Katrina Pross

Indianapolis, Minneapolis

Criminal Justice Reporter at Sahan Journal

criminal justice reporter @sahanjournal // formerly @wfyi @pioneerpress // alum of @umn_hsjmc @mndailynews

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Articles

North Minneapolis school faces second lawsuit over sex abuse

3 weeks ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach |Katrina Pross

A Minneapolis charter school failed to stop a former Teacher of the Year from sexually assaulting one of his middle-school students and should be held liable, a new lawsuit claims. The complaint, filed Wednesday by the former Best Academy student, argues that school leaders looked the other way when parents and staff members brought forward complaints about Abdul Wright.
Mpls City Council overrides Frey’s veto on George Floyd Square plans

1 month ago | sahanjournal.com | Katrina Pross

A Minneapolis City Council meeting grew contentious Thursday, as council members voted to override a mayoral veto about the future of George Floyd Square. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and some council members have been at odds about the future of the intersection where Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers in May 2020. The council asked city staff earlier this month to study creating a pedestrian plaza at the intersection – E.
Court rules Minneapolis charter school may be liable for hiring sexual abuser

1 month ago | sahanjournal.com | Katrina Pross |Becky Dernbach

A Minneapolis charter school primarily serving African American students may be legally liable for failing to vet a gym teacher who sexually assaulted children on a youth basketball team, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. In 2020, a student sued Harvest Best Academy for failing to properly vet the teacher, Aaron Hjermstad, before he was hired in 2016.
Future of George Floyd Square divides community, city leaders

1 month ago | sahanjournal.com | Katrina Pross

Minneapolis city leaders, residents and business owners are at odds about the future of the intersection where George Floyd was murdered five years ago by police officers who pressed him stomach-down in the street as he begged for air. Artwork and offerings sit at the crossroads where Floyd took his last breath on May 25, 2020 — E. 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. A large fist sculpture stands in the center of a roundabout.
Minnesota should end cash bail, change pretrial detention practices, report says

1 month ago | startribune.com | Katrina Pross

Minnesota should end cash bail, change pretrial detention practices, report saysBlack, Indigenous and low-income Minnesotans spend more time in jail before their cases are resolved, the report found. Sahan JournalFebruary 22, 2025 at 8:00PMIn the final weeks of 2020, COVID-19 blazed through Kandiyohi County jail. (Kandiyohi County jail)A new report recommends that Minnesota should eliminate cash bail and instead create a system that is not based on people’s access to wealth.
Minnesota should eliminate cash bail, report for Legislature says

2 months ago | sahanjournal.com | Katrina Pross

A new report recommends that Minnesota should eliminate cash bail and instead create a system that is not based on people’s access to wealth. Minnesota’s pretrial system relies heavily on monetary bail and disproportionately impacts people of color and low-income residents, says the study, which was released Friday. The report was authored by the Minnesota Justice Research Center, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization committed to criminal justice reform.
MPD crafts new policies, struggles with backlog in use of force cases

2 months ago | sahanjournal.com | Katrina Pross

Minneapolis leaders say they have a “strong foundation” in working toward police reforms required under a court agreement between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Effective Law Enforcement for All, a firm that oversees the city’s reform work, released its first progress report Monday. The report looks at the city’s efforts between March 18, 2024, and September 30, 2024.
ICE arrests target immigrants at Hennepin County courthouse

2 months ago | sahanjournal.com | Katrina Pross

Federal agents are arresting immigrants in local courthouses and potentially impacting the criminal justice system in Minnesota, say local authorities. Undocumented people have been arrested at courthouses in Hennepin County, and one sheriff who oversees a jail that houses U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) arrestees is seeing an increase in detainees. Some worry that undocumented people may be less likely to show up to court or report crimes for fear of becoming ICE targets.
Here’s everyone who’s been sentenced in the Feeding Our Future fraud

2 months ago | sahanjournal.com | Katrina Pross

The first defendant in the Feeding Our Future fraud case was sentenced in October 2024, two years after federal prosecutors first unveiled charges in what they have called the largest pandemic fraud in the country. While many other defendants have pleaded guilty to their roles in the fraud or were convicted at trial, few have yet to be sentenced. Sahan Journal will track all sentencings in this story, and will update the list as defendants are sentenced in federal court.
Feeding Our Future defendant says his crimes hurt Somali community

2 months ago | sahanjournal.com | Katrina Pross

A defendant in the first Feeding Our Future case was sentenced Friday to more than 17 years in federal prison. Mukhtar Shariff, 34, of Burnsville, was convicted at trial last June alongside four others for taking part in what prosecutors have called the “largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in the United States.” He was part of the first group of defendants in the case to stand trial. Mukhtar Shariff was the CEO of Afrique Hospitality Group, and used the company to launder stolen funds.