Volunteer is archiving Renee Good memorial site artifacts - Channel 3000

MINNEAPOLIS — Ryan Vizzions started collecting posters from the spontaneous public memorial that grew at the site of Renee Good’s killing. The traveling photographer appointed himself the site’s caretaker.

He also gathered many other items — a cookie jar filled with handwritten letters rolled into scrolls, letters addressed to Good’s family, a canvas covered with names of people killed by federal agents since 2025.

“All these are prayers,” he said. “These are things that people brought because they cared. We owe it to them to try and preserve them and save them and make it so the future can learn about what happened here.”

Photographer Ryan Vizzions collects and dries out posters left at Renee Good's memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

When it comes to archiving spontaneous public memorials, there are no clear pathways for what to do.

Caretakers volunteer because they feel called to do so. It’s open-ended and grassroots work; people write the rules as they go along. Even the city of Minneapolis doesn’t have timelines for what happens to memorials, city spokeswoman Jess Olstad said.

At Good’s site, it’s unknown where the gathered items ultimately will go, but community members are in contact with the Good family about next steps.

Vizzions initially rented a storage unit for the posters and other items, but moved them to a more secure undisclosed residential location in south Minneapolis.

People visit the memorial site for Renee Good on Feb. 14 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“These sites emerge when the future feels uncertain and the past feels unfinished,” said Alex Pretti memorial site caretaker Jadah Green, 43, at a “Caring for Spontaneous Public Memorials After State Violence” panel discussion Feb. 27. “They are not permanent installations. They are not yet historical memory. They are living thresholds.”

Vizzions has been guarding, cleaning and organizing the Good site since the day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed the 37-year-old mother of three Jan. 7. The site is vulnerable to changing weather and vandalism ― like when someone poured gasoline on it and lit a nearby pile of wood on fire Feb. 17.

The city doesn’t take care of the sites, but might help with cleanup or security. Caretakers do the daily work of talking to visitors and cleaning the site.

Paul Eaves of Minneapolis helps out at George Floyd Square and the Pretti and Good memorial sites.

“It’s not about ego,” said Eaves, 77. “It’s about service.”

Mementos, drawings, signs and flowers are covered by fresh snow Feb. 1 outside of Unity Foods in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where city police killed George Floyd in 2020.

Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez said he would like to see a permanent memorial for Good, but stressed that it’s up to the family, and it isn’t a decision the city should make.

“I’ve heard from so many Latino neighbors, immigrant neighbors, about the courage that Renee Good had to look out for our community in a time when many of us feel like we have been sent back into the shadows,” said Chavez, who called the memorial a sacred space. “She brought light into this world.”

He wants caretakers and people affected by ICE to have a place “to mourn and celebrate Renee’s life, and a place where we can never forget what the federal government did and continues to do to our community.”

Vizzions has to return to his hometown of Atlanta by March 16 for jury duty. He isn’t sure when he’ll be back in Minneapolis, but he’ll remain a part of the team from afar.

His favorite piece from the memorial is a painting on cardboard of Good in blue with the American flag.

A painting and other items are seen Feb. 1 at a memorial for Renee Good where federal immigration agents shot and killed her in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“When we were doing the watch and we’d sit out there next to the fire, this one was facing us,” he said of painting. “For three weeks I stared at this piece.”

Vizzions raised more than $2,000 to pay for the storage space and equipment, including lights, backdrop, camera stands, tables, storage boxes and more.

In 2017, he published the photo book “No Spiritual Surrender: A Dedication to the Standing Rock Movement.”

He was in northern Minnesota on another project when he heard about Good’s killing. He drove down to Minneapolis and camped out in front of the memorial in his van.

He feels he’s become part of the community, and he’s contributing to the greater good.

Community members turn sites of violence into spaces of remembrance, connection and even hope, like this memorial for George Floyd, seen Feb. 1 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Rise & Remember Executive Director Jeanelle Austin said that back in 2020, community members waited nearly two months to reach out to George Floyd’s family after police killed the unarmed Black man in 2020, a death that prompted widespread social justice protests.

“You have to be able to give the families the time that they need to do all of the other things that take priority, and then when the family is ready, for them to decide what they want to do,” Austin said. “As caretakers, we’re keepers of the stories ― our job is not to make final decisions or final calls of what’s to come next.”

Austin said they offered the family three options: take everything and put it in your garage, donate items to museums or start a nonprofit organization and work to keep the entire collection together.

Floyd’s family chose the third option, and what started as George Floyd Global Memorial transformed into Rise & Remember.

People visit a memorial for Alex Pretti on Feb. 1 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

At Pretti’s memorial in Minneapolis, caretakers are in the early stages of archiving the site where border agents shot and killed the 37-year-old ICU nurse on Jan. 24.

There are about 15 dedicated caretakers at the site. They organized a big cleanup on Feb. 11, clearing ice, composting flowers and consolidating the memorial.

People routinely film and take pictures of the site from their cars, as well as walking up and visiting the memorial.

Wesley Hortenbach, 28, said caretakers plan to ask the family if they have any wishes first, before doing anything.

The aftermath of the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in photos

Immigration Enforcement Minnesota

People gather for a vigil after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a motorist earlier in the day, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

APTOPIX Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

Law enforcement uses a chemical agent on protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

A protester receives aid after confronting law enforcement outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

APTOPIX Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

Federal agents confront protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

APTOPIX Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

A protesters holds up a sign reading "Renee", the woman shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday, outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

APTOPIX Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

Protesters confront federal agents outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

APTOPIX Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino arrives as protesters gather outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

APTOPIX Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

Federal agents and police clash with protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, in Minneapolis, Minn., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

APTOPIX Immigration Enforcement Minnesota

Protesters chant and march during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer the day before, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

APTOPIX Immigration Enforcement Minnesota

Heather Griffis joins others to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, near the White House, following the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

APTOPIX Immigration Enforcement Minnesota

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

APTOPIX Immigration Enforcement Minnesota

Demonstrators rally before marching to the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, as they protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

APTOPIX Immigration Enforcement Protests

John Brown protests during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis the day before, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Immigration Enforcement Texas

A woman holds a sign memorializing Renee Good as activists protest outside an ICE facility in Pflugerville, Texas, requesting the organization to leave the county, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in solidarity with nationwide protests after the killing of U.S. citizen Renee Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis on Wednesday. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Immigration Enforcement Los Angeles

A protester burns an American flag in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center for the Federal Bureau of Prisons during a protest in Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, following the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

Notes and flowers are placed at a makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, near the site of the shooting, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

APTOPIX Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

People gather around a makeshift memorial honoring Renee Good who was fatally shot by a federal law enforcement agent near the site of the shooting in Minneapolis, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

The street is barricaded by a makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, near the site of the shooting, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

A person walks by writing in the snow near a makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, near the site of the shooting, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

People gather around a makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, inear the site of the shooting, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

APTOPIX Immigration Enforcement Minnesota

People gather around a makeshift memorial honoring Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer the day before, near the site of the shooting in Minneapolis, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

APTOPIX Immigration Enforcement Minnesota

People gather around a makeshift memorial honoring Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer the day before, near the site of the shooting in Minneapolis, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

US Immigration Enforcement Los Angeles

Demonstrators gather in remembrance for Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minnesota, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

APTOPIX Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

People gather around a makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, near the site of the shooting, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

Federal Enforcement Immigration Minnesota

A person kneels to the ground at the makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, near the site of the shooting, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)