Community members near the University of Minnesota’s East and West Bank campuses went to the polls on Tuesday to cast their votes for the primary races. Voters said some of their top issues in this election are reproductive rights and public safety. 

Polls for the primary opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Seats up for reelection include the U.S. 5th Congressional District, governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general and county sheriff. 

“Every vote counts,” Miranda Olson-Okonkwo, a 27-year-old Minneapolis resident, said while voting at the Van Cleve polling place. “Some people might not think [voting] matters in the grand scheme of things, but it does, especially when it comes to representatives.” 

Gov. Tim Walz, Secretary of State Steven Simon and Attorney General Keith Ellison are all running for reelection in the DFL primary. There is also a nonpartisan vote for county sheriff on this year’s ballot after Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson announced a leave of absence in May after he crashed his county-owned SUV in December with a blood-alcohol level of 0.13%. 

The race that was on most voters’ minds and has garnered the most attention though is the DFL primary race for the 5th Congressional District. Five candidates are running, but most of the attention has been on incumbent Rep. Ilhan Omar and former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels. Omar has been the district’s representative since 2019. 

Olson-Okonkwo said she is voting for Omar because she and her husband are trying to obtain a green card for him, and they’ve reached out to Omar’s office twice for help. 

“They’ve advocated for us twice, so we’re voting for her just because she’s helped us and we’ve seen direct results of her being in leadership and advocating for people,” Olson-Okonkwo said. 

Olson-Okonkwo said she is also supporting Walz because he issued an executive statement earlier this summer after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In that statement, Walz said abortion will be protected in Minnesota under his leadership. 

“I’m out here solely because I’m voting for reproductive rights today,” Olson-Okonkwo said. “I have two kids, and I love kids, but abortion is healthcare, so I’m out here for reproductive rights.” 

Sarah Vadnais, a 22-year-old University graduate, said one of their top issues is also reproductive rights, along with climate issues and public safety. 

“It was important to me to reelect Ilhan Omar and also to vote for the attorney election,” Vadnais said. “With everything going on in our country that makes you feel kind of powerless [voting is] the one thing you can do.” 

Jakob Mcewan, a 21-year-old political science student at the University, said specific races that were most important to him were for governor and the 5th District, especially after the Court overturned Roe v. Wade. He said he also thinks COVID-19 is still an important issue. 

“I think [the primary] mostly just energized me to vote for some of the politicians that already represent me,” Mcewan said. “I’m feeling pretty represented right now.”

Not everyone supported the state’s current leaders though at the polls. 

“I just want a change,” Jaren Mills said. “[I’m] not happy with the current leadership.” 

Mills, a 23-year-old University alumni, said he has lived in Minneapolis for four years and is not happy with how the city has changed and become almost “unrecognizable” because of issues like increased crime. 

Mills said he wants to “get someone that is more in line with making this district better and making the state better.” Someone like Samuels. 

While Samuels and Omar both agree public safety is an issue and the city needs reform, they disagree on the specifics of how to address it. Omar supported replacing the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety in November 2021. Samuels opposed that measure, which failed when it went to voters, and wants reform to happen within the existing police department.

Max Meyer, a 20-year-old University student, said “Ilhan keeping her seat is super important” after one of Samuels’ campaign supporters, Victor Martinez, said he is against abortion rights with exceptions for rape and incest. Samuels has maintained his support for abortion rights.  

Regardless of who they voted for, voters said they think voting in the primary is important. 

“Seeing what’s happened over the past couple years in terms of politics in general has really made me realize the need for people to actually get involved and contribute what they think should be happening,” Meyer said. “Especially if that’s not currently happening.” 

Bella Carpentier, Maia Irvin and Olivia Stevens contributed to this article.

Gallery|3 Photos

Maia Irvin

The Minneapolis Fire Department blocked streets off to traffic around Williams Arena and evacuated several surrounding buildings.

UPDATE (4:53 p.m.): MFD gave the University the all clear to reopen University buildings that were evacuated, according to a SAFE-U notification.

University Avenue and 4th street will remain closed to traffic between 10th Avenue and Oak Street until public works authorities finish monitoring the area.

The University has resumed limited campus bus service. The following bus stops are now open: stadium, Northrop Mall, Blegan Hall and Coffman Union.

