Friday, May 10, 2013
Nicollet Avenue South is now closed from 36th Street to about half way between 37th and 38th streets for the second phase of the avenue's reconstruction project.
Crews are hard at work removing pavement on 36th Street and mid-block between 37th and 38th streets. According to the city, Thomas and Sons, the contractor in charge of the project, expects to begin working on a new storm sewer and will dig the access holes for the water main cleaning and lining next week. They also might begin some of the road base grading work starting late next week. Businesses are open during construction and local access to them, as well as residences, will be maintained. As for traffic detours, buses and vehicles have been rerouted to 1st and Blaisdell avenues. Thomas and Sons expects to begin working on the storm sewer the week of May 13, the recent newsletter said. Nicollet Avenue was originally constructed in 1954…
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The Minneapolis Police Department releases its crime maps for the week of April 23-29, 2013.
See what your Minneapolis police officers were up to over the past week, and where things were going down in your neighborhood. There are two PDFs attached to this article show Precinct 5 offenses between April 23 and April 29, 2013: one with violent crime incidents, and the other with other tracked offenses. Follow Southwest Minneapolis Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free daily email newsletter
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Are you interested in helping shape key policy decisions and provide community input? Then consider applying to one of the city's open seats.
The City of Minneapolis is looking for 47 individuals to fill vacant seats on 10 different boards and commissions. According to a release, board and commission members provide insights, help shape key policy decisions and provide community-based input into administration of services. The city is seeking applicants with a diversity of backgrounds and experiences. The following is a list of boards and commissions with openings: The city began reviewing applications last week, however, the positions are open until filled. For more information or for a full list of appointment opportunities and position descriptions, go to the city's website at minneapolismn.gov. Follow Southwest Minneapolis Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for…
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Weather permitting, of course.
As long as winter truly ends after Tuesday's expected snowfall, the reconstruction of Nicollet Avenue South will enter Phase II next week. According to the city of Minneapolis, the contractor for this year's work, Thomas and Sons, has set a start date of *May 1. (Of course, the start date is contingent on the weather.) The street was originally constructed in 1954 and an asphalt overlay was done in 1977, according to the project's webpage. The first phase of the reconstruction project was completed at the end of the 2012 construction season, and focused on the area between Lake and 36th streets. The second and final phase will revamp Nicollet from 36th Street to 40th Street. The final product will feature two traffic lanes, one in each …
Saturday, April 20, 2013
The City of Minneapolis is suing CenterPoint Energy, the newspaper reported.
The City of Minneapolis has filed suit with CenterPoint Energy over the March 17, 2011 gas explosion near the Cub Foods store at the corner of 60th Street and Nicollet Avenue South, the Star Tribune reported. Related: According to the Star Tribune: The city of Minneapolis filed a lawsuit last month against CenterPoint Energy claiming the Texas-based natural gas company was negligent in maintaining and repairing the pipe running under 60th Street and Nicollet Avenue S. The city is seeking compensation for damages to its infrastructure caused by the blast. ... The city’s claim states: “CenterPoint failed to use reasonable and ordinary care in designing, constructing, maintaining and repairing the gas pipe running under 60th Street in …
Friday, April 19, 2013
Minneapolis' 311 has extended its daily service schedule by one hour each evening, starting on Monday, April 15, 2013.
For three years, people who tried calling Minneapolis' 311 contact center after 7 p.m. have reached a closed office and a recording. That changed Monday, April 15, 2013, when 311 extended its service hours (formerly 7 a.m–7 p.m.) to 7 a.m.–8 p.m. daily. The City of Minneapolis website has an explanation: When warmer weather arrives to melt the April snowfall, more people will be spending time outdoors and may notice issues that need addressing in Minneapolis. To better serve those customers, beginning Monday, April 15, the Minneapolis 311 contact center will remain open an extra hour – until 8 p.m. – through mid-October as part of a new pilot program. During this pilot program, calls will be answered from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m., Monday through …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
A photo of yourself on your three-miles-or-more trip to work Friday on skis could win you ... free entry into this summer's new Tri-Loppet (canoe-run-bike) event.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has declared Friday, April 19, 2013 "Ski-to-Work Day" in Minneapolis. Thank goodness for the major winter storm that struck the Twin Cities on Thursday—just in time. From the mayor's Tumblr: The Tri-Loppet is a new summertime companion event to the midwinter City of Lakes Loppet crosscountry ski race. It includes a canoe component that dips into Southwest Minneapolis on Lake Calhoun as well as running and mountain-biking legs further north. Here is the City of Lakes Loppet Facebook page where Rybak invites you to post photographic evidence of your ski commute on Friday.
Two identical meetings are being held next week, after needing to be rescheduled from earlier in the month.
The road to a small area plan for a handful of Linden Hills business nodes is nearing the end of Phase II. The Linden Hills Neighborhood Council (LHiNC) and the City of Minneapolis' Community Development and Economic Development Department is hosting its third public engagment opportunity next week. Two identical community workshops will be held from 6-9 p.m. on April 24 and April 25 in Southwest High School's Media Center, 3414 W. 47th St. LHiNC began its quest for a small area plan in March 2012 after the controversial Linden Corner development was shot down by the city council. Small area plans are fairly common throughout Minneapolis, and allow neighborhood preferences to be embedded in the city’s zoning code. What do you want Linden …
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Volunteers are needed to visit approximately 90 Minneapolis stores and conduct a brief survey.
Are you interested in having more access to healthy food options in your neighborhood? Well, you might be in luck. City of Minneapolis staff and members of its Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council are working to do just that, and are also looking for volunteers to help, according to a recent release. Currently, the city has an ordinance that requires all licensed grocery stores to carry a minimum number of basic food items, including fresh fruits and vegetables, the release said. City staff and Homegrown Minneapolis members want to strengthen the ordinance to ensure that grocery stores, corner stores and other places that sell a significant amount of food are offering healthy options to customers. Volunteers are needed to visit approximately…
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The move is part of a global initiative to call attention to climate change and for participants to show their dedication in finding solutions.
The City of Minneapolis will once again participate in the annual "Earth Hour" initiative this year. The city will turn off all uses of electricity in major municipal buildings that are not required for life, safety or operations from 8:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23. Earth Hour began in one city in 2007 and quickly expanded around the world, with Minneapolis starting the tradition in 2008. According to EarthHour.org: Earth Hour is the single, largest, symbolic mass participation event in the world. Born out of a hope that we could mobilize people to take action on climate change, Earth Hour now inspires a global community of millions of people in 7,001 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories to switch lights off for an hour…
Will Bildsten
1:47 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013
There is much opportunity to attract boutique finance firms to Linden Hills in the future with the right investments. Downtown Wayzata already has many financials offices, but I think they could be very attractive here in the city as well. Any general development plan to increase Southwest's property values and high-dollar industries would help Minneapolis as a whole and allow other parts of the … more ›