Could Your House Use A New Coat Of Paint?

By Mary Ann | Published: March 3, 2010

Let Paint-A-Thon help you! Paint-A-Thon is a program of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches. Volunteer teams have been painting homes for low-income senior or disabled homeowners – free of charge – since 1984. Painting usually takes place the first weekend in August.

If your house is in need of paint, but not major repair, check the following guidelines.
* You must be the owner and occupant of a single-family home.
* Your home and/or garage must be in one of the following counties: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington.
* You must be over the age of 60 or permanently physically disabled (if under 60).
* Your monthly income must not exceed $1800 per month (for one person in the home) or $2500 for two people in the home).
* If you would like more information or to apply to the program, call 612.721.8687, Extension 321.
The deadline to apply is May 7, 2010. We have Paint-A-Thon applications in the WCNO office, stop by to pick one up.

Posted in Around The Block, Housing, Latest News | 1 Comment

Fremont Clinic – Neighborhood News and Notes – March Edition

By Mary Ann | Published: March 3, 2010

To review the current edition of Fremont Clinic – Neighborhood News and Notes, please click on the link provided.

Neighborhood News and Notes

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2010 Census Update

By Mary Ann | Published: March 3, 2010

Minneapolis 2010 Census: It’s In Our Hands

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Census in the Schools

In partnership with the Saint Paul Public Schools, the Minneapolis
Public Schools have designated March 1-5 as Census in the Schools
Week. During this week, social studies teachers have been asked to
implement at least one lesson plan available from the Census 2010
Census in the Schools website (http://www.census.gov/schools). The
Minneapolis Public Schools are also working to fill school requests
for Census speakers and provide schools with printed informational
materials in our four main languages for distribution in the manner
that works best for each site.

2010 Census Rally and Action Day

Saturday, Mar. 6, 11 – 2 p.m.
Cub Foods – 701 West Broadway Avenue
Neighborhood leaders and residents are encouraged to gather in the Cub
Foods parking lot to help raise awareness of the 2010 census. There
will be giveaways and speakers and after the rally, gatherers will
canvass local businesses to spread the word about how important the
2010 census is to the community and the City of Minneapolis.

Additional leaders/volunteers are needed for this action day!  Please
contact Hannah Garcia at 612-625-2497 or
minneapolis2010census@gmail.com

Questionnaire assistance centers opening

A number of questionnaire assistance centers (QACs) will open in
mid-March to help residents answer any questions they may have about
the Census. People at these centers will also have questionnaires for
anyone who didn’t get one in the mail, and they’ll offer translation
services for people who need it.

As soon as specific locations are finalized we will post them on the
Minneapolis Census Web site.

Final push: Census jobs still available

The U. S. Census Bureau is still looking to hire in the Twin Cities
Metro Area. Up to a total of approximately 4,000 people will be on
staff during peak times.

These are good paying, temporary jobs for the field positions of
Recruiters, Crew Leaders, Field Supervisors, Census Takers and Census
Clerks. Amount of pay depends on position and location. Work related
mileage is reimbursed. There may be some opportunities for
advancement.

Positions are available in every community. Bilingual workers are in
high demand. The U. S. Census Bureau encourages interested persons to
apply for these jobs by calling the Toll Free Jobs Line at
1-866-861-2010.

Encourage your friends to sign up to receive e-mail updates about the
2010 Census in Minneapolis. To learn more about efforts being made in
Minneapolis to ensure everyone is counted, visit
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/2010census/.

The 2010 Census Form

The 2010 census form is one of the shortest forms in history – 10
questions. Each question helps to determine how more than $400 billion
will be allocated to communities across the country. If you’re curious
about the form and what questions will be on it, the U.S. Census
Bureau has an interactive form
http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php and a
text-only form http://2010.census.gov/2010census/text/text-form.php on
its Web site.

A reminder: look for Census forms to arrive in the mail beginning in mid-March

Next Minneapolis Complete Count Committee meeting

Tuesday, Mar. 16, 5-7 p.m.
Holy Rosary Catholic Church
2424 18th Ave. S.
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/2010census/CCC.asp

Additional events/activities

There are many additional events and activities for people in
Minneapolis to help spread the word about the 2010 Census. For a full
schedule visit our web site:
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/2010census/schedule.asp

You are subscribed to updates about the 2010 Census in Minneapolis.
You may update or cancel your subscription at any time. All you need
is your e-mail address and password (if you have selected one). This
service is provided free of charge by the City of Minneapolis.

