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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
My thoughts are with those most immediately impacted by gun violence in our community. We grieve for the lives lost, and everyone touched by these tragedies.
With the heaviest of hearts I reflect on the Annunciation School shooting. There are truly no words to address the pain and senselessness of the attack.
The violence on display in our community over the summer is core-shaking. I urge the legislature to take action on gun-violence prevention now.
Please consider utilizing county-sponsored community and mental health resource options.
Located at East Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue, the METRO Blue Line's Lake Street/Midtown Station is one of the region's busiest boarding locations, with around 1,800 light rail boardings each weekday. Bus stops served by the METRO B Line, are located immediately adjacent to the station.
After 20 years of use, a full renovation of the station is being pursued to ensure it remains in a state of good repair and continues to be a space that invites people to use transit. Station renovations will complement improvements to the Hiawatha-Lake intersection that are being led by Hennepin County.
Timeline
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2022-2023: Planning
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2024-2025: Design and Engineering
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2026-2027: Station Construction
Station renovation goals
- Providing more consistent and reliable access for all users by adding a pedestrian ramp from the street level to the station on the south side of Lake Street, along with new, larger elevators that will be closer to Lake Street bus stops, and wider stairways (escalators will be removed).
- Making the station easier to maintain over time by providing facilities staff more functional spaces to work out of and limiting the use of glass (for instance, existing glass platform shelters will be replaced by a larger overhead canopy).
- Reorienting station entrances to more directly face Lake Street.
View a project fact sheet (English) (Spanish) (Somali) (Hmong). More information, including a link to sign up for updates on the Renew the Blue projects, can be found on Metro Transit’s website.
Earlier this summer, the Green Line Extension project began the first of three phases of systems integration testing - the last major phase of project development before revenue operations. The testing phase will continue throughout 2025 and 2026 to ensure the system is safe, reliable, efficient and ready for you to ride in 2027.
This fall, test trains will be running in the corridor. This means the warning systems at the 15 LRT grade crossings between Eden Prairie and Minneapolis will soon be fully active. Warning lights will flash, warning bells will ring, and gate arms will come down as trains cross road and trail intersections. Now is the time to start looking out for and observing those traffic warning systems. Please stay alert. Safety is everyone’s responsibility!
This month, we will kick off the first Hennepin County Art Contest in partnership with the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) to celebrate the artistic talents of middle and high school students across our communities. This initiative highlights the importance of youth expression, civic engagement and the arts as a vital part of public life in Hennepin County.
Students will have the opportunity to submit their original artwork to be reviewed by a panel of community judges, with selected works honored and exhibited at Mia. Click here to apply to be a community judge.
- Students in grades 6-12 will have the opportunity to submit artwork between Monday, December 1, 2025, and Sunday, January 4, 2026
- The review and ranking will take place in early January with participants being notified the week of January 19, 2026
- Twenty-eight pieces will be chosen to display at an art exhibit hosted at Mia on a date to be determined between March 14, 2026, and April 26, 2026
- Hennepin County will host and display the artwork at the Government Center Gallery at a time to be determined in late spring/summer of 2026
Follow this link if you're interested in becoming a community judge!
Rivkin, a new affordable housing development in the heart of the Seward neighborhood, opened its doors in June. Developed and managed by Wellington Management, Rivkin will create 155 new affordable units, 46 of which are at or below 30% of the area median income (AMI). 18 of those are reserved for people exiting homelessness and mental health treatment, providing stability and opportunity for folks who have previously been shut out.
Because of Rivkin’s tailored support to our most vulnerable neighbors and its location in a vibrant and connected neighborhood, the county supported the project with a total of $2.1 million from our Affordable Housing Incentive Fund, Supportive Housing Strategy Capital, and Transit Oriented Communities program. Hennepin County’s Environmental Response Fund assisted with the cost of site cleanup.
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Grant funding will be used for a variety of activities, including conducting tree inventories, expanding the capacity of city forestry teams, treating or removing and replacing ash trees, and educating residents on the benefits of trees and engaging them in tree planting efforts. More than 930 trees will be planted, and more than 180 diseased trees will be removed through the grant projects.
The grants will improve livability and reduce disparities by planting trees in areas experiencing disproportionate amounts of economic, environmental, and health inequities. The grants will also protect people and increase the county’s resilience to climate change by increasing the benefits that trees provide.
Learn about the grants awarded. For more information, contact trees@hennepin.us.
Contact us
Marion Greene
Commissioner, 3rd District
612-348-7883
Elie Farhat
Principal Aide
612-348-7125
Laura Hoffman
District Aide
612-348-0863
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