 Photo rendering provided by JuxtaPosition Arts.
New Rules is a new creative shared space
coming to 2015 North Lowry Ave in North Minneapolis. Designed to provide
interdisciplinary artists and creators with the necessary studio space,
equipment and workshops to help bring their ideas into fruition, New Rules will
contain a transitional event space and a design lab. The space’s design lab can
be accessed on an hourly or membership basis that will provide access to
equipment including a 3D printer, sewing machines and computers. The event
space will serve as a platform for artists to host events like exhibits,
lectures, film showings and book readings. The City of Minneapolis department
of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) and the Lowry Business Association
has helped support New Rules with
a façade grant through the Great
Streets Program. Business assistance and
support was also provided by CPED’s Business Technical
Assistance Program (B-TAP) and the Arts, Culture
and Creative Economy program.
Founder Chris Webley states that New Rules is targeted at millennials of color as it is
an underserved population with a culture rooted in creativity, and says that
the space will help fulfill the need for this type of resource in North Minneapolis.
To fund the space, Chris is utilizing a
crowdfunding campaign to raise $30,000 to open at the end of July, and
contributions to the space will count as pre-payment for those who will use the
space. New Rules will increase opportunities for communities of color to practice
design thinking, innovation and social entrepreneurship; and Chris hopes that
this will ultimately help breed the next generation of creatives.
 HIRED receiving the 2015 Youth Provider of the Year award from City of Minneapolis Employment and Training. Pictured L to R: Tyler Olson, Minneapolis Workforce Council; Deb Bahr-Helgen, City of Minneapolis Employment and Training; Jane Samargia, Jan West, and Kelley Eubanks, HIRED; and Carlye Peterson, Minneapolis Workforce Council
HIRED has partnered with Minneapolis Employment and Training
for more than 30 years to provide personalized and innovative work solutions to
best serve the needs of individuals who are disconnected from the workforce.
Dislocated workers receive help to revamp their job search
and strengthen their skillset with training or education so that they can
return to work quickly and at the highest skill and wage level possible.
Adult low-income job seekers, with steep barriers to
employment, receive assistance to help stabilize personal situations. Services center on workshops, coursework, and
training critical for careers with promising futures.
At-risk youth struggling with school, or seeking first jobs,
get individualized support through a team of counselors focused on putting
youth on the path to more stable futures through workforce attachment.
HIRED partners with ABE providers, Hennepin Technical
College, Normandale Community College, employers, and others to offer training
programs that meet the demand for qualified workers. Many participants earn
industry-recognized credentials in high growth industries and are able to find
jobs in their area of training.
HIRED has seven locations throughout Minneapolis.
 Shania, a 19-year-old high school graduate, has been working since the
age of 15 in fast food and customer service. While Shania liked her jobs, she
wanted to work one-on-one with people and always had a passion for helping
others. She wanted to get into nursing
but didn’t know how to take the next step without the tools or the people to
help get her there.
Shania knew she needed support so she went to RESOURCE and connected with its Youth
Futures Program. With their support, she enrolled in the Certified Nursing
Assistant/Home Health Care (CNA/HHA) program at Lighthouse Training
Center. Shania passed the licensing exam
and worked with a RESOURCE career counselor to prepare for her job search. She
soon got a job at Camden Care as a CNA helping residents with daily living activities.
Shania said, “It is amazing to be able to nurture, care for, and
provide for others. I really appreciate
the help I have received over the last eight months. I’ve already accomplished so much and I’ve
stepped up my goals for the future. I
hope to attend college in the fall to work towards my Bachelor of Science in
nursing.”
Minneapolis Youth Works helps Minneapolis youth and young adults (ages
14-24) learn academic life and work skills, identify career paths, and achieve
meaningful employment. Services are provided through contracted community-based agencies such as RESOURCE.
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For over 30 years, WomenVenture
has provided women with tools to create and grow sustainable and profitable
small businesses. Their programs include training, consulting, loan programs,
events, and community building. Through these programs, WomenVenture’s vision
is to help their clients start and grow businesses and pay a living wage (120%
of Area Median Income).
WomenVenture’s training spans from introductory courses that
help clients decide if small business ownership is right for them, all the way
to a Guided Business Plan course which covers all of the components of
developing a business plan, from launch to expansion. Their specialized
training has allowed WomenVenture to become a service provider for the City's Business Technical Assistance
(B-TAP) programs. This partnership has helped connect clients like Roots Midwifery and Birth Center, Empire Coffee, and Lontis Day Spa and Salon with
affordable loans that help bring more women-owned businesses to life.
WomenVenture emphasizes the importance of accessibility and
keeping a portfolio of clients from diverse backgrounds. To help make their
programs more affordable they offer scholarships for low-income women with classes
at 95 percent off for income eligible clients. As their programs grow in size
and reach, Women Venture strives to ensure that their programs serve all women
equally.
A five-block temporary greenway has been installed on the 3000-3500 blocks of Irving
Avenue North in the Jordan and Folwell neighborhoods to give residents a place
for more physical activity, traffic calming, flower planting, and gathering
places. Current plans call for the temporary greenway to remain in place for up
to a year. For the past three years, residents have contributed their thoughts
to aid the development of this project. These specific blocks were selected as
part of the demonstration project based on high rates of resident support and
input from Council President Barb Johnson and Council Member Blong Yang.
