Permission to spend the night? Granted. Permission to put up tents? We'll think about it. The local Wall Street protestors who call themselves OccupyMN met with the sheriff and the police chief and everyone came away smiling ahead of tomorrow's planned demonstration at Government Plaza downtown, Randy Furst and Matt McKinney report. It's a distinct departure from some of the confrontations between the NYPD and protestors on Wall Street itself. The Star Tribune's editorial staff say the protests deserve attention.

One light rail stop away, the stately Soo Line Building - a 1914 monument to the city's bygone days as a railroad powerhouse - will join the apartment boom that has brought construction cranes back to downtown, Jim Buchta reports. One downtown real estate expert echoes the thoughts of many by expressing concern about whether it's another overbuilding frenzy - anyone remember the condo craze?

More than a thousand people crowded into St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral on Loring Park to remember Eleanor Mondale Poling, the daughter of a vice president who became a celebrity and public figure in her own right on TV and radio, Jon Bream and Paul Walsh report. Her memorial service Wednesday brought together mourners representing the worlds of politics, media and culture.

The spectacle of a federal judge tossing a woman in jail for refusing to stand up in court is likely over, after a couple of days behind bars persuaded Amina Farah Ali, on trial in Minneapolis to face charges of supporting terrorists, to suppress her religious opposition to the show of decorum, Allie Shah and Rose French report.

Public safety: This spring, a string of muggings accompanied by savage beatings alarmed residents and visitors to Uptown and Whittier. The cops arrested two guys, and one of them, Joseph Frederick Tucker, was sentenced this week to three years and eight months in one of the robberies, Abby Simons reports. His accomplice, Michael Alex Dean Boyce, is serving six and a half years in prison.