Minneapolis Convention Center Recognized for Achievement of Sustainability

MCC Earns Gold Certification for Events Industry Council Sustainable Event Standards

The Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC) recently announced it has achieved Gold Level certification for the Events Industry Council (EIC) Sustainable Event Standards. 

The EIC Sustainable Event Standards are specific standards for environmental and social responsibility within the events industry. Created by the EIC Sustainability Committee in partnership with industry professionals and leading sustainability practitioners, the requirements provide event planners and suppliers with prescriptive actions for producing and delivering sustainable events. 

“This is great news for the Minneapolis Convention Center and all of us working to make Minneapolis the sustainable destination choice for meeting and event planners,” said Jeff Johnson, MCC Executive Director. “Achieving this not only recognizes our industry-leading sustainability efforts, but also provides a roadmap for measuring and improving our sustainable event programs on an ongoing basis.”  

In addition to its EIC certification, previous sustainability recognition for the MCC includes:

• Leader in Sustainability by the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC)
• LEED v4 Certification for Existing Building Operations and Maintenance
• Silver certification under the Sustainable SITES Initiative rating system for achievement in landscape sustainability for the redesigned MCC Plaza – the nation’s first SITES certified project to be located at a convention center and the first ever SITES certified project in the Upper Midwest  

The MCC is a proud and proven industry leader in sustainability. Highlights include:

• A stormwater catchment system that annually prevents up to 5 million gallons of rainwater runoff from entering the Mississippi River by redirecting it to an underground storage system used for the facility’s irrigation
• More than 2,600 solar panels on the MCC’s rooftop which supply 5% of the 100% renewable energy used – the other remaining 95% comes from Xcel Energy’s locally sourced wind and solar energy
• The 2.5-acre MCC Plaza, downtown Minneapolis’ most sustainable public green space, built on top of an underground parking deck and features an urban meadow planted with native tree, wildflower and prairie grass species to create downtown’s largest pollinator refuge

"We are delighted to see a major facility such as Minneapolis Convention Center continue its commitment to sustainability,” said Amy Calvert, EIC CEO. “This certification demonstrates a strong commitment to the environmentally and socially responsible practices that are needed to support long-term sustainability in our industry." 

The EIC Sustainable Event Standards specify performance criteria in the areas of organizational management, marketing, communications and engagement, climate action, water management, materials and circularity, supply chain management, diversity, equity and inclusion, accessibility and social impact. 

BPA iCompli Sustainability, a division of BPA Worldwide, a nonprofit international auditing organization headquartered in Shelton, Conn., developed the certification protocols for EIC Sustainable Event Standards and performed the independent third-party certification of the MCC’s compliance with the Venue standard. 

"Our certification to the event sustainability standards created by EIC, and now adopted by the Minneapolis Convention Center, continues our long-standing commitment to promote transparency in the events industry,” noted Richard Murphy, President and CEO of BPA Worldwide. 

For more information on the MCC’s sustainability initiatives, visit www.minneapolis.org/minneapolis-convention-center/about/sustainability/.

MPRB Seasonal Maintenance Update: New Online Map Shows Real-time Drinking Fountain Status

After a heatwave and snow all in a few days, more traditional spring weather seems to be taking hold. Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) staff have been monitoring the forecast all along and working to open park restrooms, turn on drinking fountains and bottle-filler stations and start up other seasonal plumbing.

New: Online map shows drinking fountain status

The map shows where and when drinking fountains are operating in parks, along trails, at golf courses and other places in the park system. Click on the dot for each fountain to see its features and when it was turned on or off or closed for repairs. 

The map can help park users when planning activities, especially in spring and fall when seasonal preparations are underway. It's available at minneapolisparks.org/fountains or minneapolisparks.org/drinking-fountains.

Priorities for plumbing start-up

In general, staff turn on water at park facilities in the following order. Priorities are based on site type and water functions, with exceptions for special needs, such as garden irrigation.  

• High-use buildings and rental sites (picnics, weddings, events)
  
  
• Exterior restrooms and drinking fountains 
  
  
• Irrigation and decorative fountains

Coming in May: Updates on openings for wading pools and splash pads, Webber Natural Swimming Pool, and Lupient and North Commons water parks. (Note: Webber and some other pools are filled before they officially open.)

Thanks for your patience and support during spring maintenance season in the parks.

Find out more about maintenance in the Minneapolis park system.

April 2023 Minneapolis Central City Tunnel Project Update

Via an April 21 e-announcement from the City of Minneapolis:

Project Overview

The City of Minneapolis Public Works Department is constructing a new parallel storm tunnel, enlarging a portion of the existing storm tunnel, and constructing a new tunnel access in Downtown Minneapolis.

The new tunnel is being constructed parallel to the existing tunnel located under Washington Ave S between Nicollet Mall and Chicago Ave. The existing tunnel under Chicago Ave between Washington Ave S and the Mississippi River is being expanded to handle the increased stormwater capacity. The purpose of this project is to reduce pressure in the existing tunnel, provide more room for future growth, and to reduce the need for future repairs and tunnel failures.

Project Map

Latest Project News

Mississippi River Portal

• Crews have completed excavation of the existing storm tunnel at the Mississippi River for the season and will resume later this fall when they can access the storm flow again. Until then, crews will continue to work on lining the tunnel with concrete and will be on site through May.

2nd Ave

• Crews have completed mining the new parallel storm tunnel under Washington Ave from the new tunnel access shaft in the southbound lanes of 2nd Ave S, just north of the Washington Ave intersection for the season. Crews will continue to work on lining the tunnel with concrete through the summer.

