Commercial use, then housing proposed for 201 Lowry NE in Minneapolis

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Is there life after Little Jack’s?March 12, about a year after the City of Minneapolis adopted the 201 Lowry Avenue Northeast Redevelopment Plan, a developer will be talking to the Bottineau Neighborhood Association board about a combined but separated proposal for commercial and housing at the site. The meeting is public.The last owner, LET Lowry LLC forfeited the land to the state for back taxes in 2010. City inspectors condemned the building for lack of maintenance Nov. 10, 2010. Hennepin County administers the property and could have auctioned it. Continue Reading

Ian Alexander announces candidacy for Minneapolis City Council 5th Ward seat

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VoteforIan.com is the website, the man behind it, Ian Alexander, is running for the 5th Ward Council seat as incumbent Don Samuels chose to run for mayor rather than another council term.(The other formally-announced candidate is Brett Buckner; coverage of his announcement was in the January 23 NorthNews, now online at MyNorthNews.com, under “news archive.”)Alexander says business development and job creation are his priorities. On his website, he said, “Everyone agrees that one of the largest impediments to revitalization on the Northside is crime. But crime is often a symptom of something larger: the lack of economic opportunity.”He told NorthNews, “The issue is we’re still losing population. Parents’ children reach school age and don’t qualify for the schools they want to send them to, they move. I have friends, African American professionals who’ve left the Northside, and that’s a problem.” Even though education is outside of the control of the city council, paying attention to economics can do a lot to improve the overall climate, Alexander said.There will be meet-and-greets for the candidate Ian Alexander:Wednesday, Feb. Continue Reading

Figuring out what fits at Farview Park in Minneapolis

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David Luce has lived next to Farview Park for decades. Gary Wilson has coached and volunteered in other ways at Farview Park for decades. The two of them, on opposite sides of the impending re-working of the ballfield area, met with park planners and consultants from the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation to review options Jan. 7 at Farview. A couple of other park users and other interested parties attended.The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has already voted to accept a donation that’s still being raised, to install artificial playing surfaces at both Farview and North Commons parks. Continue Reading

Snowplows hit $18,000 in Lowry Bridge lights

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Jim Grube doesn’t drive a snowplow, but he might wish he’d had that experience as he takes responsibility for the 11 missing street light poles on the Lowry Avenue Bridge.When they designed the bridge deck, Grube, the Hennepin County engineer said, they included a “Wyoming rail barrier” guardrail to stop any errant cars from leaving the road, and then placed the lights behind it, closer to the road than they would have if there were no rail. What they didn’t anticipate was that when a snowplow scrapes up to the curb, the flare of the blade can catch a light pole – or in this case, seven on the north edge and four on the south.The blade shape is what funnels the snow and throws it far, allowing the truck to keep cruising. But it rides up over the guardrail. Now, plow drivers have been instructed not to plow all the way to the curb.New poles have been ordered totaling $18,000, the wires and lamps were saved, and by two months from now, the street lights will be back in service. Grube said it would not be safe to simply try to pound out the dents as most of the poles’ weight would focus pressure on the weak spots. Continue Reading

How the City of Minneapolis and its residents deal with snow and ice

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The sun streams in to my upstairs home office, and I’m gazing at the icy sidewalk. I put down salt and sand yesterday. If I go out and shovel, will it finally get the job done? Will I be able to get to bare sidewalk? If I lived in a special test area of Northeast (everything north of Lowry), it might be too late, as the city may already have sent me a letter telling me to clear my sidewalks or face a big bill.The accelerated action “Snow and Ice Pilot” actually started last year in Ward 10, said Larry Matsumoto of the Minneapolis Public Works Department, but there was hardly enough snow to be able to measure results. Continue Reading

Edison to celebrate rain water with new water management plans

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“Off the chain” comes to mind…a rain chain, that is, part of the new “green campus” features planned for Edison High School, 22nd Avenue and Monroe Street NE, which will be breaking ground as soon as school lets out.To the west of where about a decade ago rushing 100-year-flood water threatened to collapse the building, by fall 2013 you’ll see “10-12 BMPs” (examples of best management practices) including artistic outlets for controllable pumped rainwater. “We’re making water more visible, bringing it out and celebrating it,” said consultant landscape architect John Slack of Stantec, an international firm with an office in Saint Paul. He noted Seattle and Portland have artistic downspouts on some of their buildings.In this part of the makeover, the Edison gymnasium roof water is captured in an above-ground cistern and a below-ground holding tank. It’s then used onsite to water increased plantings as well as to circulate through some kind of art on special occasions. A lot of the current impervious surfaces around the gym, described as “overgrown and poorly maintained,” will go away, including one of three sets of stairs along 22nd Avenue.A couple of audience members at the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association meeting Feb. Continue Reading

How’s the new Lowry Bridge holding up?

