DULUTH — Despite the loss of his son to a high-speed, drunken driving crash, Jason Trowbridge told a court that he stands by the man who accepted responsibility for the crime.

Darren A. Tenney (Courtesy of St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office)

Darren Andrew Tenney is “like another son,” he wrote in a letter to a judge, and perhaps “God saved him … so he could help people prevent this in their lives and help them heal.”

In a highly unusual scene inside a Duluth courtroom on Wednesday, the families of both Joseph Trowbridge and Madison Warren, who died in the Sept. 9, 2023, wreck near Floodwood, asked a judge to show mercy and spare Tenney a prison sentence.

“Sitting behind bars will do nothing in this case,” Jason Trowbridge said. “Continuing to help others and heal is far better time spent for all of us, including the public.”

Judge Leslie Beiers, at the conclusion of the emotional hearing, granted the request. It’s a departure from sentencing guidelines based on Tenney’s demonstrated efforts to gain sobriety, as well as the recommendations from the families and attorneys.

Tenney, 25, of Hugo, Minnesota, was ordered to serve 120 days in jail and five years of supervised probation in lieu of an eight-year prison term following his guilty plea in July to two counts of criminal vehicular homicide.

Apologizing for his actions, the defendant told the court that “both Madi and Joey were amazing people” and he was blown away by the “level of strength and courage” shown by the families of the young couple.

“They are truly remarkable people,” Tenney said. “In many ways, they are my heroes. I will forever be grateful for that.”

The sentencing came just over two years after the gruesome crash that took the lives of Trowbridge and Warren, both 23, who lived in Woodbury and Oakdale, respectively.

Tenney said in July he has no memory of the incident, either due to impairment or the injuries he also sustained in the collision. But he admitted the evidence collected by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office could only lead to the conclusion that he was driving.

The friends had spent the day doing some work at a cabin owned by the Trowbridge family before going out to drink in the evening hours.

According to the investigation, Tenney’s 2004 Chevrolet Silverado was split in half when it left County Road 8, just east of Floodwood, and struck a tree around 2:45 a.m.

Trowbridge was ejected through the windshield and was found in a nearby tree, while Warren was still belted in the back seat. Tenney was also partially ejected but remained pinned inside the truck from the waist down.

Deputies noted a strong odor of alcohol and found several beer cans scattered around the crash scene. A test revealed Tenney had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.117 nearly four hours later.

Defense attorney Eric Olson noted his client went to inpatient treatment immediately after he was released on bail. He also went on to complete an outpatient program, continues to voluntarily attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and has completed training to become a certified peer-recovery specialist.

Dozens of family members and supporters of Tenney, Trowbridge and Warren attended the hearing and/or submitted letters to the court on Tenney’s behalf — none seeking prison time.

Warren’s mother, Tina Cermak, called it a “tragic accident,” not an act of malice. She said she has honored her daughter with the establishment of a scholarship at her former elementary school, and she believes Tenney will be able to honor the victims’ memories in his own way.

“Darren will forever be imprisoned mentally over the loss of his two close friends,” Cermak said in a letter read in court. “I totally believe in accountability, but I also believe in redemption.”

St. Louis County prosecutor Vicky Wanta planned to ask for a prison term on one count, followed by a probationary sentence on the other count. However, after hearing the defense’s presentation, she was moved to call an “audible.”

“I think Mr. Tenney has demonstrated substantial and compelling reasons to depart in this case,” the prosecutor acknowledged.

Wanta said she has a duty to protect public safety and still feels there needs to be serious consequences for impaired driving, especially given the “tremendous loss Mr. Tenney caused the community through his actions that night.”

In trying to balance the wishes of the families, Wanta suggested Tenney serve a year at the St. Louis County Jail or Northeast Regional Corrections Center, as well as two weeks annually around the anniversary of the crash.

