April 2, 2021 Newsletter

chris latondresse

 

  April 2, 2021

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Tomorrow at 10:00am I will be hosting my monthly 'Coffee with Chris' virtual conversation. I invite you to join me here for a cup of coffee and an informal conversation. 

A few more updates you’ll find in this week’s newsletter:

📲 Small Business Relief Fund Dashboard: The Small Business Relief Fund impacts page displays an interactive dashboard for users to explore the impacts of all five rounds of small business relief grant funding. 

🏢 Financial, marketing, and other consulting available at no cost to Hennepin County businesses: Connect with one of our specialized consultants by registering at elevatebusinesshc.com or connect with a community-based nonprofit business advisor.

🏠 Hennepin County and the Just Deeds Program: Hennepin County government is providing navigation support at no charge to help county residential property owners create the legal documentation to disavow discriminatory covenants that may exist on their properties.

🏠 COVID response for homelessness reaches new phase: Using hotels for isolation and quarantine was part of Hennepin County's strategy to deal with underserved populations during the pandemic, and we've now reached the next phase.

As always, please reach out to my office with any questions, concerns, or thoughts you have using the contact information at the bottom of this newsletter.

In service,

Chris

📲Small Business Relief Fund Dashboard

Dashboard with data points on small business relief grants in Hennepin County

As of March 15, 2021, Hennepin County has provided more than 6,400 small business relief grants through the Small Business Relief Fund, totaling $69.4 million.

The Small Business Relief Fund impacts page displays an interactive dashboard for users to explore the impacts of all five rounds of small business relief grant funding. Each round of funding targeted different groups of small businesses impacted by economic hardship due to COVID-19. Click here to explore.

🏢Financial, marketing, and other consulting available at no cost to Hennepin County businesses

Elevate business HC graphic of women gathered and talking

COVID-19 has created many challenges for small businesses in Hennepin County. Hennepin County businesses impacted by COVID-19 are eligible to receive one-on-one business consulting and technical assistance from a variety of professional service providers at no cost. 

Jessie Baker, owner of Munkabeans Coffeehouse located in downtown Hopkins, participated in Elevate Business and said she would highly recommend the program to other local business owners, specifically the peer to peer roundtables that allow business owners to learn from each other by sharing their challenges and successes.

"There's comfort in knowing there are other businesses going through the same exact thing you are," she said. "I would highly recommend that if you've got half an hour once a week, jump on a roundtable zoom call. What have you got to lose?" 

Some of the services and business consulting expertise offered include: 

  • Starting and growing a business
  • Business planning
  • Financial counseling
  • Access to capital consultation
  • Upgrading technology
  • Website optimization
  • Social media training
  • Insurance policy review
  • Lease review and negotiation of terms

Connect with one of our specialized consultants by registering at elevatebusinesshc.com or connect with a community-based nonprofit business advisor.

🏠Hennepin County and the Just Deeds Program

Hennepin County government is providing navigation support at no charge to help county residential property owners create the legal documentation to disavow discriminatory covenants that may exist on their properties.

In addition, we have granted complimentary access to our real property search service to Just Deeds affiliated cities upon request. The City of Minnetonka is an affiliate city and Hopkins will be soon.

If you are interested in learning more about discharging racial covenants on your home, you can find a list of participating cities here

🏠COVID response for homelessness reaches new phase

Graphic of masks in houses

Vaccines, along with infrastructure and service changes, have allowed the county to start rolling back its response to COVID and homelessness. Using hotels for isolation and quarantine was part of Hennepin County's strategy to deal with underserved populations during the pandemic, and we've now reached the next phase.

The county is no longer placing people in hotels, which was our emergency stopgap to prevent COVID-19 from uncontrolled spread in shelters. A case management team has been put in place to help move people from these sites into permanent housing, and has so far helped more than 170 people do so. As people vacate the hotel rooms, the space is being turned back over to the hotel businesses. 

The following factors made this next phase possible: 

Vaccines 

People experiencing homelessness, and staff and volunteers who work with them, have been prioritized to receive the COVID vaccine. As of March 16, Public Health's Health Care for the Homeless, in partnership with Hennepin Healthcare, had provided 1,943 first doses of the vaccine and 200 second doses to people experiencing homelessness and homeless service providers. 

Shelter changes 

All shelters have now transitioned to providing space 24/7 instead of just at night. (Federal funding allowing for round-the-clock shelter is secured through September 2022.) The shelter facilities have been reconfigured to operate in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations – such as social distancing, cleaning protocols, masks and touchless hand washing. 

Additional shelters open 

Three new shelters have recently made more space and person-centered services available. The Salvation Army has added a 30-bed shelter for women in south Minneapolis. The American Indian Community Development Corporation opened Homeward Bound, a 50-bed shelter providing culturally specific services for the Native American community. And Avivo Village, an indoor community of 100 private dwellings, opened March 8. All are operating 24/7 and have infection control protocols in place. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, only an estimated 377 people experiencing homelessness have tested positive for COVID-19 in Hennepin County – out of more than 100,000 total cases in the county. 

📰News

Edina launches pilot program to save affordable homes from teardown

Graphic with data on Edina home prices

 

By Boyd Huppert, KARE 11

The city partnered with West Hennepin Affordable Housing Land Trust in setting up the program. Under it, Edina would make funds available to buy a limited number of houses for their appraised values to assure those homes remain intact and with families needing more affordable options.

Access the full story, here.

Meet MinnyRow, a new Minnesota-centric food market in Hopkins

Photo of a couple inside of a market

Photo by Brian Peterson, Star Tribune

By Rick Nelson, Star Tribune

A mural's message just inside the door at MinnyRow Market says it all: "Keep your friends close and your farmers closer."

For owners Dana and Peter Smith, that locavore's mantra informs most of their decisions, from selecting regionally produced products to forging less-visible partnerships with nearby bankers, graphic designers and even paper suppliers.

"Our mission to work local not only has to do with food but is true across all aspects of our business," says Dana Smith.

Access the full story, here.

New website gives homeowners a chance to find and reject old racial covenants on their deeds

Graphic from KARE 11 News story

By Kent Erdahl, KARE 11

After the state of Minnesota made it possible for homeowners to discharge racial covenants in 2019, Cisneros worked with other city attorneys in Hennepin County to help homeowners navigate the process of finding covenants and discharging/disavowing them. Last year, several local realtor groups also volunteered to help.

Access the full story, here.

☕Coffee with Chris - This Saturday at 10:00am

Coffee with Chris Graphic

 

Join me this Saturday, April 6th for an informal virtual conversation over coffee. Starting at 10:00am you can click here to join the virtual meeting. 

About District 6

District 6 map

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners consists of one commissioner from each of seven districts. I am proud to represent Deephaven, north Eden Prairie, Edina, Excelsior, Greenwood, Hopkins, Long Lake, Minnetonka, Minnetonka Beach, northern Mound, Orono, Shorewood, Spring ParkTonka Bay, Wayzata and Woodland.

County information

Chris LaTondresse
Commissioner
6th District
612-348-7886 

Jessica Oaxaca
District Director
612-348-6885

Kyle Olson
Policy Director
612-348-3168

hennepin.us

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