 Miguel’s mural is even brighter and more colorful since installing LED lights with support from Great Streets program funding
Miguel Zagal opened Taqueria La Hacienda in 1999 in Mercado Central
at 1515 East Lake Street. Since then, he has expanded his business with two
more locations: one at 334 East Lake Street open 24 hours on weekends and another
at 2000 Williams Drive in Burnsville.
In January 2015, Miguel was approached by the Lake Street Council, an
organization supported by the City of Minneapolis’ Great
Streets Program, for improving the lighting and recycling of his 334 East
Lake Street location. Though skeptical at first, he decided to take on both
projects after seeing the long-term savings in utilities and the rebates he
could receive with assistance from the Council and the Great Streets Program. Both
projects took place throughout 2015 and included employee training to improve
recycling efforts, which Miguel uses with new employees to this day, and LED
lights inside and outside the building.
Since the upgrades, Miguel has noticed savings on his bills
and is very happy with the results. Along with new, colorful chairs in his
restaurant, he is now looking to paint the exterior and add clay trim to his
windows.
 Top: Instead of cutting a ribbon, frisbees were tossed to officially open the park; Bottom (left to right): Asian Dance Team and CorePower Yoga providing entertainment and activities for all attendees
Elected officials, partners, and
community members gathered at Downtown East Commons on July 21st to
celebrate the grand opening of the 4.2 acre, dynamic green space located in the
heart of downtown.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges; Council
Member Jacob Frey; Pat Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ryan
Companies US, Inc.; Mark Wilf Owner/President of the Vikings; and Mary Margaret
Jones, President of Hargreaves Associates kicked off the opening ceremony.
Event attendees forwent a traditional ribbon cutting and tossed Frisbees to
officially commemorate the opening. The event also featured food trucks, dance
performances by Asian Dance Team, and
free yoga by CorePower Yoga.
The Commons is a key part of the broader, five-block
Downtown East development project that has brought over $400 million of
investment to downtown. The East Block officially opened first and includes: a
great lawn, promenades, areas for play, and plantings. The West Block will
open later this month.
Visit
The
Commons website for upcoming events or to reserve the
space.
 Top: Rendering of Hawthorne EcoVillage Apartments provided by Urban Works Architecture; Bottom (left to right): Michael McGovern, Associated Bank; Jim Steiner, National Equity Fund; Michelle Smith; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Stephanie Johnson, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization; Commissioner Linda Higgins, Hennepin County; Commissioner Mary Tingerthal, MN Housing Finance Agency; Paul Williams, Project for Pride in Living; Council Member Blong Yang, City of Minneapolis; Dave Ellis, Hawthorne Neighborhood Board Chair; and Tiffany Glasper, City of Minneapolis
On July 13,
elected officials, community and business leaders, friends, and neighbors arrived
at 617 Lowry Avenue North to celebrate the official groundbreaking of the
Hawthorne EcoVillage Apartments. Developed
by Project for Pride in Living (PPL), Hawthorne EcoVillage Apartments will feature
one apartment building and four townhouse units that together create 75, high-quality
affordable rental homes.
Hawthorne
EcoVillage Apartments will be the first major redevelopment along Lowry Avenue
since the street was renovated in 2007-2008. It will feature numerous green and
sustainability features including a state-of-the-art system to treat and
infiltrate rainwater, a green roof on a portion of the main apartment building,
highly efficient mechanical systems, and a ground floor bike storage room to
encourage use of alternative transportation modes. Other amenities include
onsite property management, a playground for children, patio with grills, underground
parking, and a fitness room.
Construction
is expected to be completed in September 2017 with the first residents moving
in later that same year.
 Alex French and Andrew Healy with Bizzy Coffee, a startup business that received assistance from SBDC and B-TAP. Photo credit: Bizzy Coffee
In 2015, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University St. Thomas became a business service provider for the City of Minneapolis' Business Technical Assistance Program (B-TAP). Since then, the SBDC has increased their attention to serving more startup companies while also assisting more home-based companies find external locations. This shift in focus allowed SBDC to help smaller businesses like Brighter Minds Music School accomplish their expansion goals of moving into a bigger commercial space and adding more instructors. SBDC is also able to leverage strong relationships with other B-TAP providers like the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) and the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA) to provide access to non-traditional bank loans to their clients.
SBDC’s complete business support services include business planning, loan packaging, buy-sell packaging, financial management, as well as market strategies. They have 10 experienced consultants offering a broad set of skills in business-ownership experience ranging from restaurant management to social media marketing strategies. Entrepreneurs interested in starting their own business can also take advantage of a monthly three-hour workshop, “Smart Start for Business,” offered by the organization.
Looking to change jobs? Looking to get back into the
workforce? The City
of Minneapolis and Hennepin
County are co-sponsoring a series of hiring and training events that may
just help you land your next job. Employers are seeking people interested in
culinary, hospitality, health care, construction, and other industries. The Hiring
and Training Events are also offering pre-event workshops to help with resume
writing, interviewing, job counseling, and more!
Attend one or both of the events below with more to come
this fall. Remember to dress professionally and bring a government issued ID,
multiple copies of your resume, and a list of professional references.
