Mill City Times is a not-for-profit community service. We do not sell advertising on this site.
Community Partners
Thanks to our community partners, whose support makes Mill City Times possible:
MILL CITY FARMERS MARKET
With over 100 local farmers, food makers and artists, MCFM strives to build a local, sustainable and organic food economy in a vibrant, educational marketplace.
Maximizing the visitor experience of Minneapolis for the economic benefit of our community, making Minneapolis the destination of choice among travelers.
Covering life, work, and play in the Historic Mill District and Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront neighborhoods. Have an opinion, local news or events to share? Contact us.
Two weeks ago we wrote about the help we received from Minneapolis Council Member Lisa Goodman and her staff member Ruth in solving a problem affecting our neighborhood. Having moved to the Mill District one year ago, we're still newcomers of sorts. However, with a recent posting from Ross Kaplan on his blog as the latest evidence, it seems like our city government is hard at work for us - at least in the 7th Ward. Below is an excerpt from a blog post from Mr. Kaplan on a problem he was having after a recent power outage:
P.S.: one silver lining in all this? A virtuouso performance by my City Council Member, Lisa Goodman.
In sheer exasperation, I looked up her home phone number Sunday night, and was shocked to find it listed.
I was even more shocked when Ms. Goodman returned my message within 10 minutes.
She proceeded to give me a mini-tutorial on Xcel Energy's inner workings, as well as multiple suggestions for getting action (call the fire dept. if it's genuinely an emergency) and avoiding another power outage (work with neighbors to bury the power line serving our homes).
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) has completed construction of the new playground at 4th Ave N and James I. Rice Parkway in Minneapolis' North Loop neighborhood, and the playground is now open. Undaunted by high winds and cold rain, over 50 volunteers—local, regional, even national—showed up October 26 to assemble the first playground to be built on parkland on the west side of the central Mississippi Riverfront in Minneapolis. “The families of the North Loop have long been advocating for this playground,” said 2nd Park District Commissioner Jon Olson. “The playground has been eagerly anticipated and promises to be well used.”
Though the playground equipment is now fully installed and ready to use, accessible surfacing will not be installed until spring due to the need for warmer temperatures for this work. Park staff may be on site intermittently through spring, as materials arrive and weather permits, to complete additional elements such as site furnishings, water connections and walkways. In spring, more volunteers will plant additional shrubs and perennials in preparation for the June grand opening. The parking lot adjacent to the playground has been reopened.
We inadvertently published items for the wrong dates in todays post for events this weekend. The article has been updated with the correct events for this weekend.
Mill District residents Walter and Joan Mondale were interviewed recently on Minnesota Public Radio on the topic of their long, love filled life together. A couple of mentions are made about one of the landmarks of our neighborhood:
"Today, the Mondales live in a loft overlooking the Stone Arch Bridge in downtown Minneapolis. The walls are decorated with political mementos, memoribilia and artwork. Joan has worked or taught in the arts for decades, earning her the nickname Joan of Art."
"One of their favorite things to do is walk across the Stone Arch Bridge. Even after decades in public life, Joan and Walter Mondale are still humbled when people recognize them on the street."
Former President Jimmy Carter, left, and former Vice President Walter Mondale walk together after helping build a Habitat for Humanity home in Minneapolis, October 6, 2010. (MPR Photo / Jefferey Thompson)
Minnesota Center for Book Arts is pleased to host an exhibition celebrating over 25 years of Minneapolis-based Coffee House Press and its letterpress predecessor Toothpaste Press, founded by Allan Kornblum. See how Coffee House Press has grown from a small mimeographed poetry magazine called Toothpaste to an independent nonprofit publishing company with international reach and an award-winning history of excellence.
With introductory comments from Emilie Buchwald, the opening reception will spotlight founder Allan Kornblum who will present on the the genesis and history of Coffee House and Toothpaste, with refreshments to follow.
The exhibition will be on display through January 9, 2011.
Opening reception: Coffee House and Toothpaste Press: From Letterpress to E-book at the Open Book Cowles Literary Commons
Thursday, November 11; 6:45pm
Location: Open Book at 1011 Washington Avenue South
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board last Wednesday approved West River Parkway as the site for the Remembrance Garden – a memorial to the Aug. 1, 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis.
While no start date was given for construction to begin, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak committed to the memorial being completed in time for a August 1 formal dedication - the 4 year anniverary of the bridge collapse.
Video of the Minneapolis Riverfront Design Competition Press Conference
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and Minneapolis Parks Foundation, with Creative Partners, University of Minnesota College of Design and Walker Art Center, announced the Minneapolis Riverfront Design Competition finalists yesterday:
Ken Smith Workshop | New York City Stoss Landscape Urbanism | Boston Tom Leader Studio | Berkeley Turenscape | Beijing
The teams‘ collective work includes award-winning riverfront and industrial reclamation park projects, in places such as Shanghai, Memphis, Toronto, New York City, Dubai, Milwaukee and London.
Fifty-five design teams responded to the RFQ, and the 13-member jury noted that the quality was exceptionally high. Says Bill Morrish, MR|DC jury member, and Dean of the School of Constructed Environments and Associate Dean, Parsons The New School of Design in New York City, “The four teams we short-listed comprise innovative and inspirational people who will work very hard to create great concepts for the Minneapolis riverfront.” Learn more about their work on the Teams page.
