Minneapolis Retains Title as Nation’s Best Park System on The Trust for Public Land’s 2014 ParkScore® Index

Via a May 29 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board:

City edges New York, Boston, Portland and San Francisco for top spot; Minneapolis remains only park system to earn perfect 5 “park bench” rating

May 29, 2014, Minneapolis, MN - Minneapolis took top honors on The Trust for Public Land’s 3^rd annual ParkScore® index, earning a perfect “5-park bench” rating from the nonprofit organization.

Minneapolis remains the only city park system to earn the coveted “5 bench” score on the ParkScore Index, as the city held on to the top spot for the second consecutive year. New York, Boston, Portland, and San Francisco rounded out the top five.

“We’re thrilled to receive this prestigious honor from The Trust for Public Land a second time. When residents voted for an independent Park Board in 1883, they most likely didn’t envision a park system that would grow to 6,790 acres of parkland serving more than 21 million visits each year. Today we honor the legacy that created the park system, and continue our work to ensure that parks and park services are accessible to everyone, with a focus on the most diverse, underserved areas of the city. Our strong community relationships, public, private and non-profit partnerships make this possible,” said Jayne Miller, Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

ParkScores are based equally on three factors: Park access, which measures the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park (approximately ½-mile); Park size, which is based on a city’s median park size and the percentage of total city area dedicated to parks; and Services and investment, which combines the number of playgrounds per 10,000 city residents and per capita park spending. In addition to the national ranking, each city receives a “park bench” rating on a scale of zero to five.

Minneapolis scored strongly on all ParkScore rating factors. With 94 percent of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park, the city received especially high marks for park access. The city’s strong parks budget also boosted its ParkScore rating. Second-place finisher New York fared slightly better on park access, with 97 percent of residents living with within a 10-minute walk of a park. However, New York was hurt by its low median park size, just 1.1 acres compared to Minneapolis' 7.1-acre median.

“This top rating is a wonderful tribute to all of the individuals who, for the past 131 years, have made the park system what it is today. I want to assure the people of Minneapolis and the Twin Cities region that we’re not done yet. We are committed to opening new public green spaces, and improving parks that already exist,” said Liz Wielinski, President of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

This year, Denver made the biggest upward move in ParkScore rating history, climbing ten places into a tie for 7^th. For 2014, ParkScore included the city’s “Learning Landscapes” school playgrounds as park space, because they are open for public use in evenings and on weekends when school is not in session. These “shared use” arrangements are a relatively easy way for cities to increase park and playground access, especially in fully developed urban areas.

Sacramento was the only city to lose its top-five ranking in 2014, as strong population growth strained its park system and limited access to popular playgrounds. The California capital city earned four park benches, dropping to seventh place in 2014, compared to third last year. Fresno repeated as ParkScore’s last place finisher, earning one park bench.

This year, ParkScore expanded to the 60 largest cities in the United States, up from 50 in 2013. Among the ten new ParkScore entrants, Aurora, CO ranked best, earning four park benches and a 10^th place tie with Virginia Beach. New Orleans earned 3.5 park benches, tying for 18^th position—the second highest score among new ParkScore cities.

“We’re thrilled that Minneapolis defended its ParkScore title for the second consecutive year. We’re a city that loves our parks,” said Susan Schmidt Minnesota State Office Director for The Trust for Public Land. “However, we cannot rest on our laurels. As our city grows and draws families to new neighborhoods, our park system must evolve. At The Trust for Public Land, we’re working especially hard to increase park space downtown, along the riverfront, and in underserved neighborhoods throughout Minneapolis. That’s what it will take to stay number one into the future,” added Schmidt.

ParkScore uses advanced GIS (geographic information system) computer mapping technology to create digital maps evaluating park accessibility, making it the most realistic assessment system available. Instead of simply measuring distance to a local park, ParkScore's GIS technology takes into account the location of park entrances and physical obstacles to access. For example, if residents are separated from a nearby park by a major highway, ParkScore does not count the park as accessible to those residents (unless there is a bridge, underpass, or easy access point across the highway).

In addition to the at-a-glance park bench summary rating, ParkScore features an in-depth website that local leaders can use as a roadmap to guide park improvement efforts. The website, parkscore.tpl.org, provides extensive data and analysis that pinpoints the neighborhoods where parks are needed most critically. The website includes interactive maps of each ParkScore city that allow users to zoom in and study park access on a block-by-block basis. The website is free and open to the public.

“You can't have a great city without great parks,” said Adrian Benepe, Senior Vice President and Director of City Park Development for The Trust for Public Land. “Parks provide places for children and adults to be physically active, and they serve as community meeting places where friendships are built and a sense of community is strengthened.”

