Saturday, April 12: Mill City Farmers Market at the Mill City Museum

Time: 10:00am - 1:00pm, inside the Mill City Museum, 704 South 2nd Street.

Join us for our final Indoor Mill City Farmers Market!

Help us bring Spring in as we prepare for our regular Outdoor Season, which kicks off Mother’s Day weekend on May 10th.
 
Enjoy a dynamic marketplace of over 40 local vendors where you can expect to find everything from beets and cabbage to artisan chocolates, local honey, maple syrup, hand-milled flour, locally harvested wild rice, specialty cheeses, baked goods, kimchi, preserves, and hand-made artisan ceramics, kitchen utensils, and jewelry.
 
Produce Planner: spinach, salad greens, turnip greens, pac choi, carrots, potatoes, onions, beets, garlic, parsnips, dried mushrooms, dried hot peppers, frozen raspberries, and MORE!
 
Live Music, 11 am – 1 pm: MCFM welcomes local harpist Reuben Correa today! Reuben’s harp music is a surround sound experience of beautiful original music, arrangements of popular melodies, classics, show tunes, light jazz, and Celtic stylings.
 
Featured Local Artists: The Ink Orchard, Chris Chookiatsirichai, Old World Cabinet, Aprilierre, and Christy Wetzig.
 
Community Booth: The Minneapolis/St. Paul Film Society. Come find out what’s going on at this year’s International Film Festival, April 3  – 19!

Temporary Parkway Closures April 12 for Goldy’s Run

East River Parkway and West River Parkway will be closed April 12 for Goldy’s Run from 8:00a.m. – 11:00a.m.  Please note that the duration of the closures is subject to change based on the event's start and finish times.

A complete list of current and upcoming parkway closures is available online.

Tomorrow, April 11: Watershed Event: Exploring a New Water Ethic for Minnesota at Mill City Museum

Time: 3:00pm - 9:30pm

Location: Mill City Museum, 704 South 2nd Street

No registration necessary for April 11th events featuring Keynotes, Panel Discussions, Film Screening, and Audience Engagement. The event is free and open to the public.

The University of Minnesota Students for Design Activism are hosting the first ever Watershed Event, a free, public symposium on future scenarios and solutions to clean, abundant water in Minnesota. Set to take place at Mill City Museum on Friday, April 11th, 3pm (session 1), 5:30 pm reception, and 7pm (session 2). The event will bring together water-­focused leaders within agriculture, design, science, activism, and policy, to share knowledge, ideas, and strategies to build a future for how we use and value water. Partners include the Floodplain Collective and the University of Minnesota Department of Landscape Architecture.

In addition to thought-leaders such as William Wenk, Denver-based designer of the Saint Paul Great River Passage, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner, John Linc Stine, Dorene Day of the Indigenous Peoples’ Task Force , and Minnesota Public Radio’s Dave Peters of Ground Level, among others, the inaugural Watershed Event will include:

• Building a future for water: Transforming practice, policy, and implementation (3:00-5:30)

Keynote speaker William Wenk of Wenk Landscape Architecture & Planning will discuss past and future realities of living and working in an arid climate, highlight lessons learned, and the bridge between small-scale strategies and the large problems facing the future of Minnesota’s waters.

• Film Screening: Watershed (7:00-8:00)

Minnesota’s premier film screening of Watershed will examine the questions raised by the use and value of water transported from the Colorado River, activating a parallel conversation about how we can approach and impact the future of our water-rich state.

• Steps towards change: Sources for a new water ethic in Minnesota. (8:00-9:30)

Moderator Matt Kucharski, Executive Vice President of PadillaCRT, branding and marketing, will pose questions that examine how we value water and the role of cultural beliefs, scientific data, and design innovation as sources for a new water ethic that supports clean, abundant water. Panelists such as Deborah Swackhamer, Co-Director of the Water Resources Center, will bring their expertise to discuss action-oriented possibilities affecting water in Minnesota.

The Watershed Event was made possible by the UMN College of Liberal Arts Imagine Fund Grant and UMN Institute on the Environment.

For more, please visit the Watershed Event website at http://watershed.design.umn.edu/. Follow the event on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/studentsfordesignactivismwatershedevent and tell us what you think of the event on Twitter: @SDAumn #watershedevent.

Hennepin County Approves Target Field Station Development Agreements

Via an April 8 Hennepin County e-newsletter:

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, Regional Rail Authority, and Housing and Redevelopment Authority gave approval Tuesday to final agreements with United Properties, the Minnesota Twins and Metro Transit for development around Target Field Station, a multimodal transportation station located just to the west of the ballpark.
 
