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Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputy has Olympic gold on his resume
Twenty years after winning 400 meter individual and relay medals for Team USA, Otis Harris came to Minnesota to protect and serve.
MINNEAPOLIS — When Otis Harris began working courtroom security at the Hennepin County public safety building in January, he carried some impressive medals that initially went undetected.
“I’m not going to walk around boasting or bragging about it,” Harris said, as he reluctantly showed off two of his most prized possessions. “This is the silver medal here for the 400 meter dash and the gold medal for the 400 meter relay. It doesn’t feel like it was 20 years ago.”
Harris, a standout athlete in his home state of Mississippi, who went on to run track at the University of South Carolina, realized his life-long Olympic dream during the 2004 games in Athens, Greece.
“It went by fast,” Harris said.
His Olympic medal run began in the 400 meters, where he ran a personal best, 44.16 seconds in the final. He finished in second, just .16 seconds behind fellow American, Jeremy Wariner.
Kent Erdahl: “You ran your fastest ever in the race that mattered the most?”
Otis Harris: “Right. Yes. I always ran my fastest times in all the biggest races.”
That’s exactly what he did during the 4x100M relay as well. He led off for Team USA, capping the final event of the 2004 Olympics with gold.
Harris: “I’m not married yet and I don’t have any Children. So as of as of right now, it’s the best experience of my life.”
Erdahl: “More proud of the gold or the silver?”
Harris: “The silver… that medal is the most special to me because without the silver, I don’t get to gold.”
Erdahl: “How much are you looking forward to this Olympics?”
Harris: “I’m looking forward to it a lot. I’m excited to watch Sha’Carri (Richardson) in the 100 m dash, and Sydney (McLaughlin-Levrone), she’s already broken the world record in the 400M hurdles and it would be amazing to see her do it again. So, I’m looking forward to it. It only comes around every four years.”
Erdahl: “Do you ever take your time and kind of do a little comparison?”
Harris: “Oh, absolutely. I mean, that’s human nature, right? You always want to know where you would stack up. Most Olympics, that time would still medal.”
Erdahl: “I talked to some of your colleagues on the way in here. They didn’t have any idea that you’re a medalist.”
Harris: “You don’t walk around saying that, unless you want people to not like you. I just feel proud, you know, to have them and, uh, it’s kind of like, uh, having the result of all that hard work.”
That combination of pride and humility stayed with Harris, as he began his post-track career in Mississippi.
“After I got done running, I really didn’t know what I want to do,” he said. “I asked my Dad, and he asked me what I enjoyed. I told him that I liked helping people. He said, ‘Just do that.’
“I worked with at-risk kids and I was a football coach and I was a track coach.”
That desire to help eventually led him to Minnesota, where he’s again proud to represent his country, while protecting his new county.
“You know, just try to be a help to the community,” he said. “I love my country and I want to represent it to the best of my ability.”
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.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
