Owl visits the Minnesota History Center!

by minnesotahistory on Mar 29, 2011
On Tuesday, March 29 a fluffy screech owl was found loose in the Minnesota History Center. He caused quite a stir, but the Minnesota Raptor Center safely brought him to their facility for evaluation and release. He was uninjured.

1 person dead after double shooting in Minneapolis

Minneapolis Police are on the scene of an apparent homicide Monday night.

The incident happened at about 8 p.m. in the 3400 block of Park Avenue in Minneapolis.

2 people were shot. One woman is dead.

The location of the incident is just west of Powderhorn Park, a spot that has been notorious for violence in Minneapolis.

Mississippi River at 'Major Flood Stage', Harriet Island Park CLOSED Monday

From KSTP:
The latest flood predictions for the Mississippi River near Hastings show a crest level lower than previously predicted. The National Weather Service predicts the river will rise to about 18 feet by Thursday, March 31 and then start falling. Early last week, the river was predicted to hit the 20-foot level.

The NWS says river level will be lower than previous predictions due to colder temperatures and the slow snow melt along the upper Mississippi.

By 6 a.m. Monday, the river was at 16.8 feet, with minor flooding occurring. Flood stage is 15 feet.

The First Street railroad underpass is flooded and East Fourth Street in the river bottoms area will likely overtop Monday night as the river rises above 17 feet, says Tom Montgomery, Hastings Public Works Director.

On Saturday, volunteers filled 20,000 sandbags and sandbagged around two homes on East First Street. Montgomery says there are no plans to do more sandbagging at this time.

This year’s crest compares to a previous crest of 17.2 feet on March 25, 2010.

New Metrodome Roof Replacement Starts Friday

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome new fabric roof has arrived and replacing the torn roof will begin on Friday.

Consultants recommended a full replacement of the roof and insurance is picking up almost the whole tab.

Crews from Birdair, Inc. will work Monday through Saturday each week and the installation should be wrapped up in August, just in time for the Vikings preseason games.

Updates at Pioneer Press

Massive Minneapolis Gas Explosion Sends Flames 10 Stories High!

A massive unexpected fire erupted out of a 20 inch gas main, Thursday morning at 8:30am. It was visible more then 4 miles away!

The explosion on 60th Street just east of Nicollet Avenue, forced the evacuation of nearby buildings – including a church, child care facility, and a school and homes — but no injuries have been reported.
In a statement released Thursday morning, Houston-based CenterPoint Energy said it has crews on site and is investigating, but the cause of the explosion isn’t yet known.
As a precaution, CenterPoint noted, emergency responders shut down Highway 62 and Interstate 35W.
“It was a small explosion and then just a big ‘woomph,’” Solem said. “The flames shot a good eight stories tall, instantly. We were two blocks away and you could feel the heat instantly on your face.”











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