A stadium seat commemorating the longest home run at , hit by Minnesota Twins player Harmon Killebrew on June 3, 1967. The seat is painted red and bolted to a wall to mark the exact height and position at which the ball landed in the upper-deck seats.[51]
Metropolitan Stadium
A plaque embedded in the floor of Nickelodeon Universe, marking the exact spot of home plate at Metropolitan Stadium.
A second plaque was added to the floor of Nickelodeon Universe in 2018, marking the spot on the 50-yard line at Metropolitan Stadium that was used for the coin toss before every home game played there.
Minnesota Vikings
The memorial, in honor of those who died aboard that flight during the September 11 attacks. A bust of Tom Burnett (who was born and raised in Bloomington) stands on the west side of the first floor, next to the fountain in front of Nordstrom.[52]
Behavior Detection Officers (BDOs) are trained extensively in Israel, each one going through at least 240 hours of training that includes communication techniques, first aid, defensive tactics, crisis intervention, terrorism awareness and rapid response.[55] As Doug Reynolds, the former Security Director at the mall noted in a congressional testimony in 2008, BDOs are taught to "look for intent, rather than means. The objective is to focus on suspicious indicators in three categories: People, vehicles, and unattended items like backpacks, shopping bags, and suitcases."[56] This methodology has prepared the mall for a variety of threats, both from terrorists and everyday criminals.
In 2010, it was noted that mall security officials were instructed to question or detain individuals exhibiting what they deemed "suspicious behavior". Signs of suspicious behavior included photographing air-conditioning ducts, or signs that a shopper was hiding something.[57] At the time, some officials within the Bloomington Police Department worried that the mall's security methods may infringe on citizens' rights.[58]
In 2011, NPR's All Things Considered and Morning Edition and PBS's NewsHour both aired programs documenting security abuses by the mall's security personnel.[59] On December 31, 2013, members from the First Nations protest movement Idle No More attempted to repeat a successful Native-American round dance held at the mall in 2012,[60] but failed after being stopped by mall security. Organizers of the dance, Patricia Shepard and Reyna Crow from Duluth were arrested on site for trespassing.[61]
In January 2023, a man wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan Jesus saves was ordered to either take it off or leave the mall, security telling him, "Jesus is associated with religion and it is offending people. People have been offended."[62][63]
In February 2015, the al-Shabaab militant group also released a propaganda video calling for attacks on the Mall of America and other Western shopping centers.[64] Although the group had never launched attacks in North America,[65] security at the mall was tightened in response and the Department of Homeland Security issued a one-day alert to shoppers to remain vigilant.[64]
On December 21, 2014, thousands of protesters attended an unauthorized demonstration organized by Black Lives Matter in the mall's rotunda. The demonstration was in response to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the then recent jury decision not to prosecute the white officer in that case, as well as the death of Eric Garner of New York. In response to the demonstration, the Mall of America closed the areas of the mall around the rotunda.[66] Police arrested 25 demonstrators.[67] The Bloomington City Attorney, Sandra Johnson, pursued charges against the organizers,[68] and the city is sought compensatory damages from some of the organizers for out-of-pocket costs the city incurred while paying overtime for additional security. In response to these charges, demonstrators have called for a boycott of the mall.[69]
Plans for another Black Lives Matter demonstration at the Mall of America on December 23, 2015, prompted mall officials to file a restraining order against the movement's activists.[70] Eight individual activists were sued in Hennepin County District Court.[71] The mall's lawsuit would prohibit the defendants from demonstrating and require them to delete all of their posts to social media pertaining to the demonstration. The lawsuit additionally asked that the court jail Black Lives Matter activists unless they publicly announce that the demonstration is cancelled on their social media accounts. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota called the mall's lawsuit an "improper prior restraint on speech" and an unconstitutional overreach.[72][73]
On April 12, 2019, a five-year-old boy was thrown from the third-story balcony by 24-year-old Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda of Minneapolis, outside the Rainforest Cafe and he landed near the Michael Kors store. The boy was in the hospital for over five months and eventually recovered. Aranda was sentenced to 19 years in prison in June of that year with the possibility for parole after 12 years served.[74][75]
On December 31, 2021, a single gunshot was fired on the north side of the third floor of the mall. A patrolling Bloomington Police Department officer who heard the shot immediately notified mall security, who activated the mall's lockdown alarm. Responding officers found a man who had been shot in the leg when they arrived at the scene and later another injured person was found who appeared to have been grazed by the bullet. The first victim was transported to the hospital while the second was treated on the scene by paramedics and released. According to a statement by Deputy Chief Kim Clausen, she recommended that there was an "altercation" between two men that resulted in one shooting the other. After a thorough search of the mall by police and security officers, the lockdown was lifted approximately 40 minutes after it started and the mall closed for the rest of the day shortly thereafter.[76] On January 3, 2022, an 18-year-old Roseville man was identified as they left the scene of the shooting with the shooter was arrested for aiding and abetting first-degree assault,[77] and on January 4, police arrested the suspect on assault charges and in a subsequent search of the house found a gun.[78]
On August 4, 2022, the mall was put under lockdown after two men fired gunshots during an altercation at the Nike store, then fled.[79] Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was in the mall with his family at the time; they were unharmed.[80] The two alleged shooters were apprehended a week later in Chicago. They were detained shortly after stepping out of a barbershop. Three people were also arrested for allegedly aiding the shooters as they fled the scene and hid from authorities at a nearby Best Western hotel. Two of the suspects originated from Minneapolis, while the other three originated from Burnsville, all between the ages of 21 and 23.[81]
On December 23, 2022, the mall was placed under lockdown after a "long-standing feud" led to the fatal shooting of a 19-year old male inside the Nordstrom department store.[82][83][84] A bullet grazed a bystander's clothing resulting in only minor injuries.[82]
(1994)
D2: The Mighty Ducks
(1996)
D3: The Mighty Ducks
Hosted the first episode of on September 4, 1995.[86][87]
The Mall of America was used as a filming location for various movies and television shows,[85] including:
The mall was referenced in the series How I Met Your Mother during the episode "Slap Bet" as the reason why native Minnesotan Marshall Eriksen believed that Robin Scherbatsky would have been married in a mall; this is a reference to the Chapel of Love in the mall.[90][91] The mall was the location of the premiere of Digimon: The Movie (2000). The mall was also referenced in the series Reginald the Vampire in the episode "Reginald Andres Beyond Thunderdome" by the character Ashley who was quoted as saying "I was born on the day they broke ground for the largest shopping mall in America."
a similarly large shopping mall in New Jersey
American Dream Meadowlands
List of the world's largest shopping malls
List of largest shopping malls in the United States
Mall Cops: Mall of America
Official website
Labelscar summary
Metro Transit: Mall of America Station
City Pages staff writer Matt Snyders spends one week in the Mall of America
