Mill City Museum is Offering Numerous Black Friday Specials - Make it Your First Stop on Nov 29!

Mill City Museum will open its doors at 6 a.m. on Black Friday (November 29) with super specials, giveaways, live music and treats.  Take a look at what Black Friday early birds will enjoy:

- FREE MUSEUM ADMISSION from 6 to 9 a.m.
- FREE Street parking until 8 a.m.
- FREE household memberships for the first 30 families
- FREE donuts and coffee while supplies last
- FREE limited edition giveaways while supplies last
- 25% off gift shop. Staff will be handing out 25% off coupons to anyone coming in before 8am. The coupons will be good all of business hours on Friday (so you could grab one, go to the museum while it is free, then come up and shop the store later; or grab one, do other shopping, then come back and shop the museum store later that day).
- Live music by the Sidewalk Cafe Trio
- Appearances from the History Hound mascot 6:00 to 7:00 a.m.
- Additional chances to win household memberships and prizes.

While you're at the November 9th and 23rd indoor Mill City Farmers Markets, be sure to stop in the Museum Store to check out the array of quality items they carry.  You're sure to find something fun for yourself, as well as people on your Holiday gift list, from their large selection of books, baking items, jewelry, clothing, toys, cards and more.

The person responsible for stocking the shelves is Serenity Shanklin, Store Operations Manager.  Explains Serentiy, "As with any Museum Store, our goal is to sell products that have a strong tie with the mission of The Mill City Museum. After visitors see the museum, many will be inspired to find a gift or souvenir to take with them. Our merchandise selection includes everything from simple Minneapolis and Mill City Museum Souvenirs to wonderful books and kitchen and home accessories. I make an effort to work with local artists so that we are able to feature creative gifts that are made in Minneapolis and greater Minnesota. We receive a lot of position feedback from visitors who are impressed by our store. What works for us is paying attention to quality, design, relativity, and sense of humor."

Books are placed throughout the store, plus there's an entire wall packed with an extensive collection of Minneapolis/Minnesota history books, Betty Crocker/Pillsbury cookbooks, and books to bring out your creative creative side.

The Museum Store has a fun selection of toys - from educational to retro to just plain silly:

Kitchen items and local products, such as Nordic Ware and Watkins:

Lots of Poppin' Fresh!

Calendars, matted pictures, greeting cards and metal product signs:

Clothing and jewelry:

Snacks and fun stuff:

And, of course, a friendly and helpful staff! Serenity added, "We have very talented staff who are encouraged to be engaged with displays and merchandising. When you are in our museum store, you can tell that a lot of passion, creativity, and team work goes into creating an inviting shopping experience. We love to be here and want all of our visitors to feel the same way."

Take a moment to look above the shelves and displays, and you'll find a bit of Museum history.

The Starfish Throwers Team holds Sandwich Event for Charity on November 8

THE STARFISH THROWERS TEAM HOLDS SANDWICH EVENT FOR CHARITY

Film team preps food for the homeless via documentary subject Allan Law of MRD, Inc.

Minneapolis, MN, November 6, 2013– Filmmaker Jesse Roesler and members of his The Starfish Throwers documentary film team, along with friends of the film, will prepare 300 sandwiches at the offices of Bolster at 23 Fourth Street NE, Minneapolis, MN on Friday, November 8 at 2:30pm. Any supporters of the film or interested parties are welcome to join.

Sandwiches will go to Minneapolis Recreational Development, Inc., the charitable organization founded by Allan Law. Mr. Law is one of three individuals featured in the documentary film The Starfish Throwers by Minneapolis filmmaker Jesse Roesler. MRD is an all-volunteer non-profit. It serves the homeless, the poor, the vulnerable, and disadvantaged youth and their families in the Twin Cities every day with food assistance, as well as other emergency needs. Mr. Law himself is the sole delivery person who spends each night driving the inner city streets of the Twin Cities, providing sandwiches and other basics to people in need.

A documentary both harrowing and heartwarming, The Starfish Throwers explores how three of the world’s most fiercely compassionate individuals fight hunger and struggle to restore hope to the hopeless in unexpected and sometimes dangerous ways. Half a world apart, a five star chef, a retired school teacher and a sixth grade master gardener fight for a seemingly lost cause, until they discover their impact may reach further than their own actions.

For more information about the documentary film The Starfish Throwers, contact Pete Tedrow or Jesse Roesler at info@thestarfishthrowers.com or visit thestarfishthrowers.com.

Urban Agriculture Activity Plan Released for Public Comment

Via a November 7 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board:

Urban Agriculture Activity Plan Released for Public Comment

Draft Available through December 21, 2013

A draft of the MPRB Urban Agriculture activity plan is available for public review and comment between November 6, 2013 and December 21, 2013. The Park Board encourages residents and park users to provide feedback on the draft document, and has made available a brief online survey and comment form to easily gather public opinion.

