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Kim Jakus has been staffing the LBA for the past four and a half years. Unfortunately, she’ll be leaving at the end of this year to pursue a new career and enrolling in Summit Academy’s electrician training program this winter. Kim will be missed, but
with her departure, LBA is taking the opportunity to increase staff capacity from part-time to full-time. This new position focused on business outreach and support will be housed under our partner organization Redesign and in collaboration with Seward Civic & Commerce Association (SCCA). The goal is that is alliance will allow LBA to work more efficiently and increase our ability to serve neighborhood businesses! If you know of someone who would be great at business outreach, please share the job description with them! Click here to view the description and apply.
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We have lots to celebrate this year!
Membership: We had 84 businesses join or renew this year - bringing in $14,360.00 in member dues. Thank you! Security Grants: With our partners at The Longfellow Community Council, we have given out $41,000 to 30 businesses in matching grants to help with security improvements. These include alarms, cameras, doors, locks, window film, etc. And there are still funds available. Apply here! Summer BOGO Punchcards: For June and July this year, we launched a new project with punchcards featuring Buy One Get One deals at neighborhood restaurants, coffee shops, bars, etc. We had 16 businesses participate and folks could stop into any of these businesses and buy a $10 punchcard. Businesses got to keep the money from the sale of the punchcards. The great collaborative piece was that those who had more of an online or social media presence were able to help promote fellow businesses that did not have as much of a following. We got some really great feedback from the community. Some folks emailed in and said it was the highlight of their summer to find and try new places in the neighborhood. We have applied for a grant to expand this next year into a bigger passport type initiative. Artist in Residence Program: We received some funds from the City of Minneapolis to pilot two Artists in Residence that matches a local artist with a business to do a 1-3 month long project in the space and engage employees, customers and the broader community. This was the brainchild of Megan Moore and she has recently finished the first residence with Wildflyer coffee. The second residency is underway between Our Glass and The Legacy Building. They’ll be making this custom glass art installation this winter and unveiling it next summer at the Soul festival block party at the Hook & Ladder theater. Mental Health Workshops: We received a grant from Hennepin County to host a series of mental health workshops for businesses, employees and residents. We partnered with Longfellow Community Council and Curiosity Studios at 36th and Lake Street. We hosted 5 sessions with different themes using different aspects of trauma informed art therapy. Strategic Planning: The LBA Board engaged in a few sessions of strategic planning this Fall to clarify the priorities of LBA and plan ahead. We’ve already proposed making a few changes to our Bylaws, which were last updated in 1998. We’ll be bringing those changes to you all at our Annual Meeting next April – when we’ll also be doing elections for the Board. A Message from Council Member Jason Chavez:
I wanted to send an update regarding the City of Minneapolis 2023 Budget Amendment Process. Over the past weeks and months, my staff and I have been working hard on the 2023 Minneapolis City Budget. Community budget meetings, constituent feedback, and turning your ideas into amendments. We went through 30 different amendments made by the 13 member City Council (My office authored 7 of those). I want to share with you all the amendments I authored that passed yesterday. South Minneapolis Community Safety Strategies Program: Mayor Frey and I came to a mutually agreed pathway to expand the Community Safety Strategies Program to South Minneapolis. It will address livability and safety issues and increase labor force participation from people in our community. We were able to add an additional $150,000 to the already $1,000,000 allocation. We also successfully passed a Legislative Directive that will identify opportunities for additional funding for the program in 2023, Identify its expansion to South Minneapolis and assess options for making the program ongoing. This is a huge win for community safety and economic development in our community (Passed 13-0). Neighborhood Trash Pick-Up and Employment Pathways Program: We deserve to have clean neighborhoods. This amendment will explore, design, and develop a neighborhood beautification and employment pathways program for unhoused community members, shelter residents, or those who are housing insecure to have an opportunity to get paid to clean up neighborhoods. It will be a bridge to future employment and training opportunities with our City Government being a partner (Passed 13-0). Lake Street Safety Center: I’ve been working with the Lake Street Greenway Partnership and community members to reestablish the Lake Street Safety Center. A collaboration effort with the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Lake Street Council, and other community partners. I was able to secure funding to help with the establishment of a location for this non-police public safety support, meet with Community Attorney’s and more. (Passed 13-0). Immigration Services Program: I worked on this amendment with Council Member Aisha Chughtai after hearing the concerns of community members. We successfully allocated $150,000 to the Neighborhood and Community Relations Department’s Office of Immigration and Refugee Affairs. This amendment will increase funding for immigration-related services. It will help our undocumented residents, DACA residents, immigrants, and refugees receive immigration support. The 9th Ward is home to many immigrants and expanding legal support is critical to our neighbors. The following Council members voted in favor: Payne, Wonsley, Ellison, Osman, Chavez, Chughtai, and Koski (Passed with 7 votes in favor and 6 against). Minneapolis Auto-Theft Prevention Program: Community members deserve to be safe in Minneapolis. As auto-thefts continue to occur nationwide, we must do everything in our power to prevent them from happening. Council Member Aisha Chughtai and I secured funding to do auto-theft prevention. The City of Saint Paul marks catalytic converters and places anti-theft screws on license plates to make them more difficult to steal. The exploration of this program is important for education and prevention (Passed 13-0). Public Health Needle Cleanup Services: After working with the Regulatory Services Department and Health Department, I was able to help secure American Rescue Plan Act funding to expand our current needle cleanup service contracts for 2023 and 2024. This led to me dropping my amendment as a different funding stream was found. I will also be working on a Legislative Directive together with both Departments on our current needle clean up contracts and discuss its expansion for the years to come. The Phillips Neighborhoods in Minneapolis are undergoing a terrible opioid epidemic that has led to our neighbors dying. As a result, we are also seeing needles on the ground in public spaces. This will help alleviate some of that. Youth Development Program - Summer Activities: There is a big need for summer youth activities. I was able to secure funding to establish 1-2 programs in the Summer of 2023 for underserved communities. It will help children and young people re-engage, recover, and accelerate learning and development (Passed 13-0). The vote on the final budget will be on December 6 at 6:00 PM at City Hall (350 S 4th St). Curious about the different strategies that St. Paul and Minneapolis use around homelessness and encampments? Check out this Star Tribune article.