According to The Trust for Public Land, the 10 highest-ranking city park systems in the United States are:

1.	Minneapolis	5.0 park benches
2.	New York	4.5 park benches
3.	Boston (tie)	4.0 park benches
3.	Portland (tie)	4.0 park benches
3.	San Francisco (tie)	4.0 park benches
6.	Washington, DC	4.0 park benches
7.	Denver (tie)	4.0 park benches
7.	Sacramento (tie)	4.0 park benches
9.	San Diego	4.0 park benches
10.	Virginia Beach (tie)	4.0 park benches
10.	Aurora, CO (tie)	4.0 park benches - DEBUT CITY

The 10 lowest-ranking city park systems are:

51.	Jacksonville	2.0 park benches
52.	Santa Ana	1.5 park benches - DEBUT CITY
53.	San Antonio (tie)	1.5 park benches
53.	Memphis (tie)	1.5 park benches
55.	Oklahoma City	1.5 park benches
56.	Mesa, AZ	1.5 park benches
57.	Charlotte	1.0 park benches
58.	Indianapolis (tie)	1.0 park benches
58.	Louisville (tie)	1.0 park benches
60.	Fresno	1.0 park benches

For more information about ParkScore, visit parkscore.tpl.org. Join the discussion on Twitter @TPL_org #ParkScore.

About The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year. Learn more at www.tpl.org.

Urban Agriculture Activity Plan Update

Via a May 28 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board:

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Planning Committee held a public hearing for the Urban Agriculture activity plan last Wednesday evening, May 21^st at 6:30 p.m.  Thank you to the many individuals and community organizations who spoke to the Committee during the public hearing.  The entire MPRB meeting is rebroadcast on Minneapolis 79, or can be watched online.  

The Planning Committee asked staff to revise the plan to address requests for specific racial equity considerations, and to present a modified activity plan to the Planning Committee at a future meeting date.  The Board of Commissioners  meets on the first and third Wednesday evening of each month.  Updates on the progress of the activity plan will be posted to this email list, media outlets, and the Project Page on the MPRB website. 

The Urban Agriculture activity plan was developed through an extensive community engagement process and contains recommendations related to policy, facility, program, and service improvements to better support urban agriculture within the Minneapolis park system. Activity plans define the MPRB’s service delivery goals for a particular recreation activity city-wide. These plans determine the resources required to successfully achieve plan goals in service to residents and park visitors.

Community outreach and research, trend analysis, program analysis, and infrastructure assessment are used to develop service delivery goals for all MPRB Activity Plans. The development of the Urban Agriculture activity plan is supported by the Board of Commissioners and directly linked to the goals of the MPRB Comprehensive Plan.

I-35W / Fourth Street Ramp Construction Traffic Updates

Traffic Impacts - Lane and Ramp Closures
 
May 28 through early June
- The Johnson Street exit from northbound I-35W will close while crews construct a temporary bypass that will allow motorists to access Johnson Street. Motorists should use the New Brighton Boulevard/Stinson Boulevard exit during the temporary closure.
 
June through October
- Eastbound traffic on 4th Street South will be rerouted to 3rd Street South, resulting in head-to-head traffic.
- 3rd Street South traffic will be shifted periodically 
- Southbound I-35W impacts will be limited to shoulder closures and nighttime lane closures.

June through November
- The three lanes of northbound I-35W between University Ave Northeast and the Johnson Street exit will remain open, but will shift toward the center median.
- The northbound ramp from University Avenue Southeast/4th Street Southeast to I-35W will close for 21 days
- The northbound I-35W ramp to Hennepin Avenue East will close for seven days
 
September through November
- Northbound I-35W traffic will shift to the newly constructed outside areas to maximize the available working area on the inside.

About
This project is a collaborative effort of Hennepin County, the City of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The purpose of the project is to relieve congestion on Washington Avenue, improve access to northbound I-35W from downtown Minneapolis, reduce the traffic that diverts through Northeast Minneapolis to access northbound I-35W, and to improve access to northbound I-35W. This project also proposes the possibility of erecting noise walls in southeast and northeast Minneapolis along the I-35W corridor.

Summary of Work
- Build a new ramp from 4th Street South to northbound I-35W
- Construct an auxiliary lane from University Avenue to the Johnson Street exit
- Reconfigure Johnson Street exit to serve Johnson Street, New Brighton Boulevard and Stinson Boulevard

Cost
$15.4 million (state and local taxes)

Minnesota’s Nicest Spice

Article by Rachel Kahn, MCT Contributor

My introduction to Minnesota Nice Spice began in a very non-traditional way.

This story begins in an elevator. One day while entering my condo lobby to begin the ascent to my little apartment in the sky, I found myself face to face with joyful eyes and purple hair. What comes along with the purple and joy is where the kindness begins.

