28 February 2024
Preparations are underway this morning at Grace Church, where three Burnsville first responders will be memorialized at 11 a.m.
At the main entrance to the church, firefighters with the Burnsville and Savage fire departments used ladder trucks to raise a large U.S. flag over Mitchell Road in Eden Prairie. Law enforcement and other emergency workers walked in droves under the flag to file into the church.
Just after 7:30 a.m., two military personnel carried U.S. and Minnesota flags onto the altar. Large portraits of slain Officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, and Firefighter/Paramedic Adam Finseth are propped up on the church altar, which is adorned with red and white flowers.
Little American flags are in the ground around the large church.
Small flags line a driveway as people arrive at a memorial service for three slain Burnsville first responders at Grace Church in Eden Prairie on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
“We know that the people from Burnsville across the state and truly from across the country want to help honor” Ruge and Elmstrand, both 27, and Finseth, 40, during the memorial service, said Howie Padilla, Minnesota Department of Public Safety spokesman, on Monday.
Thousands of law enforcement, firefighter and paramedic personnel will attend the service.
For the public, “watching the livestream and joining us on the procession routes are the best way to show your support and honor the fallen,” Padilla said. People are invited to gather to watch the live broadcast at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 13801 Fairview Drive, in Burnsville. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m.
The Pioneer Press will share the live broadcast at 11 a.m. at TwinCities.com.
Live video and audio of today’s memorial service will also be available at grace.live and youtube.com/gracechurchmn.
The procession, to be held after the memorial service, is expected to start about 2 p.m. and last several hours. The route can be viewed on Canva.
Traffic delays and congestion should be expected throughout Eden Prairie most of today, especially near Grace Church, according to the city.
The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191 canceled school for today, saying it was “due to planned road closures and expected impacts to transportation throughout the area.”
The first responders were killed after they responded to a 911 call in Burnsville on Feb. 18. A man had barricaded himself in a home with seven children. As officers tried to convince him to surrender peacefully, he opened fire “without warning,” authorities have said.
He shot Ruge and Elmstrand, and then Finseth as he tried to aid the officers. Also injured was Burnsville police Sgt. Adam Medlicott, who has been released from the hospital.
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