I think Lucy Van Pelt’s personality must have been extremely compelling. How else can one explain the behavior of Charlie Brown? Self-confident and knowledgeable, Lucy attracted Charlie Brown into her version of friendship. She played on his baseball team, offered him deprecating versions of psychiatric help and was always willing to offer up the pigskin. Lucy Van Pelt – holding the football and promising to let Charlie Brown kick it. Continue Reading
While Minnesota is well-known for its bike paths and open space, there are still areas in Minneapolis that are in desperate need of park amenities, according to Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls).
Is there a view of the Mississippi River that every time you pass by it, you can’t help but stop for a moment and take it all in?The National Park Service wants to know what the view is and why you love it.A Plan to Protect Scenic ViewsNPS is collecting this information to inform the development of a Visual Resource Protection Plan that it is creating in partnership with the Mississippi River Parkway Commission. The plan will be used to guide efforts to protect and enhance the views along the Great River Road and the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway. Specifically, it will use the information to request funding to improve favorite overlooks and public access to scenic views, and to help determine the impact that future development projects will have on our visual resources.A national park in an urban setting is in a unique position. While it is charged with protecting the resources of the park, it also needs to work with developers and building projects. “NPS encourages sustainable development that does not impact important resources, which includes important views,” said NPS Park Planner Susan Overson. Continue Reading
Ice rinks at most Minneapolis parks will be closed for the season on Tuesday, February 19th, including the rinks at Longfellow, Hiawatha, and Matthews parks.
Last year’s fantastical visioning hits this year’s harsh realities as the RiverFirst design team digs in to get about half-way done with the schematic design work necessary to price out the upper Mississippi River plan, the plan for the area between North and Northeast Minneapolis along the banks and into the neighborhoods.The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in October 2012 drew a line against sand, saying that no further money should be spent on reclaiming Hall’s Island from the former Scherer Brothers site.At an update presentation January 17, planners said they’ve modified the proposal to address the DNR and USACE rule that no fill be used unless to benefit habitat. Where the original vision was for a built-up, active island including a man-made pool, the new island is much flatter, with three zones—flood plain forest, emergent habitat and wet prairie habitat. It’s more like a preserve with human access, part of a chain of trails.The new plan would have a wider channel between the island and shoreline. That “back channel” is seen as an important slower moving launch point to the larger river, and it’s designed to collect sediment naturally to strengthen the island but not require dredging.The presenters said DNR and USACE staff “informally do not endorse its habitat viability. No formal response has been received.” They asked people to express support for restoring Hall’s Island by filling out comment cards or contacting the Department of Natural Resources, Keith Parker, director of the Central Region, keith.parker@state.mn.us.On a more hopeful note, the team talked, as they have in the past, about the Upper Harbor Terminal in North Minneapolis as the “low hanging fruit.” Council President Barb Johnson stopped in to say with the end of the barge operator’s contract coming at the end of 2014, there’s a sense on the Minneapolis City Council that the land is too valuable to continue in that use. Continue Reading
Take a winter walking tour of Coldwater Spring, the new park located between Minnehaha Park and Fort Snelling, and you can catch a glimpse of the area’s storied past. If you’re lucky, one of our local historians will be on the tour and can point out the location of homes from a mid-1880s settlement or can talk about why Coldwater is considered by many to be the birthplace of Minnesota.National Park Ranger Nick Krasch leads a winter walking tour at Coldwater Spring.NPS Unveils a ParkWhen the National Park Service (NPS) took over the site in 2010, it was nothing close to what you would imagine a National Park to be. The land had been home to the Bureau of Mines, and when it was shuttered in 1996 its buildings were abandoned, even office equipment had been left behind. Buckthorn ran wild through masses of oaks, and Coldwater Creek disappeared into a steel culvert.NPS set out to restore the area, and its task list was long. Fortunately it had the help of many volunteers to transform the space into what it is today, and although the work isn’t done, the park has come a long way. Continue Reading
ByShawne FitzGerald, David Tilsen, Scott Vreeland, Lisa McDonald, and Annie Young (E-Democracy issues forums) |
UPDATED AFTER 1/16 MPRB MEETINGFrom: s f Date: 16:16On July 11th, 2012, the Minneapolis Park Board voted to overturn the recommendations of the Theodore Wirth Citizens Advisory Committee and the recommendation of its own Planning Committee and shift $1.5 million in State bond funds from environmental projects at Wirth Park to building a new Welcome Center in the vicinity of the Wirth Par 3 Clubhouse.The Welcome Center was heavily promoted by the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation (dba The Loppet Foundation). The Loppet pledged to raise $3 million in private donations for Center construction and MPRB staff was directed to develop an agreement with The Loppet “to raise not less than a 2 for 1 matching amount of $3.0 million privately by December 1, 2014.” The Board also directed staff to prepare a detailed park development and operations pro forma “the identifies the ability to construct the [Welcome Center] without negative MPRB budget impact.”http://tinyurl.com/ck7gvxtThe Loppet is back with a fundraising agreement and it’s a doozy.In return for raising $3,000,000, The Loppet wants a 25 year lease on the new Welcome Center and 22.5 surrounding acres. The Loppet would serve as “Developer” subletting the building to tenants like a restaurant, a bike shop, a winter sports store, offices, etc. It appears The Loppet would keep all building revenue. Continue Reading
The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) will hold a public hearing on Jan. 16 to decide whether to sell the Waite House building and lands to Banyan Community, a Christian community development corporation, or to In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater.There was a community meeting Dec. 11 that was attended by about 75 people, according to Brandi Olson, a participant. The vote was 56 in favor of Banyan and 12 for HOTB. On the Minneapolis Issues List she said, “Both organizations presented and answered questions. Continue Reading
Residents might have seen some ash trees along Stinson Parkway marked with a green painted ring, and concluded that they are being removed because of the emerald ash borer.
The warmer weather we’ve had recently has delayed the opening of the ice rinks at Minneapolis parks, including Longfellow and Matthews. When we’ve stopped by both parks, a staff person was out building the base for the rinks. However, for the rinks to become fully operational, the parks need ten consecutive days (24 hours daily) with temperatures below twenty degrees.
