4/22/2024 -- Fentanyl Prices Plummet

Safety

Fentanyl Prices in the Twin Cities Plummet to Lowest Levels Yet 💊

The Summary: The street price of fentanyl in the Twin Cities metro has plummeted to $1-$2 per pill, down from around $20 a couple of years ago, according to Hennepin County Sheriff’s Major Rick Palaia.

Impact and Reasons Behind Price Drop: Major Palaia stated that he has never seen such a phenomenon. Fentanyl is cheaper to produce than heroin and is sold in small yet lethal quantities. Deaths related to opioid overdoses in Hennepin County have increased alongside the price drop.

Law Enforcement Efforts and Results: In 2023, Hennepin County deputies seized over 135,000 fentanyl pills and 27 pounds of fentanyl powder, leading to 355 people being indicted in district court and 35 in federal court. Despite these efforts, preliminary 2024 data indicates that overdoses are still rising.

Housing

Another Minneapolis Homeless Encampment is Closed

The Summary: Minneapolis city officials announced the clearing of a homeless encampment near East Lake Street on Thursday.

Closure Notice and Procedures: According to a city spokesperson, notice of the closure, along with information on shelters and storage options, was posted over a week ago. Individuals in the encampment were informed they were trespassing and needed to leave.

Community Concerns: Before the closure, neighbors presented a letter to city leaders detailing "the chaos" in their community. The letter cited issues like drug dealing near homes, harassment of children, and a rise in crime, including seven disturbance calls, three stabbings, and one explosion.

Business

❯ Allina Selling Medical Debt: A new Star Tribune report shows that Allina Health is selling overdue patient debts to Accounts Receivable Services, a collector that pursues payment, often through court proceedings, and returns the proceeds to Allina. This practice has sparked ethical concerns and led to legislation proposed by State Sen. John Marty to ban medical-debt buying.

❯ Uptown Construction: With extensive construction happening along Hennepin Avenue, businesses are experiencing varied impact with some owners saying they are seeing a more than 50% drop in customers compared to pre-construction.

❯ Downtown Building For Sale: The Wells Fargo Center in downtown Minneapolis is up for sale as the commercial real estate sector continues to face challenges in the post-pandemic economy. Downtown Minneapolis' office vacancy rate has risen to 31.3%.

Sports

Timberwolves Shine 🐺

The Summary: Fueled by a dominating 3rd quarter performance from Anthony Edwards, the Wolves dominated the Phoenix Suns in game 1 of the NBA playoffs.

Talk That Talk: After hitting a series of shots in a row, Anthony Edwards had an animated moment talking trash to his idol Kevin Durant.

What’s Next: Game 2 is at home on Tuesday evening at 6:30pm. Buy tickets here.

In Other Sports News…

⚾ The Twins woes continued as they lost to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. It’s their 6th loss in the last 7 games.

⚽ The Loons improved to 4-2-2 with a 3-0 win against Charlotte.

Quick hits

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities ✔

❯ A Minneapolis man is making it his mission to address the lack of public seating in downtown Minneapolis (Kare11)

❯ St. Paul is set to require EV infrastructure in new, expanded parking lots (Finance and Commerce)

❯ Good Samaritans rescued a driver from a fiery I-94 crash in St. Paul (X)

❯ Axios went inside the newest Minneapolis high-rise located near US Bank Stadium (Axios)

❯ Police are investigating a 'shocking and unusual incident' after a man was whipped in St. Paul (Bring Me The News)

Beyond the Twin Cities

Headlines From Greater Minnesota ✔

❯ A Northshore Mining pipe ruptured over the weekend resulting in 140,000 gallons of process water spilling (Northern News)

❯ A house in St. Cloud will be featured on HGTV’s “Uggliest Houses in America” show which begins season 5 today (Star Tribune)

❯ St. Cloud’s longest-serving mayor has said he won’t seek another term (MPR)

❯ Minnesota is set to close state park on Iron Range and turn it back into a mine (AOL)

The Final Word: New Dog Alert 🐾

In some hard hitting news, I adopted a dog over the weekend and named him Harriet after my favorite lake in Minneapolis (he also goes by Harry). He has already enjoyed a chilly swim in the Lake Harriet waters and got his first pup cup from Sebastian Joe’s — living the good life.

-Patrick