In This Month's Issue:

• Upcoming Elections Information
• 2020 Census
• Community gardeners and market gardeners: apply to lease City lots
• City’s wage theft prevention ordinance now in effect
• Lake Harriet Winter Kite Festival
• Minneapolis Declares Climate Emergency
• Bakken Museum Breaks Ground on Renovation
• Shoveling Help Still Needed for Seniors
• Art Shanties
• Snow and Ice

Upcoming Elections Information

As you all are aware, this year is a big election year. There is nothing more fundamental than voter rights, an area I am particularly passionate about, like so many of you. There are lots of ways to be involved this winter and I encourage folks to leave their comfort zones and look all across the city for ways to engage:

• Sign up to be an election judge now! It’s a great way to help make the voting process easier, less confusing, and more rewarding for everyone across our city. 
• Vote in the Presidential Primary on March 3rd at your home precinct (note: if you are eager to get it done or avoid lines, the Early Voting Center allows you to come in and vote starting January 17th!)
• Attend your precinct caucus on Feb 25th at 7pm for your political party. There are many state and local races on the ballot to discuss, such as the state legislature and school board. The Secretary of State will have a caucus location finder up in early February, so make sure to keep an eye on https://www.sos.state.mn.us/ for more information!
• If getting to the polls is a challenge, or you know you'll be out of town, you can request an absentee ballot online.
• Not sure if you're registered to vote at your current address? You can double check AND register online.

Our city’s Minneapolis Elections and Voter Services division has been preparing for a huge year, and this website has all the information you might need: vote.minneapolismn.gov

2020 Census

In addition to being an election year, 2020 is also a census year. I cannot stress enough how important that is. It is paramount that we have an accurate count so that Minnesota can obtain federal funds in areas like education, transit and public safety. In a recent Charter Commission meeting focused on the Census, our City Clerk noted that the group of people most likely to be undercounted are children under the age of 5. This impacts not only education funding, but access to free and reduced lunch for an entire decade.

On top of that, Minnesota is at risk of losing a Congressional seat if there is an undercount. We were already on the bubble during the last census of dropping from eight to seven seats, and experts are showing that this time will be just as close. I urge everyone to visit census.gov and read about all the ways you can ensure that we get an accurate count this year. 

To ensure a complete count Minneapolis is leading several outreach and engagement campaigns to get involved in:

• Commit to be counted as a member of your community for the 2020 Census and receive important Census updates.
• Attend the Community Connections Conference on Feb 1 and attend workshops on Census engagement.
• Apply for a grant to obtain up $750 for your organization to conduct their own Census event.
• Apply for a part-time Census job. These positions have flexible hours, which makes them a perfect fit for people who have other commitments but are open to earning a little extra money. The pay rate in Hennepin County is $27.50 per hour. Find more information here.

Community gardeners and market gardeners: apply to lease City lots

Are you looking for a place to grow food with your community gardening group? Or are you a market gardener who needs land to grow food you’ll sell? Apply by Feb. 14 to lease City-owned vacant lots in time for the 2020 growing season. Watch and share this video about leasing land for a community garden or market garden. Find information on the leasing process, a map showing which lots are available and the garden request form here. Email gardenlease@minneapolismn.gov or call 612-673-2466 with any questions.

City’s wage theft prevention ordinance now in effect

Workers in Minneapolis have an additional avenue to recover unpaid wages. The City adopted parts of the State’s new wage theft law into local ordinance earlier this year to allow the City to enforce it in Minneapolis. Under the ordinance, employers must do the following:

• Provide employees with written pre-hire notices of certain employment terms; notices must be signed by employees.
• Adhere to a regularly scheduled payday.
• Provide earnings statements at the end of each pay period.
• Provide notice of benefits under the City’s sick and safe time ordinance on pre-hire notices and earnings statements.

Wage theft is underpayment or failure to pay all wages earned. National estimates of wage theft unreported to authorities translate to tens of millions of dollars annually in Minneapolis. The ordinance complements other new municipal labor standards, including the City’s minimum wage and sick and safe time ordinances.

