Ward 6 News ~ April 13, 2012

City of Minneapolis sent this bulletin at 04/13/2012 05:01 PM CDT

Minneapolis Ward 6 Council Member Robert Lilligren

April 13, 2012

30 Days of Biking

Council Member Lilligren is an active participant in the online event called “30 Days of Biking”. The 30 Days of Biking pledge is to ride somewhere every day for 30 days, then share your adventures online. The effort started here in Minneapolis in 2010. Today participants number in the thousands and are located all acrthe country and around the world. For the month of April, Robert reports on his daily rides on Twitter and regularly on Facebook. It’s never too late to join the fun! #30daysofbiking

Photo above of City Council Vice President Robert Lilligren in front of the Father of Waters statue inside the Minneapolis City Hall rotunda. #30daysofbiking

35W and Lake St. Transit Access

OPEN HOUSE

Tuesday, May 1

5:00 - 7:m

Whittier Community Center

425 26th Street West, Minneapolis

Learn about progress on the I-35W Transit/Access Project. See drawings of proposals for bus loading and unloading platforms at the freeway level, transit station design at the Lake Street level, design of Lake Street, and proposed entrance and exit ramps to/from I-35W. Share your comments and ideas about improved transit in the I-35W/Lake Street area. Get answers to your questi.

If you have questions about this project or open house please contact Jeni Hager, Department of Public Works, 673-3625

Mondays with Robert

Council Member Lilligren has always believed that it's important for people like you and me to have access to government. Robert is still committed to that value today. For that reason, Robert makes himself available to community member visits on a walk-in and appointment basis.

You can meet with Robert on the first four Mondays of the month at each of the neighborhoods he represents. Call or email Alondra at 673-2206 or alondra.cano@minneapolismn.gov to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome, however - you will be asked to wait if there is a scheduled appointment.

NOTE:On City holidays office hours will be cancelled.

First Monday of the Month

Whittier Alliance,10 E. 25th Street

9:30am - 11:30am

Second Monday of the Month

Phillips West,2400 Park Ave.

Center for Changing Lives

9:30am - 11:30am

Third Monday of the Month

Stevens Square,1925 Nicollet Ave.

9:30am - 11:30am

Fourth Monday of the Month

Ventura Village,2323 11th Ave. S.

d Floor of Phillips Community Center

9:30am - 11:30am

Two Advisory Board Openings

The 6th Ward Office currently has twaces open for appointment onto the City of Minneapolis'Senior Citizens Advisory Committeeand thePublic Health Advisory Committee. If you are interested in serving on either of these Advisory groups please submit your applicatisoon, application reviews begin April 13th. To learn more about the City's 50+ boards and advisory committees please visit the City of Minneapolis'Boards, Commissi, and Advisory Committees website.

Norway Looks to 6th Ward Office for Best Practices in Somali Integration Efforts

By Nimco Ahmed, Chief of Staff for City Council Vice President Robert Lilligren

October of last year the 6th Ward Office was invited by the American Embassy of Norway to come speak to them about best practices in immigrant integration for the Somali community. As a Somali-American I took them up on their offer and traveled to Norway to meet with Somali-Norwegians, politicians and public service providers on the topics of increasing minority representation in elected office and improving programming to better facilitate the civic engagement of Somali residents in both the cities of Oslo and Skien. While I was in Skien, I met with a group of Somali girls ranging in age from 14 to 24 about my experiences as a Somali immigrant in the U.S., and offered suggestion how to organize in order to become an effective force for positive change for young Somali women in their country. Most importantly, I participated in and facilitated a planning session of Somali youth organizatito host the first ever Nordic Somali Youth Summit.

Council Member Lilligren has participated in two similar exchanges to Scandinavia to share best practices, policies and community efforts to improve the lives of the Somali diaspora. He has found these experiences very valuable in understanding how better to serve his ciderable number of Somali ctituents.I traveled back to Norway last month to both attend and emcee Norway’s first Somali Youth Summit. The U.S. Embassy with the Leadership Foundation and IMDI, co-spored the gathering, which attracted the participation of over 100 Somali in the region. NORSOMbro, the host organization of the event, is a Norwegian-Somali bridge-building project that aims to improve the environment for youth with Somali backgrounds living in Oslo. The Somali youth in Nordic countries face challenges that need attention. The Nordic Somali Youth Summit was about addressing these needs and offered the youth a pibility to be heard politically.

Through inspirational stories, speakers, and workshop the Summit empowered these young people to take action to improve their community. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Norway – Haakon Magnus – opened up the conference by emphasizing the importance of coming together to build understanding in our societies. US Ambassador to Norway Mr. Barry White spoke about the Somali diaspora and our common interest in cecting this community worldwide to improve the lives of our entire community.