After reviewing the draft plan, you may respond to a survey or provide general comments online.  Print copies of the draft plan are available in recreation centers.

Please refer to the MPRB project webpage for updated information.

All comments received are public record and will be considered for incorporation into the final plan for Board consideration and adoption in early 2014.

The draft plan was developed through an extensive community engagement process and contains recommendations related to policy, facility, program, and service improvements to better support urban agriculture activities within the park system.

The development of the Urban Agriculture activity plan is supported by the Board of Commissioners and directly linked to the goals of the MPRB Comprehensive Plan.

Izzy's November 9 Grand Opening Celebration

The retail shop has been open since July 29th, but this Grand Opening is in celebration of moving the ice cream making kitchen to Minneapolis. Stop by for treats and tours.

Kids Hour: Noon-2pm  Activities, cider, caramel apples and fun!

Architectural Tour: Want to know more about the building design and functions? Join owner Jeff Sommers and architect David Salmela for a talk and tour 12:30-1:30 (TICKETS* ON SALE HERE)

Tasting Tour: Join owner Jeff Sommers and enjoy a tasting of some of his favorite flavors with ice cream in Izzy’s new kitchen 3pm- 4pm (TICKETS* ON SALE HERE)

Kitchen viewing and ingredient tasting. 4 to 7 p.m. – Get an inside glimpse of the ice cream kitchen and have the opportunity to taste locally sourced ingredients before and after they are made into ice cream. Local ingredients include cardamom toast from Wuollet Bakery, milk from family-run dairy Sassy Cow Creamery and key lime pie from Birchwood Café. Tastes of Jeff’s signature cold-press iced coffee, made with Peace Coffee Yeti blend and brown-butter sweet cream, also will be served.

Owner’s Tour: 7:30pm-8:30pm – Get a behind-the-scenes tour of the new facility and a talk with owner Jeff Sommers about what they're doing at Izzy’s. (TICKETS* ON SALE HERE)

*Tickets include ice cream cup or cone, too!

Frey Wins - 3rd Ward City Council

With results in from 9 of 9 precincts, MinnPost reports that Jacob Frey has been elected to the City Council for the new 3rd Ward.  Jacob Frey garnered 61% to 26% for Diane Hofstede.

Today - VOTE!

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Mill City Times Candidate Endorsements

"A Time for Change, And the Status Quo - Mill City Times Candidate Endorsements"

A Time for Change - 3rd Ward City Council

Jacob Frey - 1st Choice for Third Ward City Council

The newly redrawn 3rd Ward of Minneapolis faces a few big challenges, and even greater opportunities to be the engine of both population and economic growth for the entire city.  Jacob Frey is the candidate best suited to meet these head on.

From the start, Frey has taken the right positions on a number of high priority issues facing the new 3rd Ward, and laid out smart plans for tackling them.  Here a few:

Downtown East Redevelopment.  We can't afford another failure in redeveloping the area around the new stadium.  We've lived with the last botched effort for 30 years.  Frey's vision of diverse mixed use and focus on small independent businesses will best serve Minneapolis for decades to come.

Northeast Arts District - Building on Momentum.  A thriving arts community has a big positive impact on the quality of life in any city.  The Northeast Arts District has been a development and jobs engine as well.  Frey will focus on building on that success.

A Northloop/Downtown School - Key to Population Growth.  With a stated goal of doubling population Downtown by 2025, this is not a "nice to have", it's a must.  We won't achieve our potential unless we meet this challenge.  Frey has already started efforts to bring this to fruition.

Crown Hydro Project - Protecting the Central Riverfront.  The City's investment on the Central Riverfront has generated $1.9 billion in private development and is a national showcase for urban renewal.  Frey is a strong supporter of the broad based community effort underway to protect our falls.  See the Park Board endorsements below for more details on this issue.

Gold Medal Park - A Long Term Plan.  Current Council Member Lisa Goodman recently announced a plan to preserve the only park in the Downtown East neighborhood - Gold Medal Park - for 50 years.  Frey came out in support of preserving the park 18 months ago, prior to the campaign.  He's publicly committed to work toward finalizing the plan next year.

Meeting the opportunities facing us in the Third Ward will require mobilizing the entire community to join in.  His effectiveness in mobilizing tens of thousands of Minneapolis residents for Marriage Equality, through founding the Big Gay Race, is an indication of what we should expect from Frey on the City Council.  Jacob Frey is our choice for the new 3rd Ward.