Portland Ave

• Crews have completed mining the new parallel storm tunnel under Washington Ave from the existing tunnel access shaft at the northeast corner of the Washington Ave and Portland Ave intersection for the season. Crews will continue to work on lining the tunnel with concrete through the summer.

Tunneling Progress

In April, the project reached 97% completion with excavation. Crews have removed approximately 67,800 tons of material to date. As noted in the infographic above, this is equal to the weight of 6.7 Eiffel Towers. The final excavation will occur next winter.

Lining progress

In April, crews continued to work on the concrete tunnel lining. To date, 2,150 cubic yards of concrete have been poured. As noted in the infographic above, this is about 65% of the volume of an Olympic swimming pool. This process is approximately 13.5% complete.

Long-term closures/restrictions

The north westbound lane, bike lane, and parking lane remains closed on Washington Ave between Portland Ave and Park Ave. These closures will remain in place until the project is completed.

• During this closure, pedestrians can still use the sidewalks along Washington Ave.
• Crosswalks across Washington Ave and Portland Ave will remain open.
• Bicyclists will share the traffic lane.
• The existing left turn lane on Washington Ave at the Portland Ave intersection will temporarily become a left turn and through lane.

The north sidewalk along Washington Ave remains restricted between Hennepin Ave and Nicollet Mall.

• During these restrictions, pedestrians share the bike lane on Washington Ave.
• The crosswalks at the Washington Ave intersections of Nicollet Mall and Hennepin Ave remains open.

The sidewalk on the east side of 4th Ave S remains restricted through the end of the project. The dewatering well and pumps are installed in this area.

• Pedestrians can use the sidewalk on the west side of 4th Ave S.
• The crosswalk at the Washington Ave and 4th Ave intersection remains open.
• Access to driveways off 4th Ave S remains open.

The west sidewalk of Portland Ave south of Washington Ave will remain restricted to pedestrians around the dewatering well and pumps until the project is completed.

The parking lot and trail near Mill Runs Park will open May 1.

• During May, the trail will have flaggers to allow concrete trucks to pull into and out of the work site.

2nd Ave S remains a single lane in each direction using the northbound lanes between Washington Ave and 1st St S. Access will be restricted until the project is completed.

• Access to driveways off 2nd Ave S remain open. There may be short-term access delays while crews move equipment and materials around.

NEW: Project timing update:

When is the project going to be done?

• The anticipated project completion date is June of 2024.

I thought that you were supposed to be done this year?

• When initially awarded the contract for the Central City Parallel Tunnel (CCPT) project, the anticipated completion was summer of 2023. Due to multiple construction obstacles the project schedule has been adjusted to a later date.

What were some of the obstacles?

• While performing work in the storm tunnel outlet located in the Mill Ruins Park near the Stone Arch bridge, crews uncovered historically significant underground structures.
• Crews had to excavate more soil and debris material from over the tunnel than initially anticipated, some of which was contaminated.
• Because work in portions of the tunnel is in an active stormwater flow, some work can only occur during a five-month window of time due to safety issues.

A note from the project team

We know that a later completion date will not be great news for many residents, businesses, or visitors that live and work in the areas of aboveground work sites, but we wanted to convey this information to you in order to set a realistic expectation for the revised project timeline. We also realize that the noise and activity associated with construction projects is an inconvenience and undesirable to those residents and businesses who are in close proximity to the job sites. It is the goal of Public Works to minimize our construction timeline and disturbance to the public. The CCPT project is crucial to the City, as it services most of our downtown area. The new storm tunnel will be able to convey stormwater much more effectively from the downtown district to the river during high-intensity rain events.

The project has worked to address all concerns and issues brought to our attention to date, and we will continue to do so moving forward.  As always, you can communicate with us via the project website and communications number with any concerns or issues you might have. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Stay Connected

There are multiple ways to get information including email updates and ongoing stakeholder meetings. Visit the project website for more information and to sign up for project updates: https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/projects/central-city-tunnel/

Email the project team: info@mplscentralcitytunnel.com

Contact the project hotline: 612-888-9418

What You Need to Know About the June 10 Community Connections Conference

Minneapolis residents can sign up now for the free 2023 Community Connections Conference on June 10. This year's theme, "Minneapolis in motion," welcomes all communities to explore how Minneapolis is growing, moving and changing, including through the City’s 2023-2024 priorities. The conference will run together with the 2023 Green Zone Summit for environmental justice.

The Community Connections Conference is a free annual event for residents, community groups, neighborhood organizations and local government to build relationships, learn together and create a better Minneapolis.

The 2023 conference will feature:

• Workshops and other breakout sessions in multiple languages. The subjects include renters’ rights, responsible development and worker well-being, creative expression and emotional release for incarcerated people through the community-based organization FreeWriters, building relationships with youths in challenging environments, recycling and organics, climate action, and creating a plan for saving energy at home.
• An exhibit hall showcasing more than 100 organizations with fun, interactive activities for both kids and adults.
• Opportunities to learn about City policies, programs and services.
• Lunch provided by local food vendors.
• Performances by local artists.

Community Connections Conference and Green Zone Summit
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, June 10
(Check-in starts and exhibit hall opens at 8 a.m.)
Minneapolis Convention Center, Hall A, Lower Level
Pre-registration is on the City website.

Call for breakout sessions, exhibits and volunteers

Community members can sign up by April 30 to lead a workshop, roundtable, panel or presentation.

Nonprofits and public institutions can apply for free exhibit space by April 30.

Volunteers can help spread the word about the conference, welcome guests, guide people to breakout sessions and keep lunch services running smoothly. Bilingual volunteers are especially helpful. The volunteer signup button is in the conference pre-registration form on the City website.

Register to attend the conference

Everyone is welcome to read more and register for the free Community Connections Conference on the City website.

