Minneapolis Promise Zone Grants

City of Minneapolis and Promise Zone

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January 18, 2018

Minneapolis Promise Zone Workmark





In this edition of Minneapolis Promise Zone Updates:

  • "Is Certification Right For You?" Lunch & Learn Workshop
  • Recent Federal Grant and Partnership Opportunities 
  • About the Minneapolis Promise Zone

women's business development center logo

“Is Certification Right For You?” Lunch & Learn Workshop

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:

Gain an understanding of whether or not your business could qualify for women business certifications. Learn the overall benefits of WBE certification and then be able to determine if certification will actually benefit your business. All of the local, state and federal government certifications available in Minnesota will be covered.

WHEN: Tuesday, January 23, 2018 12:00–2:00 p.m.

WHERE: Offices of WBDC at 2021 E. Hennepin Ave, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55413

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Participants must be part of a business that at least 51% owned, actively managed and controlled by a woman or women. In addition, participants should be interested in acquiring corporate contracts. If you are already certified as a WBE through WBENC, you do not need to attend this workshop.

REGISTRATION:

The non-refundable workshop fee is $20 (includes a boxed lunch and workshop materials). Please register online by 01/19/18 at https://www.wbdc.org/event/is-certification-right-for-you-lunch-learn-workshop-3/

  • Go to https://www.wbdc.org/events/ Click on Register and it will take you to the events portal;
  • Click on Register again, it will prompt you to fill out a short form to create user name and password;
  • If you are registering several people, you need to create log-in’s individually (for each person being registered) – you can’t register them in one scoop.
  • For technical questions regarding online registration, please email Ari Smith asmith@wbdc.org.

Recent Federal Grant and Partnership Opportunities

The following content is for informational purposes only. For additional details on the opportunities below, and to find additional opportunities, please visit www.grants.gov.


Promise Zone Preference Points

If a discretionary funding opportunity indicates Promise Zone (PZ) preference points are available, please visit http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/promisezone/WCMSP-190631 for additional information on forms and contacts to request preference point certification from the City of Minneapolis Promise Zone. Please submit your preference point request at least two weeks prior to the application deadline for Promise Zone certification approval consideration. 

If a funding opportunity does not indicate PZ preference points, you are still encouraged to contact the Promise Zone Manager, Julianne Leerssen (612-225-7721), about potential partnership opportunities to strengthen your application.

EDUCATION & STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

NSF: National Science Foundation

NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) is a comprehensive national initiative designed to enhance U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) discoveries and innovations by focusing on broadening participation in these fields at scale. The vision of NSF INCLUDES is to catalyze the STEM enterprise to collaboratively work for inclusive change, which will result in a STEM workforce that reflects the population of the Nation. The initiative is developing a National Network composed of NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilots, NSF INCLUDES Alliances, an NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub, NSF-funded broadening participation projects, other relevant NSF-funded projects, scholars engaged in broadening participation research, and other organizations that support the development of talent from all sectors of society to build an inclusive STEM workforce. The successful implementation of NSF INCLUDES will result in substantial advances toward a diverse, innovative, and well-prepared STEM workforce to support our Nation’s economy and continued U.S. leadership in the global STEM enterprise. It is anticipated that NSF’s investment will contribute to new and improved STEM career pathways, policies, opportunities to learn, and practices for equity and inclusion.

EPA: Environmental Protection Agency

The purpose of the Environmental Education Local Grants Program in Region 5 is to support locally-focused environmental education projects that increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental and conservation issues and provide the skills that participants in its funded projects need to make informed decisions and take responsible actions toward the environment.

DOD: Department of Defense

Office of Naval Research

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 established the “Manufacturing Engineering Education Program,” (MEEP) (10 U.S.C. § 2196) which authorizes the Department of Defense to support industry-relevant, manufacturing-focused, engineering training at United States institutions of higher education, industry, nonprofit institutions, and consortia of such institutions or industry. The purpose of this program is to establish new or to enhance existing programs (or collections of programs) to better position the current and next-generation manufacturing workforce to produce military systems and components that assure technological superiority for the Department of Defense (DoD). Interested parties should focus programs on manufacturing education to support one or more distinct manufacturing technologies; e.g. manufacturing of lightweight structures, systems and materials; robotics for manufacturing; manufacturing to exploit nanotechnology; manufacturing of components and systems for power generation, storage, or distribution; manufacturing of multi-functional electronics and/or optical devices; or other manufacturing technologies of regional or industrial sector of interest. Proposed efforts should develop and enhance curricula and programs to effectively develop skills sets needed for students to operate in multidisciplinary design and manufacturing environments, including those for which manufacturing schema are informed by computational tools for modeling and simulation. Students also should be prepared to work effectively in environments where multiple engineering disciplines are engaged during design, development and manufacturing, and where the roles of manufacturers and suppliers in businesses of various sizes, from start-ups to major systems integrators, are optimized.

