Free Press photo by Pat Christman
Mankato Police Commander Craig Frericks has been assigned the city's 4th Ward, which includes much of the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The commanders will talk to residents in their areas on Tuesday evening during Night to Unite. Forty-one such gatherings have been organized, according to the city.
One year ago, Lincoln Park resident Drew Campbell watched from his window as a young woman collapsed in the street outside his home.
She was so drunk that she couldn’t get up, and Campbell panicked when he saw a car roaring down the street.
Then a man rushed into the street, threw the woman over his shoulders, and pulled her out of the way, he said.
The incident led him to call Minnesota State Mankato to talk about the ugly side of the alcohol-fueled revelry that ramps up when classes resume each fall.
John Bulcock, who handles Greek life and off-campus housing at the university, attended a neighborhood association meeting. They agreed that moving back the city’s neighborhood party date, then called National Night Out, might allow for a better town-gown relationship.
Bulcock and others spoke with the city, which agreed to move back the celebration — now called Night To Unite — to Aug. 31, which falls on a Tuesday this year.
“If I see students at the event, I’ll be happy,” Bulcock said.
The evening will also be an occasion for the city’s public safety department to roll out the first part of its community policing strategy.
Thirteen commanders — eight police and five fire — have been assigned to either one of Mankato’s five City Council wards or another area, like downtown or Minnesota State Mankato, Public Safety Director Todd Miller said.
Detective Commander Matt DuRose, for example, volunteered to be assigned the Minnesota State Mankato area. As a graduate, he already knew many of the people who work at the university.
He wrote an opinion piece for the student newspaper, and plans to attend meet-and-greet events.
The city will also be helping neighborhoods organize as employees visit the 41 or so neighborhood gatherings. Last year, there were 33 or so, Miller said.
“The message has to be if you’re in an organized neighborhood already, that’s great. If you’re not, we’d like to help you start one.”
For the complete Free Press story, click on http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x1237197040/Goal-Unite-town-and-gown?mailingdate=201008300600
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