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.
Experience the power of the mighty Mississippi River as it flows over St. Anthony Falls!
Water Power Park is accessible from Main Street just across from St. Anthony Main, and provides the closest possible approaches to the falls.
;)
The Central Corridor Project Office has changed the format of the construction updates for West Bank and East Bank in Minneapolis. These two updates are now combined into one update for the area to provide information in a more complete format. Construction on one can affect travel to the other bank.
Updates are sent out every Friday. Schedules subject to change due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances! Check here frequently for updates.
West Bank Overview
Click here for an overview of 2011 work planned on the West Bank, including the Washington Avenue Bridge.
Minneapolis Animation
Click hereto view an animation of LRT along Washington Avenue to Stadium Village.
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Mill City Museum (6th Floor ADM Conference Room) 704 South Second Street
On March 21 The City of Minneapolis announced an upcoming community meeting to discuss the history of the St. Anthony Falls Historic District and introduce the process to develop the new historic district design guidelines. The community meeting will be held at Mill City Museum.
Historic district design guidelines are a local policy and regulatory
tool used in decision-making to evaluate alterations and new development
within the historic district. The new design guidelines will include
guidance on the following:
* Archaeological sites and sites of specific cultural/historical significance.
* Existing and new infrastructure; sites of specific engineering and transportation significance.
* Natural features and open space.
* Existing buildings and the construction of new buildings; sites of specific architectural significance.
The Need
The current Design Guidelines for the district were adopted by the
Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission in 1980. In the three
decades since the existing design guidelines were adopted, the district
has seen dramatic change. Access to and interaction with the falls and
the river has evolved, infrastructure has been added, project plans have
been developed and realized, and the understanding and knowledge of the
historic resources in the district have increased. The field of
preservation has also evolved from a disciplinary perspective. It is no
longer sufficient to simply save and re-use a specific collection of
historic buildings or properties. In order to create and sustain
economically successful places, it has become critical to evaluate and
carefully consider how entire environments function as a diverse, but
unified cultural landscape.
The existing design guidelines for the historic district provide a set
of architectural standards for new building construction based on a
series of discreet sub-districts. The existing document was not crafted
in a time when it was considered necessary to address some of the basic
and key features of the district: the falls, the river, industrial
infrastructure, archaeology and landscape features.
The update to the design guidelines will take a holistic approach toward
the many features that make up the essential character of the district -
one that balances preservation, restoration, and rehabilitation with the
opportunity that comes from integrating new infrastructure, new uses,
higher densities, new buildings, and new landscapes. New design
guidelines need to address the entire cultural landscape of the St.
Anthony Falls Historic District to steward the entire collection of
resources into the Twenty-first Century.
There was a 30 Days of Biking articlein the April 5 Star Trib Variety section. We watched from our balcony as that group gathered atop Gold Medal Park for their Kick Off Ride this past Friday night:
Last night Brenda Langton, along with her Spoonriver and Mill City Farmers Market (MCFM) staffs and select vendors, hosted a Spring Preview Party at Spoonriver. Seeing familiar faces from the Market and sampling yummy food, combined with the early evening sun, helped put the unusually long winter behind us.
The place was packed, and if you weren't able to attend, here's what you missed:
Above, Brenda with Spoonriver Chef, Heather. Below, Jeffrey started us off with an intoxicating concoction.
Above, Jesse Haas, MCFM Assistant Manager, and Aaron Reser, MCFM Market Manager, greeted guests. Below, attendees enjoying themselves:
Below, Spoonriver Chef Heather describes the delicious, colorful salad she created for the Preview Party.
Spoonriver Chef Stephanie skillfully whipped up buttermilk crepes with goat cheese, herbs and chioggia beets:
Josh Resnik of Wild Idea Buffalo Company served buffalo brisket hash with mashed potatoes:
Steven Read of Shepherd's Way Farms provided samples of Big Woods Blue, Shepherds Hope and Friesago cheeses:
Zoie Glass (below, left) of Lucille's Kitchen Garden gave me a crash course in ways to enjoy their gourmet jellies.
Lesley Powers of Bliss Gourmet Foods served up several varieties of granola. (It doesn't matter which flavor you choose - it's all delish.)
Fereidoon (Fred) Golchin of French Nugget offers a guilt free pleasure comprised of 100% dark chocolate, almonds, honey and raisins:
Even if you missed the party, you can still become a Friend of the Market and donate any amount towards the sustainability of the Mill City Farmers Market. Don't forget to mark your calendar for Saturday, May 7 - Opening Day! :)
Time: 7:00pm
Location: The Loft, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Target Performance Hall
Graywolf Press and The Loft celebrate the publication of the latest poetry collection by Jim Moore, Invisible Strings.