I was honored to facilitate the entire conference program with Somali Norwegian Abdullahi Alason where we guided the audience through a packed program on education, engagement, and role models. One role model was a charming 25 year old Somali-Norwegian finishing his last year in the Police Academy. He encouraged the Somali-Nordic youth to get an education and cider joining the police force. Workshincluded trainings on public speaking, communicati, community organizing, and a discussion on identity and dialogue for change. One select group of youth worked on drafting the Charter for Change, a document that was to present a set of ambitious yet attainable goals for the Somali Nordic youth cause that will be presented to the Nordic governments by an advisory youth council.

Council Member Lilligren continues to use the 6th Ward office to provide leadership, mentorship and support to other Somali communities and to improve the lives of ctituents. Many 6th Ward organizati– both inside and outside the Somali community like the American Swedish Institute – continue to promote exchanges here and abroad to promote better cultural understanding.

Pictured second from the left is Nimco Ahmed, Chief of Staff for City Council Vice President Robert Lilligren, in Norway's first ever Somali Youth Summit. Also in this photo is his Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus (seventh from the left) and U.S. Ambassador to Norway Mr. Barry White (eighth from the left). To view more photos of the conference, please visit the NorSomBro Flickr site.

"One Minneapolis One Read" Focuses on American Indian History and Culture

The Minneapolis City Council today approved “Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past,” as the next One Minneapolis One Read book. This will be the second year of the citywide “read,” where the entire community is encouraged to read a single book and join in a unified conversation.“Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past,” was written by Minnesotan Diane Wilson. Wilson grew up in a Minneapolis suburb and then followed quest iabout her family’s past to South Dakota and Nebraska, where she tracked down information about her maternal relatives through five generati. The result of Wilson’s quest for discovery is “Spirit Car,” a book of vignettes she created in her desire to honor the lives of her Dakota Indian family. The story of Wilson’s family begins with a vivid account of the 1862 Dakota War in Minnesota and then follows her family members’ nomadic travels acrSouth Dakota and Nebraska in their struggle to survive.

This year is the 150th anniversary of the armed conflict between Dakota people and European settlers centered around western Minnesota. The Native people, who had been relocated to reservati, were subsisting on insufficient food and goods because of broken treaties and unfilled commitments of the U.S. government. In desperation, Dakota bands attacked farms and forts. Many European settlers and Dakota people lost their lives in this brutal, if brief conflict. On December 26, 1862, 38 Dakota warriors were hanged in Mankato by order signed by President Lincoln. Following the hanging the survivors, mostly women, children and elders, were forcibly marched to a concentration camp at Fort Snelling before being banished to North and South Dakota and Canada.

The year 2012 has been declared by many Dakota people as “A Year of Healing” from this conflict for the Native people and for all people in Minnesota. The choice of “Spirit Car” for the One Read is an excellent choice to promote this Year of Healing. Council Member Lilligren has been participating in a number of events as part of the Year of Healing and will continue to lead efforts in City Hall to recognize this solemn anniversary.

This is the second year of the One Read initiative that will launch in October with many rtunities for people to join in the community conversation. Neighborhood groups, book clubs, libraries, literary centers and others will hold public events where folks can come together to discuss the book. “Reading Ms. Wilson’s book is an ortunity to read a personal story about our shared history,” said Hennepin County Library Director Lois Langer Thompson. “We’re looking forward to bringing groups together to discuss the book, share our own experiences and learn about the Dakota War and American Indians in Minnesota.”

TheCity of Minneapolis,Hennepin County LibraryandMinneapolis Public Schoolsare promoting literacy and respectful public dialogue in this initiative. Minneapolis residents can play a positive role in their communities and can engage with important or difficult topics – issues they share as a community by reading “Spirit Car” and getting involved. For more information and to get involved, visit www.facebook.com/OneMinneapolisOneRead

The wife and children of Dakota Chief Little Crow in the internment camp at Fort Snelling.

Little Crow was killed on July 3, 1863 by a settler who wished to collect the bounty on the Dakota in Minnesota.

Opportunities

Open Eye Figure Theater - 6th Annual Toy Theater Festival

Open Eye Figure Theater offers "Toy Theater After Dark," a week-long festival of adult and all ages programs, worksh, puppetry potluck, artist panel, animation screenings and late night cabaret. Don't miss out on the fun! Visit the Open Eye Theater website for more details. April 13 – 21, tickets are on sale for $12-$18, contact 612-874-6338 for purchase.