UPDATE (3:22 p.m.): No injuries have been reported and the petroleum’s source and location are still unknown. Public officials are asking the public to avoid the campus area, according to a press release from Minneapolis Assistant Chief of Administration Melanie Rucker.

According to the press release, MFD was initially called to Oak and Fifth streets southeast around 11:30 a.m. after Met Council contractors working in the sewer system reported hazardous material. The contractors reported gas readings and a “strong petroleum gas smell in the sewer system.”

MFD’s hazmat team was called to the scene and the State Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Teams are taking samples of the liquid.

Emergency crews are continuing to monitor a large area for petroleum – East Hennepin Avenue from Hoover to Stinson to 33rd Avenue Northeast, 18th Avenue to Elm Street, and 4th street and University Avenue from 14th Avenue to Oak Street – and evacuating areas as needed, according to the press release.

Public officials advised if you’re in an evacuation area, to run water in every sink and floor drain, according to the press release.

According to a SAFE-U alert, evacuated University employees can leave campus due to “continued high gas levels in evacuated areas.” The areas will remain evacuated until MFD provides the all clear.

UPDATE (1:22 p.m.): MFD is considering the levels of petroleum around the University area to be hazardous, according to a SAFE-U alert. The University stated people should stay out of the area.

UPDATE (1:19 p.m.): Some University campus bus routes have been suspended, according to a tweet from the University. The Campus Connector, University Avenue Circulator and East Bank Circulators are not running until further notice.

UPDATE (1:05 p.m.): MFD has also blocked traffic at the intersection of 23rd Avenue and University Avenue SE and at streets up to Washington Avenue.

Several surrounding buildings have been evacuated including the Buffalo Wild Wings at Oak Street and University Avenue as well as the office building at the corner of 23rd and University, which includes the University of Minnesota Emergency Medical Services and the Minnesota Daily office.

The Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD) confirmed a petroleum leak near Williams Arena on Tuesday. 

The arena is being evacuated, along with Huntington Bank Stadium, McNamara, the Aquatics Center, the Recreation Center, Mariucci and Maturi Sports Pavilion, according to a SAFE-U notification. 

People are advised to stay away from the areas evacuated and more details are expected to come shortly, the University tweeted.

MFD received a report of a gas smell coming from the sewer at 5th and Oak streets SE and blocked traffic at the intersection, according to Citizen live updates. According to first responders, there was a petroleum spill in the sewer. 

According to Citizen, traffic will also be blocked at 15th Avenue and 4th Street SE as well as at 17th Avenue and University Avenue SE. Firefighters are monitoring gas readings in surrounding areas. 

Firefighters advised people to stay clear of maintenance hole covers near the arena because of high gas levels. 

This is the second potential gas leak that has occurred on University Avenue this summer. Residences along University Avenue were evacuated on June 30 after a fire, explosion and possible gas leak at the intersection of University Avenue and 17th Avenue SE. 

The University of Minnesota announced on Tuesday via a systemwide email a new public safety pilot program to improve public safety on and around campus, specifically in Dinkytown.

The Dinkytown Safety and Pedestrian Access Pilot program is one of the 26 action items on the University’s Strategic Safety Advisory Committee’s agenda to address public safety concerns. President Joan Gabel announced the committee on July 12 amid public safety concerns among community members. The committee’s membership consists of University students, staff and faculty as well as City of Minneapolis staff.

The pedestrian pilot program will convert certain streets into pedestrian zones starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays through 10 a.m. on Sundays. Thursday will be the first day, and the pilot will run for three consecutive weekends.

One pedestrian zone will be on 5th Street SE between 13th and 14th avenues. This is the street between Target and the Venue at Dinkytown apartments.

The second zone will be on 14th Avenue SE between 4th and 5th streets. This is the street between Blarney and Starbucks.

Concrete pylons will be placed on the two streets and their corresponding sidewalks with barricades between the pylons for emergency vehicle access. The University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) is paying for the barricades and will contract with Warning Lites, a company that specializes in roadway and event safety.

“The goal is to provide safer streets that are welcoming to pedestrians and customer vehicle traffic, while keeping away people who intend to do harm to the area,” Matt Kramer, vice president of University Relations and chair of the Strategic Safety Advisory Committee, said in the Tuesday email.