A founding member of the Loft Literary Center, Jim Moore is the author of six previous books of poetry, including Lightning at Dinner. He lives in St. Paul and Spoleto, Italy, with his wife, the photographer JoAnn Verburg.
About Invisible Strings
Brief, jagged, haiku-like, Jim Moore’s poems in Invisible Strings observe time moving past us moment by moment. In that accrual, line by line, is the anxiety and acceptance of aging, the mounting losses of friends to death or divorce, the accounting of frequent-flyer miles and cups of coffee, and the poet’s own process of writing. It is a world of both diminishment and triumphs. Moore has assembled his most emotionally direct and lyrically spare collection, one that amounts to his book of days, seasons, and stark realizations.
“The moods [Moore] evokes include wistfulness, of course, and the deeper, more poignant ones of love and grief. . . . The experiences giving rise to the poems are the poet’s, and there’s no need to think the poet isn’t Moore, whose art consists of successfully making himself and the reader identical, so that this book will be turned to, by those to and for whom it speaks, again and again and again.”
Free
;)
Aloft Minneapolis, the hip, 155-room hotel located at 900 Washington Avenue South, opened in the Mill District on August 8, 2008. It is part of the Starwood family, and guests earn Starpoints with each stay.
Jenai Sele, Sales & Social Media Manager, (below) took a break from her busy schedule to give us a tour and provide insight on what makes Aloft not only a great choice for lodging, but for neighborhood events as well.
A native of Grand Forks, Jenai has been with Aloft since moving to Minneapolis two years ago. She held positions at the front desk and as Sales Coordinator prior to her promotion this January to her current position.
Below, the wxyz bar and lounge area look out onto the courtyard. You can just hang out, or shoot a game a pool, play shuffleboard or other games.
The wxyz bar has a tasty selection of appetizers, including (but not limited to) pizza, burgers, quesadillas and tator tots. Happy hours are 5p-7p and 10p-Midnight.
While Aloft doesn't offer room service, their "re-fuel" station - including sandwiches, salads, fruit, snacks, etc. - is open 24 hours.
Other amenities include:
- 24-hour access to workout facility
- Pool open 6a - 10p
- Sundry shop
- Free shuttle within a 5-mile radius
- On-site washer and dryer
- Meeting room facility for up to 75, with in-house food and beverage service and full AV package.
Click here for additional amenities.
;)
There are adjoining rooms available, and this property has one suite with a King bed and full living area including dinette (with a downtown view, of course). The rooms are comfortable and designed efficiently. Lack of bathroom counter space is my number one beef with hotels, so I was really impressed with the ample counter space here.
Aloft offers an $89/night "condo" rate for guests of Mill District residents. A Nice Ride station was recently installed on Washington on front of the hotel.
Sample events that both Mill District residents and hotel guests can enjoy:
- Friday night DJ's spin from 9:30pm-1:30am.
- New in March, 2011 - guests can show their room key at the Guthrie ticket desk for 50% off the price of a select shows.
- A popular offering started in 2010, Aloft's package deal including a BBQ followed by a show at the Guthrie.
- Returning April 4 - live music every Wednesday night. Weather permitting, it's in the courtyard. If the weather isn't nice, it's in the lounge area.
- In addition to corporate meetings, Aloft also hosts special events. For example, Fashion Week is coming up, and there will be a Runway Show on April 8.
With all the picturesque spots for wedding photos in our neighborhood, it not surprising that Aloft is popular with wedding parties. Starting in May, they average up to 3 wedding couples per week.
Jenai loves technology and social media. Follow Aloft on Facebook and Twitter.
Final note, and it's rather embarrassing, I've always pronounced the name "AY-loft" - it's actually ah-loft. Dah.
Time: 4:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Spoonriver, 704 2nd Street South
Become a Friend of the Market and donate any amount towards the sustainability of your Mill City Farmers Market.
To say THANKS, please join us at the Spring Preview Party at spoonriver restaurant April 4th from 4:00 to 7:00 pm.
Come for a delicious sampling of healthy, mouthwatering treats, meet our new vendors and greet some of your old favorites, too!
Earlier this year 
Dave and I became members of Mill City Commons. We joined for a number of reasons, including the ability to attend interesting member-only events, meet fascinating people, and to have more of a hands on role in helping with their various fundraising activities.
