Groups like Mill City Running and Run BLK gather hundreds of residents for exercise and community. They’re among scores of similar clubs popping up across the country. By Kyeland Jackson, Anna Sago and Kinnia Cheuk The Minnesota Star Tribune August 13, 2025 at 5:50PM Runners introduce themselves during a Run BLK event in Minneapolis last week. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune) On her first outing with a running club, Bria Black got passed. A lot. “They were so sw

Val Fleurantin Turner’s Whyography is one of more than 30 stories featured in the “Whyography: Building a Brand Fueled by Purpose” book. Val Fleurantin Turner was living the life she had imagined for herself growing up in Haiti. She’d relocated from Florida to Minnesota for a software engineering job. She was a soon-to-be-mom moving up the ranks at the largest medical device company in the world. She’d been invited to participate in an emerging leaders’ program. But when the

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - In 2014, a local computer engineer decided to pursue her passion for physical fitness. Today, Valerie Fleurantin runs her own business . It's a one-woman operation, and she is working to make an impact in the community one step at a time. Today, Fleurantin goes by the name Coach Val. A few years ago, she created Afrokaribe. It's dance fitness with a mix of reggae, Afrobeats, and hip-hop. "I needed something with some drums, where I can celebrate my cult

Valerie Fleurantin, Founder of VF Health Fitness Solutions, talks about mission to curb diseases like diabetes in black community. MINNEAPOLIS — Valerie Fleurantin has taken her passion for fitness and turned it into a mission to help others - particularly black women.  "My goal is to make fitness fun and make fitness and wellness more than just something I have to do – but something that’s more culturally ingrained in us so that we’re making generational impact," Valerie say