The station is set to open May 17. This set of agreements clears the way for a second platform for light rail transit, a public plaza connecting to the ballpark promenade, a “Great Lawn” amphitheater, a 289-stall parking ramp, retail space and a landscaped area suitable for additional development.

“Target Field Station is a visionary project that unites transit and entertainment in the core of the region. Seeing these agreements through required hard work and a lot of trust between the negotiating parties,” said Hennepin County Board Chairman Mike Opat. “The result will be a breathtaking piece of architecture that provides essential improvements for transit riders and downtown visitors from all over.”

Eventually, Target Field Station will connect approximately 500 trains arriving and departing daily via the METRO Blue Line (Hiawatha), the METRO Green Line (Central Corridor) and the Northstar Commuter Rail. The METRO Green Line (Southwest) and Blue Line (Bottineau) extensions will bring additional rail service and connections to the region.

“The various lines and transit modes that converge on Target Field Station, coupled with 81 game days each year, makes this a dynamic and exciting space,” said Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin. “ The enormous investment interest in the area has dramatically changed the surrounding tax base. If you put it all together, Hennepin County’s partnership with the Minnesota Twins, Metro Transit, and United Properties will yield an estimated value of approximately $20 million to the County.”

Tens of thousands of rail and bus commuters passing through the area each day will have access to existing amenities such as the ballpark, the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market, abundant entertainment, and other amenities that will be realized as the area is redeveloped.

Minneapolis Historical Mobile Tour Smartphone App Now Available

Via a recent e-newsletter from Preserve Minneapolis:

One of our biggest recent projects has been the Minneapolis Historical Mobile Tour app, and we're pleased to announce that it is now available--for free!--for iPhones and Androids. There are two tours so far: The Old Highland tour (created in partnership with the Old Highland Neighborhood Association) and the Marcy-Holmes tour (created with the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association).

The app offers users an on-the-go look into Minneapolis's past, from the well-known headlines to the forgotten tales and people. Learn more and download it now at http://cts.vresp.com/c/?PreserveMinneapolis/a00b9228f7/719e9f393a/8d82433f21.

Special thanks to our project partners, and to all the Preserve Minneapolis donors whose generous contributions helped bring this app to life.

The Bohemian Flats: A Novel

University of Minnesota Press has announced the May 2014 release of The Bohemian Flats: A Novel, a sweeping historical novel set in part in the Bohemian Flats neighborhood of Minneapolis during the pre-WWI era. The story carries us from the bourgeois world of turn-of-the-century Germany to a vibrant immigrant enclave in the heart of the Midwest and to the killing fields of World War I.

Author Mary Relindes Ellis will discuss The Bohemian Flats: A Novel at several upcoming area events:

11:30 AM, Saturday, April 26, at Scout & Morgan Books (114 Buchanan St. N., Cambridge; (763) 689-2474)
 2:00 PM, Saturday, May 3, at Chapter 2 Books (226 Locust St., Hudson; (715) 220-8818)
 7:00 PM, Tuesday, May 6, at Common Good Books (38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul; (651) 225-8989)

THE BOHEMIAN FLATS: A Novel
By Mary Relindes Ellis
University of Minnesota Press | 336 pages | May 2014
ISBN 978-0-8166-9220-0 | paperback | $16.95

Vikings Stadium Construction - Week 20

The first walls are going up:

We're attempting to publish a photo with this same view each week from the start of construction through the first game played at the new Minnesota Vikings Stadium in Downtown Minneapolis.

Northern Spark 2014 - Update #2

Northern Spark Launch Party Pre-Sale Tickets Available April 8

This year plan to kick off your all-night art adventure at the official Northern Spark Launch Party, 7pm-9pm at the newly-renovated Orchestra Hall.

A $50 ticket gets you noshes by Travail, Mill Valley Kitchen, Marin, Sparks, Black Sheep Pizza, Phillip and Desiree Dorwart from Create Catering, Whole Foods, and more—with brews from Indeed Brewery, Morning Star Coffee, and others, plus ambient music by local favorite Dosh.  

At the party there will also be drawing for a unique prize created by artist HOTTEA. All proceeds go to support Northern Spark!

Pre-sale tickets to the Launch Party are available when you support Northern Spark 2014 on Kickstarter—starting April 8.

Three-Session Bioethics Series Offered in the Mill District

Registration is open for Mini Bioethics Academy, sponsored by the Center for Bioethics and open to anyone interested in learning about and discussing bioethical issues.

Topics include: The Affordable Care Act as Health Care Reform: Fact, Fiction, Spin; Health Care Directives: Beyond the Document to the Conversation; and Shades of Gray: Ethics and Controversies about Brain Death.