Judge Beiers ultimately imposed just a 120-day jail term, with no credit for time served, ordering Tenney to surrender on Monday. She also included a requirement that he complete 100 hours of community service in a recovery-focused setting each of the next five years.

The judge said she has never seen a case with so many letters attesting to the “kindness, work ethic and remorse,” of a defendant — especially the showing of such grace from the victims’ families.

“Please don’t let me see you back here for any reason,” Beiers told the defendant.

Tenney replied: “You won’t, your honor.”

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Asad Dandia, a community organizer, Muslim New Yorker, and urban history tour guide is a rising star with friends in high places.

Asad Dandia, founder of New York Narratives, on St. Nicholas Avenue near West 113th Street during a walking tour on Aug. 23, 2025. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

Asad Dandia is busy, but never in a rush.

“As New Yorkers, we always want to go. We want to go from point A to point B and I get that the city is constantly on the move, but I invite you to stop and to just look,” said Dandia.

Dandia was leading 12 of us on a walking tour of Harlem, pointing out important spots for Muslim history: New York’s first mosque, the headquarters of one of the nation’s first Latino-Islamic organizations, Malcolm X’s place of worship.

The tour required walking—two and a half miles in all—but Dandia glided over the pavement, beckoning listeners forward, answering questions without breaking stride.

He said the city is like a palimpsest: a tablet etched with ancient writing that’s been effaced and rewritten, over and over again.

“Think of New York not as an undifferentiated mass of buildings, but as a collective of people who add layers of depth to the story,” he said.

A tour guide, urban historian, professor, storyteller, organizer, and native New Yorker, Dandia is like a palimpsest too. 

He touched the current of history in the early 2000s, when he was a victim of an NYPD effort to surveil Muslim communities in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, in the wake of 9/11.

While in college in 2011, Dandia founded a volunteer community organization. A year later, one of the members—who had come to events, distributed food, and ate at his family’s dinner table—confessed that he was an NYPD plant reporting on Dandia’s community.

(Adi Talwar/City Limits)

In 2013, Dandia joined an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit to end NYPD’s undercover surveillance operations targeting people by race, religion, or ethnicity.

“This sent us reeling. Our sacred spaces had been violated. We didn’t know who to trust, or where we could turn for help,” Dandia wrote in 2020.

Dandia’s palimpsest is layered with the scars of that first political awakening.

Through his tour company New York Narratives, he tells the untold histories of Muslims and other New Yorkers. “I want people to know not just the stories of success and survival but also the stories of struggle,” he said. 

His tours cover Harlem, Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue, and Little Syria in Lower Manhattan, which was demolished in the 1940s to make space for the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel to Brooklyn.

“I even had some naysayers suggest that my area of focus is too specialized and too niche, and therefore there’s not going to be a mainstream demand for it,” said Dandia. “It turned out that they were wrong.”

His message seems to be catching on. A few weeks ago he gave Comptroller Brad Lander and his family a private tour of Brooklyn. He teaches a class at CUNY Guttman Community College. His tour company has more business than ever.

(Adi Talwar/City Limits)

His social media accounts (@AsadFromNYC) have grown in popularity, particularly on X, generating interest in local politics, history, and nerdy urban fun.

Undeniably warm but a self-described introvert, Asad weighs in on the story of the day online, participates in discourse on what it means to be a New Yorker, and increasingly, signals his rising influence in local politics. He’s in a group chat with X-semi-famous New York City political nerds Michael Lange and Adam Carlson.

Lange, a political analyst, told City Limits that Asad is endlessly curious and wise beyond his years. 

“He’s someone who’s just really naturally curious, likes to read, likes to walk, likes to meet new people,” he said. “And I think that’s the best skill you can have, if you’re curious and you work hard, you can go really far in a place like New York.” 

“Asad is someone who understands a real wide spectrum of New Yorkers,” added Lange.

Dandia’s rise has coincided with the rise of another prominent Muslim New Yorker: Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani.