P.S. If you have any questions or problems please contact
support@govdelivery.com for assistance.

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Two-for-one cat offer at Humane Society

By Mary Ann | Published: March 3, 2010

The Animal Humane Society is resuming the “Double the Love” cat adoption program that it offered last year.

Starting this week, customers can adopt one cat or kitten at the regular adoption fee and get a second cat with the fees waived. All cats and kittens are sterilized prior to adoption. When the society made the same offer last year, more than 700 cats found new homes during a four-month period. The Double the Love program is available at all five Animal Humane Society locations in Golden Valley, Buffalo, Coon Rapids, St. Paul and Woodbury. For more details, go to www.animalhumanesociety.org.  Information from the StarTribune, March 3, 2010.

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Northside Arts News – March 2010 Edition

By Mary Ann | Published: March 2, 2010

Click the link below to begin the download:

Northside Arts News — March 2010 Edition

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5th Annual Neighborhood Sustainability Conference, Saturday, March 13, 8:30am until 4:30pm

By Mary Ann | Published: March 2, 2010

Central Lutheran Church, 333 12th Street South Minneapolis, MN  55404
(next to the Minneapolis Convention Center)

FREE – Please please pre-register at www.afors.org or call 612-331-1099

(Optional box lunch for $5, parking $8 or car pool or take metro transit)

The block club bringing the most neighbors to the event will each
receive free blue sky guides

Find great resources for your spring and summer neighborhood projects
including funding sources, project tool kits and successful project
ideas from other neighborhoods.

·Network with volunteers from your neighborhood over lunch and with
500 volunteers from other metro communities in topic workshops.  Link
up with more than 30 resource organizations with project resources on
gardening, water quality, walking/ biking, trees and energy.

Topic to be covered include community gardening, rain gardens, emerald
ash borer, painting the pavement, energy conservation, renewable
energy, composting, biking and walking,  transition towns, global
sufficiency network, permaculture design and outreach skill building
with block clubs, congregations, schools, garden clubs, urban farming
and green career networking.

FREE  Agenda   PDF Flyer   (details below)  Please please pre-register
at www.afors.org or call 612-331-1099

Detailed AGENDA

8:30am – Registration and Refreshments

9am – Keynote – Placemaking – Reclaiming our Public Spaces and
Building Community- through street painting, public art and greening
projects. Mark Lakeman from the City Repair Project, Portland OR

10 to 11:30 – Grassroots Project Workshops – Energy Conservation
(Metro CERTS), Complete Streets/ Biking and Walking (Bike/Walk Twin
Cities), Rain Gardens (Master Gardeners), Composting (Eureka
Recycling), Emerald Ash Borer/ Tree Planting (Hamline Midway, DNR),
Community Gardening (Gardening Matters), Transition Northfield, Global
Sufficiency Network/ Dual Currencies

11:30 to 12:30 – Participatory Design Charrettes – Participate in
extreme makeovers with permaculture designers, and neighborhood
residents – Seward Block Clubs – traffic calming, St. Luke
Presbyterian suburban food production, Central Corridor/ Frogtown Farm
and the Natural Step for Communities

12:30 – Meet for lunch with others from your neighborhood to share
your project ideas for the spring /summer. $5 box lunch available
please pre-register or bring your own lunch.

2pm to 3:30pm – Organizing and Outreach Skill Building Sessions –
Learn ways to grow your green team with School Environmental Clubs,
Congregations,  Taking the 12 Steps of Transition in your Community,
Block Clubs & Neighborhoods, Public Artists, Urban Farmers, Community
Gardens, Environmental Commissions, State and Federal Policy, Green
Career Networking

3:30 to 4:30- Networking, exhibitors and reception – with food donated
by local organic restaurants.

The public is invited to the free conference but pre-registration for
the conference is requested through the Alliance for Sustainability,
www.afors.org or 612-331-1099.

The conference is sponsored by the Alliance for Sustainability, Cities
of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, League of
Minnesota Cities, Metro Cities, Association of Minnesota Counties, Met
Council, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Schuler Shook, Xcel
Energy, Barr Engineering, Emmons Olivier Resources, Bonetroo,
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, Mississippi Watershed Management
Organization, Transit for Livable Communities, Clean Water Action,
Gardening Matters, Do it Green MN, Metro Clean Energy Resource Teams
and Permaculture Cold Climate Research Institute. More sponsors and
exhibitors are welcome!

