Star Tribune
One dead after ‘brazen’ gunfire outside Target store in St. Paul
One man is dead following what police called a “brazen” shooting in a St. Paul Target parking lot Thursday morning.
The shooting occurred shortly before 10 a.m. at the Target in the 1700 block of Suburban Avenue, near the White Bear Avenue exit from Interstate 94. The victim, was driven to nearby St. Paul Fire Station 24 where medics rendered aid, but he was pronounced dead in the station’s driveway. An SUV with a shattered rear window was parked there behind crime scene tape, and a body lying next to the vehicle was removed from the scene by the medical examiner at 11:40 a.m.
Investigators are looking into what led to the shooting, Sgt. Mike Ernster said, adding, “We’re early on in this investigation, we’re still trying to piece together what occurred.”
Scenes at both the fire station and the Target parking lot were secured by police, Ernster said, while the witness who drove the victim to the fire station is speaking with investigators. There were other witnesses to the shooting, he said. No arrests have been announced.
“It’s very brazen, the fact that somebody would engage in a shooting in the middle of a Target parking lot at 10 a.m. on a Thursday is beyond anybody’s normal thought pattern,” he said. “The fact that people are choosing to use weapons possibly to solve differences or whatever they’re doing is crazy.”
Lorena, a witness who asked that her last name not be used, said she was taking her husband to work at a Popeye’s restaurant near Fire Station 24 when she was startled by noise and activity.
“Out of nowhere, I pulled around this corner and you see a whole bunch of squad cars pull up, rush right in the middle of the [driveway], they already had their doors open,” she said, describing seeing a barricade of vehicles around a car with a person taken out who appeared to be dead.
The Target has temporarily closed, while customers and employees were let out.
“Following a fatal shooting in the parking lot of our East Saint Paul store this morning, we can confirm that all other guests and team members are safe. Our team immediately called 911 and secured the store,” Target spokesperson Joe Unger said in a statement. “The Saint Paul Police Department is on-site, and the store will be closed for the remainder of the day as they investigate. Target will provide law enforcement with any information needed, and we will refer additional questions to them at this time.”
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner will identify the victim. It is the city’s ninth homicide of 2023. Ernster said any potential witnesses are urged to contact police at 651-266-5650.
Return to www.startribune.com for updates on this developing story.
The Lynx are in the hot seat.
The team lost Game 3 of the WNBA Finals series against the New York Liberty on Wednesday night 77-80, setting the stage for a decisive match at Target Center on Friday night. Fans in the arena reacted with resounding disappointment after Sabrina Ionescu sunk a three-pointer to break away from the tie game and dashed the Lynx’s chance at forcing overtime.
Before we get to the reactions, first things first: The Lynx set an attendance record, filling Target Center with 19,521 spectators for the first time in franchise history. That’s nearly 500 more than when Caitlin Clark was in town with the Indiana Fever earlier this year.
Despite leading by double digits for much of the game, the Lynx began the fourth quarter with a one-point lead over the Liberty and struggled to stay more than two or three points ahead throughout.
The Liberty took the lead with minutes to go in the fourth quarter and folks were practically despondent.
Of course, there were people who were in it solely for the spectacle. Nothing more.
The Lynx took a commanding lead early in the first quarter and ended the first half in winning position, setting a particularly jovial mood among the fanbase to start the game.
Inside Target Center, arena announcers spent a few minutes before the game harassing Lynx fans — and Liberty fans — who had not yet donned the complementary T-shirts draped over every seat.
DULUTH – The Minnesota and Wisconsin transportation departments will make upgrades to the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge in the summer of 2025, in preparation for the structure to become the premiere route between this city and Superior during reconstruction of the Blatnik Bridge.
Built in 1961, the Blatnik Bridge carries 33,000 vehicles per day along Interstate 535 and Hwy. 53. It will be entirely rebuilt, starting in 2027, with the help of $1 billion in federal funding announced earlier this year. MnDOT and WisDOT are splitting the remaining costs of the project, about $4 million each.
According to MnDOT, projects on the Bong Bridge will include spot painting, concrete surface repairs to the bridge abutments, concrete sealer on the deck, replacing rubber strip seal membranes on the main span’s joints and replacing light poles on the bridge and its points of entry. It’s expected to take two months, transportation officials said during a recent meeting at the Superior Public Library.
During this time there will be occasional lane closures, detours at the off-ramps, and for about three weeks the sidewalk path alongside the bridge will be closed.
The Bong Bridge, which crosses the St. Louis River, opened to traffic in 1985 and is the lesser-used of the two bridges. Officials said they want to keep maintenance to a minimum on the span during the Blatnik project, which is expected to take four years.
Red Wing will celebrate the grand opening of its first permanent set of pickleball courts next week with an “inaugural play” on the six courts at Colvill Park on the banks of the Mississippi, between a couple of marinas and next to the aquatic center.
Among the first to get to play on the new courts will be David Anderson, who brought pickleball to the local YMCA in 2008, before the nationwide pickleball craze took hold, and Denny Yecke, at 92 the oldest pickleball player in Red Wing.
The inaugural play begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday, with a rain date of the next day. Afterward will be food and celebration at the Colvill Park Courtyard building.
Tim Sletten, the city’s former police chief, discovered America’s fastest-growing sport a decade ago after he retired. With fellow members of the Red Wing Pickleball Group, he’d play indoors at the local YMCA or outdoors at a local school, on courts made for other sports. But they didn’t have a permanent place, so they approached the city about building one.
When a city feasibility study came up with a high cost, about $350,000, Sletten’s group got together to raise money.
The courts are even opening ahead of schedule, originally set for 2025.
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