Introducing Lucy. Ms. Purple and Joy. Lucy is a happy adult, diagnosed with development delays and is the inspiration for all that you are about to read.

Lucy’s sister Debb Masterson is the founder of Minnesota Nice Spice and a local downtown Mill City resident. Debb, a former restaurant owner and organic gardener, began many years ago harvesting and drying her homegrown herbs. She would combine them together into creative blends using a recipe passed along by her grandmother. Her friends and family were often the lucky recipients of her creative blends.

As the story unfolds, Debb and Lucy’s mother passed away twelve years ago. Debb, and her supportive husband Jim became the guardian of Ms. Lucy and moved to downtown Minneapolis where years later they would become my neighbors. In her new role as guardian, Debb wanted to provide only the best for Lucy. She speaks of her concern that Lucy could only get very basic janitorial jobs and the lack of social stimuli had her desiring only to watch daytime TV. Lucy was surviving, not thriving.  Debb set her intentions to change that and the universe intervened. One day in 2009 while walking in her new downtown neighborhood, she was introduced to Interact, a Minneapolis arts program for the disabled.  An introduction that would soon change both their lives.

Lucy was accepted to Interact and excelled! It turns out this lovely happy lady is also a fantastic artist.  She attends Interact three days a week. Debb describes Lucy’s new self-confidence. She tells me how the art center ‘transformed’ Lucy’s life and has made her a part of a community. “I am the lucky one” Debb states with joyful tears in her eyes.

So what does this have to do with spice, you ask? Well… one day in 2011 Lucy came home and announced to Debb that they needed to go shopping for bottled water. After a perplexed Debb asked her why, Lucy told her sister that the arts center could no longer afford the water cooler so everyone had to start bringing their own water. Such a statement immediately sprung Debb into action. How could such an incredible place be in such dire financial circumstances? How could she help, Debb wondered? A light bulb went off. Her spice creations that everyone loved! Could she sell them to benefit Interact she wondered? Yes! She could and she did!

With no background in this very complicated wholesale food business, she began researching all the avenues to bring her spice blends to market. Labeling, sourcing, licensing, marketing…. The list is endless. Yet, somehow she knew she would make it work. Her debut came in late 2011 at the Do It Green gift fair. She didn’t even have a website, yet she had a product and a goal.

It is now three years later and Debb’s spices can be found in a plethora of fabulous places. In downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota Nice Spice is at Whole Foods, the Mill City Museum Store, and Local D’Lish along with on-line sales and many other great locations.

While spending time together, Debb showed me her latest creations, Minnesota Nice Spice gift boxes. This summer she is featuring a grilling kit, complete with recipes and a cedar plank. Minnesota Nice Spice gift boxes are so cool that many corporate clients are reaching out to her so they can provide the organic, local, healthy products to their lucky clients and employees.

Guess what? It doesn’t stop there…. Drum roll please! Are you ready?! Debb gives all her profits to Interact!! She doesn’t take a check. Really. Smile with amazement. It is true.

Thank you Debb. I think we are the lucky ones.

Minnesota Nice Spice can be found at http://www.mnnicespice.com/ and on Facebook.

LoveSelf note: We have created two recipes using Debb’s spice blends. Check out…

Ginger Asparagus Soup

Peach Flax Muffins

You can reach Rachel at rachel@loveself.org, www.loveselfmagazine.com

Week 3 at the 2014 Mill City Farmers Market

For a 4th consecutive year, KBEM 88.5 FM broadcast live for Bluegrass Saturday Morningfrom the Market, featuring interviews with vendors such as Pam from Prairie Hollow, and music with The Eddies. 

Kids were drawn like magnates to demonstrations at the Northern Clay Art Center Community Booth.

The goat. Always the goat.  :)

Minneapolis #3 in Nation on List of Best Cities for Cyclists According to NerdWallet Number Crunchers

Chris Rein of NerdWallet filled me in on how they determined Minneapolis ranks 3rd in the nation on the list of Best Cities for Cyclists.  NerdWallet is a consumer advocacy site whose staff crunches massive amounts of data to arm consumers with facts needed to help make good money choices.

Since 2000, the number of bicycle commuters in the U.S. has increased by 61%. As the number of cyclists continues to grow, NerdWallet wanted to pinpoint the most cyclist-friendly cities, and they created their rankings by analyzing the following factors:

•Percentage of bicycle commuters
•Bicyclist fatalities per 10,000 biking commuters
•Federal transportation funds allocated to bike and pedestrian projects per capita
•Miles of bicycle lanes, paths and routes per square mile

In addition to providing the rankings, they also provide cost of living information for each of the cities on the list. If your passion is to live in a very bicycle-friendly city, you can easily determine which of them are practical from a financial stand point. 