All of the partners involved in the program will create next steps after analyzing 911 call logs and the frequency of SAFE-U notifications.

The program is one of the first action items the committee is implementing and is a collaboration between the University, University and Minneapolis police, Ward 3 Council Member Michael Rainville and the city.

Additional action items for the committee to address in the future include possibly expanding the SAFE-U notification area to include more of Dinkytown and Marcy-Holmes, renewing Dinkytown safety guides’ contracts, increasing UMPD staffing and hiring an additional community service officer.

University Relations also plans to create a public safety dashboard, which would share progress on safety goals as well as safety statistics. There is no release date for the dashboard yet, but Kramer said in the email he “anticipate[s] that work to move quickly.”

UPDATE: As of 9 p.m. on Thursday, the University was advised by the Minneapolis Fire Department that it is all clear to reopen the facilities and residencies evacuated Thursday afternoon, according to a SAFE U notification.

University Avenue will remain closed to cars between 15th Avenue SE and Oak Street SE and emergency officials are still at the scene, however, no future updates to the circumstances are expected unless something changes.

UPDATE: The fire has been extinguished and no injuries have been reported, according to a press release from the Minneapolis Fire Department. 

The fire originated in the basement of a three-story building at 1717 University Ave SE. While responding to the fire, fire crews received reports of several manhole covers blown out of the street after a possible gas spill into a sewer line, according to the press release.

Buildings along University Avenue and Oak Street SE between 10th and 19th streets have been evacuated, according to the press release. Children that were at the YMCA as well as another daycare in the area have been evacuated. MTC buses are responding for temporary shelter along with Northrop Auditorium, according to the press release.

Fire crews are receiving additional calls of gas odors in the surrounding area and are monitoring buildings, according to the press release.

Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD) responded to a fire and explosion along the intersection of University Avenue SE and 17th Avenue SE, according to a SAFE U notification sent out around 3 p.m. on Thursday.

According to a Citizen livestream, firefighters first responded to a report of a basement fire in a building located along the 1700 block of University Avenue around 2:30 p.m.

A social media message shared with a Daily reporter said the fire could have originated in the boiler room of fraternity Delta Tau Delta. A student within this fraternity reported that the frat’s fire alarms went off and the house evacuated; after this, the explosion occurred and three members of Delta Tau Delta claimed to have seen the manhole covers blow up off University Avenue for about three blocks.

While responding to the fire, MFD reported receiving news of a sewer explosion that blew manhole covers off the road between 10th and 18th avenues along University, according to reporting from KSTP.

Following the initial notification, there was a follow up request for residents of the 17th Ave Residence Hall to evacuate, citing a nearby structural fire and a possible natural gas leak.

KSTP reported that by 4 p.m., buildings between 15th Avenue and Oak Street and between Fourth Street and Pillsbury Drive were being evacuated and authorities are requesting that people avoid the area.

MFP tweeted that no injuries have been reported and the cause of the incident is most likely a flammable gas spill rather than natural gas.

Any residents who have been evacuated are able to go to Northrop Auditorium for shelter, according to a SAFE U notice sent out by the University.

Congress passed bipartisan gun control legislation Friday in a 234 to 193 vote.

The legislation will tighten the background checks required for people under 21 years old to buy a gun and will require authorities to examine juvenile records and mental health records before allowing for gun purchases. It will also work to tighten a federal ban on gun purchases for domestic abusers.

Additionally, millions of dollars will be allocated to states for the implementation of “red flag laws,” allowing officials to confiscate weapons from people who could pose a risk for violence, and the legislation will work to advance laws against gun trafficking and second-hand gun purchases.

The legislation will then dedicate federal funding to mental health programs and school security.
The bill was first passed in the Senate Thursday evening in a 65 to 33 vote before moving to the House of Representatives. Now that it has cleared the House, it will move to President Joe Biden, who will decide whether to sign the bill into law.

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar issued a statement after the bipartisan gun violence bill passed in the House.
“This is an important first step to save lives and stop the gun violence epidemic that has plagued our communities for far too long,” Omar said. “While these measures will provide meaningful change, this is just a start. Our work to end gun violence continues.”