Unfortunately, our schedules prohibit us from attending as many events as we'd like. For example, last week more than 30 members enjoyed hearing New York Times columnist and PBS News Hour contributor David Brooks talk about his latest book, The Social Animal.
This week members will have the opportunity to attend two educational and interesting tours.
The first will provide a first hand look at how emergency 911 operators and police and fire dispatchers perform during a tour of the Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center. The second is a tour of the Goldstein Museum of Design's latest exhibit, Smart House, Livable Community, Your Future. This exhibit explores the housing trend of aging in place. Mill City Commons is sited at the exhibit as an innovation village supporting this trend. Included will be the premier screening of "Smart House, Livable Community," a tpt production based on the exhibition.
To learn more about Mill City Commons, please visit the website, or contact Linnea at 612-455-3329 or linneatweed@millcitycommons.org.
We stopped by Sorella Wine & SpiritsFriday night for some Blue Moon, and literally had to wade through the crowd of customers who were enjoying the in-store wine tasting and Spring Wine Sale.
;)
April 1 e-newsletter Board updates from Jan Callison, Hennepin County Commissioner:
FY2012 Federal Funding Requests Approved:
- Hennepin County Medical Center: $500,000 for family medicine residency educational facilities and equipment;
- NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center: $18 million for North Minneapolis Community Wellness Center;
- 911 Dispatch Center: $3.5 million for technology;
- Juvenile systems integrations: $700,000 for technology to move critical data electronically between justice partners;
- Electronic data and information sharing: $900,000 for develop,ent and enhancement;
- Minneapolis Interchange: $21 million for project development;
- Southwest Transitway: $1 million for environmental studies and project development
- I-35W and Lake Street: $6 million for road and transit access from Lake Street<<Nullam felis>>
March 29, 2011:
- A policy to ban use of tobacco products on all county property was approved. All county sites must be completely tobacco-free by December 31, 2011.
- Victory Memorial Drive re-dedication is scheduled for June 11. This year is the 90th anniversary of the World War I memorial which recently underwent a $6 million restoration and renovation.
- County commissioners return pay and encourage employees to take special leave without pay to help address county budget deficits.
- Approved the use of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) exterior walls for an artistice light projection display highlighting processes from within the facility that convert waste to energy. The light display is part of the Northern Lights' Northern Spark Art Festival June 4-5
- The board, acting as the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA), approved Kimle-Horn and Associates, Inc. to conduct the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Bottineau Corridor for transitway development.
- The board accepted a $347,548 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to continue providing intensive case management services for multi-problem, chronic shelter-using families.
-The board approved an agreement with Project for Pride in Living Enterprisses, Inc. (PPL) and The Network for Better Futures to help increase reuse/recycling efforts while providing job training and living-wage jobs for hard-to-employ individuals.
- The board re-appointed or appointed several residents to citizen advisory boards.
For video and minutes of County Board meetings: Hennepin County website.
We're only 5 short weeks away from the May 7 Opening Day at the 2011 Mill City Farmers Market!
Every Saturday until opening day, we'll be posting pictures from the 2010 MCFM to help get you in the mood...
See you there!
From 30 Days of Biking website:
Location: Gold Metal Park
Description: Friday, April 1. Starts at Gold Medal Park. This is sure to be an epical ride! We meet at 6 p.m., we ride at 6:30 p.m.
Start Time: 6:00 p.m.
Events this weekend in and around the Historic Mill District of Minneapolis and across the Stone Arch Bridge in Old St. Anthony.
Friday, April 1
Mentor Series: Kristin Naca with Kimberly Brown and Carolyn Williams-Noren at The Loft
MacPhail Faculty Concert Series
Saturday, April 2
Second Story Reading: Donna Jo Napoli and Ricki Thompson at The Loft
Keyboard Master Class: Julia & Irina Elkina Russian Traditions in Piano Pedagogy at MacPhail
Benefit for Japan at MacPhail Center for Music
How'd They Do That Workshop at the Guthrie - Arms and the Man
Sunday, April 3
ensemble dal niente at the Southern Theater
NT Live Filmed Frankenstein at the Guthrie
Weekend Brunch
Saturday & Sunday
Brunch at Spoonriver
750 South 2nd St (at Chicago Ave S)
Minneapolis, MN 55401
612-436-2236
Reservations recommended
10:00am - 2:00pm
Saturday & Sunday
Brunch at the Aster Cafe
St. Anthony Main
125 SE Main Street
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-379-3138
Until 2pm.
