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Autism advocates say community must do more to protect children
Within four months, two young boys with autism went missing in their communities. Two bodies were later found in open water near their homes.
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — A tragic end to the search for a missing boy with autism.
Eden Prairie police say 11-year-old Mohamed Mohamed went missing Sunday night.
Officials say the search was called off after a child’s body was found a few hours later in a pond near Mohamed’s home. It’s the second similar incident in just a few months.
Back in June, officials say a Hopkins boy with autism, 4-year-old Waeys Ali Mohamed, drowned in a creek.
Ellie Wilson with the Autism Society of Minnesota says children with autism are often drawn to water.
“There is a really important statistical connection between the existence of autism and the likelihood of accidents relating to drowning,” Wilson said.
“It is the most common cause of death among autistic children.”
Wilson says children with autism are drawn to water because of the visuals, the movement, and the way it makes them feel.
“Think of the last time you dove into a pool that that feeling of pressure you feel around your body is somewhat of a weighted blanket for someone with autism.”
Wilson says there is an even greater concern in the Somali community.
She says data suggests Somali children are more likely to be diagnosed with autism.
“Even as high some will say as one in sixteen, which is nearly double the rate it is in the mainstream group,” Wilson said.
Jaylani Hussein with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says the Somali community is deeply concerned after two drowning cases in just four months.
“The impact of autism on our community is extremely high,” Hussein said.
He says parent groups are already discussing ideas to improve safety, such as increased access to swimming lessons, signs that warn the community a child with autism lives nearby, and resources for parents so they can secure their homes.
“Basic home modifications, things like alarms or even locks on doors and windows are a very popular thing to talk about,” Wilson says.
Wilson agrees, that all communities need to have a serious discussion, so parents, leaders and law enforcement have the tools they need to keep children safe.
“One of the biggest things we have to do is just talk about is as a community.”
STEP Academy’s superintendent did not attend the school board meeting as debate over finances continues.
ST PAUL, Minn — There was chaos and confusion Monday night at a St. Paul charter school board meeting as it discussed its financial crisis.
STEP Academy is on the brink of shutting down as its finance director announced it’s now exponentially further in debt.
On top of that, two board members resigned at the meeting, including Rahima Ahmed and Abdulrazzaq Mursal.
That board also, unexpectedly, appointed five new members. They then called for a special session for Thursday, leaving some people confused and angry – including teachers, none of whom would go on camera.
STEP Academy’s latest board meeting showed it had 117 fewer students enrolled than planned, leading to them being $775,000 over budget. In efforts to cut costs, teachers and other staff have been let go.
STEP Academy serves a significant part of the Somali community in the Capital City and works to reach students who are underserved by traditional schools and underrepresented in STEM fields. Superintendent Mustafa Ibrahim is accused of improper management practices and the nonprofit overseeing the school for the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), Innovative Quality Schools (IQS) says the school is in financial crisis.
Sources had told KARE 11 Ibrahim was expected to resign, but it’s unclear if that happened. He wasn’t at Monday’s meeting, but his supporters call his leader “excellent”.
Other parents are concerned about the future.
“With this nightmare that’s happening, I want to know one thing, what are we going to do as a community,” said Aliyo Jama, whose children attend STEP Academy.
Some parents are also critical of IQS, accusing it of racial bias. Every one of the state’s 180 charter schools is overseen by an authorizer like IQS. In a statement, IQS says it oversees 30 charter schools and that it exists to “safeguard quality educational opportunities for students and maintain public trust and confidence.”
Its chair, Steve Kelley, also maintains that any claims of racial bias are unfounded, writing, “IQS and its leadership team have acted professionally and impartially. I am optimistic that as the STEP Academy board carries out the letter and spirit of its agreements with their authorizer, the school will continue to independently provide its academic program that is both responsive to and highly valued by its students and families.”
IQS has confirmed to KARE 11 in past reporting that STEP Academy is in this position, in part, to its newest campus in Burnsville. And that it overestimated its enrollment projections and spent too much on renovations.
At Monday’s meeting, STEP Academy’s finance director said the operating budget deficit has now more than doubled to $2.1 million.
The school is proposing a new budget to try and fill the financial hole. It includes $325,000 in reductions at the St. Paul campus, $225,000 in cuts at the academy’s Burnsville site and a $225,000 reduction in operations/office staffing.
