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On June 27, Mayor Jacob Frey’s Community Safety Work Group outlined recommendations for improving public safety in Minneapolis. The recommendations include strategies for strengthening oversight of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), bolstering officer recruitment efforts and accountability systems, and expanding violence prevention and behavioral crisis response programs.
Frey convened the Community Safety Work Group on Dec. 4, 2021, which is co-chaired by Nekima Levy Armstrong, attorney and civil rights activist, and Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis, lead minister for Plymouth Congregational Church. The 22-member volunteer work group includes community members and experts engaged on the full spectrum of community safety initiatives. Read highlights of the work group's recommendations and learn more here ...
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The Met Council recently approved four Livable Communities grants, including two grants to the City of Minneapolis to address damages on Lake Street from civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd. The predevelopment grants total $475,000 and are from an account in the Livable Communities program that funds project feasibility studies, site planning, and community engagement work.
REdesign and partners Re+4RM will receive $150,000 toward planning for redevelopment of the damaged U.S. Bank site on Lake Street. Plans call for BIPOC and community ownership of development projects that include public realm planning and affordable commercial and mixed-use developments, each connected to an Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage district energy system. Read more about the program and each of the projects awarded funds. Downtown Longfellow - 2 Years LaterWondering what the latest updates are with properties surrounding the Lake and Minnehaha intersection? Thankfully, our partners at the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger have pulled all the information together for us. Read the article Breathing New Life into 27th and Lake or view the Photo Story to learn more about Pangea World Theater, Gandhi Mahal, the Oddfellows building, the Post Office and more!  Coliseum Building Gets Fresh Artwork
The rehabilitation will maintain the beautiful historic exterior while supporting local Black business and ownership and actualizing a community-led vision for the intersection of Lake & Minnehaha. This includes a collaboration between Redesign, Chris Montana, of Du Nord Social Spirits, the first Black Owned Distillery in the nation; Janice Downing of CommonSense Consulting@Work; and Alicia Belton of Urban Design Perspectives. In addition to Black-owned small business, the Coliseum will have an event center and training facilities.  The Successes & Challenges of Rebuilding on Lake
Courtesy of Ward 9 Council Member Jason Chavez:
I wanted to share a quick update regarding a community meeting in East Phillips I attended on March 31, 2022. It was in regards to a humane and equitable response to encampments and homelessness. Over 100 residents attended with ideas to support our unhoused neighbors On June 30, 2022, Council Member Aisha Chughtai and myself announced a formal intent to work on an encampment policy for the City of Minneapolis. This notice of intent is the first step in the process to start a humane-centered approach. After years of advocacy from both unhoused and housed neighbors, we have started that process because we deserve something better. On July 19, 2022, we will be meeting with the Community Planning and Economic Development Department and Regulatory Services to discuss a framework for this policy. Over the coming weeks, we will be giving updates and setting up a process for engagement so the City has a humane, public health centered, and dignified response.
Many people currently experiencing unsheltered homelessness are not ready to go inside or simply want to be outside. There aren't enough low barrier, trauma-informed, culturally specific beds for those who would consider and would like to utilize emergency shelter indoors. On July, 27, 2022, I will be meeting with the Community Planning and Economic Development Department, Regulatory Services, and the Health Department to discuss a safe outdoor space proposal. Where we can have regulated, safe, and staffed spaces.
Community members asked for a script that is more informative, constructive, and humane when receiving calls about our unhoused neighbors and being appropriately staffed. I met with 311 and we discussed ways the Ward 9 Office could be most helpful. Current wait times vary but are down significantly from 4 and a half minutes in 2021 to roughly 2 minutes so far in July of 2022. This is largely due to 311 staffing levels beginning to stabilize. Moving forward, 311’s first priority is to reach their full budgeted staffing level. At present, they have 26 agents, 6 of them are in training. They would like to reach a staffing level of 29 agents. Simultaneously, they will be implementing a new interactive voice response system. This will allow them to route calls according to type, which will allow us to more fully utilize our agents in training. To alleviate the burden of waiting to be connected to an agent, they have implemented a callback feature. When call volume or wait times reach a certain threshold, customers will receive an option to receive a call back. They can follow the prompts and be put into a queue for an agent to call them back rather than having to wait on hold for and using minutes. Emailing 311 at minneapolis311@minneapolismn.gov is also a great option. Our service level agreement is within 24 hours during the workweek. We have been averaging about 4 business hours to return an email.
I am working with the Community Planning and Economic Development Department to designate a seat for the Lived Experience Advisory Group for the Housing Advisory Committee and giving priority to people with lived experience of homelessness for the residents' seats component on this committee. This should be expected before the council in August.
 Just two years ago on June 23, 2022, the Du Nord Foundation was founded with the intent to work toward racial and economic justice as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd and the civil unrest that followed. They first demonstrated this work through the Recovery Fund, a program created to provide emergency grants to small business owners (most of them BIPOC) whose physical stores or offices were damaged as a direct result of the civil uprising of 2020. The fund served as a resource to 75 small business owners with emergency support, distributing almost $500,000.  The current program is the Community Market. The Community Market nourishes neighbors through an inclusive, welcoming, barrier-free food shelf. Staff work intentionally to provide culturally relevant food choices and fresh fruits and vegetables. This program serves approximately 2,000 neighbors each month. The motto is “solidarity, not charity,” as they strive toward a community-connected model of horizontal aid. Du Nord Foundation's goal is to support our neighbors on a dignified path to economic stability and provide access to aid that is barrier free. In 2021, they served as a resource to over 24,000 neighbors and distributed over 215,000 pounds of food, estimating that 80% of those neighbors belong to immigrant communities.
