Metro briefs: Concerned by crime, citizens group to patrol Minneapolis streets

Concerned about shootings and emboldened by a recent anti-crime summit, a group of North Side citizens plans to patrol the streets this summer.

The group doesn't have a name yet, nor does it have funding, but Bishop Richard D. Howell of Shiloh Temple Ministries said plenty of volunteers are ready to walk crime-ridden neighborhoods if it means lowering the crime rate.

"If anything, I just want to see our community tight-knit and amicable with each other," he said.

The Rev. Jerry McAfee of the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church is among those willing to help, said Howell. McAfee, along with V.J. Smith of MAD DADS and community activist Spike Moss, organized a citizens' patrol in 2000 shortly after 11-year-old Kevin Brewer was fatally shot.

This time it wasn't a specific shooting that galvanized the patrol but a safety summit held by Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau last month where citizens pledged to help confront the crimes head-on. Police put up a map showing crime hot spots in neighborhoods and at intersections.

The patrols will be friendly and engaging, said Howell, not confrontational.

"We're prepared to go out on the street and shake hands," he said. "This is a very friendly operation to keep people safe on the street."

The City Council voted to hire Rosemount Police Chief Eric Werner and will formally approve it Monday.

"He has very, very strong credentials," City Administrator Al Madsen said. "He's highly respected."

Werner has more than 25 years of law enforcement experience, working for the Burnsville Police Department before being named chief in Rosemount in 2012. He will start in Maple Grove's top spot June 9 and be officially sworn in June 16, replacing David Jess, who is retiring at the end of May.

The city received 43 applicants and interviewed six candidates, Madsen said.

It's not the only west metro city with a new police leader.

KELLY SMITH • @kellystrib

Habitat for Humanity executive Nancy Brady has been named president of Neighborhood House, the service center on St. Paul's West Side for immigrants and the poor.

She is replacing Armando Camacho, who left the job last winter to take over Opportunity Partners. She will start June 2.

For eight years, Brady was vice president of resource development and communications for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, where she launched a campaign to battle the foreclosure crisis and brought former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter to Minnesota in 2010 as part of a Habitat work project.

Brady was capital director for Neighborhood House from 2003 to 2006, when she led the campaign to fund the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE • @KDuchschere

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office will host an open house May 16.

The public is invited to come and watch K-9 and dive team demonstrations. There will be drug prevention and water safety education, fingerprinting and refreshments. Squad car and emergency vehicles will be on display.

Residents are also invited to bring in old and unwanted prescription medication for disposal.

The open house runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the sheriff's enforcement services office, 9401 83rd Av. N. in Brooklyn Park. Go to www.hennepinsheriff.org for more information.