Tuesday, December 2, 2014
3
The ‘bridge’ between locals and police Crime Prevention Specialist Carla Nielson was recognized for fostering relationships in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. BY BARRY LY TTON blytton@mndaily.com
From Carla Nielson’s desk in the West Bank Safety Center — where she sits almost every day of the week — venetian blinds are the only obstacle to a perfect view of a busy playground just outside. And during Nielson’s breaks, she sometimes leaves the Riverside Plaza “F” Building to spend time pushing kids on the swings. Nielson, a crime prevention specialist for the Minneapolis Police Department, was recognized last month for the close relationships she’s built with the Cedar-Riverside community — the area she serves. She said she was surprised to be one of the 15 people awarded with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Of fice’s Community Leadership Award, and she believes her work has just begun. Nielson described her position as a “bridge builder” between various West Bank community groups and law enforcement. She said she encounters four to seven languages on a daily basis and interacts with community members of all races, ages and backgrounds. “Many don’t know quite what to call me, so I’m the ‘safety lady,’ ” she said.
“ ‘ Police lady’ is sometimes what the kids will call me.” Though on the job Nielson wears floral scar ves in lieu of a badge, she said she works closely with sworn of ficers, calling them in when necessary. While many American citizens are familiar with the role of law enforcement, she said, some recent immigrants in Cedar-Riverside’s “global village” need reassurance. “For individuals that are coming from war-torn countries where the police were easily bought off, it takes a while to learn that that’s not what law enforcement is in the United States,” she said. So, Nielson said, her job often involves helping immigrants and community members learn how to handle a parking ticket or what to do when their car is towed. Gail Baez, a senior attorney for Hennepin County, said she has known Nielson for nearly 13 years and that her colleague’s tenderheartedness sets her apart. “She is a ver y compassionate person; she’s not somebody who is just doing her job,” Baez said. “She really does care.” Nielson said she has taken two courses on Islam at the University of St. Thomas and has learned “hello” and “thank you” in almost every language she has come across during her
CORA NELSON, DAILY
Crime Prevention Specialist Carla Nielson poses at the West Bank Safety Center on Wednesday afternoon. Nielson recently received the 2014 Hennepin County Attorney’s Office Community Leadership Award.
two years as a crime prevention specialist in CedarRiverside. “She takes it upon herself to learn, and it’s not just an academic learning, but it’s a desire to get to know what people are really like,” Baez said. Metro Transit Captain Michael LaVine said Nielson is reputed for her dedication to serving the area.
Man arrested after taking swings at Green Line car Also, police saw an assault on campus Sunday after the Vikings game. BY NICK WICKER nwicker@mndaily.com
An unusual crime punctuated an expectedly quiet Thanksgiving break for campus police, said University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner. At about 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Miner said, University police witnessed a man waving his arms as he walked down Huron Boulevard Southeast. He said the man “had his arms out like a bird” and was “walking with a swagger that appeared as if he wanted all traffic to stop behind him.” From time to time, the man would stick his thumb out like a hitchhiker, Miner said, until the Green Line light rail forced him to stop
at the intersection of Washington Avenue Southeast and Huron Boulevard Southeast. As the last train car passed the man on the tracks, he swung with his right arm and hit the train, then lifted his arms “as if he was upset that the train was blocking his walking path,” Miner said. University of ficers watched as these events unfolded and approached the man. He quickly became resistant to the of ficers, who smelled alcohol on his breath, Miner said. Police at the scene arrested him for obstruction of the legal process and disorderly conduct and booked the man at the Hennepin County Jail, according to a police report.
Couple’s argument leads to violence
A University student and her boyfriend — who is not af filiated with the University — were
interr upted during an argument as they walked along Oak Street Southeast after the Minnesota Vikings game Sunday afternoon, Miner said. Behind them, a pair of brothers listened to the exchange and decided to inter vene, he said. One of the men, age 35, assaulted the boyfriend, Miner said, adding that police saw the brother kick the man on the ground. The victim lost consciousness, and he was brought to the hospital by an ambulance, Miner said. A passerby and witness of the incident was a nurse who administered first aid to the victim until the ambulance arrived, Miner said. According to a police repor t, the male suspect was arrested by UMPD officers on site and booked at the Hennepin County Jail for third-degree assault.
Designers plan out lid over I-35W I-35W u from Page 1
suppor ters is the Minneapolis Downtown Council, which released a 2025 plan mentioning the need for a better connection between downtown Minneapolis and the University. The creation of a linking lid is one of the ways to make a more “seamless physical connection,” said Steve Cramer, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District. Cramer said the council hopes to see the project formulate in the next decade or so, though it’s still up in the air. Other cities have seen developments like the proposed lid, Cramer said, keeping proponents hopeful that the plan might take shape in Minneapolis. Calculating the lid’s potential economic benefit will be a key next step toward execution, Cramer said. “It’s captured the imagination of a lot of important people,” he said.
