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Mpls Coliseum Building to open doors to diverse, small businesses
The historic building in the Longfellow neighborhood was nearly destroyed by fires in 2020, now a group of Black business owners are bringing it back – with purpose.
MINNEAPOLIS — The vibrant, multicultural murals that have wrapped the first floor of the vacant Coliseum Building for nearly three years, are now a sign of things to come inside.
A $28 million renovation is now underway inside the century-old building located at East Lake St. and 27th Ave S in the Longfellow neighborhood. By the time it opens next year, the Coliseum will offer a mix of retail and office space, with a focus on providing long-term affordability and support for primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) business owners.
“It is like having something that you visualize and you hope for, become reality,” said Janice Downing, owner of Commonsense Consulting@Work, and one of three Black business leaders who have invested in the future of the historic building.
Downing, and her friend, Alicia Belton, principal architect and founder of Urban Design Perspectives, spent years dreaming of owning a building where they could run their small businesses while supporting other BIPOC entrepreneurs.
“We weren’t exactly looking for an 85,000-square-foot building. We were actually looking for something much smaller, but it seemed to work with what we had envisioned,” Belton said.
Remarkably, the historic landmark withstood two separate fires during the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Despite extensive damage, several tax credits, grants and other programs helped fund a redevelopment effort led by Redesign Inc., a locally owned, non-profit developer.
As the redevelopment plans began, Redesign Inc. hired Belton as the architect.
“The building has great bones,” Belton said. “The first floor is retail and restaurant/event center and then the second and third floors are workplace.”
Mama Safia’s Kitchen, which was previously located in the building but was heavily damaged in the 2020 fires, has already announced plans to move back in. There will also be a new bar and restaurant concept operated by Chris Montana, founder of DuNord Social Spirits, who is also an investor in the project.
“Before there was even a floor plan to agree to, they signed up,” said Taylor Smrikarova, director of property development at Redesign. “This is a building that is in the community, that is sizable – it takes up almost a whole block – and when you walk in, you’re going to feel like you’re welcome.”
The building will feature a newly designed central lobby. Downing and Belton are also combining on a shared event and conference room space called SHAKE Community, which is focused on helping support BIPOC businesses in several ways.
“I’ve been a small business for a very long time and so being able to work in partnership with other small businesses,” Belton said. “There’s this synergy. We have the same needs in terms of marketing, accounting, and services; so we try to share those resources so that we are able to build capacity and support each other as we’re growing.”
It’s a dream that they hope helps the Longfellow community move forward after a nightmare threatened to fracture it.
“I am really excited to rewrite that narrative,” Downing said. “Excited to participate in that space in a different way.”
“We get to be a part of the healing process,” Belton said. “We get to be a part of reweaving this neighborhood and community back together again.”
“It feels like, if we can do it, then others can as well,” Smrikarova said.
The Coliseum redevelopment is just getting underway and it’s expected to be completed about this time next year.
Smrikarova said most of the first and second-floor office spaces have tenants lined up already, but they are about to begin tours for spaces on the third floor and basement as well.
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The crash occurred at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday in Welcome, Minnesota after the bus driver failed to yield to the truck, which had the right-of-way.
WELCOME, Minn. — Nine students were injured Wednesday morning when a truck crashed into a bus in southern Minnesota.
The crash occurred at 8:15 a.m. in Welcome, Minnesota after the bus driver failed to yield to the truck, which had the right-of-way at the intersection of County Road 7 and 280th Street, according to the Redwood County Sheriff’s Office. In a press release, officials say the nine students sustained “minor injuries” and were transported to a nearby hospital.
The initial investigation indicates that the truck, an F550, was traveling north on County Road 7, while the bus, which was providing service to the Wabasso Public School District, was traveling east on 280th Street. The news release says the truck had the right-of-way at the intersection.
“We are grateful that no serious injuries happened to our students, the driver or the other driver, however, nine students were transported to area hospitals for follow-up treatment,” Superintendent Jon Fulton said in a letter to parents. “… The District and 4.0 bus transportation company is praying for a speedy recovery for the students and families involved.”
Several fans said this team has inspired them to pursue a career in sports.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Lynx is inspiring the next generation of athletes regardless of whether they win or lose.
Sophia Witkowski went to the game with her mother, Christy, to watch Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.