DOC: Department of Commerce

National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST

The NIST Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program is seeking applications from U.S. state, local and tribal governments to create a model ‘Point Cloud City’. Successful applicants will receive funding to generate an extensive catalog of annotated 3D indoor point clouds that can be used by industry, academia, and government to advance research and development in the areas of indoor mapping, localization and navigation for public safety, as well as to demonstrate the potential value of ubiquitous indoor positioning and location-based information. Recipients will also participate in the NIST Global Cities Team Challenge initiative as the lead for an Action Cluster.

DOS: Department of State

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

The Office of English Language Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA/A/L) announces an open competition for the FY 2018 American English (AE) E-Teacher Program, which offers foreign English teaching professionals the opportunity for professional development through high-quality virtual exchange components including online university-level Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) methodology courses, online English language learning courses, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), webinars, digital libraries, communities of practice and other types of engaging and innovative virtual learning.

USDOJ: Department of Justice

National Institute of Justice

The Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (GRF-STEM) provides awards to accredited academic institutions to support graduate research leading to doctoral degrees in topic areas that are relevant to ensuring public safety, preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. Applicant academic institutions sponsoring doctoral students are eligible to apply only if the doctoral student's degree program is a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline; and the student's proposed dissertation research has demonstrable implications for addressing the challenges of crime and/or the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. Awards are anticipated to be made to successful applicant institutions in the form of grants to cover fellowships for the sponsored doctoral students. Awards are made for up to 3 years of support usable over a 5-year period. For each year of support, NIJ provides the degree-granting institution a stipend of $35,000 usable toward the student's salary and related costs, and up to $15,000 to cover the student's tuition and fees, research expenses, and related costs.

The NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) Program in Social and Behavioral Sciences is open to doctoral students in all social and behavioral science disciplines. This program provides awards to accredited academic institutions to support graduate research leading to doctoral degrees in areas that are relevant to ensuring public safety, preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the effective administration of criminal justice in the United States. Of particular interest is research on issues deemed critical by the U.S. Department of Justice: violent crime reduction, enhancing investigations and prosecutions, protecting police officers and other public safety personnel, combating the opioid epidemic, victimization, and addressing illegal immigration.

CRIME, JUSTICE, & PUBLIC SAFETY

HHS: Department of Health and Human Services

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2018 Law Enforcement and Behavioral Health Partnerships for Early Diversion grants. The purpose of this program is to establish or expand programs that divert adults with a serious mental illness (SMI) or a co-occurring disorder (COD) from the criminal justice system to community-based services prior to arrest and booking. Special consideration will be given to applicants proposing to use grant funding to support early diversion services for veterans. Data indicate that a significant number of individuals that come in contact with law enforcement and the criminal justice system have a mental disorder. The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, reported that 1 in 7 state and federal prisoners (14 percent) and 1 in 4 jail inmates (26 percent) reported experiences that met the threshold for serious psychological distress. Approximately one-quarter of a million individuals with serious mental illnesses are incarcerated at any given moment – about half are arrested for non-violent offenses, such as trespassing or disorderly conduct. Approximately one quarter of a million individuals with serious mental illnesses are incarcerated at any given moment—about half arrested for non-violent offenses, such as trespassing or disorderly conduct. Effective diversion programs begins with establishing collaborative partnerships between law enforcement and community providers. Establishing clearly defined and sustainable partnerships is the first element of the Crisis Intervention Team's ten core elements. As well as the first of four core strategies in the International Association of Chiefs' of Police One Mind Campaign.

USDOJ: Department of Justice

Office on Violence Against Women

Grants to Enhance Culturally Specific Services for Victims of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking Program supports community-based organizations in providing culturally relevant services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

The goal of the SAS Culturally Specific Program is create, maintain, and expand sustainable sexual assault services provided by culturally specific organizations, which are uniquely situated to respond to respond to the needs of sexual assault victims within culturally specific populations.

