March RLife Events at The Depot

Here's some fun diversions to help get us thru March...

MPRB Announces 2014 Earth Day Clean-Up Event

Via a March 4 Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board e-newsletter:

Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board and the City of Minneapolis announce the 2014 Earth Day Clean-Up Event

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) along with the City of Minneapolis announce the 20th annual Minneapolis Earth Day Clean-Up event on Saturday, April 26, 2014 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

The Earth Day Clean-Up has become the largest community service project in Minneapolis and takes place at nearly 40 clean-up sites throughout the city. Since 2008, more than 12,000 residents have removed more than 75,000 lbs of garbage. It’s free to participate and residents are encouraged to participate by volunteering to help pick up trash in parks, neighborhoods, and watersheds. No registration needed, just choose a site and show up. To find a detailed list of clean-up sites and more information please visit http://www.minneapolisparks.org/ or call 612-230-6484.

The City of Minneapolis would like to remind residents that plastic bags are not accepted in the one-sort recycling program or with yard waste collection. If you collect your recycling in a plastic bag, the recyclables must be dumped from the bag into the recycling cart. The plastic bag can be placed in the garbage or it can be brought to a participating grocery or retail store for recycling. Yard waste must be placed in Kraft (paper bags), compostable plastic bags or in reusable containers at least 26 inches in height with handles for collection by city crews. For more information please visit www.minneapolismn.gov/solid-waste or call Solid Waste & Recycling at 612-673-2917.

Recycle Run 5k, 10K, and Free Kids Run – Saturday, April 19, 2014

The Recycle Run was created to support sustainable park projects including the Earth Day Clean-Up. The event takes place Saturday, April 19 around beautiful Lake Harriet in south Minneapolis. Youth ages 11 and under can participate in the FREE half-mile kids run! The 5K and 10K Runs are both chip-timed events. All participants will receive a t-shirt and giveaways with registration. Participants are encouraged to bring their used running shoes and shirts. Items will be collected and recycled. Register at http://www.minneapolisrecyclerun.com/.

Contact:
Tom Godfrey
Community Outreach Supervisor - Events
612-230-6484
tgodfrey@minneapolisparks.org

An Update on Plowing, Ice and Snow from Mayor Hodges

Via a March 4, 2014, e-newletter from Mayor Betsy Hodges:

Dear Friend,

As often happens in Minnesota, come March, we still have snow piled up and ice covering the streets. I know many of you are frustrated with the long winter and the tough driving conditions around the City and across the metro area. I wanted to let you know what the City of Minneapolis Public Works is doing to address the snow and ice on our streets, to keep traffic moving as best as possible.

When it snows, plowing and treating streets is the first priority. As we have snow in the forecast each day this week, Public Works will first prioritize clearing the snow.

We know the ice, which is bonded to the streets, is a major problem. These areas are everywhere, but are particularly problematic downtown and anywhere else the pavements are mostly in shade. The chemical deicers the City uses are not effective at temperatures below 15 degrees. So while we continue trying to treat the streets, the best our crews can do is chip away at the ice until we see significant, long-term rises in temperature. During that time, crews are focusing their efforts in areas with higher traffic volumes and/or speeds. The slightly higher temps forecast in the next few days should help.

We also have crews occasionally going into the residential streets to try to clean up the even sides of the streets where we had problems during the last snow emergencies. The thick snowpack and bonded ice will remain there for a while. If we get any warming, the hard-pack can sometimes "fluff up," making it look like it snowed again, or crews were never there to plow. Crews are also dealing with alley plowing concerns as they arise.

Public Works, Police and Fire, as well as Metro Transit are still working to evaluate, prioritize and determine what to do with snow emergency routes that appear narrowed. Plowing crews are already addressing some from Metro Transit, day and night, when they're able. As for non-snow emergency streets, Public Works and Regulatory Services Traffic Control are working together to enforce the Winter Parking Restrictions where appropriate. These restrictions - while frustrating for many - are necessary to ensure emergency response vehicles have enough space to make it down the streets. Remember that until further notice, or April 1, do not park on the even numbered side of non-Snow Emergency routes unless otherwise posted. You can find out more about the restriction and download multi-language flyers here.

