Star Tribune
Kris Lindahl partners with Activision on ‘Call of Duty’ billboard ads
Since Lindahl’s ads were first introduced in 2017, they have garnered both local fandom and annoyance from some Minnesotans who feel like they can’t escape the billboards.
The advertisement collaboration between Lindahl and Activision is unique because the internationally recognized game publisher had to make sure Lindahl agreed to licensing his signature pose. In 2022, Lindahl successfully trademarked a photo of himself with his arms out as well as a couple of slogans for the company. Other images of the pose are still pending to be trademarked.
The photo of Lindahl, which has been placed on hundreds of billboards and other surface advertisements, has become so widely known it is now a template for countless memes and Halloween costumes. While some poke fun at Lindahl’s appearance and intense stare, he said, it’s only helped spread his company’s name.
“I don’t mind people taking shots at me and stuff,” Lindahl said. “I think that’s all part of putting yourself out there.”
He added he hopes the “Call of Duty” campaign can be the start of more branding collaborations between local and national businesses and bring more national recognition of his company.
“I think people realize this is just the beginning, and it’s going to get bigger and bigger,” Lindahl said.
Star Tribune
Shawn Fagan tapped to lead the Rochester Downtown Alliance
Longtime business owner and photographer Shawn Fagan has been named the next executive director of the Rochester Downtown Alliance (RDA).
Fagan, who had been on the RDA’s staff as a deputy director since the summer, takes over for Kathleen Harrington, who led the organization in an interim capacity for the past year and a half.
“Shawn’s passion for downtown, his collaborative spirit, and his strategic vision for growth make him the perfect choice to lead the RDA forward,” Harrington said in a written statement.
Fagan and his wife, Michelle, have been involved in the downtown since 2003 when they opened a photography studio along South Broadway. They later bought the 151-year-old building and added an event space, Studio 324, that they continue to operate. For their contributions to downtown, the couple received the Sandy Keith Downtown Impact Award recipient in 2021.
The Fagans also own Café Aquí, a coffee shop just outside the city’s special services district.
With his new role, Fagan will be responsible for leading the downtown business community through a period of major anticipation and disruption tied to Mayo Clinic’s $5 billion build-out.
The RDA, which represents more than 300 downtown stakeholders, is best known for putting on popular events like Thursdays Downtown and Social-ICE. The organization is also responsible for managing a public service program that provides cleaning, hospitality and safety services to the 44-block district.
Star Tribune
Minneapolis Market mass shooting among 5 homicides in federal RICO charges against Lows gang
Five Minneapolis homicides — including a February mass shooting outside a market — are at the heart of the latest federal racketeering case to take aim at a street gang in the city. The latest target: the northside-based Lows, described by law enforcement as the most violent among its peers.
The new charges, announced Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, chart a three-year path of bloodshed that saw rivals and bystanders alike killed amid a long-running gang war. Eleven alleged members of the Lows are named in the indictment, which also includes allegations of gun and drug trafficking.
“The murders and shootings alleged in this indictment should shock the conscience of every law-abiding citizen in the city,” Luger said in a press conference Wednesday. “To put it simply, the existence of the Lows gang constitutes a threat to the sanctity of human life and we will continue to take all appropriate steps under the law to remove this threat.”
The Lows indictment bookends an initiative launched by Luger’s office in May 2023 to use complex conspiracy charges to disrupt Minneapolis’ most prominent gangs. The charges follow similar indictments against alleged members of the Bloods, 10z/20z and Highs gangs and brings the tally of those charged to beyond 90 people. Earlier this month, Luger’s office won its first racketeering conviction since starting this work when a jury found three alleged Bloods members guilty of charges that covered racketeering and using a firearm to carry out murder.
All of those charged in this latest case — some of whom have related state prosecutions pending — are in custody and were expected to make first appearances in St. Paul. None of them had attorneys listed as representing them as of late Wednesday, according to the federal court docket.
The Lows street gang has existed in Minneapolis since about 2004 and claims as its territory a section of north Minneapolis south of Broadway Avenue while the rival Highs gang operates north of that road. According to court documents, the murder that year of 18-year-old Christopher Little, identified by law enforcement as “a known Lows member,” intensified a rivalry with the Highs that has since included “hundreds of shootings and murders” in their territories.
A grand jury on Monday returned the latest 18-count indictment under seal charging 11 alleged Lows members with crimes including racketeering conspiracy involving murder, attempted murder, gun trafficking and drug trafficking. The indictment charged 78 “overt acts committed in furtherance of the enterprise” – including seven murders or attempted murders involving 10 victims. Bystanders were struck on two occasions. A judge unsealed the charges Wednesday amid the first federal court appearances in the case.
Those charged include: Ashimiyu Alowonle III, 38; Timothy Calender III, 26; Glenn Carter III, 23; Victor Collins, 22; Damari Douglas, 20; Deontae Jackson, 35; Shannon Jackson, 32; Robert Knights Jr, 19; Albert Lucas V, 20; Kaprice Richards, 23; Cartrelle Smith, 27.
Star Tribune
4 months in jail for road rage attack in Lakeville that left victim permanently disabled
Henderson added that his health has steadily deteriorated since the attack, noting, “I now have issues with my speech, and my need for oxygen has become almost permanent. … My back hurts more than it ever has, often leaving me bed-ridden. … I struggle to walk even short distances due to the pain.”
Also speaking at sentencing was Sharon Henderson, who said of her husband, “The funny, joyful man I once knew is now a shadow of himself — sad and depressed, acutely aware that he has lost the best years of his life. … The laughter and light that once filled our lives have been replaced by sorrow, a daily reminder of what we once had.”
According to the criminal complaint:
The day after the attack, Henderson told police an SUV was closely following him after he had exited Interstate 35 at 210th Street W. After the two parked, the other driver confronted Henderson, yelled obscenities, accused him of cutting him off and threatened to beat him.
Beckett then ordered Henderson to go behind the Walmart, saying he wanted to be somewhere without surveillance cameras.
Henderson was with his mother-in-law and told her to go inside the store to get help.