Attendees may join one or more of the upcoming sessions: 6:30-8:30 pm, April 22, 29, and May 6, Mill City Innovation & Collaboration Center, 901 S. Second St., Mpls. Learn more.

Today: MSP International Film Festival Begins (runs thru April 19)

The largest film event in the region, and one of the largest and longest running film festivals in the country, the MSP International Film Festival annually presents some 200 feature length and short form narrative and documentary films from 60+ countries.

Ticket Info
Regular Screenings: $12 General Admission | $10 Film Society Members | $6 Students w/ Student ID. Certain films have different ticket prices. That information will be noted on the films’ pages.

Ordering online is easy. Browse the films, find one you want to see, and click the showtime of the screening you wish to attend. You don’t have to worry about printing out and forgetting your tickets at home – just bring the credit card with which you made the purchase to the box office.

Film Society Members, make sure to select the member ticket price and be able to present your membership card at the box office!

Brunch at Day Block Brewing Company

Did you know Day Block Brewing Company has a Sunday brunch menu?

Loved the BENE pizza - you can dip the outer crust in the soft egg yolks.  :)

The Baron of Bubble at Father Hennepin Bluffs Park

While out enjoying the glorious weather this past Sunday, who should we come upon at Father Hennepin Bluffs Park?  None other than The Baron of Bubble.   :)

Vikings Stadium Construction - Week 19

The hole continues to grow:

We're attempting to publish a photo with this same view each week from the start of construction through the first game played at the new Minnesota Vikings Stadium in Downtown Minneapolis.

Signs of the Times - Valspar & Pillsbury

Historic signs have been a hot topic at City Hall recently.  Valspar won a zoning variance to allow for preservation of 'ghost signs" uncovered during exterior renovation of their old headquarters building in the Mill District.   The restoration and re-lighting of the Pillsbury Best Flour sign on the Minneapolis Riverfront goes before the Heritage Preservation Commission tomorrow.  Staff reports and pictures below:

Valspar staff report:

https://app.box.com/shared/static/jh60nx0reqoi56jo5m0a.pdf

Valspar plan, with illustrations (large download):

https://app.box.com/shared/static/gfnavw4fkvu0q8wdylnc.pdf

Pillsbury staff report:

https://app.box.com/shared/static/m8odys92o9wcjqdvocaz.pdf

Pillsbury plan, with illustrations (large download):

https://app.box.com/shared/static/yn4bj32fyd1z9gp5yjpt.pdf

This Sunday: 30 Days of Biking 2014 Kick Off at Gold Medal Park

OMG - Did you see the weather report for Sunday ? ! ?

Looks like a perfect day for the 11:00am kick off of 30 Days of Biking’s fifth year.

Details:

We’ll gather at Gold Medal Park at 11 a.m., kick off around noon, and end at Red Stag Supperclub. We'll have spoke cards for you, too! First-come, first-served.

Our ride leader and MC is Mario Macaruso; 2F4L (a.k.a., Eric Shoultz) will snap the group photo; and Recovery Bike Shop will provide mechanical superheroism. Let's ride.

Pledge to bike every day in April at http://30daysofbiking.com/pledge.

Pothole Update from Mayor Betsy Hodges

Via a March 26, 2014, e-newsletter from Mayor Betsy Hodges:

Dear Friend,

Last month, I sent you a message saying that while warm weather was good news, potholes are not. Today, I would say the same thing. The flux in temperatures has continued to create potholes all across the area, as water gets into small cracks, freezes again, and then expands to create bigger cracks. When that happens over and over, the potholes get bigger and more numerous.

To meet this year's worse-than-usual conditions, we are doing more than usual to overcome them. Working with my colleagues on the City Council, I will be moving forward a request to add an extra $1 million for pothole repair this year.

What we’ve been doing

Right now, city crews are focused on temporary repairs for potholes. The ambient and pavement temperatures are still too cold to allow the materials needed for permanent repairs to adhere to the pavement. This means crews are only able to “fill” potholes and not yet “repair” them.
While filling potholes are only temporary fixes, crews are able to do them rather quickly. Right now the City is running at least two to three crews dedicated to pothole filling, covering as much ground as possible, taking care of the worst areas right off the bat.

What we’ll be doing next

Permanent repairs typically start with the beginning of the summer construction/maintenance season, which starts next week for 2014. City crews will begin to transition to permanent repairs next week. We are hopeful the warm temperatures this weekend will finally warm things up enough to allow for permanent repairs. We already have access to hot mix asphalt from the St. Paul Public Works municipal asphalt plant, which we will use as soon as it can adhere to the pavement. If the temperatures are still too cold, crews will continue in “fill mode” and then return to permanent repairs as conditions allow.