“For her to see all her idols it’s just so fun,” Christy said.
“I like it because women’s sports aren’t that popular. Now the WNBA is really popular,” Sophia said.
They weren’t the only mother-and-daughter duo at the game. Amanda Williams took her 10-year-old daughter Abby to watch.
“It’s really awesome to have my daughter here to see great role models from the team and the fact,” Amanda said.
“I think that it’s super cool that they get to do what they want to do, and they get paid for it too,” Abby said.
Maggie Niska with Her Next Play, a nonprofit working to empower the next generation of female leaders through sports, said their visibility is everything.
“I think it gives these girls someone to look up to, and it gives them something to aspire to, and by having them in the community it makes seem a little more reachable too,” Niska said.
She said the Lynx Academy put on a basketball clinic for some of her girls in Hopkins Tuesday night. Niska said all of the professional women’s sports teams in Minnesota show girls they can have a future in sports.
“I just think that any visibility these girls can get to women competing at sports at a higher level, hearing these women speak, and seeing them succeed, and getting insight into their lives and what they do to compete at this higher level, I think all of that serves as a great inspiration to these girls,” she said.
It’s something Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve understands well.
“For young girls to see the opportunities for them to play in any sport and then also more in sport, jobs in sports that sports can be a career,” Reeve said.
Sophia Ritter and Taylor Tool drove hours to see the players in action.
“We traveled from Aberdeen, South Dakota and the Northern State women’s basketball team took two vans,” she said.
Ritter and Tool both said it was a cool opportunity for them to see two great teams play on the professional level.
“Growing up, WNBA wasn’t really a big a thing and something that everyone was watching and now that it’s growing it’s really nice to see,” Ritter said.
“It’s really fun seeing all the support and seeing how many people come to watch the games like it’s really cool to see all the fans in the stands filling up and it’s growing,” Tool said.
Gophers’ Shoot Guard Mara Braun went to the game with her team after practice.
“These women out here are just amazingly talented and they play with this toughness that I think we’re really trying to embody as a team,” Braun said.
She knows young girls are looking up to her and her teammates just like they are with the Lynx.
“Especially growing up, you know, you want to play college basketball, and the next level is WNBA or overseas or whatever it is, so for me this is obviously a dream and something I’m working towards to be able to see it,” she said.
Braun dreams of playing in the WNBA and watching the Lynx and the Liberty in the finals makes that dream feel like it could be her new reality.
The department is the only one in the state to start a non-fatal shooting unit that launched in January.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The City of St. Paul has seen a number of deadly shootings recently, but often it’s the ones that aren’t fatal that don’t get as much attention. And for police, they can also be harder to solve.
The department, though, is trying something new to try and reverse that trend.
“The amount of guns that are on the street right now,” St. Paul Police Commander Nikkole Peterson said about the biggest change she’s seen in the 22 years she’s been a cop. “It’s jaw-dropping.”
Commander Peterson is now in charge of the department’s non-fatal shooting unit that launched in January focusing only on those crimes.
It’s the only department in the state implementing something like that, after it saw success with the police department in Denver, Colorado doing something similar.
“If there’s a shooting, it doesn’t matter what time of night that happens or time of day, that sergeant will get called in to begin the investigation immediately,” said Commander Peterson.
The crime used to fall on the homicide unit that’s already burdened by heavy case loads. There’s also usually little victim cooperation which can stall solving non-fatal shootings.
“A lot of times we wouldn’t investigate it any further or the prosecutor wouldn’t charge those crimes and we knew that something different had to be done,” said Commander Peterson.
The unit is now treating non-fatal shootings like homicides and making them a priority. The investigators also rely more heavily on evidence and devote just as many resources, from forensics to video management and even SWAT teams.
“We are utilizing all these different resources to help solve these crimes,” said Commander Peterson. “We’re chasing down every lead that we can.”
In a press conference on Tuesday, St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said there have been 86 non-fatal shootings compared to 99 this same time last year. But two years ago, there were 170, putting the city’s solve rate around 60%.
“Anything above 50% is just incredible and so we’re really happy with where we’re at right now,” said Commander Peterson.
Commander Peterson also credits the city’s ASPIRE program that focuses on intervention, particularly with youth. She also points to the Office of Neighborhood Safety that partners with local organizations working on prevention, saying this cooperation is ultimately what will reduce crime.
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