Minneapolis Midtown Exchange: National Guard, Firefighters at Sunrise

A Minnesota National Guard vehicle stands guard as Minneapolis Fire Department personnel work to extinguish fires at sunrise near the Midtown Exchange in Minneapolis. These efforts followed nights of widespread protests across the city in late May 2020, sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody. The Midtown Exchange, originally built in 1928 as a Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog distribution center, is a significant landmark in South Minneapolis, repurposed into a mixed-use complex in the early 21st century. The presence of the National Guard provided security and support to emergency services responding to property damage and fires during a period of civil unrest.