Register for the April 22 Earth Day Bee Run/Walk/River Cleanup by Tomorrow, April 21!

Please help save our bees! Join Great River Coalition’s Earth Day Bee Run, Walk & River Clean Up at Boom Island Park, 729 Sibley Street NE.

- Designed T shirts with each paid entry, prizes, coffee, water, food, nuts, bananas

- Chance to win 4 MInnesota Vikings tickets,  US Bank Stadium, premium seats, Flat Screen TV,

- Booths, DJ, professional photographer, kids race, dog friendly, gorgeous run, walk 

Register!

Steve Cramer Announces Retirement From mpls downtown council and Mpls DID

Via an April 19 e-announcement

The mpls downtown council (mdc) and Mpls Downtown Improvement District (DID) announced today that Steve Cramer, president and CEO, will be retiring from the organization in December.

Steve CramerSteve Cramer has been a long-time champion and advocate for our city and community. He joined the organization in 2013 and has since led many important initiatives for downtown. He will wrap up his work later this year, but until then continues to remain focused on downtown’s next season.

Cramer has been a steady force behind many development and public realm projects, expanded community partnership to improve downtown conditions, advocated for common sense business regulations, and provided visible leadership over the challenging past few years.

“I have enjoyed working with Steve during my time on the mdc-DID board of directors. He has brought clear direction and focus to our collective work for downtown during an unprecedented season. Prior to that he helped our downtown reach new heights and levels of momentum,” said Karin Lucas, board chair of the mpls downtown council and Downtown Improvement District. “Steve has grown and positioned the organization for the future. We will certainly miss his leadership and wish him well in retirement.”

 “My bet is on downtown Minneapolis!” - Steve Cramer

During Cramer’s tenure, the organization along with roughly 450 members, hundreds of stakeholders, and ratepayers, have played a key role in advocating for downtown, ensuring downtown continues to thrive and maintain its trajectory of attracting new businesses, employees, residents, and investment. There are now 56,748 downtown residents within downtown’s five neighborhoods. More than 8.5 million patrons attended events last year downtown. All while providing a consistent presence within the 120-block district to keep downtown greener, cleaner, and safer.

“It’s been a privilege and pleasure to lead the mdc-DID, working with a talented and dedicated staff, hundreds of committed board members, and community leaders. This organization has charted the course forward for downtown over many decades, and that work will continue for the duration of my tenure and long into the future. I’m confident the path we are on will lead to renewed vibrancy after the historic disruptions of the last three years,” said Steve Cramer, president and ceo. “My bet is on downtown Minneapolis!”

Cramer’s impact on the downtown community will be marked by many contributions. Namely his work and dedication to improving downtown for business and community alike.

Cramer participated in the development of major public realm and infrastructure projects to enhance our downtown:

• The Commons Park
• A re-designed Nicollet
• Peavey Plaza renovation
• Hennepin Avenue reconstruction 

Cramer expanded community partnerships to improve social and security conditions downtown:

• Expanded privately supported outreach programs
• Added two embedded social workers focusing on downtown
• Launched the community storage program

Cramer advocated for common sense strategies to support our downtown:

• Business regulations
• Transportation infrastructure and funding
• Developments from affordable and luxury housing to new office buildings
• Public safety policies focused on a both/and approach

Cramer provided visible leadership for downtown stakeholders throughout the Covid pandemic and civil unrest.

Mississippi Rising

Submitted by Doug Verdier (photos taken April 17, 2023)

The recent warm weather earlier this month resulted in significant snow melt, which has caused the Mississippi River water level to rise significantly as other rivers and creeks feed water into the river upstream. These images show some of the local impact of all that melted snow as it races through the City. Numerous low-lying communities along the rivers path are bracing and preparing for localized flooding.

The doors of the Upper St Anthony Falls Lock were opened to allow the surge of water resulting from snow melt upriver to flow downstream. Normally, the lock doors are closed and all the water coming downstream would go over the St. Anthony Falls on the right in this photo. That’s foam on top of the water, not snow. It’s moving very fast!

Looking toward the Third Avenue Bridge from South First Street gives a good sense of how fast the river is moving and how much deeper than normal it is as a result of upriver snow melt. The white foam on top of the water is a good indicator of how fast the water is moving.

The three yellow concrete structures bordering the canal show how much deeper the water level in the canal is due to the amount of water entering the river from upstream snow melt. The increased river level can also be seen beneath the plastic sheet-covered walkways surrounding the base of the pier during work on the Third Avenue Bridge. In more normal times the distance from the base of the walkways to the river is a couple of feet. 

St. Anthony Falls as seen from the Stone Arch Bridge. Foam, spray and amazing sound are something to experience.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  

Editors Note:

When I drove home from work last night I was astounded at how much the Mississippi rose yesterday alone. In several spots between the 94 and Washington bridges, water had flowed over the cement barrier and covered both lanes of West River Parkway. (To be on the safe side, I opted for the Riverside route to Franklin Avenue this morning!)

Summit Academy's Northside STEM District to Host Minneapolis Students and Families May 6 at Target Plaza for Free Family Event

More than 1,000 K-8th grade students are expected to converge on Target Plaza Saturday, May 6, to explore the world of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Volunteers from more than 20 Twin Cities STEM companies will guide students with hands-on activities and experiments as they uncover the wonders of STEM. Participants will:

• Code robots!
• Launch rockets!
• Fly drones!

A free shuttle will pick up participants at Summit Academy at 935 Olson Memorial Highway in Minneapolis and drop them off at the event, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Target Plaza Commons, 1001 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.

It is the vision of Northside STEM District to build a strong, diverse pipeline of STEM leaders and innovators within the North Minneapolis ecosystem where every student has an equitable opportunity to participate and thrive as contributing citizens within their communities.