Each team will produce 21st-century parks designs for 220 acres of parkland and the surrounding neighborhoods along both sides of the 5.4-mile stretch of the Mississippi River from the Stone Arch Bridge in the historic downtown Mill District to the city’s northern limits. The winning design will be a comprehensive, integrated vision for the Upper Riverfront that establishes parks as the engine for economic development, transforms the river into a connector rather than a barrier between east and west banks, and refocuses Minneapolis toward what is one of the three great rivers of the world.
The Minnesota Historical Society seeks applicants for an Interpreter I to engage, educate, and entertain visitors to the Mill City Museum and present lessons to school groups using a variety of interpretive and performance techniques to communicate historical information. This is a part-time, regular position (832 annual hours) located at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, MN.
At 1:00 pm yesterday, the first Wednesday of the month, the siren was silent. Great news for the neighborhood, and the family with the 5 month old baby living right next to it.
Ruth from City Council Member Lisa Goodmans' office called this morning with good news - the siren has been deactivated! The City is searching for a new location, and I've been put in touch with the person in charge - stay tuned for more as it becomes available.
Wish I could say it was the result of this story, but the truth is far less dramatic. The truth is heartening as well - all it took was one phone call to City Council Member Lisa Goodmans' office and some behind the scenes work by Ruth. Our immediate neighborhood is now just a little bit better place to live, and I've had a positive first experience working with the City of Minneapolis. Thank you Ruth and Council Member Goodman.
BTW - to be fair to the City of Minneapolis, they did not put the siren next to residential buildings, the siren has been at this location for many years. The buildings actually went up near the siren.
Last week the Minneapolis Zoning and Planning Commission recommended the City Council approve an appeal by Shamrock Development to increase to number of parking spaces allowed at the proposed Park Vista condo development across from Gold Medal Park in the Historic Mill District of Minneapolis.
At its Sept. 7 meeting, the planning commission approved the conditional-use permit for the Park Vista project. On the parking issue, the planning commission approved 1.8 parking spaces per residential unit. The planning commission also added the condition that Stanton provide a shared car, such as HourCar, at the project.
Stanton appealed, making a case for 1.85 spaces per residential unit and protesting the shared-car requirement. Stanton's number includes the 10 visitor parking spaces - seven more than are required by the city. Stanton is proposing underground parking, not a surface parking lot.
Mill City Farmers Market and Mill City Times announced a partnership today aimed at strengthening the ties between local businesses, local sustainable organic agriculture, and building community engagement.
As part of this effort, Mill City Times has become a sponsor of the popular farmers market, located in the Historic Mill District of Minneapolis.
"We are thrilled to have Mill City Times as a new partner of the Mill City Farmers Market! We share a commitment to engaging our community and spreading the word about our wonderful Mill District neighborhood and look forward to working together," said Marjorie Hegstrom, Executive Director of the Mill City Farmers Market.
This emergency siren sits a few feet from the Bidgewater Lofts in the Mill Distrcit of Minneapolis, near the corner of Washington Ave S. and 10th Ave. S. A 5 month old baby lives in the condo directly to the left of the one pictured below.
WARNING - the siren is really loud, be prepared for it at the start of the video below.
Same siren the following month.
The Bridgewater is not the only building affected, as you can see below.
The first video has had a large number of views, and comments. The consensus is it needs to be moved. Here's a sampling of the comments on YouTube:
"The siren really needs to be moved. I couldn't stand living right next to it like that."
"Is the rotator broken? If so, feel lucky. If the horn rotated, or broke when pointing at you, it would be even louder. I agree the placement is very bad, they should have mounted it higher."
"It sounds like you have a pretty good attitude about it being there despite the fact that it was placed so poorly. Good luck with getting it moved to a better spot. They're important devices so have but this is a good example of a poor installation plot."
"I'm just glad they finally disabled the rotator on it so it won't point back around at you guys! There used to be a much smaller building there when the siren was installed, so I can see why it is where it is, but I agree that they should've moved it when that complex was built. On a side note, it is neat to see one from that point of view!"
"Ah, just let it rotate! If the neighbors don't like it, they can just move!
Seriously though, that city really needs to move that siren. The people a mile away that are on the back side of it won't be able to hear it very well during a tornado warning, because it doesn't rotate."
"Not to be rude but thats not the Loudest Siren in the World. out door sirens are loud up close because the sound travels 200 Feet. the siren is a Federal Signal 2001-SRNB.
Nice video though!
I do agree with you about the sirens location. They should put it on the stadiums property."
"geez i bet 500 ppl are upset"
We contacted the office of City Council member Lisa Goodman 3 weeks ago for help on who to speak to regarding moving the siren. We are still waiting for a response.
Update on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 7:40AM by
David Tinjum
I heard from City Council Member Lisa Goodman this morning. Her office is still working on this, we should know more soon. We'll keep you informed throughout the process as we try to get this thing moved.
Update on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 11:06AM by
David Tinjum
Ruth from City Council Member Lisa Goodmans' office called this morning with good news - the siren has been deactivated! The City is searching for a new location, and I've been put in touch with the person in charge - stay tuned for more as it becomes available.
Wish I could say it was the result of this story, but the truth is far less dramatic. The truth is heartening as well - all it took was one phone call to City Council Member Lisa Goodmans' office and some behind the scenes work by Ruth. Our immediate neighborhood is now just a little bit better place to live, and I've had a positive first experience working with the City of Minneapolis. Thank you Ruth and Council Member Goodman.
BTW - to be fair to the City of Minneapolis, they did not put the siren next to residential buildings, the siren has been at this location for many years. The buildings actually went up near the siren.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 6:25AM