STEP is also working to add $600,000 from renegotiating building leases at both locations and its transportation contract.
If STEP Academy closes, MDE data shows it would be the 11th charter school to close this year – the most in several years.
Charter school enrollment has been growing. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, charter school enrollment increased by 9% from 2019-20 to 2022-23, adding over 300,000 students.
Marathoners run 26.2 miles with canoes on their shoulders.
ELY, Minn. — Editor’s note: This story originally aired in October of 2018.
At this year’s Ely Marathon, both male and female runners set records in the canoe portaging division. Drew Boysen of Iowa City, Iowa set a record in the men’s division with a time of 4:11:01, shaving roughly 20 minutes off the old record.
Victoria Ranua of Shakopee shattered the women’s record, finishing with a time of 5:25:34. Ranua’s time beat the old record by roughly 90 minutes. Boysen and Ranua each received $5,000 for their record-setting performances.
A community where canoes are king now has its crowning achievement.
Dan Drehmel shouldered a canoe more than 26 miles to win Ely’s first official canoe portaging marathon.
“The truest Minnesotan thing you can think of is to carry a canoe for a whole marathon,” spectator Ashley Sinclair said shortly before Drehmel crossed the finish line.
Drehmel finished the race — carrying his 35-pound canoe — with a time of 5:23:48.
A friend suggested he could probably do it again.
“No, no, I’m done,” Drehmel said with a laugh, minutes after his finish. “Ready to be done till next year.”
This year’s Ely Marathon was the first to offer a full marathon canoe portaging division. A half marathon portaging division was added last year.
“We just had some crazy locals who asked if they could portage a canoe,” race director Wendy Lindsay said. “So, here we are, we’re starting a fad.”
A dozen runners started the full and half marathons held last weekend in Ely. Four managed to finish the full marathon, while four more finished the half.
Drehmel — who works as a guide in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area — said he wanted to attempt the portaging marathon “just to see if it’s possible.”
Two years ago, Drehmel and his girlfriend Abby Dare took turns portaging a canoe in the full marathon but did so unofficially.
LyneAnne Vesper, who also does BWCA guide work, was similarly inspired. She ran the 2016 half marathon with a canoe after gaining approval from Lindsay.
“It was really a personal challenge at the time,” Vesper said.
Drehmel and Vesper both say they were inspired by Ely Marathon’s branding. The race markets itself as the 8,390-rod portage.
Taking their cues from Drehmel and Vesper, race officials added a portaging half marathon last year, and the full portaging marathon this year.
“Some of the racers last year who did the half didn’t think it was challenging enough,” Lindsay said.
Dana Gilbertson was the top finishing female portager, coming in second in the half marathon.
Reminded she was running one of America’s most scenic marathons, Gilbertson laughed.
“I haven’t seen a bit of it,” she said. “Just the front of a canoe.”
The invasive species looks similar to a ladybug, but they come with a mean streak.
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — You went outside, felt how beautiful it was, and said to yourself, “This is the perfect weekend to set up those Halloween decorations.” You start to get some stuff up, and then you feel a little bite.
You might have come face to face with an Asian Lady Beetle! They make look like a ladybug, however, Asian Lady Beetles can be slightly larger and come in various shades of red and orange. Another way to tell the two apart is by looking at the bug’s head. The Asian Lady Beetles have a noticeable “M” marking near its shell.
“They’re bad because there’s so many of them and they’re invasive,” Ric Arguello, an exterminator at Babes Termites and Pest Control said. “In the fall, they get into people’s homes and businesses and everything.”
Around this time of the year, the business’ line is ringing off the hook. Many customers are asking why they’re seeing so many of the insects.
“Over in Asia, where [the beetles] came from, they would overwinter on mountainside,” Arguello said. “Well, we don’t have any]. We got a lot of houses, so they find that warmth. [They] just find a crack to get in, and then wait it out until spring hits.”
So these bugs are staying for months and not paying rent? They’d go down in history as some of the worst house guests ever. But Arguello says you shouldn’t have an issue getting rid of these pests.
“A lot of people use like a soapy water solution on the outside of their house,” Arguello added. “That’ll kill them. [You can also vacuum] them up or you could hire someone like us to put a residual down.”
An Asian Lady Beetle can live anywhere between 30 and 90 days, though most are expected to die off when we start to have a consistent freeze.
