Transcripts of Yia Xiong deadly encounter with St. Paul police raise more questions

By Cole Miska

Contributing Writer

The Justice for Yia Xiong Coalition held a press conference on April 19, to release the transcripts of the 911 calls that led up to the killing of Hmong elder Yia Xiong by St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) officers in February.

Xiong walked to his apartment after officers arrived on the scene, and briefly entered his residence. Once inside, Officer Noushue Cha kicked open the apartment door, and when Xiong emerged holding a knife, Officer Abdirahman Dahir fired his rifle, killing Xiong.

Two calls were made from the Winslow Commons Apartments on Feb. 11 by individuals whose identities were not released. The first call, made by a person celebrating a birthday party for their daughter, said a man with a “machete” was coming in and out of the party room, and at one point “came towards [the caller’s] husband and son,” and tried to touch the caller’s grandchild. abandoned warehouse that the City hoped to bulldoze to consolidate their water maintenance operations. Now it could be sold to the East Phillips Neighborhood Initiative (EPNI) if they are able to reimburse the City for the money it spent on developing the consolidation plans.

The second transcript says that a man came into the party room and tried to give the children at the party money. When they refused to accept the money, he left and later returned to the party room with a knife.

Snowdon Herr, chief organizer for the Justice for Yia Xiong Coalition, said the situation was “a total misinterpretation of the actions of Yia Xiong,” calling it a “culture shock.” Herr says that in Hmong culture, elders at birthday parties always touch the top of the child’s head and give them money, which is why Xiong attempted to touch the child and give children at the party money.

Herr also said the knife Xiong was carrying was a “cuaj puam,” which is a type of traditional Hmong knife that nearly every Hmong family owns.

The East Phillips Neighborhood Initiative began developing plans for the site in 2014, which include housing and a business incubator serving the neighborhood. The organization estimates it can generate up to 570 jobs and housing for 188 people.

In 2016, the City bought the site to fulfill the ongoing demand to expand the City’s water maintenance facility immediately to the north and to consolidate its Fridley and Northeast Minneapolis

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Network Now online survey to capture rider feedback

By H. Jiahong Pan

Writer

Contributing

M arie Yang, a sophomore at Como Park High School, believes she may get a car next year. Taking the bus to school from home has been difficult for her, in part because the bus stops so infrequently.“If it were a choice, I would not go on a bus. It takes longer to get to my destination. Whereas if I had a car I can go straight there,” said Yang as she rode the 3A bus home from school.

For years Metro Transit has struggled to keep up with service, in part because they haven’t had enough drivers. The pandemic also upended travel patterns and ongoing quality of life concerns–particularly with riders feeling uncomfortable in public transit with someone doing drugs–which is depressing ridership. In addition, the agency faces a $260 million deficit when they run out of federal pandemic-relief funding in 2026, meaning it may have to make drastic service cuts.

Riders throughout the region agree that Metro Transit needs to provide more frequent service. The question is where. As a result, in the coming weeks, Metro Transit is asking riders to tell them what they should focus on over the next five years, in an initiative they are calling “Network Now.”

Through the “Network Now” initiative, riders can provide feedback through an online survey and a series of community meetings where participants partake in an interactive activity to cut two and add three trips from a list of 10 that serve different purposes and have different ridership levels and frequencies.

The agency then plans to take this feedback to make service changes in the coming years.