Sunday
Brunch at Spill the Wine
1101 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55415
612-339-3388
brunch buffet 10am- 2pm Sunday
$12/person (kids 3 and under eat free, 4-12 years are 1/2 price!)
includes: eggs, bacon, french toast, hash browns, fresh salad and fruit, pastries, build your own omlette bar and more...
featuring absolut bloody bar for $5.
also offering fair trade coffee and full bar.
Time: 7:30pm
Location: St. Anthony Main Theatre, 115 Main Street SE
With sell-out crowds at last year's festival, Minnesotans' love affair with Cuban cinema is clear. And it is also clear that there is a hunger for information about this intriguing island to our south, so rich in music and the arts. Yet, despite all that we have to share with one another, our government still denies us access. So, although most of us can't get there in person, we can get a taste of Cuban life through the movies.
The film is subtitled, and will be followed at a nearby bistro with a discussion.
Admission: $7.00.
For more information: www.minnesotacubacommittee.org or 763-228-2899.
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Join Mill City Farmers Market as a VOLUNTEER and help keep them celebrating "Healthy Foods, Local Farmers" for its 6th season!
Living Green Expo
Represent Mill City Farmers Market at the Living Green Expo! Market Staff will be busy hosting Opening Day at MCFM, so we need your help spreading the good word at this great event!
Make Dirt, Not Waste!
Interested in minimizing waste and promoting composting in your community? Volunteer as a Zero Waste Educator (ZWE) and help sustain the 1st Zero Waste market in Minnesota! ZWEs staff Zero Waste stations to direct and educate customers on waste diversion and zero waste opportunities.
Mill City Cooks
Mill City Cooks is our weekly cooking demo featuring market goods. This role includes assisting market chefs Nick Schneider and Heather Hartman with set-up, demo food prep, plating & serving samples and is ideal for novice or experienced foodies!
Events & Office
Occasionally we need help during the work week on various projects behind the scenes, including making signs, stuffing envelopes and more!
For more information about the volunteer opportunities at the market, visit the website, or contact volunteers@millcityfarmersmarket.org.
Time: 6:30pm
Location: The Zenith, 901 2nd Street South - Unit 904
The next Yoga event in an ongoing series hosted by Victoria Rico will be March 31. Victoria is excited to have Inanna Jessup, the Assistant Manager atCorePower Yoga, 501 Washington Avenue South, lead this session. Inanna will guide the class through a C2 practice.
Space is limited - the first 15 people to call, text or email Victoria will enjoy this yoga class with beverages and snacks afterwards. To make a reservation for this free yoga class at the Zenith Condominiums, contact Victoria at 612-554-7755 or victoria@victoriarico.com.
Victoria teaches at CorePower Yoga and wants to remind everyone that at Corepower Yoga (CPY) the first week is free. Seven days of free yoga – what a treat! Even if you do not want to join CPY – it's worth it just to take a couple classes in the heat – although there are classes without heated studios. Not only are some of the classes heated, but the humidity is cranked as well. As you tap into your breath you will stretch, bend, twist, bind, sweat & detoxify.
CorePower Yoga, 501 Washington Avenue, is located on the 2nd floor. With 3 studios, there are a variety of classes throughout the day. For additional information regarding the various classes at CorePower Yoga, click here.
Time: 8:30am-9:30am
Location: People Serving People, 614 South 3rd Street
Tour People Serving People with staff members, and find out what a typical day at People Serving People is like in just a half hour. Coffee and light breakfast served, and Q&A with staff afterwards.
RSVP to Lauren at 612-277-0219.
;)
CELEBRATING THE BEST OF INTERNATIONAL AND INDEPENDENT FILM!
(Minneapolis, Minn.) The Film Society of Minneapolis-St. Paul has announced that the 2011 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival is slated for April 14 through May 5 - presenting over 170 films from some 50 countries at the five-screen St. Anthony Main Theatre. For three weeks, the Twin Cities celebrates the arrival of the best of international and independent filmmaking in the region.
Included in this year’s programming is a great slate of French films marking the Year of France in Minnesota. Also noteworthy: an impressive group of music-themed films, and the ever-popular Minnesota-Made Showcase. In addition, the festival will host many visiting filmmakers from all corners of the globe participating in panel discussions and presentations, and attending a host of festival receptions and gala events.
