As Sahan Journal’s public safety reporter, I spent a lot of time at the Hennepin County courthouse this year reporting on high-profile criminal cases and the effects of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
My colleague Becky Dernbach and I holed up in a conference room there sifting through evidence while we worked on our investigation into Aaron Hjermstad, a former teacher and youth basketball coach who authorities say may have sexually abused more than 120 children.
I also covered the trial of Derrick Thompson, who was found guilty of murdering five young Somali American women in a car crash that took place in 2023.
Another place I spent a lot of my time was George Floyd Square, the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, where George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officers in 2020. As we approached the five-year anniversary in May, a lot of debate transpired about the intersection’s future and how to remember what happened there.
1. ‘We blew that whistle, but nobody heard it’: Why was a youth coach allowed to keep abusing children after a 12-year-old reported him?
This investigation, which was published in July, was the culmination of about 10 months of reporting. Hjermstad, who used to work at the north Minneapolis charter school Harvest Best Academy, was charged with sexually abusing 12 children shortly after a different former teacher at the school, Abdul Wright, was charged with abusing a student. We wanted to learn more about the school and how this happened.
Through our reporting, we talked to the first boy who reported Hjermstad in 2015, when he was a teacher at Excell Academy in Brooklyn Park. No charges were filed, and Hjermstad started teaching at Harvest Best Academy. Ten years after he came forward, that boy, who we called Jazz, is now a young man. His mother told us that she thinks Hjermstad deliberately targeted young Black boys.
Our reporting revealed that challenges in the justice system and loopholes in Minnesota law allowed for Hjermstad to keep teaching, despite the 2015 report.
Just last month, Hjermstad was sentenced to life in prison.
2.Witnesses in Derrick Thompson trial describe ‘horrific’ crash that killed 5 young women
In late May and early June, I covered the trial of Derrick Thompson, who was charged with murdering Sahra Gesaade, 20; Salma Abdikadir, 20; Sagal Hersi, 19; Siham Odhowa, 19; and Sabiriin Ali, 17. The five young women were getting ready for a wedding the following day in June 2023, when their car was struck by an SUV Thompson was driving in south Minneapolis. The women were all killed instantly.
Their deaths reverberated within the Somali community in the Twin Cities, with thousands attending their funeral. The courtroom was packed every day of the trial with family members and loved ones, many of whom cried and sobbed throughout the trial as graphic evidence from the crash was shown in court repeatedly.
The testimony of their family members was especially gut-wrenching. Siblings of the five women testified about the moments that they found out that the five women had died, and how the loss has affected them.
Thompson’s attorney argued that Thompson’s brother was actually driving the SUV.
Jurors ultimately convicted Thompson on all 15 counts, which included five counts of third-degree murder and 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide. He was sentenced to more than 58 years in prison.
3. ‘It makes us … less safe’: How federal immigration actions are affecting local prosecutions in Hennepin County
As immigration efforts ramped up across the country under the Trump administration, I wanted to learn how these actions were affecting local criminal cases in Hennepin County. The County Attorney’s office said some defendants were deported before their case was resolved, and undocumented immigrants expressed fear about coming to the courthouse to testify over fears that ICE agents may be present.
The County Attorney’s office said the federal government’s immigration crackdown hindered its pursuit of justice, leaving victims in the dark and without resolution to their case, and preventing people from reporting crimes over fears they or family members might get swept up in immigration matters. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the result only made public safety worse.
4.Future of George Floyd Square divides community, city leaders five years after murder
Once 2025 began, we knew that the five-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder would be a major focus of our coverage this year. Early in the year, I wanted to do a story looking at the debate over what should happen to the intersection where Floyd was murdered, which was sparking tense conversations at City Hall.
I spent several days at the intersection in the bitter cold with photojournalists Aaron Nesheim and Dymanh Chhoun. What I found was that people were deeply divided over the issue, and that five years later, they still felt very passionate about it.
Some business owners said they wanted to keep the intersection open to traffic, a plan supported by Mayor Jacob Frey. Others want to block the intersection off to vehicle traffic and create a pedestrian mall to provide space for reflection.
After the City Council vetoed the Mayor’s decision in February, the fate of the intersection was on pause for several months. But in December, the council approved a plan that will keep the intersection open to traffic and allow space for gardens and memorials.
5. ‘It can’t be forgotten’: How Rise and Remember preserves offerings left at George Floyd Square
As part of our coverage of the five-year anniversary of Floyd’s murder, I wanted to profile the group Rise and Remember, which preserves all of the offerings left at George Floyd Square. Nothing that is left at the memorial where Floyd took his last breath is thrown away, and Rise and Remember ensures that the items are protected.
The group has a large collection of protest art from 2020, some of which has been exhibited across the country. Rise and Remember also hosts pilgrimages for people who come from all over the world to visit the intersection.
The group’s co-founder, Jeanelle Austin, is from Minneapolis and grew up a few blocks away from where Floyd was killed. She was living in Texas in 2020, and bought a one way ticket to Minneapolis to help her community. Five years later, she’s still here.
