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| |  | Federal agents stand in a line in front of protesters after Julio Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg in North Minneapolis. (Adam Sage / City Cast Twin Cities) |
| ICE Agent in Minnesota Custody | Christian Castro, the ICE agent accused of shooting Julio Sosa-Celis in North Minneapolis and lying to authorities about the incident, was finally taken into custody in Minnesota on Wednesday. This followed a failed monthslong legal fight by Minnesota to try to extradite Castro from Texas. [MPR News] | - State vs. federal charges: Prior to Wednesday, it was unclear whether Castro would ever see a day in court for his state charges stemming from the Jan. 14 shooting. In Minnesota, Castro faces four counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon – charges far more serious than the federal false statements charge he now faces. The Justice Department blocked a federal prosecutor from pursuing more serious charges against him. [Star Tribune]
- What about the other shooters? Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez have not been charged with any crime after killing Alex Pretti in January. Similarly, ICE agent Jonathan Ross has not faced charges after killing Renée Good. After refusing to cooperate with local investigators for months, federal authorities turned over evidence related to the killings of Good and Pretti back in July. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office will make a decision on whether or not to charge the agents after a thorough review of the evidence. [Minnesota Reformer]
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| | | Award-winning bluegrass duo The Gibson Brothers bring their sibling harmonies, sharp songwriting, and decades of acclaimed music-making to Hopkins Center for the Arts on September 26. Minnesota favorites Monroe Crossing joins them for a night of bluegrass in our intimate downtown Hopkins theater. Make a night of it with free parking and restaurants just steps away. Tickets are on sale now. |
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| What the Cities Are Talking About |
| Will school closures affect you? Earlier this week, Minneapolis Public Schools unveiled three proposals to close up to 16 schools in advance of the 2027-2028 school year. Sahan Journal education reporter Becky Z. Dernbach broke down why the district is lobbying for these closures on a recent episode of the podcast. The Star Tribune put together a fantastic tool that allows you to input your home address and see how the changes from each of the three plans could affect you. [Star Tribune] | | On the ballot: County commissioners quietly wield some of the biggest influence over our daily lives, and several of those seats in Hennepin and Ramsey counties are on the ballot this November. On today's episode of the podcast, we interviewed Abdihakim Ibrahim, who is running against Marion Greene for Hennepin County Commissioner, District 3. We hope to interview Marion Greene soon as well; we are waiting to hear back from her campaign. [🎧 City Cast Twin Cities] | - Check out our interviews with both candidates for Ramsey County Commissioner, District 3, and stay up to date with all of our candidate interviews leading up to election day on our website.
| | We're No. 1 (again): The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was named the best "mega airport" in the country for the third year in a row. I guess the never-ending construction is really paying off! [WCCO] | | Threats are expensive: Hennepin County has spent more than $500,000 on personal security for County Attorney Mary Moriarty over the past three years. This is the first time that the county has paid for a security detail for the top prosecutor, and it comes as Moriarty has dealt with threats and stalkers during her tenure. The expense dramatically increased after the 2025 killings of House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shooting of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. [Star Tribune] | | Moratorium schmoratorium: Inver Grove Heights is paving the way for a new data center despite a moratorium on new development that was passed this summer. After Florida-based developer QLevr threatened the city with a $20 million to $150+ million lawsuit, the City Council voted to make an amendment to their moratorium to exclude QLevr's data center application. [Pioneer Press] |
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 | Look at those beautiful colors! (Courtesy of The Bond Between) |
| Our (adoptable!) Friday Floof this week is Pebbles the cat. Pebbles was taken in by The Bond Between after she was found pregnant under a trailer. All of her kittens have since been adopted, but Pebbles is still looking for her forever home! She is super sweet, litter box trained, and an easy customer on car rides and vet visits. |
| — Adam | Anna Weggel and Sean McPherson edited the City Cast Twin Cities newsletter this week. Feedback? Email twincities@citycast.fm. |
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