Summit Academy OIC is an accredited, nonprofit Career and Technical Education (CTE) Institute located in North Minneapolis. Summit offers specializations and industry certifications for in-demand careers in Information Technology (IT), Construction, and Medical Administrative Assistant, delivering academic rigor alongside marketable skills and connections to employers. Our mission is to empower individuals to develop their ability to earn and become contributing citizens in their communities and economic drivers of the State of Minnesota. 

Get to Know Ben Shardlow, Director of Urban Design at minneapolis downtown council & Downtown Improvement District

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Ben ShardlowBen Shardlow has a lot to teach us about Minneapolis’ plans for innovative urban design, placemaking (keep reading to learn what that is) and community engagement around all of it. And, he welcomes the opportunity to meet downtown residents. Many of our readers have ideas to improve our downtown – set up a coffee meeting with Ben.  

Q:  What’s a typical day like for you as Director of Urban Design for the Downtown Improvement District (DID)?

A:  Every day is unique! The projects I work on and my role in them vary quite a bit. Sometimes I’m leading one of our projects, sometimes I’m advocating for our goals to be met in another organization’s effort. Either way, it’s collaborative. Almost everything we do is through partnerships, whether it’s working with the City on transportation, Park Board on trees, or arts and cultural partners on placemaking. That makes relationship building very important, which means lots of meetings. Heaps. Fortunately, I’m one of those oddballs who prefers meetings to just sitting at my desk.

Q:  You presented recently at the Minnesota Design Team's Annual Retreat, on the topic of community engagement through the lens of art and placemaking. Please tell us all about this notion.

A:  My presentation focused on the form of community engagement I enjoy the most: learning together by doing.

Traditional community engagement is necessary but challenging. You need a process that brings together technical experts and stakeholders who know the local context to agree to a shared definition of a problem, a potential solution, and the expected result. It’s possible for community members to disagree with any of the three, and for the process to devolve into speculation and mistrust. Please be nice to urban planners, it’s not as easy as it looks!

Placemaking offers alternative strategies. If you’re curious about the term, I’d encourage looking up Project for Public Spaces – they do a better job describing placemaking than I will here. The gist of it is that people and how they experience places should be at the center of how we design and run our cities. That might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised! Another key premise of placemaking is that successful places tend to have a recipe of features and activities that you can follow to make your own place(s) better.

The Living Bus Shelter project

Using placemaking strategies, you can try small experiments in public space to test a theory in a local context, see what happens, and get feedback from the community on actual experiences versus hypotheticals. It’s prototyping, essentially. We’ve used this technique throughout downtown. As one example, there was a bus stop on 7th Street that had high ridership and no bus shelter. The dialogue around a permanent shelter wasn’t very productive, so we got permission to place a temporary, artist-designed shelter and gather feedback. People liked it, and it opened the door for the really high-quality Bus Rapid Transit shelter at that site today.

Q:  You designed the Tactical Urbanism Initiative (TUI) for Minneapolis. How was it implemented? Can you bring us up to date with the Initiative? Is the City still collaborating with the partners?

A:  That initiative was the genesis of a lot of the placemaking projects we did from roughly 2013 - 2017. We used placemaking tactics to address sites of special concern for real or perceived safety – looking for underlying reasons why those sites weren’t successful and tried experiments to improve the experience people had in those places. We assembled an advisory committee – mainly with representatives from government agencies whose approval we needed to do the experiments, but also from social service and neighborhood groups.

The Alley Project in the 900 block of Hennepin

It was a lot of fun. We did a lot of experiments and learned a lot about ways we can positively improve the physical environment downtown and address localized concerns. The bus stop above is one example of a “TUI” project, but there were many more. We eventually stopped using that framework to do these kinds of projects because we had learned enough about how to work this way, and now we just engage adjacent stakeholders around individual projects. For example, we’re leading The Alley Project, a beautification and activation of the alley behind The Chambers Hotel, FAIR School for the Arts, and the University of St Thomas. We’re doing that project in partnership with Modern Day Me, Helping Hand Companies, Hennepin Theatre Trust, TENxTEN, and many others. The DNA of that project is very much aligned with how we approached TUI, but it’s a new context with new partners, and it’s informed by the years of work that preceded it.

Q:  What is the downtown council’s Intersections 2025 Plan?   

A:  The minneapolis downtown council has produced a visionary plan for the future of downtown every 10-15 years, with the 2025 Plan being the most recent. It was published in 2010 and includes ten major initiatives for downtown. I was in grad school at the time, and I remember being really inspired by the plan. I took it as a clarion call for downtown to grow and become a more livable, beautiful, connected, and humane place. Honestly, it became a major reason why I sought out work at mdc/DID, and I’ve been fortunate enough to work on implementing many of the initiatives in the plan. The plan has held up surprisingly well and is still a useful reference point for evaluating proposed changes to downtown. You can see how the green corridors idea has come to life on streets like Hennepin and the goal of leading the nation in transportation options has led to building out a network of protected bikeways for people biking of all ages and abilities – including a spot that I love at 4th and Hennepin where two such bikeways intersect. Really exciting.

With that said, it’s almost 2025 - that date no longer sounds futuristic! There will be announcements about a new planning effort before too long, and I’m excited for that.

Q:  How may citizens participate in your group’s initiatives?

A:  One, if you haven’t stopped into the DID’s Nicollet Office at 651 Nicollet Mall, Suite 105 - please do! We run a community space on the ground floor of Gaviidae, and it’s a great resource for getting information about what’s going on downtown. A number of us office there, so it’s normally pretty easy to get connected with the person working on the topic you’re interested in.