This legislation comes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a New York law on Thursday that put restrictions on concealed carry firearms for self defense. The Court ruled it was unconstitutional to require applicants to demonstrate a special need for self defense in order to have a permit for a conceal and carry gun.

The overturn of the 108-year-old gun legislation has raised concerns that this ruling could threaten other gun restrictions across the country and lead to more concealed carry weapons in public.

The Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade Friday in a 6-3 vote, overturning the nearly 50-year-old right to abortion.

The Court ruled that the Constitution does not provide the right to have an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, effectively overruling Roe v. Wade. The court upheld a Mississippi law that does not allow abortion after 15 weeks of conception. The right to abortion is now turned back to the states.

Nearly half of U.S. states are poised to ban all or most abortions, reported CNBC.

Of the four U.S. states that surround Minnesota – North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa – all are on track to ban abortions. North and South Dakota had trigger laws in place to outlaw abortion in the case Roe was overturned, Wisconsin had a law put in place in 1849 predating Roe that bans abortion, which is now effective again, and Iowa already banned abortion after six weeks of conception.

Abortion will still be a protected right in Minnesota under Doe v. Gomez, a 1995 case that ruled abortion is protected under the state constitution.

The court also ruled in Friday’s decision to overrule Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), a case that affirmed Roe and established the undue burden standard for abortions, meaning that the legislature cannot make a law too restrictive on someone’s fundamental rights.

Before it’s overturn, the decision in Casey established that any abortion law is invalid, “if its purpose or effect is to place a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the feturs attains viability.”

University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society is holding a march for reproductive rights at 6 p.m. Friday starting at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

“The Supreme Court’s decision is a blatant violation of Minnesotans’ right to make their own reproductive health decisions,” Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement Friday. “But let me say it again: There will never be a ban on abortion in Minnesota under my watch.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the year of a pre-Roe abortion law in Wisconsin. 

UPDATE: Ali’s body was found in the Mississippi River in St. Paul near Harriet Island, according to authorities. Foul play is not suspected.

University of Minnesota student Abdi Ali, 21, was found dead Monday night, according to social media posts from Ali’s family.

Ali, who was from Prior Lake, was reported missing Wednesday and was last seen that day at around 6:20 a.m. outside Ferguson Hall on the West Bank campus.

According to Ali’s Instagram page, he was a member of the University’s class of 2023.

A University of Minnesota student from Prior Lake was reported missing Wednesday. 

Abdi Ali, 21, was last heard from Wednesday at about 6:20 a.m. on social media. He was last seen outside near Ferguson Hall on the West Bank campus, according to the Abdi Ali is Missing Facebook page. 

Ali is about 5 feet and 8 inches tall and 120 pounds. He was last seen wearing plaid pajama pants and a black sweatshirt, according to his sister. 

Ali is part of the University’s class of 2023, according to his Instagram page. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Minneapolis Police Department. 

Authorities have canceled the search for missing University of Minnesota student Austin Ray Retterath after finding a deceased man in the Mississippi River on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Retterath.

Authorities said there were no signs of foul play.

Retterath, 19, was reported missing May 8 and last seen outside near East River Road and East Franklin Avenue.

Retterath was a College of Science and Engineering student set to graduate in 2025, according to his Instagram page.

Authorities are searching for a University of Minnesota student who was reported missing Sunday, according to an alert from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). 

Austin Ray Retterath, 19, was last seen outside near the Mississippi River at East River Road and East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, according to the BCA. He is described as white, blonde, about 6 feet and 160 pounds. 

MISSING PERSON: U of M PD is requesting the public’s assistance locating Austin Retterath 19, 6’2”, 160 lbs, blonde hair. Last seen at East River Rd. & Franklin Ave. in Mpls. wearing blue t-shirt, dark shorts, white shoes. Call U of M PD, 612-624-2677, or dial 911 with any info. pic.twitter.com/SavVpkIdrV

— Minnesota BCA (@MnDPS_BCA) May 8, 2022

Retterath is a College of Science and Engineering (CSE) student set to graduate in 2025, according to his Instagram. He was also on the fall 2021 CSE Dean’s List. 

The University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) is searching for Retterath, according to the BCA. UMPD is asking anyone with information to call authorities at 612-624-2677.