Star Tribune
Falcon Heights, St. Anthony move toward renewing police partnership severed after killing of Philando Castile
Two Ramsey County cities moved this week toward renewing a police partnership that ended after a St. Anthony police officer fatally shot Black motorist Philando Castile during a 2016 traffic stop in Falcon Heights.
The two councils voted to begin negotiating a contract that, if approved, would see St. Anthony policing Falcon Heights for the first time since 2017, when the communities ended a more than 20-year partnership in the wake of Castile’s killing.
Falcon Heights City Council Member Melanie Leehy said she believes partnering could bring healing to the two cities who shared a difficult experience when Castile was killed. The debate over whether or not to remain partners drew on for many months, dividing members of the communities.
Leehy said had advocated that the cities stick together after Castile’s killing. “You can’t heal when you’re apart,” she said.
She thanked both cities’ leaders and residents for being willing to have difficult conversations now, acknowledging it was clear during engagement sessions that even within Falcon Heights and St. Anthony, residents’ opinions varied on whether the cities should partner again.
Falcon Heights’ vote to begin negotiations Wednesday was unanimous. The city has been patrolled by the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office since 2018. Since 2020, Sheriff Bob Fletcher has urged Falcon Heights to find another option because, he said, his office doesn’t patrol contiguous areas, so deputies must travel long distances at high speeds to respond to emergencies.
Falcon Heights City Administrator Jack Linehan has cited several potential benefits to renewing the partnership. Among them, a more community- oriented policing model, and work the St. Anthony department has done to rebuild itself in the wake of Castile’s killing.
On Tuesday, the St. Anthony City Council voted 4-1 to begin negotiations to police Falcon Heights.
Some St. Anthony residents questioned whether renewing the partnership would benefit their city, voicing concern that the quality of service could suffer, and about cost.
St. Anthony City Council Member Thomas Randle, the lone ‘no’ vote, also expressed concern that the city could hire enough officers to cover Falcon Heights, and about how St. Anthony’s policing style would mesh with Falcon Heights leadership.
Early estimates put the cost to Falcon Heights at between $1.65 million and $1.8 million in 2026. St. Anthony officials estimate the city would need to add nine positions to police Falcon Heights, and suggested it would ask for Falcon Heights’ financial help in upgrading police facilities.
St. Anthony leaders anticipate a contract could be signed in the fall.
After about five minutes and several warnings that students participating in the protest would be suspended,, the protesters exited Northrop and Cunningham continued her speech. They later gathered outside on the mall afterwards to shout, “Cunningham, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Cunningham recounted the story of Norman Borlaug, the U alumnus and agronomist whose research in wheat saved millions from starvation, and said she would prioritize keeping a college education affordable for students.
Cunningham actually took over presidential duties on July 1, replacing Interim President Jeff Ettinger. She oversees a budget of more than $4 billion to run the university’s five campuses, which enrolled more than 68,000 students and employed 27,000 people during the last academic year.
She was chosen for the job last winter over two other candidates: Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. She is the U’s second woman president, following Joan Gabel who held the office from 2019 to 2023.
Cunningham will be paid more than $1 million per year — about $975,000 in base pay and an additional $120,000 in retirement contributions. The compensation puts her in the top quarter of Big Ten university presidents.
Sgt. Gordon Blackey, once a security guard to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, allegedly admitted to tracking the woman’s movements in her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
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Minnesota corrections officials are investigating after an inmate was found dead at the state prison in Moose Lake.
The 37-year-old’s cellmate found the man unresponsive in their room about 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, according to a news release Wednesday from the Corrections Department. Staffers immediately started life-saving efforts, but those efforts failed.
The department’s Office of Special Investigations is looking into the death, with help from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. The inmate’s identity was being withheld until notification of family.