Questions?

Please contact Sean Gosiewski, Program Director, Alliance for
Sustainability  612-331-1099  sean@afors.org www.afors.org

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The Minnesota Department of Agriculture confirms emerald ash borer infestation in Minneapolis trees

By Mary Ann | Published: March 1, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 25, 2010

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) today confirmed an emerald ash borer infestation in four trees in the Prospect Park East River Road neighborhood of Minneapolis within Tower HillPark.  This infestation is within a mile of the St. Paul neighborhood in which the tree pest was found last year.

The infestation was discovered through an ongoing survey of ash trees in the vicinity of the South St. Anthony Park neighborhood, where EAB was found in May 2009.  While this marks the first time emerald ash borer has been found in Minnesota outside Ramsey County, state officials said the discovery was anticipated.  Last fall, scientists determined that the St. Paul infestation had been in place for about three years prior to detection.  Since the adult beetles can fly up to 2 miles each year, officials expected that the bug had spread into Minneapolis.

“When we found the St. Paul infestation last May so close to the border of the two cities, we knew there was a good chance we’d find it in Minneapolis,” said MDA Plant Protection Director Geir Friisoe.  “That’s why we included Hennepin County in the initial EAB quarantine, even though it had only been confirmed in Ramsey County.”

The EAB quarantine in place for Ramsey and Hennepin Counties prohibits moving from the counties any items that may be infested with EAB, including ash trees and ash tree limbs, as well as all hardwood firewood.  This quarantine remains in effect in 2010.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Forestry Division is responsible for planting and maintenance of public trees on Minneapolis city streets and parkland.  The Park Board’s forestry division has been working with MDA to prepare for the arrival of EAB.  Next steps will include removal of infested trees and an intensified survey of all ash trees in the surrounding area.

EAB is an invasive beetle that kills ash trees.  Its larvae kill ash trees by tunneling into the wood and feeding on the tree’s nutrients.  Since its accidental introduction into North America, EAB has killed millions of ash trees in 13 states.  The metallic-green adult beetles are a half inch long, and are active from May to September.  Signs of infestation include one-eighth inch, D-shaped exit holes in ash tree bark and serpentine tunnels under the bark.

Officials remind Minnesotans they can take the following steps to keep EAB from spreading:

  • Don’t transport firewood. Buy firewood locally from an approved vendor, and burn it where you buy it;
  • Be aware of the quarantine restrictions. If you live in a quarantined county, be aware of the special restrictions on movement of products such as ash trees, ash limbs, and firewood.  Details on the quarantines can be found online at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/pestmanagement/eab/quarantinefaq.aspx; and
  • Watch for signs of infestation in your ash trees. If you suspect your ash tree could be infested by EAB, visit www.mda.state.mn.us and use the “Do I Have Emerald Ash Borer?” checklist.

MPRB Emerald Ash Borer Preparedness Plan

CONTACT:

Michael Schommer

Communications Director

651-201-6629

Michael.schommer@state.mn.us

******************************

Janell Wojtowicz

Communication Specialist

Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board

2117 West River Road

Minneapolis, MN 55411

612-230-6414

jwojtowicz@minneapolisparks.org

Posted in Around The Block, Latest News | Leave a comment

Micro-farming in North Minneapolis – Small is Beautiful

By Mary Ann | Published: February 25, 2010

The McKinley Neighborhood is embracing urban agriculture with the start of a small scale CSA.  Utilizing our former community garden space we will begin our inaugural growing season in the summer of 2010.

When you consider the effects of soil depletion, run off from factory farms, the huge consumption of fossil fuels to transport foods across the globe and the hamstringing of independent farmers from saving their own seed, creating a just and sustainable food system can seem overwhelming.  We see the answer to these large problems in the simple and the small.  We can feed ourselves.

With a great and humbling appreciation for the many people currently working to create a sane food system we invite you to partner with us in any way that makes sense for you as an individual or organization.  Some possible ideas for collaboration include:

  • Organizing your church, family or work group in a day of volunteer labor
  • Buying a share of the harvest
  • Cosponsoring a class or workshop
  • Listing our organization on your website’s resource page
  • Keeping us up to date on the work you are doing
  • Making a donation of gardening equipment, seed, manure or compost
  • Forwarding this email
  • Signing up to our email list, find out about classes and other programming
  • Your kind thoughts and goodwill toward our efforts

We can be contacted @

mckinleycommunitycsa@yahoo.com

612-276-1541

McKinley Community @ Center for Families

3333 North 4th Street, Suite 1

Minneapolis MN 55412

Please see our attached brochure for more information about the 2010 season.

