Star Tribune
With ‘New Life Vest’ campaign, parents of Fla. school shooting victim bring awareness to gun control
Standing near a booth filled with bulletproof vests that passersby in the Twin Cities were offered to try on Friday, the parents of a teenager killed in a school shooting in Parkland, Fla. lobbied for gun reform — before such vests become a necessity.
Manuel Oliver, the father of 17-year-old Joaquin Oliver who was shot and killed along with 16 others in 2018, said the goal was to highlight his and others’ view that gun violence in the United States has gotten to the point where it is reasonable to wear a bulletproof vest while out in public.
“It’s to show that irony, and stupidity behind” wearing a bulletproof vest in public, Oliver said. “If you put this in London people will just laugh, whereas here it makes sense.”
Manuel and his wife, Patricia, set up the booths, as part of the “New Life Vest” public awareness campaign along with Minneapolis advertising agency Preston Spire. The agency came up with the idea for the campaign a year ago, and partnered with Manuel and Patricia’s nonprofit Change The Ref.
“In order to make a change, we have to keep the conversation going,” said Brett Essman, creative director for Preston Spire who was helping lead the filming of the public’s reactions. “Having people in the community see this could be our new life if we don’t take action and have some reform.”
As the couple spoke with people outside the Target store in Dinkytown, most were supportive of their message. But at least one was opposed, and argued against having more stringent gun laws.
“Why? The law-abiding citizens aren’t the ones shooting people up,” said a construction worker who was working nearby and declined to give his name to the filming crew.
The worker said he owns an AR-15 rifle he keeps locked in a safe, and that he already undergoes annual medical checks to keep his gun license, which he thinks is sufficient.
Others who spoke with the Olivers said they support having higher restrictions. Palash Bhanot and Pavit Kohli, two recent University of Minnesota graduates, said they think politicians need to better recognize the need for gun laws.
“We shouldn’t have to all carry around vests to protect ourselves; the world shouldn’t have to be like that, and they were so heavy” said Bhanot. “Ideally gun laws should be enacted to protect us.”
Minnesota ranks 31st when it comes to states with the most mass shootings per-capita, according to the per-capita mass shootings, Violence Project database, which was created by Minnesota researchers. The U.S. also saw the total number of school shootings increase each year since 2020, going from 115 shootings in 2020 to 250 in 2021 and 304 in 2022, the project’s website shows.
The Twin Cities are the only location so far used for the “New Life Vest” project, but Manuel said he would be open to trying it elsewhere to bring awareness to the issue.
“What’s frustrating is we see more and more victims, dying for the same reason that my son died, being an innocent bystander and enjoying life,” he said. “I cannot pretend everyone will agree with me, so I have to speak for my son.”
“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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