Second, we’re partnering with downtown residents on monthly Service Saturdays and other programs through the warmer months of the year so that neighbors can get acquainted and we can all contribute to a greener and cleaner downtown. We’re working on some fun incentives, too. If you’re interested in that, please check our volunteering calendar as the season ramps up or just reach out to me.

Q:  How may we follow your news?

A:  I’d suggest following Minneapolis DID on Facebook and Instagram, signing up for our newsletter, or just reaching out to me personally at bshardlow@mplsdid.com. I regularly have coffee meetings with downtown residents and love to make new connections.

Father Hennepin Bluff Park Improvements Project Nears Completion

New restrooms open in May, fencing scheduled to come down in June, concerts return in July

A major renovation of Father Hennepin Bluff Park is nearly complete. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board would like to thank everyone for their patience while park access and use were limited since construction started last April.

The new restroom building next to the Stone Arch Bridge is expected to open in May. The construction fence around the park will remain in place throughout spring to allow areas that were seeded last fall to establish. Turf condition will be a major factor in determining when the park can fully reopen, hopefully by June. Please stay off these areas and respect signage and fencing!

Free concerts offered through Minneapolis Music in the Parks are scheduled to debut at the new stage in July. Stay tuned for more details.

Project Details

This Father Hennepin Bluff Park Improvements project includes:

• A new performance stage with seasonal restrooms
• New park entry plaza spaces
• Upgraded lights, path connections, wayfinding signage and trail markings
• Landscape and stormwater management improvements

The improvements are focused on the upper part of the park, not the lower paths closer to the Mississippi River.

Severe Weather Awareness Week is Coming; Expect Sirens April 20

April 17-21 is Severe Weather Awareness Week, when households and businesses are encouraged to practice what they’d do to stay safe if a tornado or severe weather strikes.

Expect sirens April 20

Thursday, April 20, is Tornado Drill Day. Sirens throughout the state will sound at 1:45 p.m. and at 6:45 p.m., giving people time to practice taking shelter in severe weather both at home and in the workplace. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota experiences an average of nearly 30 tornadoes per year.

Alerts

An electronic weather alert service can make you aware of any imminent weather danger with email or text notices. Check the Minnesota Department of Public Safety website for options for wireless emergency alerts and smartphone apps.

There is specific information for people with disabilities or access or functional needs about how to prepare for storm season and other emergencies.

If severe weather is approaching:

• Turn to local TV or radio or the weather channel, or make sure you have alerts enabled on a smart device or a weather radio programmed to pick up alerts inside. Weather sirens aren’t intended to be heard inside. If a warning is issued, go to the basement or an inner stairwell.
• If you’re outside and hear the weather sirens, go inside immediately and take shelter in an inner space away from windows. Don’t use elevators.
• Stay sheltered until the all-clear signal has been issued.

More about staying safe during severe weather

• Alerts and warnings
• Storms, hail and lightning
• Floods
• Tornadoes
• Extreme heat

Find emergency preparedness information on the City website.

Get a Behind-the-Scenes Look at HERC During Doors Open Minneapolis

Saturday, May 13 from 10a to 5p (open Saturday only)

The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) is one of the locations participating in the 2023 Doors Open Minneapolis event. It operates 24/7 to convert Minneapolis’ trash into energy, which provides electricity to 25,000 homes and heat to Target Field and downtown buildings.

Learn how HERC works and discover actions you can take to reduce waste. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the facility and the waste-to-energy process. Closed-toe shoes are required (no sandals) to participate in the portion of the tour to see the waste pit and claw that feeds trash into the furnace.

More information about Doors Open.

Small Business Spotlight: Twin Ignition Startup Garage

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Left to right - Scott Aubitz, Ben Rasmussen and Seth Peter

Sometimes an entrepreneur needs some advice in areas outside of his or her product or concept design – areas like management, finance, strategy, and marketing among others. That’s where Twin Ignition Startup Garage in Northeast Minneapolis can step in and provide the expertise necessary to bring the dream to life. We talked to co-founder Scott Aubitz about the genesis of Twin Ignition, their portfolio of success stories and one very fun reason (you’ll be surprised) to visit their business.

Q:  Please tell us a brief history of Twin Ignition Startup Garage. 

A:  Seth Peter, Ben Rasmussen, and Scott Aubitz came together in 2018 with a shared vision to support a thriving startup ecosystem in the Twin Cities through a tailored approach to startup incubation. We all saw the need to help bridge the gap between a community of innovative founders and access to the resources, support and capital they needed to succeed.

While Seth had acquired the building that is now known as Twin Ignition Startup Garage at 1317 Marshall Street NE in 2017, we weren’t able to move in until late in 2019, so we started meeting with companies every Wednesday at Sip Coffee Bar in Northeast. What we quickly learned is we all agree you just need to start “doing” to make things happen, and that our different experiences and approaches to startups worked well together.

With the opening of the garage in 2019, we confirmed that the Twin Cities has a growing community of first-time founders that need various components of the pillars of our offering - the space to work, capital to invest and advice to grow. Since those beginnings we have invested in over 20 start-ups in the Twin Cities area, with an average of 8-10 new and follow-on investments a year. We have also partnered with several funds, angel organizations and other startup investors to expand our reach and impact to create a thriving startup community in the Twin Cities.  

As we have seen our startup companies grow and expand, we realized the need to provide additional office options as they become too big for our founders’ space in the Startup Garage. As a result, in 2022 Twin Ignition purchased the Keg House building at 34 13th Avenue NE on the former campus of the Grain Belt Brewery. This 45,000 square foot building gives us more options to provide space to grow as businesses gain traction in their markets.