2010 McKinley CSA Brochure

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Jim Wentzell’s Surprise Party, Thursday, February 18, Good Sports Bar and Grill

By Mary Ann | Published: February 22, 2010

For years, Jim has teased about wishing for only one thing – a nice steak dinner with a “Manhattan”.  Well, this past Friday, his wish came true to thank Jim for his many years of hard work and interest in North Minneapolis.

There was a great turnout. He and his wife, Annie, had great fun meeting lots of his friends and board members from the Webber-Camden Neighborhood Organization Board, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council and many friends and colleagues from the City of Minneapolis (including CPED and MPD). All in all it was a great way to honor a man who has contributed so much to North Minneapolis.

To view the photos of Jim at his surprise party, please click on the link and enjoy!

http://carney.com/pats_blog/jimwentzell/

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Lowcountry fare is coming north

By Mary Ann | Published: February 22, 2010

Gullah Grub Cafe is hoping to open in August

By Rick Nelson, Star Tribune Last update: February 17, 2010
In the vast north quadrant of Minneapolis, where the dining-out choices are little more than Burger King, McDonald’s, Little Caesar’s and KFC, the people behind a small start-up are hoping to make a big impact.

When Gullah Grub Cafe opens at 1200 W. Broadway in August, it will be the next step in an continued revitalization of the troubled West Broadway business district by Catalyst Community Partners, a nonprofit group devoted to putting dilapidated historic buildings back into productive use.

“We’re a nonprofit, but our job is to stimulate the market,” said president Sue Wollan Fan. “We recruit businesses or start them ourselves and then transition ownership to locals.”
The $3.5 million project involves three adjacent buildings, which have housed a mortuary and a day-care center. When construction is complete, the buildings’ upper floors will be devoted to leasable office space, and the 40-seat cafe will share ground-floor space with Kindred Kitchen, a commercially licensed work space and business incubator for caterers and local food-product entrepreneurs. Outdoors, a large kitchen garden will provide a steady supply of herbs and vegetables throughout the growing season, and a spacious 60-seat patio will stretch along Broadway.

The restaurant’s concept was created by Shea Inc. That’s a familiar name to regular Counter Intelligence readers, and it’s not that I’ve become an adjunct to the considerable Shea marketing machine; it’s just that the influential Minneapolis design and consulting firm has its fingers in all kinds of pots. No wonder Catalyst turned to them.

“They wanted a Southern cafe for the North Side,” said principal David Shea, noting that the restaurant will also serve an educational purpose. “Rather than learning how to flip burgers at Burger King, kids from the neighborhood can work at the restaurant and learn real culinary skills.”

Catalyst is also at work at Penn and Broadway, converting the former site of Delisi’s restaurant into a much-needed new home for 89.9 KMOJ radio. A block east of the Gullah project, Catalyst recently brought the neighborhood a locally owned coffeehouse, Bean Scene Too (1101 W. Broadway, http://www.beanscene.net).

The Gullah are a distinct, heritage-minded group of African-Americans living in South Carolina and Georgia’s Lowcountry coastal regions, the area where the menu finds its inspiration. Since a chef isn’t attached to the project — yet — it’s hard to know exactly what to expect, food-wise, although Shea’s prototype emphasizes basic and beloved low-country classics: she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, catfish with okra, skillet cornbread, black-eyed pea cakes, sweet potato pie and more.

“No one is doing this style of cooking in the Twin Cities,” said Shea. “We want the restaurant to connect with the roots and history of the people living on the North Side, but also draw diners from elsewhere in the city.”

The plan is to serve an affordable lunch and dinner daily, as well as weekend brunch. “We polled people up and down the avenue and asked them for feedback,” said Wollan Fan. “Within 24 hours we had received more than 100 responses. The overwhelming response was, ‘Please give us a place where we can have a meeting, meet for dinner, have a glass of wine before going to the Capri Theater — something that is fresh and flavorful and clearly not in the deep-fried fast-food range.’”

RICK NELSON
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