There's a wealth of interesting data on the site, including finding the right credit card, mortgage and insurance.

June Lineup from The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul

Based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has been hailed by The Times as ‘a phenomenal combination of storytelling and spectacle’. Winner of 7 Olivier Awards in 2013, including Best New Play.

- - -

The Forgotten Kingdom

MSPIFF 2014 Audience Choice Award: Best Narrative Feature.
 
Atang Mokoeyna (mid-20s) is an unemployed, aimless young man who spends his days idling in the slums of Johannesburg. When his father dies, Atang must give up his selfish ways and fulfill his father’s humble last wishes: to be buried in the rural, mountainous Kingdom of Lesotho, a place they left fifteen years earlier in hopes of a better life.

- - -

Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case

In this intimate and powerful encounter with one of today's most politically influential artists, world-renowned Ai Weiwei is under house arrest and restricted by the Chinese authorities in everything he does. But he does it anyway.

Northern Spark 2014 - Update #9

See the City in a New Dimension through Minneapolis³

Minneapolis³ is an interdisciplinary performance site that utilizes music, puppetry, dance, song, poetry, and interaction to create a unique experience of the city. Performances take place inside a large cube temporarily installed on the Minneapolis Convention Center Plaza. Participants randomly select what they will see and hear, enter the cube, and are immersed for three minutes in sound and visuals that explore Minneapolis and our relationships to it.

Minneapolis³ is conceived and directed by multi-discplinary artist and puppeteer Eric F. Avery, working with a group of collaborating artists including composers Ted Moore and Laura Leffler-McCabe, and performers Blake Bolan, Mason Mahoney, and Lindsey Cacich. Their collective take on Northern Spark’s theme “Projecting the City” is based in the collaboration's emotional experience of Minneapolis: "We want to break down the city to its essential elements—natural, human-made, personal, and public—and expose the difference between what makes the city and what we make it into."

Mizna Projects the Euphrates over the Mississippi for Northern Spark

Mizna plays with this year's Northern Spark festival theme of "Projecting the City" by projecting a river onto the city in Confluent. All night long, the Euphrates River will flow above the Mississippi River, at a special site on the riverfront under the Hennepin Avenue Bridge.

“Confluence” means the meeting of two rivers. During the night of Northern Spark, one of the Arab world’s major waterways meets one of North America’s under the Hennepin Avenue bridge in a poetic and visual dialogue. Viewers can sit at the banks of a strange confluence of the here-and-now and the there-and-now and contemplate the many layers of meaning and metaphor between two flowing bodies of water half a globe apart.

Mizna’s rivers project also plays on the idea of “fluency” in communication and communing. When it comes to Arab and American worlds and the people who straddle both, the concepts of confluence and fluency are very alive, literally and metaphorically. To read more, and to learn more about Mizna's mission and programs, visit mizna.org.

Volunteer at Open Streets Minneapolis on May 31st and June 8th!

Via a May 20 e-newsletter from the City of Minneapolis:

The City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition are proud to announce the launch of Open Streets Minneapolis 2014! We are just two weeks away from the first Open Streets Minneapolis event on the proposed North Minneapolis Greenway on May 31st, and closely followed by Open Streets MPLS on Lyndale Avenue on June 8th. These events are powered by volunteers, and we need you to help make this year another success. Together with over 400 volunteers in 2013, we drew approximately 30,000 people on more than six miles of streets across the city last year. Help us do it again in 2014, and sign up to volunteer today!

What is Open Streets Minneapolis?

Open Streets Minneapolis events temporarily transform major city corridors into safe, car-free places for one weekend day to give people an opportunity to enjoy the street on bicycle, foot, wheelchair, skateboard or roller skate. Each event is programmed with complementary activities such as yoga, live music and bike repair. Open Streets Minneapolis is a free and easy way to engage in physical activity, meet neighbors, and discover new businesses right in your own neighborhood. Check out the City Pages’ photos for a feel of the events.

This year Open Streets Minneapolis will be hosted on:

The proposed North Minneapolis Greenway (May 31st)
Lyndale Avenue (June 8th)
Central Avenue NE (July 27th)
Franklin Avenue (August 17th)
Nicollet Avenue (September 14th)
Lowry Avenue N (September 20th)
How can you get involved?

Volunteers can help with everything from rolling out sod for the greenway experience to facilitating chalk art activities as a street monitor, and helping us keep the street clean and car free. We need over 250 volunteers to sign up for the first two Open Streets Minneapolis events of the year. Help us kick off the summer right by volunteering for a couple hours at the first Open Streets MPLS event on May 31st for the North Minneapolis Greenway Experience or the Lyndale event on June 8th! You choose the location, the time, and what you’ll do -- we give you a t-shirt, a volunteer appreciation party, and a lot of high fives. Couldn't get much better than that.