Twin Ignition common area

Twin Ignition garage area

Twin Ignition kitchen area

Q:  What’s a typical day for Peter, Ben and you, the founders of Twin Ignition? 

A:  We typically meet with 1-3 companies a week to hear investment pitches. We also meet with 2-3 advisory clients typically on a biweekly basis. There is a standing weekly "internal" meeting on Monday where we discuss pitches we've heard the week before, any follow-on investment opportunities we have, as well as operations of our buildings. As a result, we are meeting as a team most mornings each week, with afternoons dedicated to various other aspects of the business.

Individually, Seth focuses much of his time on ensuring the buildings are operating smoothly. He also is actively meeting with prospective businesses and others in the start-up community. Ben devotes most of his time to networking within the community to identify new opportunities both for investment as well as for candidates to office out of the Garage and Keghouse buildings. I focus more time on the financials of our investment portfolio and the building operations.  

Q:  Twin Ignition Startup Garage is a technology incubator AND it also houses a woodworking studio - that must keep the environment interesting and full of beautiful art.  

A:  Being located inside the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District was an important factor in determining our location. We believe the process of creating a work of art is similar to creating a technology offering. It’s about putting your creative energy into something entirely new, bringing an abstract idea to reality, and presenting that concept to an audience. We also believe that being surrounded by beautiful physical creation is inspiring to those working on their virtual technical creations. We have found that entrepreneurs in our space often have an artistic side to them.

Q:  In September of 2021, Twin Ignition told the Star Tribune that the goal was to “invest and mentor companies that would collectively create 100,000 jobs across the Twin Cities in the next 20 years.” We’re just two years into that timeframe, but have you seen your portfolio companies start to hire?

A:  Our portfolio companies have definitely been in expansion mode over the last several years. Every one of our portfolio companies has hired additional staff to varying degrees. We have companies anywhere from 2-4 employees up to 30+ employees, depending on their stage of growth and their cadence with capital raising.

With our mission to support a thriving tech startup community in the Twin cities we think Minnesota has a great opportunity to create 100k+ jobs in new growth over the coming decades. Our hope is to be one catalyst to ensure that happens.   

Q:  May a client just purchase access to your collaborative workspace – perhaps as a way to get started with Twin Ignition’s services?  

A:  The Startup Garage is a collective workspace for founders to utilize and collaborate with each other. Per our goal of creating a thriving tech startup community, we want to create a place where founders can plug into a broader community of like-minded people, experiencing similar issues and help support each in their growth. We're hoping to reduce some of the isolation of starting a business while providing support as they grow.

The space is designed to grow with businesses from "soloprenuers" up to businesses of 8-10 people. If a founder has started a business and is looking for office space on a part-time or full-time basis, they should definitely reach out to info@twinignition.com to arrange a time to come try out the space.

Q:  Can you share some of your success stories with us?

A:  We've been investing in very early stage companies for over 4 years now, but have seen some great traction with our portfolio companies. A great indicator of the success of our businesses and our strategy is we've had 3 different businesses gain enough traction that they needed to move out of the Startup Garage because they had become too big for the space - two of those have been moved into our Keghouse building. We've had a business exit within 2 years of our initial investment. Several of our portfolio companies have been listed as "startups to watch" in the Twin Cities in 2023 by the Business Journal (Turnsignl, ProsperStack, Omnia Fishing). Two of our businesses were MN Cup Divisional Winners (Turnsignl & Carbon Origins) with Carbon Origins being runner up for the grand prize. One of our businesses, Big Wheelbarrow, won a $500k investment in the 43 North startup competition in Buffalo, NY. Many of these businesses have benefited not just from our investment and advice, but from the community we were able to plug them into within our ecosystem.  

Q:  Great results – congratulations! Have you considered expanding your business to other cities with rich startup cultures?

A:  Our commitment is really to the Twin Cities and Minnesota more broadly. This is an area that has provided so much for each of us individually, we really see our work as a way to give back and make Minnesota a destination for startup activity. We think there is plenty of opportunity to keep doing what we are doing and grow this ecosystem into something really special.

Q:  How may we follow your news?

A:  Please feel free to follow Twin Ignition on LinkedIn. We tend to repost news about our portfolio companies as well as post for any upcoming events with which we may be associated. We also post more social events on our Facebook page as well. For example, make sure to come join us for Art-A-Whirl in May!

29th Annual Minneapolis Earth Day Cleanup Will be Hosted at 40+ Park Locations on April 22

Join the Minneapolis Earth Day Cleanup on Saturday, April 22! Drop in anytime between 9:30am and 12pm at any of 40+ park locations throughout Minneapolis and help clean up our beautiful city.

The Earth Day Cleanup has become the largest community service project in Minneapolis over the last 29 years. Since 2008, more than 23,000 people have removed more than 165,000 pounds of garbage.

It’s free to participate, no registration needed, just choose a site from our list and show up. We will provide bags and gloves, you help pick up junk that accumulated over the winter, and our partner City of Minneapolis Solid Waste and Recycling will process the collected bags. 

You can also get into the spirit by participating in the annual Earth Day 5K Bee Run/Walk at Boom Island Park! The event features a family- and dog-friendly fun run/walk (bee costumes encouraged!), river cleanup and Earth Day festivities.

Find a detailed list of clean-up sites and more information at minneapolisearthday.com, or view the flyer below:

“How to Become an American” Book Talk with Daniel Wolff at Mill City Museum

Wolff will discuss themes and topics from his latest non-fiction book

Thursday, April 27, 6:30–8:00 pm

The themes of history, immigration, and loneliness will be part of a discussion presented by Mill City Museum and The Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. Author Daniel Wolff will host a book talk around his non-fiction book How to Become an American which examines immigration into the United States.

