An 18-foot high climbing net, a “tilted skyrunner,” “double wild” slide and more attractions will be coming to Waite Park’s playgrounds in a $200,000 project that could get underway in mid-September. It’s a good example of a park that doesn’t need the typical additional $100,000 to $150,000 for infrastructure, the “play containers” are already there, along Garfield St. NE a block north of 33rd Avenue NE.A new handicap-accessible wading pool is also planned, and there will be public meetings Sept. 24 and Oct. 8 to get public comment toward those plans.At an Aug. Continue Reading
They’ll have to look out the third floor of their house to get a river view, but moving it to the other side of Marshall Street will create possibilities for public parks.The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Aug. 21 approved purchasing 2128 Marshall St. NE from Jim Rosenberg and Christine Bravo for $385,050. Rosenberg said they will move the existing home across the street to 2111 Marshall St. NE “we hope, before the snow flies.”The property at 2111 is a now-vacant lot which for a while held The Sample Room’s garden. Continue Reading
Fall program registration has already begun and programs begin in September after Labor Day. Corcoran is expanding its afterschool programming for school age children. Some of the upcoming programs include:Girl Time: (Ages 6-12) Girls will have the chance to learn new skills, belong to a group, make positive connections to peers, feel good and believe in their ability to create a positive future for themselves, and have some girl time fun. Meets every other Thursday 4:30pm-6pm.Monday Mania: (Ages 6-12) It’s the first day of the school week, but what better way to end your day than here at Corcoran Park. Come and join us for a Monday adventure. Continue Reading
Registro para el programa del otoño ya ha comenzado. Estos programas comenzarán en septiembre, después del Labor Day (El Día de Labor). Corcoran está ampliando su programación de después de clases para los niños en edad escolar. Algunos de los próximos programas incluyen:Tiempo para niñas: (Edades de 6-12) Niñas tendrán la oportunidad de aprender nuevas habilidades, pertenecer a un grupo de pares, hacer conexiones positivas con otras compañeras, y creer y sentirse bien en su capacidad de crear un futuro positivo para ellas mismas. Además tendrán tiempo divertido con otras niñas. Continue Reading
A million here, a million there, $3 million and so on, pretty soon we’re talking real money and real change in North Minneapolis parks.There’s been major digging at North Commons, Farview’s field is about to go under the knife, and the biggest of them all, Theodore Wirth Park, is close to having a completed master plan, waiting on some internal review steps, according to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) planner in charge, Andrea Weber.“That means it’s stuck on my desk” said assistant superintendent for planning, Bruce Chamberlain. “It’s a big park, and a massive document,” he said of the months and years that have gone into the process so far.Theodore Wirth ParkThis spring, the park board inked an agreement with the City of Lakes Loppet Foundation that allows the foundation to raise $3 million to donate to MPRB in exchange for the rights to lease and operate a new welcome center near a new “silent sports” facility on Theodore Wirth Parkway. The terms of that lease are not spelled out, and if the project cost exceeds $3 million it will have to be re-worked and re-bid.The agreement is also contingent on the parks making plans for reworking the 17th and 18th holes on their main golf course to accommodate an open field as a starting area for mountain biking.They are on a deadline coming up (in September), and Chamberlain said they are working on it. John Munger of the Foundation was on vacation this past week and could not be reached for comment.Park users will, however, see many not-insignificant changes throughout Wirth’s many amenities. Looking at minneapolispark.org and talking with Weber, we find:Crews have continued seeding and other storm damage recovery steps at the south end of the lake. Continue Reading
When most people think summer in Minnesota, they think north: lakes, coniferous forests, large noisy black birds. But Minnesota actually has four biomes, and I would consider the prairie grassland the most neglected when we engage in communal nostalgia for Minnesota summer. Luckily, we have some great parks on the prairie where you can see a little of what Minnesota might have been like before settlement. And it’s beautiful. Continue Reading
With school starting on Monday, many local wading pools are closing for the season. Warm weather is expected for the weekend, and it will be the perfect time to take one last dip in the pool.
What do you get when you let community people and architects loose with a kit of paper parts, maps, and an hour or so to put them together? Twelve ideas for a new Northeast Park, and a lot of discussion about how these ideas and parts might work with what’s already there between Polk and Johnson from 16th to 13th avenues NE.Add two more days intense work by the architects, and five different approaches emerge, incorporating the best ideas, brought back for more critique. While three of those seemed to rise to the top, at the Saturday, Aug. 3 meeting on the subject only about half of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) members were present, so they didn’t vote.They hope to have at it again next in September or early October, with a final meeting in November at the latest, with Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) consideration also in November. CAC chair Doron Clark emphasized that at every meeting, there would be opportunity for public input. Continue Reading
New parks and trails on the Upper Riverfront are moving ahead. The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board-led RiverFirst Initiative (RiverFirst.com) is making progress toward four new parks and miles of riverfront trails.RiverFirst is a joint effort of the Minneapolis Park Board (MPRB) with the Minneapolis Parks Foundation and the City of Minneapolis. It is also the name of the Upper Riverfront design project that started in 2010 as the Minneapolis Riverfront Design Competition. In 2011-12, extensive community input on the winning design was completed, including community meetings, a survey and “River Is, River Could Be,” a collection of community ideas.In August 2012, MPRB Commissioners approved a resolution that set into motion several RiverFirst Priority Projects, a new park and restored Hall’s Island on the former Scherer Bros. site and upgrading 26th Avenue North to a greenway, along with riverfront trail loops for walkers and bikers.New Project Emerges: 26th Avenue Overlook and PierSince then, the MPRB has overseen what’s called “schematic design” for five RiverFirst projects. Continue Reading
Bill Rasmussen is hoping his production “Memories of Como Park—The Musical” will evoke lifelong memories that people have about Como Regional Park.The show will be performed at Como Lakeside Pavilion, 1326 Lexington Avenue, on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16 and 17 at 7 p.m. The show will feature songs and dance performed in scenes that will depict historical sites and activities in the park.Rasmussen, producer and director of Como Park Productions, has been producing, directing and performing in shows at the pavilion since 1999. The park has a significant meaning, for him, he says, because that’s where his wife, Ginny, took him on their first date.Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children 12 and under. Ticket reservations may be made, with guaranteed seating, by calling Rasmussen at 651-489-3405. Continue Reading
