Star Tribune
Driver in north Minneapolis stolen Kia crash was 12-year-old boy
The driver of a stolen Kia that crashed and destroyed a north Minneapolis bus stop Monday was a 12-year-old boy, while the other passengers were slightly older.
The ages of the driver and five teenage passengers, who were hospitalized after driving and crashing the silver SUV, were released Tuesday by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. The Kia struck another SUV on Olson Highway and Penn Avenue, then slammed into a Metro Transit bus shelter and also hit a man waiting at the shelter around noon, authorities said Monday.
The other passengers were four boys, one age 14 and three 15, and one 16-year-old girl, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kelsey Demmert said.
The Kia was suspected in multiple armed robberies, driving erratically through the North Side. Demmert did not say whether any firearms were recovered from the vehicle, saying it was part of the investigation.
Four of the Kia occupants were still in the hospital as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, and two were released from the hospital and taken to Hennepin County Juvenile Detention. All six were arrested.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty will decide on charges for the 12-year-old driver by Wednesday afternoon, Demmert said.
Detectives with the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force (VOTF) were working on a joint operation with the Minneapolis Police Department when they spotted the Kia. When they tried to stop the vehicle, the driver immediately fled, according to a statement from Demmert on Monday.
Star Tribune staff writer Liz Sawyer contributed to this article.
“In here, it can be a very dark and lonely place, and it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Benson said. “Events like this just help keep that hope alive.”
While the incarcerated people listened, they were joined at tables by prison staff, guards, the warden, and others, including Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell, who stood against a brick wall. A couple of inmates, who work as photographers for the prison’s newspaper, strolled the cafeteria taking pictures.
When the performance went longer than expected, the warden smiled and gave the performers a thumbs up. He was fine with letting it continue. When it was done, the musicians took a handful of questions and signed flyers. Then inmates were guided back to their cells.
Hennepin County Board candidate Marisa Simonetti was arraigned in District Court on Thursday morning on a misdemeanor charge of 5th-degree assault after a dispute with a tenant of her Edina home.
Simonetti, who was arrested and jailed in June on allegations that she assaulted the tenant by throwing a live tarantula and other objects at the woman, stayed in the court hallway Thursday while her attorney John Daly handled the routine appearance. Simonetti was given a Jan. 9 pre-trial date and plans to plead not guilty.
Wearing a campaign T-shirt, Simonetti said after the court proceeding that she’s done nothing wrong and plans to fight the charge “to the death.”
Simonetti said her campaign for the District 6 seat is going well and that she sent out “a ton of texts” last week. “We’re getting feedback, positive feedback. It’s going to be very exciting to see what happens on Nov. 5,” she said.
An email to Simonetti’s opponent, Commissioner Heather Edelson, was not immediately returned Thursday.
In April, Simonetti came in second in a six-candidate special primary for an open seat on the board and then lost the special election Edelson, a DFLer and former state representative. Simonetti has campaigned as a Republican, although some local Republicans have since pulled their support for her.
The board oversees the county’s $2.7 billion budget and 10,000 employees. Commissioners earn $122,225 annually.
District 6, which covers cities including Edina, Hopkins, Mound, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Long Lake, Shorewood and the northern portion of Eden Prairie.
“I wanted to be just like him, to love every part of the competition, to be the first to show up and the last to leave, to love the grind, to be your best when you don’t feel your best and make other people around you the best version of themselves,” Ionescu said. “And to wake up and do it again the next day.”
In her final season with the Ducks, Ionescu became the first NCAA Division I basketball player to record more then 2,000 career points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds. She dedicated the performance that put her over the edge to Bryant. “That was for him,” she told ESPN.
“I can’t really put it into words,” Ionescu said. “He’s looking down and really proud of me and just really happy for this moment with my team.”
Ionescu is a menace from behind the 3-point line like Steph Curry, Luka Doncic and Caitlin Clark
Ionescu has made more three-pointers during the regular season than any other WNBA player in history.
Ionescu’s clutch three might give Minnesota basketball fans deja vu. It was reminiscent of the three-pointer Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks sank in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals to win that game 109-108 and put the Timberwolves on their heels. The Mavs ended up winning the series 4-1.
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