In fact, Michael Henry Wilson and Carole Wilson, the filmmakers behind South Africa’s Reconciliation: Mandela’s Miracle, will attend the festival!
As a part of the Minnesota-Made Showcase, we are thrilled to host the Minnesota sneak preview of Stuck Between Stations on our closing night, directed by Brady Kiernan, and featuring the likes of Sam Rosen, Zoe Lister Jones, Michael Imperioli, and Josh Hartnett. What’s more, we are excited to announce that director Brady Kiernan will attend the showing!
In addition, we are proud to present Minnesota producer Harvey Cook as he displays his work on the film King of Luck, documenting life on tour with Willie Nelson and Billy Bob Thornton.
Reconciliation: Mandela’s Miracle
Documentary
Directed by Michael Henry Wilson
South Africa, 2010, in English
Nelson Mandela saved his country from bloody civil war and dismantled the system of apartheid through the spirit of reconciliation. Reconciliation: Mandela's Miracle details the events that lead up to what South African's have coined "Mandela's miracle," a strategy that shepherded in a peaceful transition from apartheid to a democracy. It is driven by the notion that even the most terrible tyranny can be overcome through reconciliation, as both the oppressed and the oppressors need to be liberated from the vice-grip of prejudice and injustice. Additionally, we visit Clint Eastwood on the set of Invictus. His outsider's perspective finds in Mandela an exemplary hero who broke down an inhumane ideology after having been its most notorious victim: "a Biblical figure" whose wisdom will be a source of inspiration for future generations. He sums it up simply: "The world needs people like him." -Michael Henry Wilson
Broken Dreams
Documentary
Directed by Fathia Absie
USA, 2010
Broken Dreams is documentary film about the Vanishing Somali youth of Minneapolis, MN, home to the nation’s largest Somali immigrant community. Most of these boys left Somalia as refugees when they were very young. Some of them came here in the United States as toddlers while some of them were born outside Somalia in refugee camps and elsewhere. These boys were the lucky ones who have been given the opportunity to come to the United States of America as refugees. Many of these young men had a bright future and were pursuing their American dream, when somehow they decided to just give up everything and to go back to Somalia to fight alongside Al-Shabab, the terrorist group that has links to Al-Qaida. 6 of them are now dead and were killed when the rest of the group, and 16 or more are missing in action. No one knows there whereabouts. This documentary tells the story of some of the deceased boys and their parents. This is the first time that these parents openly talked about the hopes and dreams of their sons. This documentary talks to the community leaders, imams and the youth in order to examine how this story affected the entire Somali American community in the U.S. -Fathia Absie, director
Aftershock
Narrative
Directed by Xioagang Feng
China, 2010, Mandarin with English subtitles
Seven-year-old Fang Deng is enjoying a tranquil summer night with her parents and younger brother, not knowing that in a few hours her father will be gone and her mother will make a decision that will haunt her life for the next 32 years.
On the early morning of July 28, 1976, the northern Chinese city of Tangshan is flattened by an earthquake that measures 7.8 on the Richter scale.
The disaster kills more than 240,000 residents, including Fang Deng's father. Now, her mother, Li Yuanni, has to make a decision. Her two children are both buried underneath a thick cement slab, and saving either one of them will put the other's life at risk. Li Yuanni can only hear her son from the debris, and she is running out of time, so she chooses to abandon Fang Deng, unaware that her daughter is conscious enough to realize what the decision means for her. But Fang Deng eventually survives and grows up with adoptive parents until another major earthquake 32 years later brings her back to her lost family.
Wrecked
Narrative
Directed by Michael Greenspan
USA/Canada, 2011, in English
A man wakes up in a mangled car in the middle of the woods, covered in blood, with a dead body in the backseat, a gun on the floor, and no idea who he is. Through the static of the half-working radio, he learns that three men are wanted for double murder, and the name of one of the suspects matches a debit card he finds in the car. Discovering a bag of cash in the trunk, he begins to connect the dots and tries to come to terms with the fact that he’s probably a vicious criminal on the run. Then the hallucinations start. Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody almost one-handedly carries this intense psychological thriller. Director Michael Greenspan and writer Christopher Dodd have crafted a tense, unnerving story of man against nature, and the depths of the unhinged mind.
For more information about the 2011 International Film Festival and other Film Society Programming contact Ryan Oestreich, at 612 331-7563, or visit the 2011 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival website.
Mill City Times | 35W Bridge Memorial | Mill District Block Party | Mill City Media
Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 4:00AM