(Adi Talwar/City Limits)

“12 years ago, I was standing in front of the police headquarters to launch this lawsuit, and 12 years later, I’m friends with a guy that’s gonna be the boss of the police department,” said Dandia, who is confident Mamdani will win in November. “So sometimes life can be a cinema.”

Dandia counts himself as a “good friend” of Mamdani, and, when called, has offered advice to the campaign that catapulted the three-term assemblyman into pole position in the mayoral race.

Mamdani won in parts of the city that surprised many in the establishment, but not Dandia.

“Brighton Beach went for Zohran, where I grew up. It wasn’t Russians, it was Pakistanis who came out for him,” he said.

As for the doubters, pundits, and media who cast cold water on a Muslim’s chances to be mayor, “They’re all late,” said Dandia. “I’m not surprised that they’re late because they didn’t think our communities were worth learning about.”

Dandia says he’s  fighting for a more optimistic vision of New York, that’s inclusive and full of opportunity for people from every background.

(Adi Talwar/City Limits)

On tour, he told the story of Bengali Muslims immigrating from South Asia, some of whom jumped ship into New York Harbor, settled in Harlem, and built families with Black and Puerto Rican New Yorkers in the mid-20th century. It’s a lesser told history that, to Asad, shows the persistence of immigrants that helped build New York.

“Belonging is something that is often fought for, not something that is granted,” he said.“I’m very optimistic, thanks to Zohran’s victory, and thanks to the fact that all of these communities have come out and finally, believe in [a] New York that they can be part of.”

To know the city, you have to walk it. It helps Asad see the hidden layers of history. Walking, “you can see worlds change kind of in front of you, and there’s a lot of power in that, and a lot of storytelling,” added Lange.

If people stop and look closely at New York, they might just see themselves in it.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Patrick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post Take a Walk With Asad From NYC appeared first on City Limits.

Celebrity Cruises is making its first foray into the world of river cruising with plans to sail two new luxury ships on seven-day European itineraries starting in 2027.

The Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker are set to sail on the Rhine and Danube rivers with destinations in Hungary, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The new ships feature four decks and 86 cabins, each with plenty of outdoor space, an infinity-edge plunge pool and dining pods that can float above the river.

“Celebrity River Cruises ships will be the most innovative on the river, with a patent-pending industry-leading design that offers more space to vacation while bringing guests even closer to destinations,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises, in a news release. “With about half of our guests having experienced or intending to take a river cruise, we know guests are going to love sailing Europe’s Rhine and Danube rivers the Celebrity way on our fleet of elevated, cutting-edge ships.”

Celebrity opened priority booking access with a $500 deposit on Wednesday, only to close it minutes later due to “unprecedented demand.” Public booking will be available later this month.

Celebrity Cruises is debuting two new ships for river cruising in Europe in 2027. The Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker are set to sail on the Rhine and Danube rivers and each feature an infinity-edge plunge pool. (Celebrity Cruises/TNS)

The top deck features Sunset Park with transformative shade structures and a bar and grill at the front of the ship. Decks two and three feature their own areas for relaxing, dining and drinking, including familiar venues like the line’s Martini Bar, Sunset Bar and Café Al Bacio. A 24-hour dining option is available onboard the new ships.

All staterooms feature a king-sized bed, and four of the five categories allow access to fresh air. The “Infinite Balcony” rooms have wall-to-wall windows that lower at the touch of a button, similar to the same category that debuted with Celebrity Edge in 2018.

Celebrity Cruises is debuting two new ships for river cruising in Europe in 2027. The Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker are set to sail on the Rhine and Danube rivers. Both feature balcony rooms. (Celebrity Cruises/TNS)

The Skylight Infinite Balcony Suite has a ceiling window that opens, while both the balcony rooms and the Vista Balcony Suites have dedicated outdoor spaces. At 258 square feet, the Vista Balcony Suite represents the largest accommodation on board, while guests in River View staterooms get 157 square feet of space.

