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Jade’s story of survival 6 months after leaving 89.3 The Current
Jade spent the last 15+ years surfing the airwaves of MPR’s The Current. She left in 2023, surviving a disturbing stalking by a man who also harassed her colleague.
MINNEAPOLIS — What made Jade, Jade over the airwaves at 89.3 The Current for 15 years, was her ability to connect.
“When you are on air, you are trying to cultivate a relationship,” Jade said, “and oftentimes, I think of one person, just the two of us, having a conversation about music; having a nice hang.”
That ability to connect with her listeners is part of what made her so special — and also might be part of the reason that 63-year-old Patrick Kelly began stalking her three years ago this month.
“He sent letters; he’s coming by the house every single day,” Jade said, remembering how it all began that winter of 2021.
Flowers, letters — Kelly even sent her a burner phone telling her to use it so no one else would know.
She immediately went to Ramsey County and paid $200 to file a restraining order.
“A few days later, I got word back from the judge: ‘Yes, indeed, you are approved for this restraining order’, so I felt great and went back to work,” Jade recalled.
She felt protected; she had the order, but for some reason…
“This guy is still coming to my house; stopping over and harassing me,” she said.
She called police for help, “He’s still coming,” she told them. She told anyone she could get on the phone that she still had a restraining order against him — but that’s when she learned, she actually didn’t.
“Something no one tells you when you get that letter from the judge, that ‘Yes, you deserve a restraining order and I am signing and approving it,’ is it’s like a permit. It’s like you get a provisional license to have a restraining order and that’s all you get and no one tells you that,” Jade said of learning that news just weeks after filing it.
Patrick Kelly was never served with the restraining order.
Jade was told Kelly, her stalker, was what is called a “non-serve,” meaning a serve was attempted, but for whatever reason, not given to him.
“So, all of these documented times he has been violating a restraining order the judge gave me, none of that was actually a violation because I never had one because no one served it,” Jade reiterated.
All of the letters that arrived grew increasingly scary. The times he came to her door and night, increasing in frequency, none of them were violations.
Next, Jade’s lawyers tried a lesser-known tactic: They officially serve him via publication — but it still didn’t stop him.
“It kind of comes to a head where he is on my front porch and I call the cops and say, ‘I have him. He’s here now, on my porch, two feet away from me. This is an emergency,’” she recalled this time.
Eventually, he left her porch.
She waited two more hours, but no help came.
Her lawyers tried again after that for accountability. This time, the idea was to hold him in contempt for violating his restraining order — the one that said stay away from Jade and the others before her, a reference to his past convictions for stalking someone else.
Jade knows that someone well: her former colleague at 89.3 The Current, DJ Mary Lucia.
“I didn’t want to say anything to Mary at first because she had been so harmed by it (Kelly’s stalking), but eventually, I showed her some of the notes and she goes, ‘That is the same handwriting,’ and she pulled up some of hers, and she said, ‘I think it’s the exact same guy.’”
It was the same guy; he was sent to jail months prior for stalking Mary repeatedly.
So now, Jade knew her stalker was Mary Lucia’s convicted stalker. It would be six years after stalking Mary that he’d single out Jade.
In Mary’s case, Kelly had gone to jail, and yet, just as Jade said, he began stalking her the day he got out. And even after calls for help and her restraining order against him, it went on.
Until that contempt hearing.
“We got a hearing and the judge is like, ‘Oh, yes. This man should be in jail,’ so she sentences him. He gives himself up and he gets 180 days in jail, plus time served, and he’s out,” Jade said. “Couple months later, immediately starts stalking me again.”
She added, “I wasn’t leaving the house; of course I am frightened,” she said. “Someone you don’t know is making claims over your body and physical space. That is terrifying.”
By the summer of last year, Jade had a 50-year restraining order in place. Kelly had also gone to jail twice, and yet, the letters kept coming. This time, they took on a sexual tone.
It was too much. The volume had to turn down.
Jade left 89.3 The Current after 15 years on the air.
“It’s sort of that catch-22. I can stay at a job I love and continue this pattern with someone who wants to harass me, or I can take myself out of that and allow myself to live a life that is peaceful… and I choose peace,” Jade said, fighting back tears.
But did she feel like she was chased out of being a DJ, a job she loved to do?
“You know, I am a fighter, but life is full of choices and you make the choice that feels best and safest for yourself.”
Jade left The Current last fall.
Mary Lucia left the year before, after 17 years.
And as for Patrick Kelly? He was civilly committed by reason of mental illness three weeks ago, which means his latest criminal charges for stalking Jade are on pause.
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The big winter celebration is returning to its roots after a few years in Loring Park and canceling in 2023.
MINNEAPOLIS — A venerable holiday festival is getting back to its roots, as Holidazzle returns to Nicollet Mall after a year’s absence.