Concerns in the community Positives aside, some are war y of connecting the two communities. AJ Siddiqui, president of the West Bank Community Coalition, said he’s concerned that residents of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood could face negative change from a project as large as the lid. “There are so many pressures coming to this area,” he said, noting that community members fear new development could increase the cost of living and drive out East African businesses in the area. Siddiqui said his main concern isn’t just about a downtown to Cedar-Riverside connection, but other large city projects that he says have threatened the neighborhood. These include the new Minnesota Vikings stadium and a year-old announcement that the city plans to build a pedestrian bridge to connect downtown to CedarRiverside. With the three projects combined, Siddiqui said, he fears the predominantly Somali community filled with young families could become the “tailgating
headquarters” for Vikings fans once the stadium is opened in 2016. Other concerns include potential traffic issues and air ownership rights over the section of I-35W, said McBride from MnDOT. “We have to be mindful of what we can and can’t do with federal rules,” he said, adding that developers would have to consider future maintenance obligations as well. Siddiqui said an undertaking of this scale could bring significant change, especially in one of the lowest-income housing neighborhoods in the area. “When you do this kind of huge project, obviously there is going to be gentrification in the area,” he said. Siddiqui said he’d be happy to see this project come to fruition if developers could accomplish the task without altering the character of the East African neighborhood. But with the pedestrian walkway, the new Vikings stadium and now a potential community-connecting freeway lid, Siddiqui said change is already flooding the district. “This avalanche is coming down on this neighborhood,” he said.
“She is very knowledgeable about the people that she works with,” he said. Through her time on the West Bank, Nielson said, she has grown to love the area’s international atmosphere. “I’m meeting someone from Togo. I’m being given the oppor tunity to sign a bir thday card for Nelson Mandela,” she said. “If you
asked me as a young woman growing up in Omaha, Neb., ‘Did I ever think I would be immersed with coworkers from countries that I didn’t know how to spell or didn’t know existed?’ I would [have said], ‘What? Me?’” Before being assigned to the West Bank, Nielson worked for the MPD for 16 years. She has lived in
Minneapolis for 22 years. While Nielson said her work has been rewarding, she said building meaningful community relationships has taken longer than she initially assumed. “There really haven’t been many stumbling blocks,” she said. “[It’s about] being patient and respectful — that relationship building takes time.”
Obama’s order prompts questions Center u from Page 1
like Faegre Baker Daniels LLP. Oppor tunities for students to work at the center have quadrupled since it first opened its doors, Casper said, adding that he thinks the center’s role in offering legal ser vices will strengthen with time. Nick Bednar, president of Voices for Immigration Student Association, is a law student who works in the center’s Immigration and Human Rights Clinic, which represents asylum seekers who are fleeing persecution. “It can be ver y difficult at times, hearing some of the stories about these peoples’ experiences,” he said, adding that he’s eager to see how the president’s executive action will affect Minnesota immigrants. Michele Garnett McKenzie, advocacy director at the Advocates for Human Rights, works closely with the Center for New Americans on its education and outreach programs. She said the most pressing need is informing
undocumented immigrants about how the executive order applies to them and how they can proceed. “It’s going to require a communitywide collaboration and outreach to educate ever yone on this policy,” Casper said. Some professional associations are concerned about scammers tr ying to take advantage of uninformed immigrants, McKenzie said, adding that there are upcoming information workshops in Minneapolis to help prevent fraudulent activities. Some University students will be intricately involved in the education process, McKenzie said. “It’s going to be an exciting time for students, in particular, to get involved and change the discourse on immigration,” she said. Casper said the new executive order will have a profound impact on both individual immigrants and their families. “I think that it will change the politics of immigration, and it is certainly going to change the daily lives of tens of thousands [of] Minnesotans in a very good way,” Casper said.
GROWTH OF THE CENTER FOR NEW AMERICANS SINCE ITS OPENING At opening in July 2013 1 clinic, 10 student opportunities
Current as of November 2014 3 clinics, 41 student opportunities
SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA LAW SCHOOL’S CENTER FOR NEW AMERICANS
U study reports that taconite workers risk contracting rare form of cancer BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS — A final report to the Legislature on a six-year, $4.9 million University of Minnesota study says the state’s taconite workers face higher risks from a rare form of lung cancer called mesothelioma the longer they’ve worked in the industry or if they’ve had above-average exposures to certain kinds of dust. The study assessed the risks to taconite workers from exposure to tiny, needle-like fibers called elongate mineral particles, or EMPs. Mesothelioma, a usually fatal cancer of the lung lining, is generally caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers. Lawmakers commissioned the study after a spike in the cancer was found on the Iron Range in 2006. Researchers planned to present the final report at a community meeting in Hibbing on Monday. Many of the key conclusions from the study were in
a preliminary report in April 2013, including that taconite workers had triple the death rate from mesothelioma than ordinar y Minnesota residents. Taconite workers also died at higher rates from more common kinds of lung cancer and hear t disease at higher rates, they found. The final repor t adds a closer look at the role of EMP exposure levels in taconite workers’ risks of mesothelioma as well as the role these exposures might play in other diseases, principal investigator Jeffrey Mandel said. For example, the study found the number of years people worked in the industr y was linked with their mesothelioma risk, but not their risk of other lung cancers. It also found workers with above-average EMP exposures were nearly twice as likely to get mesothelioma as workers with belowaverage exposures. But it found no apparent links between EMPs with rates of other lung cancers among
these workers. The study also says these workers face an elevated risk of dust-related noncancerous scarring of the lung and lung lining. Researchers analyzed 57 mesothelioma cases found among taconite workers through 2010. They were unable to determine to what extent the increased mesothelioma risk came from mining dust or from exposure to commercial asbestos that used to be common in taconite plants, said John Finnegan, dean of the university’s School of Public Health. The final report makes several recommendations, including more data collection, steps to reduce controllable risk factors for cardiovascular disease and reducing exposure to EMPs and other kinds of dust, including more use of respirators. “Given the known hazards in mining, the process of avoiding exposures generated in the mining and processing of taconite ore is critical,” the report said.