Rupa ShenoyHennepin County says it’s closing a north Minneapolis library indefinitely for repairs. Structural engineers are examining Webber Park Library, 4310 Webber Parkway, after ceiling tiles began falling off a few weeks ago. The braces holding up those ceiling tiles have buckled and one wall of the building is “moving,” according to county director of property Read more →
MPR News Notes on the news from the Twin Cities
By Rupa Shenoy
The St Paul City Council has voted unanimously in favor of local historic designation for the Saint Paul Gas Light Company Island Station. The ordinance is set for consideration for final adoption July 17. At a public hearing Wednesday, nearby residents said the industrial building, unused since 1973, could be a valuable access point to Read more →
Breaking Free (a group that provides housing, education and job training for women and girls who have been sexually exploited) held its second two-day event to raise awareness of human trafficking yesterday and today. The first conference was in 2011. This year the group partnered with the Minnesota Men’s Action Network, and that organization’s co-founder, Read more →
A few May Day parades are planned for this weekend, but if the crowd at St Paul’s Cinco de Mayo parade Saturday is an indicator, many people may stay away because of the weather. It usually draws thousands of people, but this time the crowds were thin as Mexican dancers and marching bands went by. Read more →
Six months after passing a resolution formally requesting Backpage.com stop running ads that law enforcement says contributes to minors being sold for sex, the city council received its first report on the police department’s response to trafficking. The jist of it: since February 2011, 19 defendants have been charged with trafficking and 18 girls were Read more →
People filled the seats and stood along the walls of a church basement on St Paul’s east side Thursday to learn more about fatal police shootings of two suspects on the same day last week. Officers shot Victor Gaddy, 41, after he allegedly tried to ram officers with his car. A few hours later, officers Read more →
The Hmong American Partnership hosts a town hall tonight on Asian-American voting trends in the Midwest. Organizers hope to base the conversation on a newly released report from the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. Citing US Census data, the report says the number of Asian American voters grew by 169 percent from 2000 to Read more →
Travelers going through Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport apparently have a collective wish list, because the folks at the Metropolitan Airports Commission say they’ve checked it, and free WiFi has been at the top for some time. So now, they’re granting that wish. Through a new agreement with a company called Advanced Wireless Group, wireless Internet Read more →
The governing board of May Township in Washington County voted Thursday to repeal an ordinance that restricted the hours farmers could work and required toilets on site, an attorney for the farmers said. About 30 area Hmong farmers had contested the ordinance as too restrictive. They were represented by Susan Stokes, executive director of the Read more →