MINNEAPOLIS — The Aliveness Project opened up a Thrive clinic and pharmacy on Sunday, which is World AIDS Day.

“The Aliveness Project is about helping people living with and at risk for HIV, live long and healthy lives,” said Aliveness Project Executive Director Matt Toburen.

Toburen said construction started eight months ago but the project has been in the works for two years.

“We’re really excited to have an inclusive space and an inclusive clinic pharmacy,” Toburen said. “Anyone from the community can feel welcomed … they’re not going to be stigmatized or turned away for who they are and who they love.”

Toburen said having an onsite pharmacy is important because some patients won’t pick up their prescribed medication after their appointment.

He said this type of clinic and pharmacy is needed in Minnesota.

“We’re failing the community, and people are falling through the cracks, people who are at risk of HIV are falling through the cracks, and so we’ve created the Thrive Clinic Pharmacy in order to end HIV in Minnesota,” he said. “In our neighboring states of Wisconsin, and Illinois, and Iowa, they’re seeing decreased HIV infections.”

According to the Minnesota Department of Health an HIV outbreak was declared in Hennepin and Ramsey counties in 2020, and in the Duluth area in 2021.

MDH reported 324 people were diagnosed with HIV last year, and 207 people have been diagnosed in Minnesota this year.

“We have to do something bold because it’s unacceptable,” Toburen said.

He said there are a number of factors that contributed to the outbreak like healthcare disparities, lack of protection, and lack of sexual healthcare. He also said the outbreaks have been tied to encampments and intravenous drug use.

Toburen said the center can be a one-stop shop for people to seek medical care, food, and other resources.

He said the pharmacy will also offer PrEP and PEP.

“PrEP is a medication that when taken regularly can prevent someone from contracting HIV. PEP is something that is post-exposure prophylactic, often used in the medical setting… kind of like the morning after pill, that when there is an exposure, when taken withing 72 hours can prevent contracting HIV,” he said.

Toburen said rapid access to these medications is really important for their effectiveness. Paying for these medications can be another barrier this pharmacy will work to address.

He’s also excited to see how the clinicians and pharmacists will work together as a team to help their patients.

“This can be really groundbreaking when it comes to work on gender medicine and hormone treatments and being able to modify and… adjust medications and treatments and working with the pharmacist whose working in collaboration with that provider,” he said.

Toburen said the clinic is open. Prospective patients can schedule an appointment online or stop by the Aliveness Project.

He said the pharmacy will open in early 2025. The pharmacy will also be available to people who need other medications.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis Police Department is investigating after a person was found dead in what the police describe as an “apparent homicide.”

MPD officers responded to a report of an unresponsive person on the ground on the 3300 block of 10 Avenue South shortly after 12:30 p.m., according to a release from the department. 

Initial information suggests the person’s family tracked their location after they were unable to contact them since last night, said the MPD. 

The person was 25-years-old, according to the release, which also said the medical examiner confirmed they had been shot at least once. 

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. 

ST PAUL, Minn. — Sunday, Dec. 1 marked the first day of the Hmong New Year, and tens of thousands of people in St. Paul celebrated in style.

The annual Hmong New Year festival took place at the RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul and was organized by the United Hmong Family, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and representing Hmong culture. 

The two-day celebration broke the attendance record on Saturday, attracting more than 19,000 people, according to United Hmong Family president Mee Vang. She estimated roughly 10,000 people would attend on Sunday.

Forty six years ago, Minnesota’s annual Hmong New Year festival started as a way to bring families together, Vang explained. “Blessing the home, sweeping away the old year and then calling all the souls home for many of our family members that have been working or traveling, so that everyone can come together and reunite after the last harvest,” she said.

Because of a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, this weekend marked 44 years of the annual festival. It also marked nearly 50 years since the first wave of Hmong people arrived in the United States after the end of the Secret War in 1975.

“I came to America in April of 1976,” St. Paul resident Ntxoov Kaim Moua said. “At that time, it was very difficult for us because the language, because the climate, because the cultural differences.” 

Moua and his family moved from Laos to Thailand then to Wisconsin before settling in Minnesota. He has lived in St. Paul for 12 years. “I would like to have the young people maintain our culture, our traditions and especially the Hmong New Year,” Moua said.

With more than 94,000 Hmong residents, Minnesota is now home to one of the largest Hmong communities in the country.

“I love my community here, whether you’re Hmong or not Hmong. We just have such a beautiful culture and being able to say that all of these communities, especially marginalized communities, are all Minnesotan,” Vang said.