A Time for the Status Quo - The River Champions

Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board

Named tops in the nation by The Trust for Public Land, the Minneapolis Park System plays a huge role in the lives of Minneapolitans.  Our endorsed candidates have helped transform our park system over the last several years on many fronts.  They've also demonstrated uncommon commitment to preserving and enhancing the vital Central Riverfront area.

The River Champions

 - John Erwin / Commissioner At Large

 - Anita Tabb / 4th District Commissioner

 - Scott Vreeland / 3rd District Commissioner

 - Liz Wielinski / 1st District Commissioner

The four candidates have been especially effective on 3 key topics of concern:

Transparency.  Taking a page out of the City of Minneapolis playbook, MPRB posts video of every Park Board meeting, along with the related plans and proposals under discussion.  Besting the City Council, they post meeting agendas and supporting materials much further in advance than does the City.  This level of transparency has not been a hallmark of MPRB in years gone by.  All four candidates have played a strong role in this transformation. 

Community Engagement.  All levels of State and local government would do well to take community engagement as seriously as these four (and now the MPRB) do.  It's common to see several dozen to a few hundred residents attend MPRB events sharing plans and seeking public input.  They also listen to that feedback and adjust policies and projects - we've witnessed many examples of this "listening" in action.  All four candidates have been central to this new way of doing business.

Crown Hydro Project - Protecting the Central Riverfront.  The City's investment on the Central Riverfront has generated $1.9 billion in private development and is a national showcase for urban renewal.  Prior to this effort, the Central Riverfront was a desolate landscape of abandoned buildings and empty surface parking lots.  The Crown Hydro project threatens to damage everything that's been accomplished - under the current license, Crown would be able to "turn off" St. Anthony Falls 6 months out of the year when the flow over the falls is low.  1.6 million visitors to the Stone Arch Bridge area deserve to see more than a cement wall.  The 4 River Champions have been especially effective in protecting us from this ill-conceived project.

The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, and our riverfront, will do well with the 4 River Champions representing us.

Full Disclosure:  My wife Kim Eslinger and I have contributed the maximum allowable to the campaigns of all of the candidates endorsed above.  I am also Chair of the Frey for City Council Campaign Committee.

Twin Cities Horror Festival Runs thru November 9 at Southern Theater

Halloween may already be a distant memory, but the gore goes on until November 9 at The Southern Theater.

This is the second year for the Twin Cities Horror Festival, which features seven accomplished local performance groups exploring the theme of horror through theater, music, dance, and storytelling. The 40+ performance run also includes a Recycle-Your-Costume Dance Party Friday Nov. 8th at 10pm.

Mark Your Calendar for the Nov 14 Water Works Community Meeting at Nicollet Island Pavilion

Discover and discuss Water Works emerging concepts.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will be hosting a community meeting about the Central Mississippi Riverfront, where SCAPE and Rogers Partners from the Water Works Design Team will be featured guests. 

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 14, 6:00pm - 8:00pm, at the Nicollet Island Pavilion.
 
The Design Team has been working on the design framework and concept scenarios for Water Works since their last visit in September, and they will share their work at this meeting.

Attend the meeting to engage in the conversation about Water Works and the Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park, discover emerging concepts developed following the last community input meeting, and learn about next steps.

This Weekend: ART ATTACK 2013!

Northrup King Building, 1500 Jackson St. NE, Minneapolis

Friday, Nov. 1st        5:00 - 10:00 PM
Saturday, Nov. 2nd   Noon - 8:00 PM
Sunday, Nov. 3rd      Noon - 5:00 PM
 
Visit the Northrup King Building for an exciting weekend of visual art, live music, ballet performances, art demonstrations and food trucks for your convenience. If you're new to the Northrup King Building or simply haven't been here for awhile, put on your walking shoes and visit over 250 artists working out of 150 separate studios.

For more information and a schedule of music, performances and demonstrations, go to www.northrupkingbuilding.com/artattack.

Temporary 3-Day Closure of Historic Main Street

Via an October 31 e-newsletter from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board:

Temporary 3-Day Closure of Historic Main Street

Repairs are underway along historic Main Street, between Hennepin Avenue and SE 3rd Avenue. Beginning Tuesday, November 5 this section of Main Street will be closed to vehicular and bicycle traffic to allow for street repairs to be made. Main St. will reopen the morning of Friday, November 8. Businesses and pedestrian walks will remain open while repairs are made. Follow this link for a map that indicates the area of the closure and detour routes. Signs will be posted.

Thank you for your patience while these necessary repairs are made.

A complete list of current and upcoming parkway closures is available online.

Contact Information:
Julia Cline, Project Representative, MPRB Planning, jcline@minneapolisparks.org or 612-230-6463.