The City Council has approved the nomination of Brian O’Hara to serve as police chief. O’Hara joined the City after serving as deputy mayor of Newark, New Jersey, in charge of overseeing strategic public safety initiatives. He officially starts Monday, November 7, 2022. As former captain of the Newark Police Department’s Consent Decree &Planning Division (2017-2020), O’Hara worked extensively with the Department of Justice on the 2016 consent decree between the U.S. and the City of Newark.
During the public hearing process, Council Member Robin Wonsley (Ward 2) had the opportunity to ask Chief O’Hara multiple questions and made additional comments. How would you have approached the Civil Unrest that occurred after the murder of George Floyd and how will you rebuild trust with our community? He said that in the future he hopes to put processes to identify bad police officers to remove before terrible things occur. He also asked for accountability. Would you be supportive of an alternative response to the police in order to reduce call wait times? He said that in his former police department it was helpful to have social workers embedded in the department to address work that officers are not equipped to do. I let him know that this is work the City will be doing and that I hope he will advocate having more than one social worker per precinct. What do you plan to implement in the first 100-days to reduce gun violence in Minneapolis? He talked about the intentional work he did in Newark, the need for an across government collaboration, working with people who used to be in street life, and supporting community based intervention work Now is the time to provide input on the City’s recommended 2023-2024 City budget. There are upcoming public hearings for people to provide feedback. The City Council is scheduled to vote on adopting the budget Tuesday, Dec. 6. Our partners at Lake Street have put together a list of recommendations for corridor recovery and investment, including additional funds for snow and ice removal, Lake Street ambassadors, safety initiatives and more. View the full list of recommendations attached below. Attend a public hearing or submit comments online to add more strength to these priorities or share your own! Comments can also be submitted online at the City’s website and will be entered into the public record and shared with the mayor and council members. For “Where is this issue being considered?” select “City Council” and for “Subject or File Number” write “2022-01056”. City budget public hearings · 6:05 p.m. Tuesday, November 15, Room 317, City Hall, 350 S. Fifth St. · 6:05 p.m. Tuesday, December 6, Room 317, City Hall, 350 S. Fifth St. Learn how to participate in public hearings. 
Now is the time to reach an audience of engaged women who are making gift-buying and holiday entertainment decisions this year. They look to the Minnesota Women's Press for trusted resources!
Of our audience:
Invite them to consider you in our December Holiday guide. Contact us now with questions or to reserve your spot! The deadline for ads is November 10.  Swing by and check out one of the new murals in the neighborhood. This past summer, local artist Megan Moore worked with the owners of The Bungalow Club to paint a mural on west side of the building located at 43rd Ave E Lake Street. Moore, a LoLa artist and LBA member said she loved working on this project: “Chatting with neighbors and passersby, and creating public art just blocks from my home, was wonderful. The inspiration was the fauna and flora of the Longfellow neighborhood. I love how many people had stories about the eagles, foxes, and turkeys. The Bungalow Club owners are very supportive of the community and artists—it was easy and fun to collaborate with them.” This partnership was funded through Lake Street Council placemaking grants. Look for more this Fall from Megan Moore as she partners with Wildflyer Coffee for an Artist in Residence program. And if it’s been a while since you stopped by The Bungalow Club, head on over! Homemade pasta or charcuterie platters by Chef Andrew Kraft are a must. Or, stop by the Bungalow Market on Thursdays and Sundays to stock up on delicious pastas, sauces, prepared foods, wines, beer and other surprises, so you can prepare your Bungalow Club favorites in your own kitchen. For the fall, cozy up with TBC for their wine and cider tasting event coming up on November 7. All details and tickets here.  The City’s Small Business Team hosts regular office hours at libraries across Minneapolis. Staff will be available to meet with entrepreneurs and businesses owners looking for assistance navigating City processes or getting connected to resources. No appointment is necessary.
E. Lake Library 2727 E Lake St First and third Thursdays 10:30 am- 12:30 pm North Regional Library 1315 Lowry Ave N Second and fourth Mondays 12:00pm – 2:00 pm E. Franklin Library 1314 E Franklin Ave Second and fourth Tuesdays 12:00pm- 2:00 pm Northeast Library 2200 NE Central Ave Second and fourth Thursdays 2:00pm – 4:00pm Hosmer Library 347 E 36th St First and third Mondays 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm As of January 1, 2020, businesses that generate large quantities of food waste are required to recycle food waste. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on-site inspections were delayed. Hennepin County staff began conducting on-site inspections in June 2022. Certain businesses (including restaurants, food shelves, caterers and commercial kitchens) that generate one ton of trash per week OR contract for eight cubic yards or more of trash per week must have food waste recycling in place.
To be compliant with the requirements, businesses must have food waste recycling service in place, provide food waste collection containers back-of-house and properly label them, separate food waste from trash in back-of-house operations (not required in front-of-house operations), and provide education and train employees annually. Learn more here ... |
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