The
City is partnering with the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability to host events,
programs, and other community engagement activities along the route. The City
is also pursuing strategies for addressing residents’ safety concerns for the
greenway and adjacent alleyways.
Residents
are invited to celebrate the grand opening of the temporary greenway on
Saturday, June 25 from 1-6pm (rain date, Sunday, June 26th). Food,
music, and family-friendly activities, including painting art on the pavement,
will be offered along the five blocks of the greenway route between Jordan and
Folwell parks. Residents are encouraged to call 311 to give feedback while the
temporary greenway is in place so the City can make real time adjustments
and assess interest in a permanent greenway.
For more
information about the North Minneapolis greenway project, click here.
 Carolyn Roby has recently retired as Chair of the Minneapolis Workforce
Council following her retirement as Vice President at Wells Fargo Foundation
MN.
Carolyn’s commitment to community is evidenced by her work on the
Minneapolis Workforce Council, a member since 1994 and the Chair since 2006. In
this role, Carolyn kept Minneapolis job seekers' interests at the forefront of
many reiterations of employment and training programs over the years. Her
leadership will be remembered as one with a focus on racial equity in
employment and youth career development.
During her tenure as Chair of the Minneapolis Workforce Council, tens
of thousands of Minneapolis residents, both adults and youth, found career
paths and reached self-sufficiency through a unique community-based partnership
model. Carolyn played an integral role in developing and supporting this
effective network of community-based service delivery organizations in the City
of Minneapolis.
Under Carolyn’s active leadership, City of Minneapolis Employment and
Training has earned numerous awards, commendations, certificates of
appreciation and recognition for outstanding service delivery, efficiency, and
effectiveness, most notably for the nationally recognized STEP-UP program that
has provided more than 21,000 internships since 2004.
Carolyn has earned the respect of her colleagues in workforce
development for her unwavering commitment to a responsive, high-quality, community-based delivery system.
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 Previous STEP-UP interns at work.
You may begin to notice an influx of enthusiastic,
professionally dressed, young people during your commute this month. That’s because over 1,700 work-ready
Minneapolis youth are beginning their STEP-UP summer internships in June.
One of the country's premiere youth employment programs, STEP-UP places
Minneapolis youth ages 14-21 in paid internships with top Twin Cities
companies, nonprofits and public agencies, providing work readiness training,
on-the-job experience, professional mentors, advanced career opportunities and
ongoing support.
STEP-UP is building tomorrow's workforce today by connecting businesses
with the next generation of talented and diverse workers. STEP-UP has provided
over 21,000 internship opportunities since 2004.
STEP-UP serves populations that face the greatest barriers to
employment, particularly low income youth, youth of color and recent
immigrants. These young people are the future of our city. So if you see them on the bus or on the
train, please make them feel welcome.
STEP-UP is a City of Minneapolis program provided in
partnership with AchieveMpls. Other partners include the Minneapolis Park and
Recreation Board, Minnesota WorkForce Centers, and Project for Pride and
Living. Learn more about STEP-UP from the City
of Minneapolis’ website or
follow STEP-UP activities and events all year long on social media with hashtag
#STEPUPMpls.
Chosen from a pool of more than 325 applicants and spanning
over 90 countries across six continents, Mayor Betsy Hodges welcomed an
announcement on Thursday, May 26th from 100 Resilient Cities – pioneered by The Rockefeller
Foundation (100RC), who selected Minneapolis to join the 100RC Network to
build urban resilience.
As the number of people living in urban areas grows, cities
around the world face huge deficits in preparedness for rapid growth and
natural and man-made disasters. New 100RC’s member cities are joining an international
group who are proactively preparing to face upcoming challenges.
As a part of 100 RC Network, Minneapolis will be eligible to
receive grant funding to hire a Chief Resilience Officer, who will lead the
citywide resilience-building process and engage stakeholders from various communities
to incorporate diverse perspectives and knowledge. Minneapolis will also
receive technical support as well as other services valued at over $180 million
to develop a Resilience Strategy that reflects the city’s distinct needs.
 Many thanks to everyone who entered our photo contest to celebrate
National Historic Preservation Month! Over 200 photos were submitted on
Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook during the month of May using the contest
hashtag #MPLSpreservation. We were in awe of how many amazing photos were submitted
and the wide variety of landmarks and historic districts that were photographed!
The three winners were chosen by City of Minneapolis Community Planning and
Economic Development (CPED) staff. We are looking forward to holding another
contest next May as well. In the meantime, keep using the hashtag
#MPLSpreservation when posting photos of your favorite designated landmarks and
historic districts in Minneapolis!
 New parklet at Twin Cities Coffee and Deli located at 1603 Chicago Ave S.
For its
third season, the City has new partners and locations for parklets across the
city. Two of them are community-sponsored and three are City-owned, with each
parklet taking up an area of about two parking spaces with a deck, planters,
chairs, and tables for public use. Host businesses near the parklets maintain
them on a day-to-day basis. The locations of these parklets are:
The city will begin accepting 2017 parklet season applications
this fall. More information is available on the City’s website.
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