How to Become an American features one anonymous family of Jewish immigrants and their journey which led them to Minneapolis in the early 20th century. Attendees will hear real stories of the city’s Jewish community, and the challenges it faced during the time period. These stories are deeply personal, yet reflective of America as a whole.

Museum guests can join Wolff for this free lecture at 7 pm on April 27. Doors open at 6:30 pm. He invites the audience to contemplate the hurdles immigrants face in America and the experiences of their own families. Kate Dietrick, archivist of the Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, will moderate the discussion.

This is a free event.

April Events at Hennepin History Museum

Human Toll:  Unfinished Business

Tuesday, April 11, 7:00 – 8 p.m.

As a follow-up to their long-running exhibit, Human Toll: A Public History of 35W, Hennepin History Museum is hosting an online community-driven conversation to address the topic of the long-term effects of freeway construction, and how we can learn from our experience to imagine a better future for all. Panelists include Dr, Yohuru Williams, founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas; Jose Antionio Zayas Caban, advocacy director of Our Streets Minneapolis, Dr. Ernest Lloyd, adjunct instructor at the University of Minnesota’s Heritage Studies and Public History (HSPH) program; and Dr Greg Donofrio, director of HSPH. Drs. Lloyd and Donofrio, leaders of the Human Toll exhibit development team, will reflect on the success of the exhibit and the future of the Public History of 35W project.

Location: Virtual Event. Preregistration required to receive link.

Cost:  Pay As You Can

*****

The Bond Between Us – Artist Talk  

Saturday, April 15, 11 am – 12:30 p.m.

Local artist Daren Hill and Hennepin History Museum Executive Director John Crippen will discuss Hill’s new exhibit, The Bond Between Us, which opens Thursday, April 13. Hill will share how he developed this exhibit to honor his grandfather and father, who were both photographers before him, as well as create art rooted in his Minneapolis childhood. The audience is invited to join the discussion.

Location: Hennepin History Museum. Space is limited - reservations required.  

Cost:  Pay As You Can

*****

Million Artist Movement (MAM) Quilting Project

Saturday, April 15, 1 – 3 p.m.

MAM is a global vision and movement that believes in the role of art in the campaign to dismantle oppressive racists systems. Local MAM members will host an event for the public to make a quilt square with your message to the community from a place of power, love, and support. Quilting materials will be provided free of charge. All ages welcome.

Location: Hennepin History Museum 

Cost: Pay As You Can 

For further information on all HHM events:  https://hennepinhistory.org/events/

Great River Coalition Shares Tips on How to Have a Positive Impact on Pollinators

Elevate Hennepin - A Discussion with Community and Economic Development Director Patricia Fitzgerald

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Were you aware that small businesses in Hennepin County can tap into a wealth of no-cost business support services? Elevate Hennepin, in its third year, has supported over 2300 businesses with consulting and other support services. We talked to Patricia Fitzgerald, Community and Economic Development Director for Hennepin County Housing and Economic Development, to learn more about this all-encompassing business support program. 2 Dope Chicks – a tasty gem of a downtown restaurant – told us what participating meant to their business. 

Patricia FitzgeraldQ:  What's the origin of Elevate Hennepin?

A:  The initiative started in 2020 as an emergency response to the pandemic but has grown to be an innovative model of long-term business support. 

During the pandemic, Hennepin County convened a diverse Business Advisory Council that represented the diversity of the business community to help maximize the impact of pandemic recovery funds. One of the biggest things we heard from them is that businesses needed technical support to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, but also to build for future success.

In response, Hennepin County contracted with a team of professional business advisors and consultants with a range of specialties to work with businesses to help them rebuild and position them for future success. These services were completely free to businesses. The impact and value were immediately evident, and Elevate Hennepin was born.To date, Hennepin County has invested more than $6 million in Elevate Hennepin, with additional investment of $2.5 million annually over the next two years. Over 90 percent of that funding goes directly to business advising costs. 

Elevate has quickly been embraced and will continue to improve and refine to meet the needs of the business community as we evolve.

Q:  Your website mentions that the program offers a business support ecosystem. Can you please talk to us about what that encompasses?

A:  Elevate Hennepin amplifies our region’s ecosystem of small business support. Hennepin County is fortunate to have a wide range of nonprofit, mission-driven organizations and community-based lenders serving entrepreneurs. Elevate Hennepin supports those organizations, and has added a diverse group of specialized consultants, and created a resource hub that facilitates access and networking. Our focus, and the focus of Elevate Hennepin’s advisor network, is on serving local businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs located in Hennepin County.

Through Elevate, businesses in Hennepin County can access free expert consulting and technical assistance from more than 20 professional business advisors who specialize in a full range of business services, including legal, accounting, financial planning, marketing, business planning and strategy, and much more. And, you can access up to 25 hours from each consultant. We are finding that many businesses are working with multiple advisors, and that advisors are connecting businesses to each other to address unique needs. For instance, one advisor might work on financial planning, then connect them to another advisor to work on marketing. So, there’s a new ecosystem of advisors and businesses and government agencies taking shape that is really exciting.

As one of our advisors, Henry Blake, said, “You can get just about every kind of service you need to establish and run a viable business.”

The other aspect is that elevatehennepin.org is a hub of curated events and resources from a variety of sources. In addition to events and resources from Elevate advisors and the county, there are also resources from numerous other trusted business-support sources like the Small Business Administration, the state of Minnesota, cities, and other partners. The idea was to create a central hub, curated for aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses to access a wide variety of business-support resources and assistance in one place.

Q:  How is the no-cost consulting structured? Does it cover multiple aspects of business ownership?  

