensory rooms as part of two terminal expansion projects slated for completion by 2028.

“This is another major step to create a more accessible and inclusive airport experience, to help passengers with sensory sensitivities, or those who just need a quieter space to decompress before a flight,” MAC CEO Brian Ryks said in a statement.

Sensory or quiet rooms are an increasingly popular amenity at airports. More than a dozen airports across the country feature them as air travel surges post-pandemic. Condé Nast Travel called the sensory room at Houston’s George Bush International Airport an “airport dreamscape, complete with plush lounge chairs, calming teas, and neck warmers to melt away any tension from the TSA line.”

At MSP, one of the new sensory rooms will be part of the Terminal 2 North Expansion project opening in early 2027. A second sensory room will be added the following year during the renovation of Concourse G at Terminal 1, between gates G8 and G18.

The MAC said the sensory rooms will feature dimmable lighting, comfy seating and “sensory-friendly furnishings.” The MAC didn’t specify how much the rooms would cost to build.

Fraser already works with MAC as a partner of the Navigating MSP program, which aids travelers with special needs, and the organization participates on the airport’s Travelers with Disabilities Advisory Committee.

“We are so honored to partner with MSP Airport to bring sensory friendly spaces to individuals who need a different experience at the airport in order to travel,” Fraser President and CEO Diane Cross said in a statement.



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Man charged with getting in a shootout with trooper on I-94 in Minneapolis after causing crash.

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A man grabbed the steering wheel from his girlfriend, crashed the vehicle on a Minneapolis interstate and got in a shootout with a state trooper, according to charges filed Tuesday.

Eddie James Freeman, 23, of Minneapolis, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with one count of first-degree assault, four counts of second-degree assault and one count of fourth-degree assault in connection with the confrontation Saturday on Interstate near the Dowling Avenue exit. None of the gunfire resulted in any injuries.

Freeman remains jailed in lieu of $300,000 bail ahead of a court appearance Wednesday. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

Also Tuesday, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) identified the trooper involved in the altercation as as Mark Vande Steeg. The agency said Vande Steeg has been in law enforcement slightly more than a year and is on standard critical incident leave as its investigation continues. Body camera and squad camera video captured portions of the incident, the BCA said.

The agency said said its crime scene personnel recovered a handgun from the where Freeman was arrested. The personnel also saw bullet damage to Vande Steeg’s squad, the BCA added.

According to the charges:

Troopers were sent about 10:15 p.m. Saturday to the spot where Freeman crashed his vehicle. While en route, they were alerted to shots being fired near the crash scene and were given a description of a possible suspect.

As Vande Steeg arrived, he put his squad spotlight on a man who matched the description. In response, Freeman fired several shots at the trooper.



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Duluth mayor’s girlfriend and campaign manager is involved in city business, emails show

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DULUTH — The campaign manager and girlfriend of Mayor Roger Reinert has been directly involved in city business, from coordinating Reinert’s involvement with President Joe Biden’s January visit to asking a city staffer to complete research for Reinert, public records show.

Emails beginning at the start of the year when Reinert first took office detail Amber Gurske’s requests to the city’s public information officer and Reinert’s former assistant. The emails, obtained through a data practices request, were first reported by a Duluth online news site.

Gurske, a business development and marketing manager for Superior, Wis.-based Amsoil, offered a city staffer ideas and copy for social media topics to be covered by Reinert, coordinated a potential mayoral proclamation, reviewed a press release and asked his assistant the nature of a meeting Reinert was taking when asking to be added to his schedule. Gurske was on a panel that interviewed a candidate for a senior adviser role for Reinert’s office, and also acted as his staff at a local elementary school where he read to students, emails show.

Neither Reinert nor Gurske responded to interview requests.

As his campaign manager and not city staff, Gurske’s involvement in city operations is unethical, and potentially illegal, said David Schultz, a political science and legal studies professor at Hamline University.

“She doesn’t have the authority to direct staff,” he said, and Reinert could face conflict of interest and accountability accusations.

Gurske asking a city employee to conduct work is likely misappropriation of public dollars, Schultz said, especially if she is directing work for campaign-related social media accounts. Reinert frequently posts about city business on an Instagram account that is labeled as a campaign page.

“Can you please research/chat with folks in the next few days to get an update on Brighton Beach?” Gurske wrote to Kelli Latuska, the public information officer. “Folks have been talking about it and Roger wants to on perhaps Thursday do a post and maybe a video about where we are at, but we don’t know.”



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Man who staked out Trump at Florida golf course charged with attempting an assassination

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A man who authorities say staked out Donald Trump for 12 hours on his golf course in Florida and wrote of his desire to kill him was indicted Tuesday on charges that he attempted to assassinate a major presidential candidate.

Ryan Wesley Routh had been initially charged with two federal firearms offenses. The upgraded charges reflect the Justice Department’s assessment that he methodically plotted to kill the Republican nominee, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery surrounding Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course on an afternoon Trump was playing on it. Routh left behind a note in which he described his intention.



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