Generosity begets fraud
Minnesotans are known for being generous and that also means people are ready to exploit that. We talked with a cybersecurity teacher about being smart when donating money during this moment in Minneapolis history.
The two most common ways that people are currently trying to defraud donors is through QR codes and fake fundraisers. When people are trying to access a link via a QR code, it’s always a good idea to double check what the actual link is.
As people look for places to donate money, QR codes can send people to fake GoFundMe or phishing sites, so utilizing online literacy skills is a must.
Downtown protest ended with Jake Lang covered in water
A man who was pardoned by President Donald Trump for his actions in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 visited downtown Minneapolis on Saturday for a “March Against Minnesota Fraud.”
He was greeted by roughly 1,000 people who were not happy to see him, but stayed relatively peaceful. Residents were concerned Lang’s march would move into the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, so a safety plan was in place with neighbors standing by.
After attempting to get inside City Hall, Lang was eventually trapped by counter-protesters in a City Hall window sill and doused with ice water (you can see the bowl of ice water here) and sprayed with water by multiple people. The cold water was enough to get Lang and his dozen or so followers to seek shelter. Lang was spotted seeking refuge inside Hotel Indigo before hopping into a car. His march never made it past downtown.
BUTTER BAKERY CLOSES
Dan Swenson-Klatt closed up Butter Bakery Cafe for good on Dec. 31, 2025 with the cafe’s traditional butter ball drop at 5 p.m. Every year, the cafe rings in the new year by dropping a beach ball-sized ball of butter from above its front door into a compostable cardboard box at the stroke of midnight in Stockholm, Sweden.
“It’s the end of an era,” Dan Swenson-Klatt said. Swenson-Klatt announced his retirement earlier in 2025 and tried to find someone to take over the business. Swenson-Klatt said the business replacing his will be a cafe. The cafe will maintain the youth internship program Butter has had with Beacon
Interfaith Housing Collaborative since 2012.
“Whoever is here will be loved,” Dan said. Dan declined to spill the beans on who is moving in, but confirmed it is not a major corporation like Caribou Coffee. “There is goodwill for small businesses here.”
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