The purpose of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)'s Research and Evaluation (R&E) Initiative is to research and evaluate approaches to combating domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. By generating more knowledge about strategies for serving victims and holding offenders accountable, communities that benefit from Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funding will be better equipped to align their work with practices that are known to be effective, and they will be more capable of generating empirical knowledge on the efficacy of new and promising ways of doing things. R&E is designed to support researcher-practitioner partnerships and a broad range of research and evaluation methods, including qualitative, mixed-method, and quasi-experimental designs.

The Campus Program encourages a comprehensive coordinated community approach that enhances victim safety, provides services for victims and supports efforts to hold offenders accountable. The funding supports activities that develop and strengthen trauma informed victim services and strategies to prevent, investigate, respond to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Developing campus-wide coordinated responses involving campus victim service providers, law enforcement/campus safety officers, health providers, housing officials, administrators, student leaders, faith-based leaders, representatives from student organizations, and disciplinary board members is critical. To be effective, campus responses must also link to local off-campus criminal justice agencies and service providers, including local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, courts, and nonprofit, nongovernmental victim advocacy and victim services organizations. Campuses are encouraged to create or revitalize large-scale efforts that treat sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking as serious offenses by adopting effective, culturally relevant policies and protocols, developing victim services and advocacy programs, and implementing effective prevention approaches. Colleges and universities should demonstrate to every student that these crimes will not be tolerated, that perpetrators will face serious consequences, and that holistic services are available for victims.

The United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) (www.ovw.usdoj.gov) is pleased to announce that it is seeking applications for the Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Grant Program (formerly known as the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program). This program furthers the Department of Justice’s mission by encouraging partnerships between state, local, and tribal governments, courts, victim service providers, coalitions and rape crisis centers, to ensure that sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking are treated as serious violations of criminal law requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire criminal justice system and community-based victim service organizations.

The Transitional Housing Program makes grants to programs to provide 6-24 months of transitional housing with support services for victims who are homeless, or in need of transitional housing, as a result of a situation of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking; and for whom emergency shelter services or other crisis intervention services are unavailable or insufficient. OVW is interested in programs with a holistic, victim-centered approach to providing transitional housing services that move survivors into permanent housing. Transitional housing can be provided in facilities that are owned by the applicant, in units that are leased by the applicant, or by providing rental assistance for units leased directly to victims. Support services offered should help transitional housing participants locate and secure permanent housing, secure employment, and integrate into a community. Examples of support services include employment counseling, occupational training, transportation, counseling, child care services, safety planning, case management, and other assistance. Support services must be offered to survivors on a voluntary basis. Voluntary support services are designed with survivor-input to meet the individual needs of each survivor. When implementing a voluntary services model through a trauma-informed approach, effective transitional housing supports the self-determination of survivors and adapts services to their individual needs. Staff who have been trained in working with victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking may also be funded to support transitional housing participants.

The primary purpose of the OVW Training and Technical Assistance (TA) Initiative is to provide direct TA to existing and potential grantees and sub-grantees to enhance and support their efforts to successfully implement projects supported by OVW grant funds. OVW’s TA is designed to build and enhance the national capacity of civil and criminal justice system professionals and victim services providers to respond effectively to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking and foster partnerships among organizations that have not traditionally worked together to address violence against women.

ARTS & HUMANITIES

NEH: National Endowment for the Humanities

The mission of this Challenge Grants program is to strengthen the institutional base of the humanities by enabling infrastructure development and capacity building. Grants aim to help institutions secure long-term support for their core activities and expand efforts to preserve and create access to outstanding humanities materials. Applications are welcome from colleges and universities, museums, public libraries, research institutions, historical societies and historic sites, scholarly associations, state humanities councils, and other nonprofit humanities entities. Programs that involve collaboration among multiple institutions are eligible as well, but one institution must serve as the lead agent and formal applicant of record. Through these grants organizations can increase their humanities capacity with spend-down funds that generate expendable earnings to support and enhance ongoing program activities. Eligible activities include the documentation of cultural heritage materials that are lost or imperiled; the preservation and conservation of humanities materials; and the sustaining of digital scholarly infrastructure. Challenge grants may also provide capital directly supporting the purchase of equipment and software; the design, purchase, construction, restoration, or renovation of facilities needed for humanities activities; and collections sharing. Such direct expenditures bring long-term benefits to the institution and to the humanities more broadly. Grantee institutions may also expend up to 10 percent of total grant funds (federal funds plus matching funds) to defray costs of fundraising to meet the NEH challenge. Challenge grant funds (both federal and nonfederal together) must enhance the humanities in the long term. Challenge grant funds should not merely replace funds already being expended, but instead should reflect careful strategic planning to strengthen and enrich an institution’s humanities activities. Institutions may use challenge grant funds to meet both ongoing and one-time humanities-related costs, provided that the long-term benefit of the expenditure can be demonstrated.

The Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities (IATDH) program supports national or regional (multistate) training programs for scholars, humanities professionals, and advanced graduate students to broaden and extend their knowledge of digital humanities. Through this program NEH seeks to increase the number of humanities scholars and practitioners using digital technology in their research and to broadly disseminate knowledge about advanced technology tools and methodologies relevant to the humanities. The institutes may be a single opportunity or offered multiple times to different audiences. Institutes may be as short as a few days and held at multiple locations or as long as six weeks at a single site. For example, training opportunities could be offered before or after regularly occurring scholarly meetings, during the summer months, or during appropriate times of the academic year. The duration of a program should allow for full and thorough treatment of the topic. These professional development programs may focus on a particular computational method, such as network or spatial analysis. They may also target the needs of a particular humanities discipline or audience.

PUBLIC & COMMUNITY HEALTH

HUD: US Department of Housing and Urban Development

As authorized under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, $25,000,000 shall be available for competitive grants to public housing agencies to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards in public housing by carrying out the activities of risk assessments, abatement, and interim controls (as those terms are defined in section 1004 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 4851b))

HHS: Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Community Living

The goal of the Pension Counseling & Information Program is to help individuals understand and exercise their pension rights The counseling projects promote protection of the rights, financial security, and independence of older individuals and empower them to make better choices in planning for long-term care. Successful applicants will demonstrate a proven record of advising and representing individuals who have been denied employer or union-sponsored pensions or other retirement savings plan benefits, and will have the capacity to deliver services on a regional basis.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2018 –Treatment for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness, Serious Emotional Disturbance or Co-Occurring Disorders Experiencing Homelessness (Short Title: Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness). The purpose of this program is to support the development and/or expansion of the local implementation of an infrastructure that integrates behavioral health treatment and recovery support services for individuals, youth, and families with a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance or co-occurring disorder (i.e., a serious mental illness [SMI] and substance use disorder [SUD] or a serious emotional disturbance [SED] and SUD who are experiencing homelessness. The goal of this program is to increase capacity and provide accessible, effective, comprehensive, coordinated, integrated, and evidence-based treatment services, peer support and other recovery support services, and linkages to sustainable permanent housing. To achieve this goal, SAMHSA will support three types of activities: (1) integrated behavioral health treatment and other recovery-oriented services; (2) efforts to engage and connect clients to enrollment resources for health insurance, Medicaid, and mainstream benefits (e.g. Supplemental Security Income (SSI)/Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), etc.); and (3) coordination of housing and services that support sustainable permanent housing.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2018 Minority AIDS Initiative: Service Integration grant program. The purpose of this program is to integrate evidence-based, culturally competent mental and substance use disorder treatment with HIV primary care and prevention services. The population of focus is individuals with a serious mental illness (SMI) or co-occurring disorder (COD) living with or at risk for HIV and/or hepatitis in at-risk populations, including racial and ethnic minority communities. SAMHSA expects that this program will reduce the incidence of HIV and improve overall health outcomes for individuals with SMI or COD. While there has been an overall decline in new HIV infections in the U.S. from 2008-2014, racial and ethnic minority communities continue to experience disproportionate impacts of HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports significantly higher rates for HIV among racial and ethnic minority communities compared to the general population . In addition, rates of HIV and other blood-borne infections have remained higher for individuals with a SMI throughout the epidemic . When untreated, mental disorders affect access to and maintenance in HIV care. A recent study demonstrates a lower rate of HIV testing in some public mental health settings, which serves as an indicator of unmet needs for this population . The MAI-SI program objectives align with the National HIV AIDS Strategy and the National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan.

