Tag: Uptown

Minneapolis Greek Festival Cancels Due to ‘Unrest’

Hayley Feland
Minneapolis Greek Festival - Taste of Greece

The Minneapolis Greek Festival, Taste of Greece, canceled their 2021 festival because of recent unrest in Uptown. Organizers cited the safety and security of festival-goers as a primary reason for cancellation. A statement from the festival’s website reads that they felt they would be “unable to find a successful solution to ensure the safety and security” of all those participating in the festival. The festival was supposed to take place September 9 through September 11.

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Uptown Minneapolis Dumpster Fire Causes $70K in Damages to Restaurant

Hayley Feland

A man set fire to a dumpster behind Stella’s Fish Cafe, in Minneapolis, which led to tens of thousands of dollars in damage. According to Bring Me the News, “security footage shows two men going into the alley area by Stella’s dumpsters around 3:04 a.m. on July 6. One man… was wearing a bulletproof vest.”

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Protests and Riots Erupt in Uptown Minneapolis After Removal of ‘Peace Garden’

Hayley Feland
Winston Smith Memorial Garden clearing

On Wednesday night, riots and protests erupted again after the city of Minneapolis and 7 Points Uptown decided to remove the “peace garden” where a memorial for Winston Smith was located. The garden, also known as Boogie World, was a second autonomous zone established in Minneapolis after a wanted man, Winston Smith, was shot and killed by U.S. Marshals on June 3.

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Violence Continues in Uptown Minneapolis, Nightly Destruction

Hayley Feland
Minneapolis Police armed at riot in the city

The violence in Uptown has continued almost every night since early June, with limited police intervention. A video from Wednesday evening shows a driver doing donuts in the middle of the street as a passenger shoots a gun into the air. The shots were fired by the “peace garden,” the new name for the area protesters gather at where Winston Smith was killed.

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Uptown Minneapolis Annual Art Fair Canceled Due to ‘Unanticipated Challenges’

Hayley Feland
Uptown Art Fair

The Uptown Art Fair in Minneapolis was canceled for 2021, because of “unanticipated challenges.” A statement from the executive director of the Uptown Association said that having the 2021 fair was “not something that we can feel comfortable with, for safety reasons and for our artists.” She cited dumpster fires and an increase in drag racing as some of the safety concerns.

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Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender Unhappy That City Removed Graffiti in Uptown

Hayley Feland

After city employees went to clean graffiti off the streets of Minneapolis, City Council President Lisa Bender allegedly stopped the process. When Bender first heard about the clean-up work being done, she wrote that she assumed the city employees, “were talked into this [cleaning up the graffiti] by the business association.”

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Black Man Who Cleaned Up Graffiti in Minneapolis Harassed by Protesters

Hayley Feland

A black man, Marvin Applewhite, was trying to clean up streets in Uptown Minneapolis when he was chased away by protesters. Applewhite, a Minneapolis local, started an effort to organize youth to clean up the city of Minneapolis to give youth jobs and opportunities. Applewhite continued this in the aftermath of protesting and rioting in Minneapolis. This summer Applewhite and his team of youth and other concerned residents have gone out each morning and clean up the graffiti from the night before. In raw footage of the incident, a woman can be seen screaming, “We are doing this for your people, man.”

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Businesses Close in Minneapolis Because of ‘Safety Concerns’

Hayley Feland

Many businesses have been impacted by the increasing rates of violence in Minneapolis. One, a salon that has been located in Uptown Minneapolis, announced their decision Monday to permanently close their location that has been open for over 35 years. The owner and founder of the salon, Juut, said in a Facebook post that they “decided to close due to the continued escalation of crime and violence in our neighborhood.”

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Mother of Woman Killed in Uptown Minneapolis No Go Zone Speaks Out

Hayley Feland

A woman died after a car plowed into the recently occupied ‘No-Go Zone’ in Uptown Minneapolis, near Lake St. and Girard where a wanted man, Winston Smith, was shot by police. The car drove into a group of protesters in the street shortly before midnight.

Deona Marie Knajdek was pronounced dead at the scene and three others were injured by the vehicle, with two reportedly in critical condition.

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Minneapolis Mayor Holds Press Conference on Uptown No Go Zone

Hayley Feland

  In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to address the new autonomous zone in Uptown Minneapolis, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that they want to advance racial justice but that they need to “acknowledge that the atmosphere has substantially changed.” The second Minneapolis No Go Zone was established after…

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Second Minneapolis No Go Zone Established in Uptown Called ‘Boogie World’

Hayley Feland

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Minneapolis has a second No Go Zone, despite efforts from law enforcement and city officials to remove barricades blocking an intersection in Uptown Minneapolis at Lake Street and Girard Avenue. This is the second autonomous zone in Minneapolis. The other is located at the place of George Floyd’s death, which is still occupied by protesters despite the city’s efforts to clear and reopen the area.

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