Permanent repairs require additional work, so they do take longer to do. While that will slow down the process, we have a plan in place to make sure we continue covering as much ground as possible.

Accelerating pothole repair work

The additional $1 million in funding will allow the city to bring on additional, temporary labor to create up to two additional crews for two months. We will also contract with a pothole patching service provider for two spray patching units for about two months, or as needed. Each of these units is essentially like having an additional crew, which means we will be doubling and in some cases tripling our efforts.

The late departure of winter has also slightly delayed some of our street construction – these crews will focus on potholes for a short period until they can start up.

I’m staying focused on the good news, which is that spring is increasingly upon us and our crews are working hard to keep Minneapolis pothole-free. I’m happy to see that many potholes have been filled… but I know others are popping up. I appreciate your helping reporting these and hope to continue to see improvements.

Thanks,
 
Mayor Betsy Hodges
City of Minneapolis

Northern Spark 2014 - Update #1

Many of us missed having the Northern Spark event in our Mill District and surrounding neighborhoods last year. We were excited to learn they're returning to Minneapolis for 2014.  To whet your appetite, below are the first of many ongoing updates we'll post between now and June 14.

Luke Savisky to Animate Gold Medal Silos with You

Northern Lights.mn is excited to bring a monumental work by Austin, TX-based artist, projectionist and performer Luke Savisky to Northern Spark 2014.

Working with multiple video projections layered and montaged over the Gold Medal silos in Minneapolis, Savisky will animate the structure with the help of Northern Spark participants in a project titled E/x MN. Participants will enter Savisky's dreamscape by reclining on specially-made filming platforms and performing for the camera. Live video feed of participants will be projected onto the massive silos; their images will appear to move through the structures and interact with each other, unfolding a broken and spontaneous narrative. Enduring and changing through the night, the video projections will create a beautiful and immersive transformation of both the iconic silos and the people who experience Northern Spark.

Ghostly Streetcar Will Project the Past into the Present

The Shiny Naughty Collective (Marieka Heinlen, Sarah Honeywell, and Angela Maki Jones) have teamed up with The Flightless Bird Brothers (Jeremy Clark and John Murphy) to create an installation titled Razing Minneapolis—or—The Ghostly Streetcar History Tour. This apparition will project historic architectural silhouettes on modern buildings, telling stories of our lost Twin Cities, in the West River Parkway zone during Northern Spark 2014.

You may remember the Shiny Naughty Collective for their past appearances at Northern Spark with the Naughty Shanty (2012) and Kaleidoscope Shanty (2013) as part of Art Shanty Projects. The Ghostly Streetcar History Tour is their first independently presented Northern Spark project.

Events to spark your interest

Luke Savisky Happy Hour • March 27 @ 6pm-7:30pm Join Northern Spark staff and volunteers for a casual happy hour at Zen Box Izakaya to welcome artist Luke Savisky to Minneapolis. Northrop Grand Re-Opening begins • April 4, 2014 Events include the Northrop Inside Out Grand Reopening Gala performance, reception, and Inside Out After Dark dance party. Art(ists) on the Verge 5 artist talks • April 12 @ 2pm + April 19 @ noon AOV5 fellow Aaron Marx (NS 2014 project with MakeSh!t) will discuss his work currently on view at The Soap Factory. Northern Spark 2014 • June 14 @ 9:01pm - 5:26am Only 81 days away!

MPRB Announces May - August 2014 Park Highlights

Via a March 24 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board:

Looking for some fun-filled activities for you and your family this spring and summer? Spend the season with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB)!

The newest edition of our park highlights brochure was mailed to all Minneapolis households inside the Minneapolis Public Schools Community Education catalog in early March.

Hold onto your park highlights guide all season long – it features more than 40 popular events for friends and family throughout the summer and opportunities to stay active and save up to $30 by using the discount codes when you register for the Gridiron Gallop, Hot Dam 5K Run and Walk and the Minneapolis Bike Tour

For those residing outside of Minneapolis – and for anyone looking for a sneak peak – be sure to check out the electronic version of the park highlights brochure.

We've got some great things lined up in the parks during the months to come – so mark your calendars now!

4th Annual Downtown Greening Awards

Vikings Stadium Construction - Week 18

The hole is getting bigger:

We're attempting to publish a photo with this same view each week from the start of construction through the first game played at the new Minnesota Vikings Stadium in Downtown Minneapolis.