A:  Consulting is one of the key aspects of the Elevate Hennepin initiative - more than 90 percent of the overall investment goes directly to one-on-one business consulting and cohort training programs. Hennepin County has intentionally selected more than 20 professional business advisors and organizations who represent the diversity of Hennepin County businesses and specialize in the full range of subjects and services a growing business might need.

We try to make it as simple of a process as possible for the businesses. A business owner can either connect to one of Hennepin County’s business navigators to discuss their needs or directly to an advisor through the Elevate website at ElevateHennepin.org.

Each business owner can access up to 25 hours of free consulting from each of more than 20 advisors. It covers a whole range of business needs, including:  

• Legal questions

• Marketing strategy

• Business planning and strategy

• Access to capital

• Accounting and finance

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So far, more than 1,400 businesses have tapped into Elevate Hennepin for more than 9,500 hours of this one-on-one technical assistance or back-office support. From there, the advisor just invoices the program and Hennepin County pays the advisor for their services. 

Q:  How many businesses have taken advantage of Elevate Hennepin?

A:  As of year-end 2022, more than 2,300 businesses have engaged with the online resource hub, accessed technical assistance, or participated in a cohort-learning program. Of those, 1,400 have utilized the one-on-one consulting and received more than 9,500 hours of advising. 

Businesses looking for guidance on where to start with Elevate Hennepin are encouraged to email Hennepin County Business Navigator Tashie George at economic.development@hennepin.us.

2 Dope Chicks cofounders Rhonda Caldwell-Heard (left) and Jamis Rodriguez

We also wanted to hear from a business that has benefited from Elevate Hennepin. 2 Dope Chicks is owned by Jamis Rodriguez and Rhonda Caldwell-Heard. The business is located at 300 S. 6th Street in the Hennepin County Government Center. We asked Rodriguez what it meant to participate in Elevate Hennepin. Here's what she had to say:

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"Hearing about the program was inspiring for me - it gave a boost in motivation when things were feeling stagnant due to financial roadblocks. Participation in the program has brought awareness to so many resources and other business beneficial programs. It has even earned 2 Dope Chicks a few new customers! Being a new business, partnering with Elevate made sense. It was an extremely useful step in setting our business up for better success - with support in all aspects, from business planning to marketing to bookkeeping - we are very grateful."

Q:  How may we stay up to date with the program's news and success stories? 

A:  So many ways to follow our news - sign up for our newsletter or follow our social media channels:

Newsletter signup link

Elevate Hennepin website

Elevate Hennepin Facebook

Elevate Hennepin Twitter

Hennepin County Economic Development website

Hennepin County Economic Development LinkedIn 

Summer at Peavey Plaza Corporate Sponsorship Opportunity 2023

Green Minneapolis is excited to announce their second year of presenting free performing arts events, Summer at Peavey Plaza! A five month series of over 100 diverse events, from live music to dance performances, including their new artist in residence, Kawai-endorsed touring pianist and vocalist Phil Thompson.

From May through September, Peavey Plaza will be the place to go Downtown for free music, dance and theater performances. Join them every Wednesday and Thursday lunch hour for performances by MNspin artists and every Saturday morning for Music in Motion with the Children’s Theatre Company, perfect for families with children. And don’t miss the Peavey Plaza Piano Bar brought to you by Phil Thompson every Tuesday afternoon, along with his Tribute Concerts every last Thursday of the month.

Call for Sponsors!

As a sponsor of this program your brand will be thanked prominently with the 10,000+ expected summer attendees for the 2023 season in addition to placements across print and social media campaigns. Promoting partners include mpls Downtown Council, Meet Minneapolis, City of Minneapolis and local tv, radio and print communications. 

Sponsorship Levels:

$1,000 Friend Sponsor

Includes:

● Company name listed on Green Minneapolis website and program

.

$2,500 Partner Sponsor

Includes:

● Company name listed on Green Minneapolis website and program

● Recognition as partner at every event

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$5,000 Lead Sponsor

Includes:

● Company name listed on Green Minneapolis website and program

● Recognition as partner at every event

● Logo placement on event signage and press communications 

My Very Own Bed Announces the 3rd Annual Steps for Sleep Event, April 29

 Walk & Wellness Fundraising Event on April 29th

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For the third consecutive year, Minneapolis nonprofit My Very Own Bed will host its annual Steps for Sleep – a walk and wellness fundraising event highlighting the connection between physical activity and healthy sleep while raising awareness and funds for its work providing new beds and Dream Kits to kids.

Members of the public are invited to:

• Walk 1.5 miles around Boom Island on April 29th at 9:30 a.m., starting at DeLaSalle High School.

• Or walk anywhere, April 22–29.

• Explore the Wellness Fair whether walking in-person or anywhere. Learn about healthy sleep, fitness, healing, nutrition, and more!

• Donate to support 1600 kids in the community with new beds this year.

• Start their own fundraiser to support kids’ healthy sleep.

Since its founding in 2014, My Very Own Bed has had one goal: to provide new beds and Dream Kits (bedding, books, and stuffed animals) to children moving into stable housing.

While working in social services, founder Michael Allen saw beds as a great need as he helped families move out of shelters and into homes. What struck him most was seeing children sleeping on the floor because a bed was out of reach for many families.

With support from a broad base of sponsors, volunteers, donors, and referral partners (social service organizations that connect My Very Own Bed with families), My Very Own Bed has grown to impact more kids and their families each year. In 2022 alone, My Very Own Bed provided 1637 beds to kids in 684 families.

The impact of receiving a new bed is immediate for a child and their family. Improving where and how children sleep improves their overall health and well-being, performance in school, behavior at home, physical health, and much more.

Register or donate at https://runsignup.com/Race/MN/Minneapolis/StepsforSleep