Kare11
Museum acquires Wild goalie mask with Native American design
The Native American-themed mask – worn in warmups by the Wild goalie, defying NHL rules – was purchased by the Minnesota Historical Society.
ST PAUL, Minn. — A piece of hockey equipment worn as a quiet act of rebellion is now part of the Minnesota Historical Society’s (MHS) permanent collection.
While warming up before a Wild game on Nov. 24, goaltender Marc-André Fleury wore a special mask designed by Mdewakanton Dakota artist Cole Redhorse Taylor, defying an NHL rule banning players from using equipment that shows support for special causes or initiatives.
The game was part of the Wild’s Native American Heritage Night, a celebration that holds a special place in Fleury’s heart as his wife Veronique, an Indigenous person from Canada.
Taylor, who has served as a Native American Artist in Residence at the MHS, was asked to design the mask. He used markings, symbols and “Mni Sota Makoce,” a phrase that contributed to our current state name.
The Dakota phrase Mni Sota Makoce means Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds, according to the Minnesota Historical Society.
“I knew that I wanted to do Dakota florals to talk about Dakota aesthetics and culture, and the fact that Fleury’s nickname is Flower, his name means flower, it just all aligned really, really well,” Taylor reflected of the mask’s design. “Having the language, the term on it was just about acknowledging our language as the first language of this area… land the Wild play and practice on.”
“This mask is at the intersection of contemporary Native arts, sports memorabilia, and current discourses on the tension between sports and politics,” added Angelica Maier, curator of 3D objects at MNHS. “Bringing the mask into the MNHS collections will further our ongoing effort to bring forward, tell, and preserve Minnesota’s stories.”
MHS purchased the goalie mask for just over $35,000, which will go to the Minnesota Wild Foundation and the American Indian Family Center. A team from MHS met with the legendary NHL goaltender to accept the mask and a Native American Heritage jersey Fleury signed.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11’s newscasts. You’ll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
Watch the latest reports from the KARE 11 sports team in our YouTube playlist:
“This Valentine’s Day, 2025, will mark the five-year anniversary of the premiere of ‘Love is Blind,” Vanessa said on the Season 7 finale. “And, it is gonna be the launch of Season 8, which takes place in Minneapolis.”
The episode also revealed three of the new cast members, one of whom, “Alex,” told Lachey Minneapolis is “not like a major city, but it’s also not a small town,” which he said is just one of the obstacles in his way of finding the one.
“I just never found the right person that clicked for me,” he said.
Meantime, you can bone up on Seasons 1-7 streaming now on Netflix.
MINNEAPOLIS — How much do you know about your grandma’s upbringing?
“The Stories From My Grandmother’s Hands” is a book that aims to show young Black children how their grandmas lived through beautiful illustrations and descriptions.
KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
