9/6/2024 -- Park Tavern Crash Kills Two

Crime

Drunk Driver Kills Two, Injures Nine After Driving Into Park Tavern Patio

The Summary: This past Sunday, a car driven by 56-year-old Steven Frane Bailey crashed into the Park Tavern outdoor patio, killing two people and injuring nine others. The incident occurred during a celebration hosted by a group of medical workers. Bailey has since been charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and nine counts of criminal vehicular operation.

The Crash and Victims: Bailey’s vehicle reportedly accelerated into the restaurant’s patio, where it struck several patrons. Among the two fatalities were:

- Kristina Folkerts, a Park Tavern employee.

- Gabriel Quinn Harvey, a health unit coordinator at Methodist Hospital.

Nine others were injured, four of whom were identified as employees of Methodist Hospital. Some sustained severe injuries, including broken bones and head trauma, while others suffered minor bruises.

Bailey’s Blood Alcohol Level and Charges: Bailey’s blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.325 — more than four times the legal limit of 0.08 in Minnesota. During his court appearance, Bailey denied having any issues with alcohol. His next court appearance is scheduled for October 1st.

Past Offenses: Bailey has a history of five DUI convictions and multiple license revocations.

Community Impact: GoFundMe pages have been set up for the families of the victims (view here for Kristina and here for Gabe)

Business

❯ State Fair Records: The 2024 Minnesota State Fair set five daily attendance records, but fell short of breaking the overall attendance record, with 1,925,904 attendees. Extreme heat and stormy weather on key days contributed to missing the all-time record by about 200,000 people.

❯ Uber/Lyft Lawsuit: A group of Minnesota Uber and Lyft drivers filed a lawsuit against the Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association President Eid Ali, accusing him of fraud and deceptive trade practices. The drivers claim Ali created other organizations to funnel money to himself.

What Else We’re Watching…

St. Paul Athletic Club Hits Auction On Monday With Bids Starting at $750k

The historic 13-story St. Paul Athletic Club, built in 1917, will be auctioned online starting at $750,000 — it has been on the market for five years without tenants.

This thread on X does a great job at detailing the history of what once was the crown jewel for athletics and recreation in St. Paul.

Check out the full listing here.

GAME: Wordle

Play' today’s custom wordle here.

Sports 🏈

Vikings Season Kicks Off Against New York Giants 🏈

The Summary: The Minnesota Vikings enter the 2024 NFL season amidst plenty of transition. They are coming off a 7-10 season and will have a new QB at the helm in Sam Darnold after Kirk Cousins was traded to the Atlanta Falcons.

QB Carousel: After drafting rookie JJ McCarthy with the 10th pick in the draft, many people thought he would have a strong chance at the starting role. However, a preseason injury for McCarthy quickly shifted the Vikings focus to veteran QB Sam Darnold who was signed to a one-year deal in the offseason.

New Faces: Besides the QB position, the Vikings have quite a few new players at key positions including Aaron Jones at running back (formerly with the Packers), Jonathan Greenard at linebacker (formerly Texans), and cornerback Stephon Gilmore (formerly Cowboys).

Predictions: The Packers and Lions are expected to lead the NFC North with the Vikings predicted to be on the outside looking in of the playoff picture. Las Vegas oddsmakers have their win total hovering around 6.5.

Other Sports News

🏒 Minnesota’s PWHL team has hired Melissa Caruso as their new General Manager. Caruso is a St. Paul native and spent 15 years with the American Hockey League.

🏐 The Gopher Volleyball team defeated the #1 ranked University of Texas in their second match of the season.

⚾ The Minnesota Twins’ Byron Buxton faced another injury setback in his rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints, making his season return questionable.

Quick hits

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities ✔

❯ Former Minnesota Teacher of the Year has been charged with assaulting a student in 2017 (WCCO)

❯ The St. Paul City Council is considering new rules that would open 90% of the city's current retail space to cannabis shops (Axios)

❯ The University of Minnesota is reporting another record freshman class in terms of both size and diversity (Kare11)

❯ The Minnesota DFL shattered their state fair fundraising records after raising over $558,000 (Patch)

❯ Minneapolis was ranked as the third best city to retire by WalletHub (CBS)

❯ A Minneapolis man allegedly attacked apartment manager with ax after his lease was not renewed (KSTP)

The Final Word: A Man’s Best Friend 🐶

Fox9 recently ran a story covering a St. Paul man named Abe Switters who is on a mission to walk his blind, deaf dog on every bridge in the Twin Cities. I’ve actually met Abe before and can tell you that he has an incredibly caring heeart which clearly shows through in this story.

-Patrick