Organizers on Wednesday announced that Holidazzle 2024 will be a 5-day free festival held on the mall from 6th Street to Peavey Plaza (11th Street) from Wednesday, Dec. 18 to Sunday, Dec. 22. The event is billed as being a family-friendly holiday experience, with seasonal activities, food and entertainment that will offer a boost to small businesses.
Holidazzle highlights include:
- Light & art installations
- Holiday shopping pop-ups featuring Minneapolis Craft Market, Dayton’s Holiday Market, Chameleon Shoppes featuring BIPOC women-owned vendors and Minneapolis Vintage Market
- Two entertainment stages
- Free Roller Skating and Minne-Golf
- Visits with Santa
“Holidazzle is the perfect way to bring people together to celebrate our beautiful city in our winter season,” said Minneapolis Downtown Council president and CEO Adam Duininck. “From Minnesota-made treats to community performances to families making their holiday memories, it’s a true showcase of the talent, creativity, and spirit that makes Minneapolis shine!”
While Holidazzle is free and open to the public, patrons can buy a “Friends of Holidazzle” pass that offers valet parking, access to indoor restrooms, a limited-edition souvenir and a Santa “fast pass.” The passes are available for purchase starting Nov. 1, and are partially tax-deductible.
Also new is a Holidazzle Hospitality Hub, a private indoor location designed to host holiday parties for groups from 50 to 1,000 guests. The Downtown Council will work with groups to provide festive seasonal decor, an audio system with playlists and more. Those interested can contact the council for more information.
Interested in the complete schedule of events? Check out the Holidazzle website.
Holidazzle has its roots on Nicollet Mall, including the legendary parades, but in recent years has been held in Loring Park. In 2023, organizers announced that the holiday festival would not take place due to a lack of funding but promised it would be “a one-year situation.” Wednesday’s announcement shows the Downtown Council kept its word.
Investigators think the student lost control of the e-bike, then hit a curb and a tree, according to the Tigard Police Department. He was wearing a helmet.
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TUALATIN, Ore. — A high school student is dead after an e-bike crash Wednesday morning.
The student, a sophomore at Tigard High School, was found dead by a passerby on the side of Southwest 124th Avenue in Tualatin, near Southwest Myslony Street. Police saw the student laying on the ground with an e-bike nearby.
Investigators think the student lost control of the e-bike while traveling south, then hit a curb and a tree, according to the Tigard Police Department. He was wearing a helmet, and no cars were involved in the crash. E-bikes can reach speeds of up to 35 mph.
During the investigation, the southbound lanes of Southwest 124th Avenue were closed between Southwest Myslony Street and Southwest Tualatin-Sherwood Road.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon hosted a special drive to sign up students.
MINNEAPOLIS — University of Minnesota fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon is working to sign up hundreds of college students to become bone marrow and stem cell donors.
The frat has been partnering with NMDP, a global nonprofit leader in cell therapy. For years it has helped register around 1,000 students.
“A big thing for us is just trying to show people fraternities aren’t just like partying and drinking and stuff like that like we actually like to give back to the community,” said Axel Arnold.
The 20-year-old joined the registry last fall through his fraternity. In the spring, he learned he was a match for a 54-year-old man and decided to donate his stem cells.
“I didn’t really think it was like too heroic or anything,” Arnold said. “If I was in that same position, I’d want somebody to do the same thing for me.”
His experience compelled him to organize the special drive at his fraternity Wednesday night. In a few hours, they registered 75 people.
“These student groups really want to make a difference. They care about their culture, they care about their society,” said Keesha Mason with NMDP, formerly Be The Match.
Mason said it’s important to get young people connected with their mission, so they’ll want to become donors. Her words inspired Arnold to sign up last fall.
“Most people think young men are disconnected but on health stance young 18–35-year-olds their stem cells, I don’t want to say are fresher, but their stem cells when they’re put into a patient that needs a match gives those patients better outcomes,” she said.
Studies of stem cell transplants have shown young donors, between the ages of 18 and 30-year-olds lead to the highest survival rates. Young men are ideal donors because they can donate a larger volume of cells, leading to higher survival rates.
Currently the stem cell registry includes about 9 million people, but the percentage of 18-24-year-olds is low.
It’s why NMDP is working to change that, meeting young people where they are at. Laney Bay was walking home when she saw NMDP in Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s front yard.
“I’ve had a lot of friends who have struggled through different medical issues in the past and it’s very interesting to me, and I want to make sure I can do what I can,” she said.
Arnold is hopeful more young people will sign up to become donors and said he would donate again if he got the call.
“It was pretty quick. I would say like actual effort I had to put into it was like probably about a half day of work towards doing it and I mean a half a day of work for a life is insurmountable,” Arnold said.
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