Request for Innovative Graffiti Prevention Grant Proposals,

Due May 11

The City of Minneapolis' Solid Waste and Recycling Division has released a Request for Grant Proposal (RFGP) for the Innovative Graffiti Prevention Micro Grant program. The intent of the program is to assist communities and neighborhood-based organizatiwith community focused projects that have an emphasis on anti-graffiti education, graffiti prevention, and rapid abatement of graffiti in areas throughout the City that are frequently vandalized with graffiti. These grants are intended to be used as reimbursed “Seed Money” for manageable projects that will lead to larger, more ambitious projects in the future. This program is intended to aid the City of Minneapolis in reaching its goal of A Safe Place to Call Home: Guns, Gangs, Graffiti Gone. Please review the City's Request for Proposals website for details.

The Graffiti Microloan program helped create this beautiful mural on the Highway 55 retaining wall at the corner of South 16th Avenue and East 18th Street in Ventura Village Neighborhood. Artist Lisa Brown used Native imagery to honor more than 55 homeless Native people who have died in this vicinity during the past two decades. Council Member Lilligren formerly received the mural on behalf of the City of Minneapolis at a beautiful and solemn ceremony in August 2008.

Compostable bags or reusable containers now required for yard waste pickup

Yard waste collection has begun in Minneapolis. But before you bag any leaves or grass clippings, make sure you’re using the right bags. Bagged yard waste put out for collection must now be in compostable bags – either paper bags or compostable plastic bags – or reusable containers.

However, the City has a four-week grace period (through trash day the week of April 30) for those who have plastic leaf bags filled from last season. Crews will leave an instruction tag with more information on the new compostable bag requirement during this four-week transition period.

While crews will collect leaves in non-compostable plastic bags during the grace period, it will create extra work and expense so the City requests that you only put out non-compostable leaf bags if they are already filled. As you are cleaning up leaves and other yard debris this spring, please use compostable bags. After the week of April 30, yard waste in plastic bags will be left and tagged for resident re-packaging.

Using paper and compostable plastic bags rather than conventional lawn and garden plastic bags will reduce the amount of plastic being sent to local composting facilities. Screening out less plastic from the finished compost means lower processing costs and better quality of the finished compost. The compostable bag requirement is a state law.

Compostable plastic bags are distinct from conventional lawn and garden plastic bags because they are usually clear or a translucent shade of green, pink or white. Most home improvement, grocery, and hardware stores now carry them. Anyone who prefers not to purchase these compostable bags may place unbagged yard waste in a reusable container with sturdy handles. Other optiinclude dring off yard waste at a compost facility and taking the bag back home, or composting yard waste at home and using the nutrient-rich compost for gardens and lawns.

Minneapolis solid waste customers can set bags of yard waste, bundles of brush and reusable yard waste containers next to their garbage cart by 6 a.m. on their garbage pickup day. Branches and leaves must be tied with string or twine, bagged in a compostable bag or placed loose in a reusable container. Compostable bags and reusable containers must be 33 gallor less and weigh less than 40 pounds. Branches must be less than three inches each in diameter and less than three feet long. Bundles must weigh less than 40 pounds.

For questiabout leaf and brush pickup, call 612-673-2917 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or visit www.minneapolismn.gov/solid-waste/yardwaste.

City expands plastic and carton recycling

City of Minneapolis recycling customers can now recycle nearly all of the frequently used containers that used to end up in the trash. Customers can recycle cart – that includes milk cart, juice boxes and soup, broth and wine cart– and plastic containers including yogurt cups, cottage cheese containers and deli and takeout containers. Minneapolis recycling crews will pick up these additional items with the regular recycling. Cartcan go in the same bag with the paper.

Customers can now recycle the plastic caps and lids on plastic containers and should leave them on the container (after rinsing, of course) or they will literally slip through the cracks of the recycling machinery.

City of Minneapolis recycling customers get many benefits for a great value. Every other week, recycling crews take away what used to be cidered garbage, and it gets sold to make into something new. The sales help pay for this service, and customers don’t pay a thing. They even get a $7 credit on their utility bill every month for recycling.

Customers should keep and refer to the recycling guide that comes in the mail each year.

For more information, check out www.minneapolismn.gov/solid-waste/recycling.

For questiabout leaf and brush pickup, call 612-673-2917 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or visit www.minneapolismn.gov/solid-waste/yardwaste.

Solar works in Minneapolis workshop April 15

Are you thinking about installing solar at your home or business? At a free solar works workshop, you can hear from a panel of people who have had solar installed on their home or business, find out about incentives and rebates for installing solar and get resources to start your solar energy project.

9:45 to 10:45 a.m., Sunday, April 15

Mayflower Church, 106 Diamond Lake Road

To RSVP, visit http://minneapolissolarworks.eventbrite.com

From the Office of City Council Vice President Robert Lilligren
350 South 5th Street, City Hall, Room 307, Minneapolis, MN 55415
Robert.Lilligren@minneapolismn.gov · Ward 6 website · (612) 673-2206

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