The DFC Program was created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-20). The DFC Support Program has two goals: 1. Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, public and private non-profit agencies; as well as federal, state, local, and tribal governments to support the efforts of community coalitions working to prevent and reduce substance use among youth*. 2. Reduce substance use among youth and, over time, reduce substance abuse among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse. *For the purposes of this FOA, “youth” is defined as individuals 18 years of age and younger.

The DFC Program was created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-20). The DFC Support Program has two goals: 1. Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, public and private non-profit agencies; as well as federal, state, local, and tribal governments to support the efforts of community coalitions working to prevent and reduce substance use among youth*. 2. Reduce substance use among youth and, over time, reduce substance abuse among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse. *For the purposes of this FOA, “youth” is defined as individuals 18 years of age and younger.

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in different tissues of the body which leads to numerous clinical symptoms, and poses disease management and treatment challenges for patients and health care providers. Normal functioning immune systems produce antibodies which are designed to protect against infection or foreign agents. In autoimmune disorders, such as lupus, the immune system cannot differentiate between foreign microorganisms and healthy tissue, which triggers the creation of autoantibodies that attack the body’s healthy tissue, causing widespread inflammation as well as tissue and organ damage. The most common form of lupus is system lupus erythematosus (SLE) which affects different parts of the body including internal organs, joints, skin, brain, lungs, kidneys, and blood vessels. Prevalence rates for children in the United States affected with SLE have been reported to range from 3.3 to 24.0 per 100,000. An estimated 10 to 20% of SLE diagnoses present during childhood and adolescence, pediatric-onset cases are often associated with more severe symptoms that subsequently lead to rapid tissue or organ damage accrual than adult-onset SLE. Although science has made significant advances in the treatment and management of this disease, the cause of lupus is unknown and there is still no cure. Lupus, in particular SLE, disproportionately affects minority populations, including African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians/Alaska Natives. Lupus is two to three times more common in African Americans.

Administration for Community Living

The mission of the Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program is to empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, errors, and abuse. Through outreach, counseling, and education, the SMP program increases awareness and understanding of health care programs to protect Medicare beneficiaries from the economic and health-related consequences associated with Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse. ACL currently provides grant funding to support 53 SMP projects, including grantees in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The SMP projects use this funding to provide local outreach, education, and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries through a trained volunteer workforce. SMP projects teach Medicare beneficiaries to protect their Medicare numbers, to detect billing discrepancies on their quarterly Medicare Summary Notice statements, and to report suspicious activity for further investigation. In addition, SMP projects actively disseminate fraud prevention and identification information through the media, outreach campaigns, and community events. As a result of these efforts, beneficiaries contact the SMP projects with inquiries and complaints regarding potential Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse.

Centers for Disease Control - OSTLTS

CDC will strengthen the U.S. public health system’s response to public health or healthcare crises by funding qualified organizations to provide expert technical assistance and other forms of support to parties engaged in a public health or healthcare crisis. The purpose of this NOFO is (1) to establish a pool of organizations capable of rapidly providing essential expertise to various parties involved in an emergency response, and (2) to fund select awardees to provide that support, when required, based on CDC’s determination of need. The role of the awardee will be to function as a rapid provider of information and/or resources, as well as a coordinator of the project management components involved. While it is impossible to foresee which parties (or types of parties) the awardee would be funded to support, examples could include governmental health departments, other governmental departments, hospitals or hospital systems, governors' offices, charitable and other non-profit organizations, or commercial partners.

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About the Minneapolis Promise Zone

Promise Zones are federally designated, high poverty communities where the federal government partners with local leaders to increase economic activity, improve educational opportunities, and leverage private investment. The Minneapolis Promise Zone (MPZ) plan is a comprehensive, community-driven revitalization strategy that builds on and aligns numerous initiatives to address the persistent unemployment, crime, housing blight, and poor educational outcomes that affect that area.

Contact information: Juli Leerssen, (612) 225-7721

For more information, please visit www.minneapolismn.gov/promisezone


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For reasonable accommodations, alternative formats, or to add content please contact Jennifer Melin at Jennifer.Melin@minneapolismn.gov or by phone: 612-597-3406. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000. 

TTY users can call 612-673-2157 or 612-673-2626.

Para asistencia 612-673-2700, Yog xav tau kev pab, hu 612-673-2800, Hadii aad Caawimaad u baahantahay 612-673-3500.

"Welcome to North Minneapolis" mural by youth artists from Juxtaposition Arts and TATS CRU