News from the Twin Cities west metro, including Bloomington, Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Plymouth and Maple Grove I StarTribune.com

St. Louis Park amends targeted residential protest ban

Some council members wanted to repeal the ban entirely.

Local

March 16

Hennepin EMS paramedics will soon trade their trademark brown uniforms for blue ones “to better distinguish their role as emergency medical services

Hennepin EMS overhauls uniforms to distinguish themselves from police, sparking internal backlash

The uniforms went from 'UPS brown' to navy blue.

Local

March 16

Jason M. Mesich Credit: Hennepin County jail

48-year term for Bloomington man who killed wife, shot neighbors

A wounded teen was hailed as a hero for shielding the gunfire from her year-old niece.

Local

March 15

One of the brown bears in the Russia’s Grizzly Coast exhibit at the Minnesota Zoo sauntered through the falling snow Monday afternoon.

Late winter storm drops rain, freezing drizzle and lots of snow in southern Minnesota

Winter returned Monday with heavy snow, rain and freezing drizzle over much of southern Minnesota.Mankato got hit the hardest with 10 to 11 inches of…

Local

March 14

Steven Schussler and his wife, Sunhi Ryan-Schussler, sued Minnetonka Beach over a public dock, which extends across the water in front of their lakefr

Court partly reverses Lake Minnetonka dock ruling

Appeals decision says lake rights are shared by homeowners and the city of Minnetonka Beach.

Chauvin Trial

March 13

“It’s very lonely,” school resource officer Chaunté Ford said of her role as a rare Black woman on the St. Louis Park police force.

For Black police officer, Chauvin trial intensifies struggle within

At times, Chaunté Ford has to reconcile her profession and her cultural identity: "I am a Black woman, and I am a police officer."

Local

March 13

Golden Valley officials Kiarra Zackery, Maria Cisneros and Kirsten Santelices are working to eliminate racial covenants.

Golden Valley city staff project turns into growing effort to denounce racial covenants

Reminder of bans on people of color still in documents throughout Twin Cities.

East Metro

March 13

Twin Cities metro police blotter, March 14

EDINAFEB. 9Drugs. A 50-year-old man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and providing false information to the police, in the 7600…

Local

March 12

A Robbinsdale police car crashed Friday night near North Memorial Health Hospital.

Pursuit ends in police car crash in Robbinsdale

It happened near North Memorial Health Hospital. No one had suffered serious injuries, a Robbinsdale officer at the scene said.

Local

March 11

“If Hennepin County can bond for stadiums, we can and should consider bonds for affordable housing,” County Commissioner Chris LaTondresse said.

Hennepin County eyes taxes, borrowing to pay for homeless services, affordable housing

Commissioners discussed 11 recommendations over a four hour briefing.

Coronavirus

March 11

Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm got the COVID-19 vaccine from Rachel Slama at the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Golden Valley on

Minnesota offers free virus testing after Carver County flare-up

A COVID-19 outbreak related to organized youth sports has contradicted otherwise improving signs of pandemic activity in Minnesota. The state reported 19 deaths and 1,096 cases.

Local

March 10

A rendering of the expanded St. Louis Park factory.

Pandemic baking boom pushes Nordic Ware expansion in St. Louis Park

New warehouse space will include a cafe accessible by bike trail, future light rail.

Local

March 10

Kipp W. Baldwin Credit: Hennepin County jail

Probation, home detention for electrician who stole $126K in copper from MSP

He stole the copper for scrap and earned nearly $134,000 in salary during the year he was caught.

Local

March 10

Officials say the artifacts, including the USS Minneapolis’ bell, were given the district.

Custody battle over pieces of war memorial heats up between Minneapolis parks, Minnetonka schools

Ship's wheel, bell disappeared from Mpls. memorial and ended up at Minnetonka school

Local

March 9

Pam Blixt, champion of Twin Cities lakes and streams, dies at 67

Pam Blixt was a force of nature.And a force for nature.In a lifetime of environmental activism, Blixt was instrumental in helping to protect and enhance…

Local

March 8

The speed limit on Hwy. 100 north of I-394 officially went up with the installation of 60 mph signs to replace the old 55 mph signs.

Speed limit rising to 60 mph on Crosstown and I-394

Without fanfare, MnDOT raised the speed limit on Hwy. 100 through Edina and St. Louis Park last fall.

Local

March 6

Pedestrian fatally struck in Crystal is identified

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office on Saturday identified the pedestrian who died Thursday after he was struck by a vehicle in Crystal.David Arthur Jones,…

Local

March 6

Man killed in Bloomington house fire is identified

The 79-year-old man killed Wednesday in a house fire in Bloomington was identified Saturday by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.Firefighters pulled Jerome D. Halvorson…

East Metro

March 6

Twin Cities metro police blotter, March 7

AFTONJAN. 22Suspicious activity. A resident in the 16000 block of 15th Street told authorities he was going to look for a body in the woods…

Coronavirus

March 6

Minn. health officials report COVID-19 variant clusters in Carver Co., call for youth sports pause

More than five dozen cases have been linked to participants in school, club sports.

Local

March 5

A portion of Lyndale Avenue has been closed for several hours as police seek a suspect involved in an early morning crash.

Suspects apprehended, roads open after search in Bloomington

A portion of Lyndale Avenue near I-494 has been closed for several hours.