Star Tribune
St. Paul Familiar Faces program connects unsheltered to resources
Police Chief Axel Henry said that motivated city officials to try a different approach that partners law enforcement with a collective of city and community organizations. Familiar Faces is part of that approach, which Henry believes is an evolution in how the city serves residents.
“We want to create a system where the system is set up to say, ‘It doesn’t matter what you bring us, we are equipped and we stand ready to help you and create solutions,’ ” Henry said, adding that he and Michels talk four to five times a week. “This is an evolution that’s happening here, and we’re going to a new, better 2.0 or 3.0 version of this that better addresses the current situation.”
A study published last month by the nonprofit Wilder Foundation says homelessness has increased in the past decade. Most of those unsheltered people had been homeless for a year or more, or four or more times in the past three years. Data from that study also found that drug use increased as people spent time outside without shelter, often worsening their conditions. St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood is an example of that challenge; advocates there say unsheltered people have turned to fentanyl to cope and medicate themselves.
Sue Abderholden, executive director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness Minnesota, said mental health conditions worsened for many Minnesotans during the coronavirus pandemic. And without federal funding provided during that time, the state’s mental health system suffered.
“We have a workforce shortage, but we also have more people who are struggling with their mental health,” Abderholden said. “And then you add on the fentanyl crisis and things like that … so we have greater needs, and frankly we’re not able to meet those needs.”
St. Paul hopes to meet some of those needs through Familiar Faces and work with Heading Home Ramsey, a community-wide partnership helping to connect organizations addressing homelessness.
CROSSLAKE — This wealthy lakes community with the hottest housing market in the state is fighting a new, not-so-upscale nickname — “Tin City.”
Giant metal pole buildings, also known as “barndominiums,” are taking over Crosslake. Drive through this tourist town of 2,500 people north of Brainerd, and you’ll see boat marinas and rows of traditional self-storage rental units, like those drab garage bays featured on the reality-TV show “Storage Wars.”
But now the trend is bigger, pricier personal storage buildings. Rather than renting from one of the more than 500 self-storages across town, or paying a business to store expensive toys in the off-season, rich homeowners and vacationers are building their own luxury storage.
“This area is always going to have more storage than most other communities. I mean, 40% of our land is water and the majority of our homes here are on the lake. And so there is naturally just going to be a higher demand for storage,” said Paul Satterlund, the city’s new planning and zoning administrator.
The oversized personal storage buildings are essentially like a second home. They contain bars, bathrooms, fireplaces, big-screen TV and even a bedroom or the occasional stuffed standing bear mount. The buildings range in size from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet, sell for more than a half a million dollars, and are mostly made of metal paneling.
Crosslake saw massive growth following the pandemic, with hundreds of people moving there to work remotely or retire. What accompanied that surge is a lot more tin. Already 60 of these personal storage buildings have been built in recent years and dozens are in the queue.
But the city is trying to restrict, and potentially prohibit, these from further proliferating.
Brad Nelson, left, visits with Dean Eggena and his partner, Cynthia Holden, in his storage unit in Eggena’s development outside Crosslake earlier this month. Private storage units in Crosslake range in size from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet, are made of metal and sell for more than a half a million dollars. (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Officials have enacted several moratoriums over the past decade to stall the construction of storage units. The latest ban was lifted in October, but new personal storage can no longer have living quarters and owners must limit how much metal paneling is used.
A 14-year-old boy has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy in a Minneapolis home last month, officials said Friday.
The boy was charged by juvenile petition in Hennepin County District Court alleging that he shot the younger teen on Nov. 5 , said County Attorney’s Office spokesman Daniel Borgertpoepping said.
Borgertpoepping said state data practices laws prevent him from releasing more information about the case because of the boy’s age.
Also Friday, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said Quadir Deangelo Blackwell was shot once in a head about 1:30 a.m. in a home in the 2400 block of Ferrant Place. The manner of death was listed as homicide.
“The death of a child is always incredibly troubling and tragic,” Police Chief Brian O’Hara soon after the shooting. “In addition to supporting the families that are impacted by this tragedy, everyone must make every effort to ensure that every gun is securely stored.”
According to police, officers arrived at the home to find that the 13-year-old had been shot once. They provided immediate aid to the teen, but he died at the scene.
“Preliminary information indicates that a 14-year-old boy was handling a gun when the 13-year-old boy was shot,” the police statement continued.
The 14-year-old remained at the scene, was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center.
Police identified the car as belonging to Elizabeth A. Dominguez, 29, of Brooklyn Park. They tracked her car and cellphone and, one week after the shooting, Dominguez was arrested driving west on Interstate 94 near St. Cloud. The KIA had new license plates and when Dominguez was pulled over she was attempting to delete text messages off her phone.
Her phone was filled with phone calls and text messages to Timberlake, her boyfriend, including on the day of the shooting. The day after the shooting, Timberlake texted Dominguez, “Avis and budget roseville,” and “Say Bobby sent you for a rental.”
Dominguez also had internet searches on her phone for “stolen plates dmv,” “replacement license plate MN,” and “southside minneapolis shooting.” She was charged with felony aiding an offender after the fact and is currently out on $100,000 bail. Her next court date is Feb. 6, 2025.
Two weeks after the shooting, Victor M. Collins, 22, of Anoka, was arrested after fleeing police who were given a tip that he was armed and selling drugs. A search of Collins and his backpack found a new street drug called “Tusi,” a mixture of fentanyl, ketamine, cocaine, MDA, MDMA, and tramadol. Police also found a pistol.
A ballistic check on the gun matched the shell casings at the shooting near Minneapolis Market.
Police used location data on Collins’ cellphone to place him at the scene of the shooting. It also showed that his cell phone and Timberlake’s cell phone were together before, after and during the shooting. Collins stands charged with one count of second-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of illegal possession of a firearm. He is being held on $1 million bail and his next court date is Feb. 18.
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