A sample prehire notice, FAQs, notice posters informing employees of Minneapolis labor and employment rights and additional resources are available at minneapolismn.gov/laborenforcement. Employees are encouraged to report violations online or call 311.

Lake Harriet Winter Kite Festival

The 19th Annual Lake Harriet Winter Kite Festival will take place on the north end of Lake Harriet near the Lake Harriet Band Shell. Kites of all shapes, sizes, colors and themes will fly over frozen Lake Harriet. Minnesota Kite Society experts will demonstrate their skills maneuvering spectacular kites throughout the day, and offer their expertise to kite flying enthusiasts and to those who are new to the pastime. Bring your own kite, or buy an inexpensive one at the lake. Tips Outdoors will teach kids ice fishing skills and safety tips. Equipment and permits for children will be provided. 

NEW! Minneapolis Park Board naturalists will be on site with snowshoes and you can try out fat bike riding in the snow! There will also be a heated tent with entertainment!

Date & Time

Saturday, January 25, 2020
Noon-4 pm

Address

Lake Harriet Park
4135 W Lake Harriet Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55409

Registration

This event is free and open to the public. No registration required

Parking

Held at the north end of Lake Harriet near the Bandshell (4135 West Lake Harriet Parkway). Free lot parking is available on site. Please keep in mind lots fill quickly; however, free on-street parking is available throughout the neighborhood.

IN CASE OF EXTREME WEATHER the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) may decide to cancel or postpone this event. In the event of extreme weather you can check the MPRB website for cancellations and postponements.

Minneapolis Declares Climate Emergency

Minneapolis has declared a climate emergency that demands a massive-scale mobilization to halt, reverse and address the consequences and causes of climate change. This declaration recognizes that climate change is already affecting people’s lives, health, livelihoods, and access to food and shelter with record heat, extreme storms and wildfires, droughts and floods, and other destructive effects in Minnesota and worldwide.

By declaring climate emergencies, governments around the world are bringing awareness to the need to mobilize resources at a scale and speed sufficient to protect civilization, the economy, people, species and ecosystems. In November 2019 more than 11,000 scientists came out in favor of labeling climate change as an emergency.

With the climate emergency declaration, the City commits to:

• Establishing a “social cost of carbon”: a scientific, monetary measurement of greenhouse gas emissions’ damages to human health, food production, homes and businesses, and energy costs.
• Establishing a Sustainable Building Policy to ensure that buildings constructed with the help of the City are as energy efficient as possible. Building energy use causes 73% of the pollution that causes climate change.
• Demonstrating climate actions that bring more cities and more people along.
• Pushing for an advanced building energy performance standard in a coalition of cities statewide.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found that human-induced climate change is pushing the planet toward the sixth mass species extinction, which threatens the food security, water supply, and well-being of billions of people.

In its climate emergency declaration, Minneapolis joins the U.S. House of Representatives; youth organizations including Minnesota Climate Strike, Sierra Club Northstar Chapter, Extinction Rebellion and IMatter; scientists and more than 900 jurisdictions in 18 countries worldwide including the European Union.

Find more information on the Minneapolis climate emergency declaration here.

Bakken Museum Breaks Ground on Renovation

From Left to Right: Council Member Linea Palmisano, Mayor Jacob Frey, Bakken Executive Director Michael Sanders, and Board President Brad Bakken

On January 13^th I was honored to join Mayor Frey, Senator Scott Dibble, and the leadership of the Bakken Museum to break ground on their extensive multi year renovations!

We’re so lucky to have a world class, Smithsonian affiliated museum nestled into our neighborhood with beautiful lake views and ecological features that embody the very essence of the work founder Earl Bakken honored in building it. Matthew and I love bringing the boys there on a Saturday afternoon for  hours of learning and exploration and we can’t wait to bring them to the finished site.