This week crews are working on an aggressive corner clearing operation. Just prior to the February 17 snow emergency, crews had worked to clear almost all of the approximately 16,000 corners, but after getting another 15 inches of snow since then, the corners were all filled in again.

Crews from Public Works are also tasked to enforce the sidewalk shoveling ordinances. Please be sure you're doing your part by shoveling the sidewalk in front of your home or business. You can also help out the City by digging out the fire hydrant on your block. There are more than 8,000 fire hydrants in the City of Minneapolis, and the Fire Department is asking the public to help out when you're able.

I know many of you are dealing with slick streets and possibly difficulties parking or navigating your alley. The great people who work at Public Works are responsible for all of the work I've just mentioned. They have daily and short-term work plans, and they work to balance all the needs and priorities across the City - those priorities can change daily, or even hourly. And as I mentioned, if it snows, everything stops until crews deal with that immediate priority.

Please don't hesitate to share your concerns with me or through 311. I thank all of you for your patience as Public Works employees strive daily to keep our streets open and traffic moving, and keep our City running well.

Thanks,

Mayor Betsy Hodges
City of Minneapolis

Vikings Stadium Construction - Week 15

The Metrodome is almost gone:

We're attempting to publish a photo with this same view each week from the start of construction through the first game played at the new Minnesota Vikings Stadium in Downtown Minneapolis.

‘Mattie’s On Main’ launches Kickstarter with Unique Minneapolis Riverfront Rewards

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The owners of “Mattie St. Clair’s House of Spirits on Main Street”, or “Mattie’s on Main” for short, have launched a Kickstarter that offers rewards unique to its Minneapolis Riverfront location. The bar/restaurant, scheduled to open in Spring 2014, launched the Kickstarter to give customers a chance to create a charming and unique atmosphere with a high quality patio and entertainment space.

The Kickstarter, video, and full list of rewards are available here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/21713142/matties-on-main-fresh-minneapolis-riverfront-enter

Rewards start at just $10 and include a number of limited-availability items:
● Limited edition “Mattie’s on Main” merchandise
● Dinner and Priority Seating for the riverfront fireworks on July 4th and during Aquatennial.
● Design the monthly dessert or “Adult Milkshake” specials and have your name listed on the menu for that month.
● A luncheon and book reading hosted by Penny Peterson, author of "Minneapolis Madams: The Lost History of Prostitution on the Riverfront."

The Kickstarter video features interviews with the owners about the project and the Kickstarter, along with comments from local entertainers Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs, and Minneapolis 3rd Ward City Council Member Jacob Frey:

“There’s a very limited amount of venues that actually are suited to what we do, so we’re super excited to be able to come back to our old stomping grounds of Nordeast Minneapolis and put back into the community that has really given so much to us.” - Erin Schwab and Jay Fuchs, Cabaret Performers

“Mattie’s will be a very playful way to capture the history and pay tribute to what St. Anthony Main once was… this is an area that’s coming back into its own. The history, the story, the culture and of course the food, I think will allow this place to really be a huge success.” - Jacob Frey, Minneapolis 3rd Ward City Council Member

About Mattie’s On Main:
“Mattie St. Clair’s House of Spirits on Main Street”, or “Mattie’s on Main” for short, will be  opening in Spring 2014 as a modern-day saloon featuring a year-round patio and a stage for live music and entertainment. Mattie’s on Main will feature a full liquor bar, 16 local beers on tap, and signature craft cocktails. In addition, the bar will feature upscale pub food, unique appetizers, adult shakes, and signature desserts from the Wilde Roast Cafe Pastry Chef Jeff Christianson. The performance stage area of the restaurant will provide space for live music acts, local performers, and themed events.