Want to do more?

It’s fun to volunteer with friends. Bring a team from work, a group of your friends, or your family clan to volunteer for a shift! We can coordinate times and tasks for your crew -- just contact us at volunteer@mplsbike.org or at 612.810.0079. And help us spread the word by sharing this link!

Thanks so much to all our volunteers. To learn more, visit openstreetsmpls.com or contact Beth Wagner at Volunteer@mplsbike.org.

Week 2 at the 2014 Mill City Farmers Market

At the May 17 Market we picked up some beautiful basil, rosemary and cilantro plants for our balcony herb garden from Loon Organics. Shoppers with regular garden plots to fill had a vast selection of healthy plants and seed potatoes to choose from.  University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardeners were on hand to answer questions.

Plus all of the usual good stuff...

How a trip to the Market makes us feel:

Tickets go on Sale Monday, May 19, for the Mill City Summer Opera presentation of TOSCA!

Mill City Summer Opera returns for its third season in the Mill City Museum’s dramatic Ruin Courtyard with Puccini’s tragic and spellbinding masterpiece, Tosca.  Scheduled for 7:30pm on July 12, 13, 16, 18, 20, and 22.

Artistic Director David Lefkowich and music director Brian DeMaris return to lead another first-rate design team and cast, featuring Mill City favorites Jill Gardner as Tosca and her husband Jake Gardner as the villainous Scarpia. This summer’s production will reunite Ms. Gardner with the exciting tenor Dinyar Vania, reprising the role of Cavaradossi. The two first played the ill-fated lovers opposite one another in an acclaimed 2013 production with Lyric Opera Baltimore.

Ticket information:  http://www.millcitymuseum.org/opera

Northern Spark 2014 - Update #8

Balancing Ground Shares Wisdom in Whispered Voices

Balance is rest
Balance is accomplishment
Balance is a point of departure
Balance is equality between knowing why and knowing how
-Artist Bill Cottman, in an interview with Project Lead Amanda Lovelee for Balancing Ground, 2014.

These words from Bill Cottman (whose project beyond the LOOP will also premier at Northern Spark) and many others speaking about balance will be part of the gently-immersive auditory experience of Balancing Ground, winner of the 2014 Creative City Challenge.

Balancing Ground will be unveiled on June 14 as part of the Opening Ceremony for Northern Spark. The installation's prismatic light and sound elements create a space for contemplating balance, that state of equilibrium that eludes so many of us caught up in the "culture of busy."

The project's large, open structure, suggestive of both a forest and a church, will hold a set of specially-developed seesaws and reclaimed wood benches.  Words and phrases related to balance are triggered as participants play with the physical act of finding balance on the seesaws, while specialized directional speakers play longer fragments of conversations and interviews about balance in tight, narrow beams of sound that can be heard only in specific areas. Balancing Ground is presented by the Minneapolis Convention Center and the Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Program of the City of Minneapolis in collaboration with Northern Lights.mn.

American Craft Council Pays Homage to Kubler and Considers Art and Craft

The American Craft Council celebrates the connection between the makers, the materials, and the enthusiasts whose lives are enriched by unique, handmade works of art. This year ACC is presenting a participatory textile work by Chicago-based artist Andy Hall at Northern Spark.

In Outdoor Activity for George Kubler, Hall invites participants to dye silk fabric with him as he playfully examines Kubler’s notion of useful inventions vs. artistic inventions using the ubiquitous form of the plastic shopping bag.

Over the duration of Northern Spark a large bolt of raw Habotai Silk will be transformed into an array of vibrantly colored painted textiles. The textiles will be steam set, sewn into a series of iconic tote bags, and strung up above the site for display and dispersal.

Hall will collaborate with festival participants to apply dye to the silk using methods that stimulate an awareness of bodily possibility, the physical nature of the materials, the temporal dimensions of process, and the perception of the maker. The assembly line-like installation, beginning with raw material and dispensing vividly colored silk totes, help asks questions about process, material quality, and product.

Tomorrow, May 17: Target Field Station Grand Opening

Join the Target Field Station grand opening celebration Saturday, May 17, from 1 p.m. until game time. Target Field Station a bustling urban park, transit station and neighborhood gathering space. This one-of-a-kind destination will connect approximately 500 trains arriving and departing daily via the METRO Blue Line (Hiawatha LRT), METRO Green Line (Central Corridor LRT) and Northstar Commuter Rail, as well as more than 1,900 daily bus trips, and miles of bike and walking trails.

There will be a ribbon cutting at the station platform followed by a short program emceed by Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin.

