Hired to help however they can
The Star Tribune in Minneapolis reports on Block by Block Ambassadors who have recently been deployed downtown. Read the article below:
Snapping photos of visitors posing with Mary Tyler Moore or keeping an eye on skateboarders and panhandlers are all in a day’s work for the new green-shirted ambassadors of downtown Minneapolis.
It’s still cool in the canyons of downtown Minneapolis when Kaynan Abdirahman fields his first question of the day.
Where, a business-suited woman inquires, can she find the Medical Arts Building?
She’s less than half a block away, so it’s an easy matter to point out the marquee over the building entrance. For tougher questions, Abdirahman carries a field radio so he can seek backup expertise.
People who frequent downtown are learning to seek out people like Abdirahman in their fluorescent green shirts with an “i” for information on the sleeve. They’re called downtown ambassadors, and they hit the streets on July 1.
Upwards of 20 of them can be found on the streets at the peak of a typical workday, and more can flood the zone during special events like a ballgame or Aquatennial. They clean downtown, provide an extra element of security, and help people find where they’re headed.