For more information on the project and to learn more about the museum, check out www.thebakken.org/bakkentothefuture

Shoveling Help Still Needed for Seniors

Senior Community Services, which provides services to seniors in Minneapolis, is still seeking part-time snow removal workers to clear seniors' driveways and sidewalks this winter. This important service helps seniors keep medical appointments, and it prevents social isolation. Pay is $20 per hour, and shovelers must be 16 years of age or older. Contact Colton at c.taylor@seniorcommunity.org for more information. Please help the word to anyone you know who may be interested!

Art Shanties

Photo credit: Pioneer Press, Scott Takushi

The start of the new year also means the return of the Art Shanty projects at Lake Harriet.  Starting this Saturday (1/18) Lake Harriet will be flooded with dozens of ice fishing houses turned art studios. This experiment, now tradition, is a wonderful way to see some truly, uniquely Minnesotan art, while enjoying some brisk outdoor fun.

When: Saturdays and Sundays 10am-4pm, January 18 – February 9

Where: Bde Unma / Lake Harriet

Entry: Free - Suggested donation $10-20

More Information: https://artshantyprojects.org/

Snow and Ice

Within the next several hours Minneapolis is expected to receive anywhere from 6-12 inches of snow. This storm is projected to last throughout all Friday afternoon and evening and into late Saturday morning, and will be accompanied by extremely cold temperatures. I highly recommend that everyone who is able to avoid the roads and stay warm and safe this weekend.

With this kind of projected snowfall there is a good chance a snow emergency is declared. If so you can find all the information you need to know during a snow emergency here. Not sure if a snow emergency was declared? You can sign-up for email, text, phone call or social media updates here.

I know many of you have called my office to voice concerns over the roads over the past several weeks. Our plows have been out in force since our first major snowfall over the Thanksgiving holiday, but I recognize that there are still areas that need to be cleaned up. If your street is one of those please call 311 to report that. You are also welcome to call my office (612-673-2213) so that we can help track the progress of your report, but we need that data to highlight poor service or frequently missed streets to improve.

The decision to not declare back-to-back snow emergencies over that first winter holiday left us with some challenges. The refreeze created a layer of ice that may be difficult for our plows to remove. However, 311 can still take ice requests and our crews can come out with sand and other solutions. Do not hesitate to report your street.

Free Sand for Minneapolis Residents

Keeping sidewalks clear and safe is the law in Minneapolis, and spreading sand or ice-melting material is helpful (and often necessary). The City operates several sites – open 24 hours a day, seven days a week – where residents can pick up a free sand-salt mixture for residential sidewalks. You just need to bring a pail and shovel. Locations include:

• 6036 Harriet Ave S, on West 60th Street between Lyndale and Harriet
• 1809 Washington St NE, at 18th and Jefferson
• E 27th Street, just east of Longfellow Avenue near the Public Works gate
• 2710 Pacific Street, outside the main Public Works gate between 27th and 28th Avenue North

The mixture is 75% or more sand, and up to 25% salt (which is added to prevent freezing). When using any salt or ice melt, it is important to be judicious in how much you apply to your sidewalk. Over-salting causes significant damage to our waterways, and one recent study suggested salt runoff could mean that many metro-area lakes will no longer support aquatic life by 2050.

So how much salt is enough? According to the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, a standard 12-ounce coffee mug filled with salt is enough to cover 10 sidewalk squares or a 20-foot driveway. (Get more pointers for safe salting and sanding here.) It’s a good rule of thumb to double-check the effective temperature on your ice melt products – salt, for example, is not effective when the temperature drops below 15 degrees. And, you should always try to sweep up excess salt and sand before it ends up in your storm drain. You can even reuse it!

City Offices Closed Monday, Jan. 20

City offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 20, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We’ll resume regular business on Tuesday, Jan. 21. There are no changes to City garbage and recycling pick-up schedules and there will be regular pickups on Jan. 21. However, the Downtown Solid Waste customer service office (and information line) and the South Transfer Station will be closed. Minneapolis police and fire emergency services and 911 are not affected.