Speakers include:

■ U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
■ U.S. Representative Keith Ellison
■ Mike Opat, Hennepin County Board Chair
■ Jim Pohlad, United Properties and Minnesota Twins
■ Dan Griffis, vice president, Experiential Marketing and Alliances, Target
■ Derrell Turner, Federal Highway Administration
■ Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle
■ Minnesota Representative Alice Hausman
■ Minnesota Senator Scott Dibble and Minnesota Representative Frank Hornstein
■ Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh
■ Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges
■ Ed Hunter, Director of Interchange Project Office, Red Hawk Consulting

Peter Cavaluzzi FAIA, Principal at EE&K, a Perkins Eastman company, and lead design architect for Target Field Station, will be available for in-person interviews May 15-18.

Schedule

■ 1 – 1:45 p.m. -- Choo Choo Bob (Amphitheater)
■ 2 – 2:45 p.m. -- Alex Rossi and the Root City Band (Amphitheater)
■ 3 p.m. -- Ribbon cutting ceremony (east side of light rail platform)
■ 3:05 p.m. -- The first train departs from Target Field Station (light rail platform)
■ 3:15 – 4 p.m. -- Speakers – presentation (Amphitheater)
■ 4:15 – 5:15 p.m. -- Gear Daddies (Amphitheater)
■ 5:30 p.m. – game time -- Young Ry (Amphitheater)

Target will offer visitors a chance to take commemorative photos in an old-fashioned train cutout.

Tonight, May 15: Downtown East Redevelopment Project Update at Open Book

Time: 6:30pm

Location: Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Please join the East Downtown Council, along with the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association (DMNA), the Elliot Park Neighborhood Inc (EPNi), and the Mill District Neighborhood Association (MDNA) to hear an update on the progress being made on Ryan Companies Downtown East Redevelopment Project.

Guest presenters will include Rick Collins, Mike Ryan, Tony Barranco and Jeremy Jacobs from Ryan Companies. The four-some will provide an update on the following items:

• Status of building demolition, along with future demolition activity;
• Status of preservation of historic "medallions" from Star Tribune 425 Portland Avenue building;
• Construction schedule;
• Status update on Air Rights Development project; and
• Where to look for updates on the project.

AGENDA

1. 6:30 pm - Welcome and introductions by EDC President Dan Collison
2. 6:45 pm - Downtown East redevelopment project update by Ryan Companies
3. 7:30 pm - Q&A moderated by EDC President Dan Collison
4. 8:00 pm - Announcements and Adjournment

*Note: This meeting will be the only Mill District Neighborhood meeting for May. The June meeting will be at the Mill City Museum on the 3rd Monday as usual.

2014 Mill City Live Schedule

Mill City Live returns for its eleventh season with four outdoor concerts on Wednesday evenings in August.

Set in the museum's dramatic open air Ruin Courtyard, "Mill City Live" features four great evenings of outdoor music by top local artists. 

• Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
• Fee: $5 includes concert and museum admission from 4 to 9 p.m., an opportunity to visit Mill City Museum at a significant discount.  Free for Minnesota Historical Society members.  
• In case of rain, Mill City Live goes on indoors! 

August 6th, 6-8pm

Crankshaft and the Gear Grinders

Blues, roots

 

 

 Crankshaft (a.k.a. Alex Larson) has been forging his own brand of high-energy, low-brow, upper Mississippi blues, a new genre of music he likes to call "Pork Neck" since 2008.

 Performing and as the leader of his trio, Crankshaft and the Gear Grinders, fans of Mill City Live can expect a new breed of foot stompin' country blues that appeals to young and old alike.  Crankshaft writes great songs, and sings them with passion. The energy at his live shows is undeniable, and he won't rest until everyone in the room is rockin' and rollin' with him." - Page Burkum, The Cactus Blossums

 

August 13th, 6-8pm            

The Cloak Ox

Indie Rock

 

 

   The Cloak Ox is made up of indie rock vets Andrew Broder and longtime friends and sometimes bandmates Jeremy Ylvisaker, Mark Erickson and Martin Dosh. In 2011 the group topped City Pages new artist Picked to Click list and in 2013 their full length Shoot the Dog made top ten lists by the Star Tribune and City Pages.  “Shoot the Dog is loaded with the nervous, sensory-grinding energy of urban life…and the jaggedy frayed art-rock noodling of bands like Television and latter-day Wilco.”

