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Man pleads guilty in connection to off-duty firefighter’s death
Marquise Hammonds-Ford pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm. He will be sentenced next Wednesday.
MINNEAPOLIS — A man charged in the shooting death of an off-duty firefighter pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegally possessing a firearm.
Marquise Hammonds-Ford entered the guilty plea Tuesday, and will be sentenced Wednesday, Oct. 9. As part of the plea, the other charges, including first-degree rioting, were dropped.
Hammonds-Ford was charged back in May for his role in the shooting death of Joseph C. Johns, who served as a career firefighter with the Eagan Fire Department since Jan. 2020. He also served as a duty-crew firefighter with the Eden Prairie Fire Department since Sept. 2015.
According to the criminal complaint, Johns was in a bar on the 900 block of Cedar Avenue South on May 5 when he was caught in the crossfire of a shootout.
Court documents said hundreds were gathered at the bar into Saturday night and Sunday morning to celebrate the founding of a local motorcycle club, of which Johns was a member when shots rang out just after midnight following an alleged altercation between two groups on opposite sides of the bar.
The complaint said investigators found 63 discharged cartridge casings in front of the bar and determined the spent casings came from at least seven separate firearms.
Despite debates within multiple cities along the planned Blue Line lightrail extension, all four cities have signed off on proposed designs.
HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn. — Minneapolis, Crystal, Robbinsdale, and Brooklyn Park have now all given municipal consent on preliminary designs of the Blue Line light rail extension through their cities.
The 13-mile-long project has been in the planning stages for 10 years, with officials hoping to get it up and running by 2030. It would connect Minneapolis to Brooklyn Park with about a dozen stops in between.
The Blue Line Extension is being conducted by Hennepin County and the Metropolitan Council, who project 15,000 rides daily on the route.
“We are pleased our city and county partners have confirmed we’re on the right track and ready to move forward together,” said Metropolitan Council Chair Charlie Zelle in a statement. “This is an important investment in our regional transit vision that will improve people’s lives and make our communities prosperous for generations to come.”
This comes after debate and opposition within some of the communities along the route, including Robbinsdale. Residents there told KARE 11 the plans don’t address public safety and displace residents and businesses.
Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando said in a statement the municipal consent approval is a “historic investment in communities that have been historically underinvested in.”
“This project is about our future and the type of community we want to build together. It’s important that we get it right. There’s still a lot of work to do. Elected officials’ strong support shows the value they know Light Rail will bring to their communities. Projects of this scale require strong partnership with the communities they will serve—Hennepin County is dedicated to that. We look forward to continuing to work with each city along this route to make sure the Blue Line Extension best serves their communities and our region long into the future.”
The proposed plans can be viewed by clicking here. The plan now goes to a final design phase.
Austin King-Henke went missing in Yellowstone National Park. After 11 days of searching, the rescue mission has changed to a recovery effort.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — A 22-year-old from Winona has been missing in Yellowstone National Park, and after 11 days of searching, authorities have scaled back from a rescue mission to a recovery effort.
Austin King-Henke was dropped off at Terrace Point by boat on Sept. 14 ahead of the hike up Eagle Peak, the highest point in the national park, for a week-long solo trip. Over the next few days he spoke to friends and family on the phone, and talked with a backcountry ranger. But when he did not return at the scheduled time, he was reported missing.
For the past 11 days, more than 100 personnel have been looking for King-Henke, utilizing helicopters, dog teams, and drones. According to the National Park Service, more than 3,225 miles by air and ground at elevations ranging from 11,350 feet to 8,400 feet have been searched.
Officials said “unfortunately, they have not found any definitive clues as to King’s current whereabouts.”
“Despite significant search efforts over the past week and a half, we have not been able to locate Austin,” said Superintendent Cam Sholly in a press release. “Although we will continue to hope for the best, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to Austin’s family, friends and colleagues. I also want to thank the teams from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and Park and Teton counties, Wyoming, who have all worked tirelessly to find Austin in some of the most difficult and remote terrain in Yellowstone.”
This week authorities said the search is scaling back from a rescue mission to a recovery effort. Searches will continue but the National Park Service said it will be limited, and “the park does not expect to provide further updates unless a notable change occurs.”
King-Henke is an employee at Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a private business within Yellowstone National Park. He grew up in Winona and is a graduate of Winona-Cotter High School. His Facebook page reflects a young man who loves the outdoors and the adventures that come with it. Social media is inundated with posts hoping for his safe return.
The competition was held in Duluth, where judges drank room-temp water from 17 cities.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — What makes great tasting drinking water?
KARE 11 went to Bloomington’s Water Treatment Plant to find out, as the city recently won a statewide competition for its tap water.
There, operator Casey Lewis explained that pebble lime powder is mixed into area groundwater. The facility treats 14 million gallons of water per day.
“This is the start of our treatment process,” Lewis said. “That’s what makes the hardness go down a lot. That’s what softens the water.”
Assistant utility superintendent Mike Petersen says that’s just one of the “secret” ingredients.
“We’re kind of unique with our lime softening,” Petersen said. “Most facilities in Minnesota just treat for like iron and manganese.”
“Although, I would say that our secret ingredient is our staff. We have an outstanding staff here that is dedicated, hard working.”
What they’re doing is working. The American Water Works Association’s Minnesota chapter held a tap water taste test competition in Duluth at its annual conference, awarding Bloomington a “Best in Glass” trophy.
“I was pretty giddy,” Petersen recalled. “It was pretty awesome.”
All Minnesota Municipal Utilities have the opportunity to participate, and 17 of them did so this year. Three judges determined the winner by drinking room-temperature tap water samples from each city. Participants were encouraged to hand-deliver their samples, and to store their water in glass rather than plastic.
The final round was down to Bloomington, Moorhead, Owatonna and St. Peter.
Back at the plant, Lewis showed off a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system that monitors, analyses and controls operations across the plant. He says operators test at least 3 cups of water samples per shift by scooping it out of the facility’s large basins or pools and walking it over to an on-site lab.
The water is then distributed to an underground network of piping throughout the city.
Next on tap, Bloomington will represent Minnesota in AWWA’s national competition in Denver. It will be held June next year.
This isn’t Bloomington’s first time advancing to nationals. In fact, back in 2016, the city took home the first place trophy for “Best of the Best” water nationwide.
How’s the drinking water where you live?
