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Representatives of around 40 Twin Cities law enforcement agencies will meet with state officials this week to discuss growing calls for a regional police response to gang violence.

Why it matters: Residents and city leaders are clamoring for solutions after police in multiple Twin Cities suburbs tied an alarming string of gun violence to Somali American gangs.

• Among the incidents: Shootings near Eden Prairie High School's homecoming game, on a residential street in Bloomington and at an Edina pickup basketball game.

State of play: Officials from those cities quickly lined up behind Eden Prairie Mayor Ron Case's call on Monday to create a regional task force to address East African gangs, whose feuds often cross jurisdictional lines.

• The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is convening this week's meeting to discuss how to "work together metro-wide on these investigations," BCA spokesperson Mike Ernster tells Axios.

Plus: Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt has already redirected two existing violence prevention teams to "primarily start focusing on gangs," she told reporters.

What they're saying: Some Somali Minnesotans cautioned law enforcement officials against using labels like "Somali gangs," which could feed stereotypes and hostility toward the broader community.

• "This is not a Somali problem, this is a youth violence problem," Minneapolis resident Munira Yusuf told an Edina town hall this week.
• "Are we applying the same standard evaluating gun violence regardless of race?" said another attendee, Abdirahman Abdi. "Let's not mention the Somali name every time something happens — that's not safe either."

Between the lines: Law enforcement officials contend Somali gangs are distinct from others they've faced:

• Somali gangs largely aren't selling drugs, says Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher. Fletcher believes that could make it easier to intervene, since leaving a gang doesn't mean losing money from trafficking.
• But without drug charges, most members also have legal firearm permits, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges told WCCO Radio.
• The violence is driven by social media beefs, Hodges told reporters. "I wish it was more complex, but we're not finding drugs, we're not finding big stashes of cash."

What we're watching: What the regional task force would do, beyond expanding intelligence-sharing between police agencies.

• Mayor Case's proposal calls for a group tasked with "identifying and holding accountable" gang members and developing prevention strategies.

A long-running South Minneapolis bookstore destroyed by a city water main break last year has finally found a new home — literally.

Driving the news: Paperback Exchange will reopen in a converted single-family house near its original location next spring.

• The shop, which opened at 50th and Penn in 1975, boasted more than 150,000 titles before a burst pipe flooded its building in February 2025.

Flashback: The water main break permanently shuttered multiple local businesses, including Italian restaurant Terzo and the Sparrow Café, and damaged Paperback Exchange owners Marion and Keith Hersey's nearby home.

• The city of Minneapolis did not provide restitution, co-owner Andy Hersey said, and insurance covered "a fraction of the calculated loss."

What he's saying: "The support from the community was critical," Hersey told Axios. An ongoing GoFundMe has raised over $62,000, and they found the new location when the home's previous owner stopped by to offer condolences.

What to expect: The upcoming shop at 5000 Oliver Ave. is a comparable size to the old store, and the business model will remain the same — bring in your old paperbacks for trade credit, Hersey said.

• He hopes to reopen in time for Independent Bookstore Day in April.

⚖️ Prosecutors announced federal charges yesterday against an 18-year-old man who they allege was planning a mass shooting at the Mall of America. (New York Times)

• Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, a U.S. citizen born to Somali parents, was arrested in Richfield on Tuesday, shortly after authorities say he purchased an AK-47 and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI agent.
• The teen, who had been on counterterrorism investigators' radar since late 2024, told an informant that he had joined ISIS and was "100% commited [sic] to the cause of dying for the sake of Allah," per a federal complaint.

🛍️ Rosedale Center will close its Potluck food hall in mid-October. Mall officials say they'll announce what's next for the space early next year. (Star Tribune)

🚔 Minneapolis police and BCA agents announced they've arrested and charged a 21-year-old woman who they say wounded nine people in a drive-by shooting outside Uptown's Reign Event Center in July. (Fox9)

🚂 Amtrak is adding a fourth train car to its popular Borealis route between St. Paul and Chicago. (Pioneer Press)

💸 A Deephaven estate on the shores of Lake Minnetonka has sold for a record-setting $18.25 million. (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal/Listing photos)

Southdale Center opened its doors 70 years ago today.

Why it mattered: The complex was the world's first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall.

Plus: The development, built in an area largely surrounded by open fields, was a turning point for Edina, per the Star Tribune.

• "[It] very much marked the official end of Edina's rural history and its solidification as a suburban community," Mary Agnes Ratelle, then the interim executive director at the Edina Historical Society, told the paper last year.

Inside the mall (at the time): About 70 stores, including a Dayton's, a Donaldson's and a Red Owl supermarket, per the Strib.

• It also boasted a zoo, a plant-filled indoor courtyard and a talking parrot who greeted shoppers.

Today, the mall is home to over 100 tenants, including a movie theater, a Puttshack and a Life Time.

• A new $400 million wing dedicated to luxury brands debuted last year.

💉Audrey is scheduling her flu shot.

📺 Nick is rewatching "The Sopranos" and loving it.

🚶‍♀️Torey and her son enjoyed their first Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day!

🐶 Kyle's dog made friends with a pack of Hamline University student athletes on a walk yesterday.

Today's newsletter was edited by Larry Graham.