   -Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune

 

August 20th, 6-8pm

Bethany Larson & the Bees Knees

Country, rock

 

 

   Bethany Larson and The Bee's Knees, one of Twin Cities best kept secrets as declared by Twin Cities Metro, brings a preacher’s daughter from Austin, Minn. to the local music scene. In the process of recording her sophomore album she joined forces with the "Bee’s Knees" – her brother Chris Larson on guitar, keyboards and backing vocals, Sara Horishnyk on drums and Sam Johnson on bass.  “…Bethany’s voice has evolved beautifully: as much Ella Fitzgerald and Juliette Greco as Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams. Bethany’s lyrics about love and heartbreak have a worldly sophistication and the band has fleshed out unique and sweet arrangements that both swoon and rock.”  –Adam Levy, The Honeydogs

 

August 27th, 6-8pm      

Actual Wolf

Folk Rock

 

 

  Grand Rapids native Eric Pollard (a.k.a. Actual Wolf) has been the drummer for Retribution Gospel Choir and others. As a singer song-writer, his self-titled full-length debut made the top 10 local releases in the 2013 Star Tribune Critics Tally, and he was named Best Minneapolis Songwriter by City Pages in 2013.

   “Actual Wolf  packages his couplets into arrangements that recall Neil Young's sonic grit and Elton John's soaring glitz. Don't be surprised if experiencing Actual Wolf gets your own eyes a little misty." -City Pages

Public Hearing for Urban Agricultur​e Activity Plan at MPRB May 21

Via a May 12 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board:

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Planning Committee will hold a public hearing for the Urban Agriculture activity plan on Wednesday, May 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the MPRB Headquarters Building, 2117 W. River Rd., Minneapolis. If adopted by the Planning Committee that evening, the activity plan will be forwarded to the full MPRB Board of Commissioners for consideration.

All attending the public hearing will have an opportunity share comments about the plan. If you wish to speak at the hearing, there will be a sign-up sheet located directly outside the board room and you will have until 6:25 PM that evening to sign up to speak. If you require language translation or other accommodations, please call 612-230-6472 at least two business days before the hearing.

The Urban Agriculture activity plan was developed through an extensive community engagement process and contains recommendations related to policy, facility, program, and service improvements to better support urban agriculture activities within the park system.

Activity plans define the MPRB’s service delivery goals for a particular recreation activity city-wide. These plans determine the resources required to successfully achieve plan goals in service to residents and park visitors.

Community outreach and research, trend analysis, program analysis, and infrastructure assessment is used to develop service delivery goals for all MPRB’s Activity Plans. The development of the Urban Agriculture activity plan is supported by the Board of Commissioners and directly linked to the goals of the MPRB Comprehensive Plan.

For more information, please visit the Project Page on the MPRB website.

Week 1 at the 2014 Mill City Farmers Market

It was a glorious opening day at the 2014 Market - thank you Mother Nature!  In addition to reconnecting with our vendor friends from previous years, it was also fun meeting new vendors, including Driftless Organics, Seed to Seed Farm, Sunrise Creative Gourmet, Verdant Tea and Fresh Mud Pottery, and new Market Sponsor, The Wedge Community Co-op. 

Look for new Vendor and Sponsor spotlights in the coming weeks on our Farmers Market blog.

Happy to be back! :D

May 10 Market Album.

Northern Spark 2014 - Update #7

Insects Find a Temporary Home in Hotel Hotel

Hotel Hotel is a poetic exploration of the relationship between living organisms and architecture. This collaboration by Ben Moren, Kate Casanova and Daniel Dean reflects on the transience of life in the city, on temporary abodes, on sentient inhabitants, on occupying and moving through space, and on the interactions that occur in transit. Hotel Hotel’s occupants are species of insects, such as caterpillars, ants, and moths. They inhabit the intensely colored rooms that dramatically contrast their individual colors and movements. In Hotel Hotel, the insects are anthropomorphized yet remain alien. This project inserts these distinct species into the center of an imagined urban interior.

In Hotel Hotel, the projection functions architecturally as virtual space, allowing the viewer to experience scale in an unexpected way. Through the magic of projection, we see these insects populate a building, metaphorically embodying the complexity of peoples, customs, cultures, and individual traits that make up the citizens of contemporary cities.

Asia Ward's Electric Hopscotch Playfully Illuminates Convention Center Plaza

Electric Hopscotch is a glowing electronic twist on the classic jump and skip game. In Electric Hopscotch, the interaction between players is a physical dance of memory, ranging from simple steps to complicated jumps. Instead of chalked squares on the pavement, players position “jump-pads” in any order or direction they prefer. The jump-pads contain electronic memory sensors, outlined with glowing surface-mounted LEDs.  

To play Electric Hopscotch, a person completes a sequence of jumps and skips on the pads from start to finish. The pads remember the sequence of jumps and play back the order by lighting up in sequence. One player at a time—and then whoever wants to accept the challenge can try to replicate your rad jump and skip moves! 

Asia Ward is a Minnesota-based artist and educator whose work ranges from animatronic creatures to large-scale metal sculptures and aluminum dioramas. A past Art(ists) on the Verge fellow, Ward loves to show others how to work with basic circuitry, computer game programming, stop motion animation, and hacked sensors and toys, and has given workshops for all ages at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Murray State University in Kentucky, and the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Tomorrow: Opening Day of the 2014 Mill City Farmers Market Season!