As part of their 2 year anniversary celebration, current partner of the month, Du Nord Social Spirits, will match any incoming donations - up to $5,000. Learn more and donate here. Partner of the Month Join the Du Nord Foundation as a partner of the month. Any business or organization can join our work through in kind donations, financial contributions, round-ups, bringing a group of volunteers, spreading the word on social media, or organizing an event and inviting us to fundraise (Party with a Cause). Partners of the month are featured on Du Nord’s website and social media. If you would like to learn more or become a partner, email angelica@dunordfoundation.org. If you are looking to engage with our community in meaningful ways, check out the links below: Volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4da8a823a0f4c25-come Spread the word: FB - facebook.com/DuNordFoundation | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dunordfdn/ Join Party with a Cause: https://www.dunordfoundation.org/takeaction Make a gift: https://dunordfoundation.networkforgood.com/ Neighbors helping neighbors video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTy9MFWKb5M At The Lift Garage we work to recruit and retain people on our board who possess values that align with our unwavering commitment to treating each individual with dignity and respect and ensuring our clients receive equitable service: those that need the most support receive the most support. To better serve our community, we strive to have a team that reflects their diversity in race, gender-identity and socioeconomic status.
We specifically are interested in Board Member candidates who have experience in at least one of the following areas: ● Garage operations ● Marketing & Public Relations ● Finance ● Fundraising and development ● Non-profit service provider or consumer ● Social entrepreneurship ● Customer Service If you’re interested in learning more about The Lift Garage or serving on our Board, read more here … REP (Relationships Evolving Possibilities) is holding info sessions in recruitment for community members who are interested in becoming CARERs (Community Aid Resourcing and Emergency Response). We are training a new cohort this fall, applications are due July 14th. Community members **MUST attend** an info session to get an application link, or they can schedule a 1-1 with one us by emailing directly at contact@repformn.org. The first info session coming up on zoom is on June 23rd at 7pm, and the last info session is in person on Saturday July 9th at 12 pm. Relationships Evolving Possibilities (REP) is a network of dedicated abolitionists showing up to support others in moments of crisis or urgency, with care and respect for the full dignity and autonomy of the people in crisis.  Hiawatha Avenue between I-35W and Hwy 62 needs to be resurfaced and three bridges in the project area need to be repaired. The project will be broken up into two sections, the northern half from Downtown Minneapolis to 32nd Avenue and the southern half from 32nd Avenue to Hwy 62. Work will take place starting in spring through fall 2022. Click here to visit the project website and see more details.
If you have a business along the Hiawatha corridor and are interested in participating in an upcoming Zoom call to learn more about specifics about the road closure, please contact Kim for more information. Ordinance 13 update from Hennepin CountyAs 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 (see the list of covered sectors below) 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. Businesses that produce large quantities of food waste are subject to these inspections. The requirement applies to businesses (including commercial businesses, nonprofits and public entities) in the following sectors: Restaurants, grocery stores, food wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers, hotels, hospitals, sports venues, event centers, caterers, nursing and residential care facilities, office buildings with dining services, farmers markets, food shelves and food banks, colleges and universities with dining services, shopping centers, airports, golf clubs and country clubs, rental kitchens or shared use commercial kitchens. Businesses that fall into an above category and generate 8 or more cubic yards of trash per week (1 ton per week if you use a compactor), must comply with Ordinance 13 requirements unless a variance is granted. Unless you contact Hennepin County staff to schedule your inspection, your inspection will be randomly scheduled. To prepare for your Ordinance 13 inspection, please complete the optional self-reporting form (DOCX). If you have questions about Ordinance 13 requirements, would like to schedule your Ordinance 13 compliance inspection, or would like assistance from Hennepin County staff, you may fill out a Business Recycling Request Form, or contact one of our business recycling specialists at businessrecycling@hennepin.us or 612-543-9298. Additional resources
On June 27, Mayor Jacob Frey’s Community Safety Work Group outlined recommendations for improving public safety in Minneapolis. The recommendations include strategies for strengthening oversight of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), bolstering officer recruitment efforts and accountability systems, and expanding violence prevention and behavioral crisis response programs.
Frey convened the Community Safety Work Group on Dec. 4, 2021, which is co-chaired by Nekima Levy Armstrong, attorney and civil rights activist, and Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis, lead minister for Plymouth Congregational Church. The 22-member volunteer work group includes community members and experts engaged on the full spectrum of community safety initiatives. Highlights of the work group’s recommendations include:
Mayor Frey will consider the implementation of these recommendations in the coming weeks as he prepares to finalize and present his recommended 2023 City budget. Read the Community Safety Work Group’s report. Watch Monday's news conference. |
