Minneapolis bookstore owner goes viral after ICE confrontation
Bookstore owner Greg Ketter went viral after lashing out at ICE agents in Minneapolis. He saw a surge of support at his shop.
Several Fort Collins businesses are either closed or donating profits for the Jan. 30 national shutdown in protest of the recent actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Friendly Nick’s Butcher, in a post on Facebook, said while they don’t have the power to stop ICE activities, which includes detaining children, “I will use the power I have to stand up and decry the horrors that are happening in our society.”
The shop will close Jan. 30, donate an average Friday’s proceeds to the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and pay workers for their normal shifts, the post said.
“I will spend my day on the corner of College and Drake, or any other protest I feel like going to,” owner Nick Chase wrote.
Organizers of the shutdown urge participants to not to go to school, work or shop on Jan. 30, according to NationalShutdown.org. It’s in response to ICE actions that led to the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis and others, including Silverio Villegas González and Keith Porter Jr.
Businesses that plan to close in Fort Collins include:
- Ascent Studio Climbing & Fitness
- Brave New Wheel
- Harbinger Coffee
- Kansas City Kitty
- The Life of The Party
- Los Tarascos
- Nick’s Friendly Butcher
- Stem and Roots will be closed until 3 p.m.
- Wayward vintage store
Businesses that plan to remain open and donate proceeds
Check with individual businesses to learn who they are donating to and how to trigger a donation.
Many are encouraging customers to use cash or taking cash payment only.
- The Atrium
- Bookstore on the Square
- Cafe Vino
- Clothes Pony & Dandelion Toys
- Collective Vintage
- Create Good Co.
- Dandelions & Rust
- Golden Poppy Apothecary
- Horse & Dragon Brewing
- Maida Trattoria
- Mugs
- Music City Hot Chicken
- Mythmaker Brewing
- The Neighbor
- Old Firehouse Books
- Prim & Polish
At least one demonstration is also being organized for Jan. 30, with protesters expected to gather at College Avenue and Mulberry Street at noon.
Editor’s note: The Coloradoan will update these lists as information becomes available.
Impact on schools
While Aurora Public Schools and Adams County School District 14 in the Denver metro area were closed Friday due to expected impacts of the shutdown, a Poudre School District spokesperson said the absences on Jan. 30 are not out of the norm.
There are 439 absences reported across all employee groups, including 280 among licensed staff, PSD spokesperson John Cope told the Coloradoan.
“This is consistent with what we typically experience on a normal school day,” Cope said.
Protest runs/rides planned
A group “run” organized by Mayor Emily Francis — “combining my love of running and my protest of ICE” — is planned for 9 a.m. Feb. 1, starting at The Neighbor, 144 S. Mason St.
It’s open to anyone who wants to run, walk, bike or roll, according to an Instagram post.
A Strava route will be available.
Also this weekend, a memorial bicycle ride for Alex Pretti is set for noon Jan. 31 at Lee Martinez Park.
Pretti was fatally shot by immigration officers near downtown Minneapolis on Jan. 24.
Social biking club Fort Collins Gravel People has organized a local ride as part of nationwide efforts.
Full details of the ride are posted on the group’s Strava page.
Reporter Erin Udell contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