Join your neighbors for opening day at the 2014 Mill City Farmers Market!  Celebrate the much awaited spring season, farm-fresh foods, local fine arts and crafts, and honor moms with spring flowers and family friendly activities. 8:00am - 1:00pm

Produce Planner: At the Market this Saturday, you will find: sweet sugar pea shoots, micro greens, herbs, arugula, spinach, carrots, rhubarb, beets, mesclun mix, radishes, starter plants, hanging baskets and patio pots, lots of bedding plants, plenty of SEED STARTS: summer squash, melon/watermelon, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and more!

Mini-farm, all day: With furry creatures from Oliver H. Kelley Farm.

Mill City Cooks, 10am: Don’t miss this special kitchen demo with Market Chef Heather Hartman, who will be assisted by her daughter Josephine in honor of Mother’s Day!

Live Music, 11am – 1pm: Daddy Squeeze.

Art Market, All Day: Featuring Fresh Mud, Christy Wetzig, Larissa Loden, and Old World Cabinet.

Community Booth: Budding Farmers. This local nonprofit organization is an innovative enrichment program that connects children with the healthy food found at their local participating Farmers Market or participating Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm! Stop by and see their cool Budding Farmers Fun Books!

Sponsors: Thank you to today’s sponsor Wedge Community Co-op!

Plus, check out these new vendors for 2014:

Chisago Lakes Berry Basket will bring an ambrosial assortment of strawberry varieties come late-June, Driftless Organics adds sunflower and pumpkin seed oil to market's offerings, Seed to Seed Farm brings us locally harvested artichokes, ginger, lemongrass, and more, Seven Songs Organic Farm presents ginger, turmeric, and garlic varieties, Sunrise Creative Gourmet offers fresh, frozen, and dry pastas, Verdant Tea introduces locally brewed kombucha, chai tea, and specialty loose leaf teas, Zula Juice provides ready-to-drink organic cold-pressed juices and cleanses, and Red Table Meat Co. will bring dry-cured pork products to the Market in late-June!

We're also excited to welcome our Mill District neighbor, Julia Timm, of Fresh Mud Pottery as a new art vendor for the 2014 season.  :D

Minnesota Super Bowl Bid Committee Submits Final Bid For Super Bowl LII

Via the Minnesota Vikings' website:

Minneapolis, MN (May 7, 2014) – The Minnesota Super Bowl Bid Committee has submitted its final bid to host Super Bowl LII in 2018. Delivered to all 32 NFL owners on tablets containing a Super Bowl LII app, the bid provides a preview to the final May 20 presentation.

“We have a great story to tell about the state of Minnesota,” said Richard Davis, chief executive officer of U.S. Bank and bid committee co-chair. “Today we delivered that story to all 32 NFL owners and made our best case for bringing Super Bowl LII to our region in 2018. We appreciate the energy and effort that has gone into this process from our community and business leaders to ensure that we submitted an extremely comprehensive and competitive bid.”

The final bid submission follows last month’s preliminary submission and contains details on all aspects of Super Bowl Week – event venue options, transportation and parking, lodging, security procedures, team practice sites and more. Highlights from the bid include:

• More than 180 hotels from throughout the region accounting for over 19,000 hotel rooms.
• 48 different venue options throughout Bloomington, Minneapolis and St. Paul identified for potential use during Super Bowl Week.
• Outstanding practice sites for the two competing teams.
• Strong connectivity through a variety of transportation options, including light rail, Park & Ride system, four airports, and eight miles of skyway.
• Integration of winter festivities into a branded celebration with a Super Bowl twist in 2018, including a flagship event at the St. Paul Winter Carnival.
• An NFL Legacy Program that will provide $2 million toward Minnesota charities that enhance the health, wellness and safety of children.

“We submitted a great bid that highlights all we have to offer,” said Doug Baker, chief executive officer of Ecolab and bid committee co-chair. “Our highly engaged community, great event venues, tremendous hospitality infrastructure, world-class transportation and airport facilities, unique skyway system and, of course, our new, best-in-class, iconic stadium are all strengths of our bid.”

“As the host community in 1992, we proposed to the NFL a legacy component that would live on beyond the game and since then has become a major component in Super Bowl bids,” said Marilyn Carlson-Nelson, former chairman and chief executive officer of Carlson Companies and bid committee co-chair. “It’s only fitting that 26 years later we will once again have an opportunity to work with the NFL to carry out a new community legacy that will have a positive impact on Minnesota children.”

NFL owners will vote on the final site for the February 2018 game on Tuesday, May 20. Details for media availability on May 19-20 will be forthcoming.

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