All reservations include meals, select alcoholic beverages, coffee and soft drinks, Wi-Fi and one shore excursion per day. Suite stays include an on-demand butler service, priority booking for shore excursions, a premium drink package and one included specialty dining experience.

Celebrity Cruises is debuting two new ships for river cruising in Europe in 2027. The Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker are set to sail on the Rhine and Danube rivers, both featuring familiar venues including Café Al Bacio. (Celebrity Cruises/TNS)

The inaugural season for the Seeker and Compass includes 33 seven-night sailings on the Rhine and Danube rivers. Sailings start at $2,999 for the River View cabins, and top out at $8,999 for the Vista Balcony Suite during a specialty Nuremberg to Budapest Christmas Markets itinerary. Celebrity can also facilitate pre- and post-cruise stays — available for booking in early 2026 — in destination cities like Prague and Budapest.

For more information, visit celebritycruises.com/river.

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By MARK KENNEDY, AP Entertainment Writer

Early on in “Adulthood,” siblings Meg and Noah Robles suddenly — and unhappily — learn why they never got to have a dog growing up.

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It’s not because their parents didn’t think they could handle the responsibility or because dogs can be messy. It’s because there was a body walled up in the basement.

“How could our parents act like nothing ever happened?” Noah Robles asks. “That’s worse than the killing. It’s not, but still. They called it the ‘playroom.’”

That 30-year-old corpse will soon unleash a suburban comedy of errors as the bungling brother and sister — raised on TV police procedurals — try to find a way out of this mess without losing their freedom or precarious lifestyles.

“I wrote for two seasons on ‘Blue Bloods.’ I know how cops think,” says Noah Robles, a wonderfully childlike loser played by Josh Gad. His man-boy is a failed screenwriter in an Alamo Drafthouse T-shirt with maxed out credit cards.

Director Alex Winter and screenwriter Michael M.B. Galvin combine for a pitch-perfect black comedy that has a nifty satirical edge, inverting the movie convention of discovering that the kids are monsters.

Meg — played with lovely comic timing by a languid Kaya Scodelario — brings her young children to a dangerous payoff meet because she couldn’t get child care and loses her cool when she’s mocked for missing a yoga class. “Have a good day. Make good choices,” she tells her kids even as she clearly doesn’t.

Not long after the body in the basement is found, more bodies start piling up, as does the extortion, sword play, swirling detectives and so-called heavies who look the part even if they’re really lambs. If you liked “Fargo,” “Adulthood” is for you. It’s all about the noose slowly tightening.

“Once we do this, there’s no going back, Meg. Even years from now you’ll think about it when you’re trying to get to sleep,” the brother tells his sister as they decide what to do about the body. “It’ll pop in your head at random times.”

Winter keeps the tension tight but nicely steps off the gas for some neat touches — like a conversation between the siblings about moving on that’s set against a child’s flag-football game — while both Gad and Scodelario take turns being the strong one.

He offers advice about not leaving evidence while moving a dead body — “You should put some towels down” — and she juggles mundane tasks like Zoom meetings and checking her son’s glucose levels with slamming a hammer into someone’s skull, like just another task for stressed-out parents these days.

Fitting for a movie with an actual skeleton in a closet, “Adulthood” is about legacy and how we become our parents. It’s also about recognizing that our parents are human and complicated.

Very rarely do such movies end well. They peter out or ramp up the violence to absurd and pointless levels. “Adulthood” finds the sweet spot and lands the thing perfectly. If you think Meg and Noah are monsters, what would you do in a similar situation? There are probably monsters like that everywhere. They even might be in the foldable chair next to you at the flag football game.

“Adulthood,” a Republic Pictures release that opens in select theaters on Friday and streams on Sept. 23, is rated R for “violence, language throughout, drug use and brief sexual material.” Running time: 97 minutes. Three stars out of four.