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Jim Grube doesn’t drive a snowplow, but he might wish he’d had that experience as he takes responsibility for the 11 missing street light poles on the Lowry Avenue Bridge.When they designed the bridge deck, Grube, the Hennepin County engineer said, they included a “Wyoming rail barrier” guardrail to stop any errant cars from leaving the road, and then placed the lights behind it, closer to the road than they would have if there were no rail. What they didn’t anticipate was that when a snowplow scrapes up to the curb, the flare of the blade can catch a light pole – or in this case, seven on the north edge and four on the south.The blade shape is what funnels the snow and throws it far, allowing the truck to keep cruising. But it rides up over the guardrail. Now, plow drivers have been instructed not to plow all the way to the curb.New poles have been ordered totaling $18,000, the wires and lamps were saved, and by two months from now, the street lights will be back in service. Grube said it would not be safe to simply try to pound out the dents as most of the poles’ weight would focus pressure on the weak spots. Continue Reading

Northeasters Witt Siasoco and Jim Voll on Creative CityMaking

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“Department of Change” he called it. When a house near Witt Siasoco’s Holland Neighborhood home was condemned, he instinctively used his artistic, graphic and engagement skills to demonstrate what he was learning.With condemned status, “we thought it was going to be torn down. But I dug deeper.” It takes more to get it done. He faked a realty sign (at right) that announced “this house should be demolished” and set out brochures as to why. “But I also gave the other side. Continue Reading

Art-A-Whirl brings in 30,000 people, Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association reports

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Let’s do some math: 30,000 people spending $35 apiece on a nice dinner/drinks would add up to over $1 million into the local economy. If they buy art, the total’s much higher; visual art sales/awareness are reasons for Art-A-Whirl.Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) kicked off the 2013 Art-A-Whirl effort Jan. 22, announcing the annual Artist Directory cover art and pumping up a capacity crowd of members at Chowgirls Parlor with reports and projections about the $189,000-budget non-profit organization. The annual studio crawl will be held May 17-19.First Ward City Council Member Kevin Reich opened the proceedings explaining that appointing the city’s director of arts, culture and creative economy, Gulgun Kayim, demonstrates the city reasserting its support for what artists mean to community. One of her first-year projects was to manage a Creative Vitality Index (CVI) soon to be released which will show the effects of Art-A-Whirl. Continue Reading

Appetite for Change: Healthy Corner Stores Project participants care about their customers

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Penn Gas Stop at 26th and Penn became quite the media stage during a store makeover promoting healthy eating. Reporters from WCCO and KARE-11 recorded interviews as Michelle Horovitz from Appetite for Change and Nora Hoeft of the City of Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support created display areas for fresh fruits in the cooler and on the counter.The latest effort in the Healthy Corner Stores Project follows about a dozen others in the past two years, where educational information on shopping for food to prepare healthy meals, even on the tightest of budgets, is also distributed. This effort was a partnership through West Broadway Business and Area Coalition and funded by the State of Minnesota.Appetite For Change is also doing more to let neighbors know that the fresh produce is available through community organizing efforts, and will be holding community events and cooking demonstrations.Horovitz said, “You can actually make a meal with the produce you find here.”Especially at the stores that qualify to accept WIC, there’s a selection of food staples besides the popular chips and pop; Minneapolis has a staple food ordinance. Hoeft told NorthNews that she’s scrubbed coolers clean at some stores and people notice that “something’s different.”For people without cars, “unless you can get a cab, bum a ride, or be on a bus line,” the corner convenience store is where they can shop. “It has to be affordable and attractive.” The Penn Gas Stop had a steady stream of customers during the early morning makeover, at one time there was a long line.In interviews, Horovitz and Hoeft said they are trying to change behaviors by making it easy to find and choose fresh fruits, by putting them up front and attractively priced and to find fresh vegetables displayed in prime cooler space.“The store owners are committed to their customer base, and we want them to be successful. Continue Reading