-
Pillsbury
United Communities Hiring and Training Fair
Thursday, August 18, 3pm-6pm
Harrison Recreation Center
503 Irving Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN
55405
More Information
-
Sabathani
Community Center Hiring and Training Fair
Wednesday, August 24, 12pm-4pm
Sabathani Community Center
310 East 38th Street, Suite 200,
Minneapolis, MN 55409
See Flyer
 More than 2,800 participants enjoying authentic Mexican food at the 3rd annual Taco Tour on Lake Street
Growing larger every year with 1,500 participants in 2014
and just over 2,000 last year, the famous Taco Tour on Lake Street held
its third annual event on July 17th with more than 2,800 attendees – making
this year the biggest success yet! Participants walked, biked, and drove down
the bustling East Lake Street Corridor feasting on some of the best Mexican
food in the metro area from 9 restaurants. The event was funded in part by the
City of Minneapolis' Great
Streets program to promote and strengthen the diverse business community
within East Lake Street and hosted by the Latino
Economic Development Center (LEDC).
 Top (left to right): Cookie Cart STEP-UP intern panel and STEP-UP intern Amira speaking at U.S. Bank; Bottom (left to right): Minneapolis Public Schools STEP-UP intern panel discussion over lunch and STEP-UP tour guides Ayanna King, Samiyo Mohamed, Anyia Spears, Larry Sanchez, Abdi Musse and Ashley Yang
On Tuesday July 19, STEP-UP interns guided elected officials, program
partners, and funders on the annual tour of STEP-UP worksites to give them a
glimpse into the STEP-UP intern experience.
The focus of this year’s tour was North Minneapolis which has a total
of 65 STEP-UP jobsites employing 529 interns this year. Four worksites in North Minneapolis, all
located on West Broadway, were featured including Cookie Cart, West Broadway
Business and Area Coalition, U.S. Bank, and Minneapolis Public Schools.
From working as a baker to a bank teller, interns shared the highlights
and challenges of their job experience so far this summer. Their employers and supervisors also shared
what they have taken away from the experience.
This summer, nearly 1,700 youth and young adults aged 14-21 are being
employed by STEP-UP at one of 230 government agencies, nonprofits, small
businesses, and corporations throughout the Twin Cities metro area.
Learn
more about STEP-UP
The City of Minneapolis was recently awarded $500,000 from the
Department of Labor to implement a Justice and Emergency Services Pathways
Project. The 33-month project began July 1, 2016.
Over the course of the project, 125 Minneapolis youth from North
Minneapolis, Phillips and Cedar Riverside will have hands-on and work
experience-based opportunities to learn about careers in justice and emergency
services. Youth will participate in industry sector mini-academies and summer
internships in the targeted sectors. Participants will be juniors and seniors and largely opportunity youth with risk factors or previous exposure to the
justice system. Each youth will have a Check and Connect case manager that will
meet with them weekly to keep them on target toward high school graduation and
help them gain access to resources they need to be successful. Youth will also
be matched with mentors in the justice and emergency services sectors.
Partners on the grant are
Hennepin County, Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis Workforce Centers,
Hennepin County Medical Center and city departments including Fire, 911,
Police, and the City Attorney’s office.
 To maintain Minneapolis’ wonderful urban forest, we need the
help of private property owners and local businesses to plant more
trees. The City offers a program to plant trees for qualifying businesses
and nonprofits through the Health Department's Urban Forestry Project. These trees provide a great
service to our city through reduced storm water runoff, lower energy use, and
cleaner air for the communities where we live, work, and play.
Trees are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sign
up by September 1 to be included in our fall 2016 planting. Businesses and
commercial property owners that pay a pollution control annual bill may apply here to reserve their trees for 2016. To
qualify, the property must have enough space to accommodate a tree, and the
owner must commit to maintaining and watering the tree.
Over 200 businesses have already taken advantage of the
program. For more information visit the Minneapolis Urban Forestry Project.
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Four new Minneapolis Workforce Council members were approved by the
Minneapolis City Council on Friday, July 1st.
The new members are:
- Philomena Morrissey Satre, Vice President, Human Resources-Org
Development and Diversity and Inclusion, Wells Fargo
- Siyad Abdullahi, CEO/Entrepreneur/Health Care Executive Pro-Health Care
and The Language Banc, Inc.
- Steven Kuntz, Program Specialist, State of Minnesota
- Terrence Harris, Store Manager, VILLA
"We are excited to have such a talented group of business leaders
join the Council," expressed Deb Bahr-Helgen, Director of City of
Minneapolis Employment and Training. "I'm looking forward to working with
them all to help grow an inclusive workforce in Minneapolis."
The vision of the
Minneapolis Workforce Council is to be Committed to Growing a
Competitive Workforce. To accomplish this, the Council designs career
pathway programs and creates partnerships to eliminate racial employment
disparities, assures access to community-based and culturally appropriate
employment resources, and utilizes community-knowledge and business guidance to
respond to the shifting dynamics of the 21st century labor
market. The Council also oversees two Workforce Centers in the City of
Minneapolis.
Learn more
about the Workforce Council
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