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Council Member Jenkins at the FRNNG Minnehaha Creek Duck Race on May 4th. It was a cold and rainy day, but those ducks floated with vigor down the creek! It was a great event for the neighborhood. |
Council Member Jenkins with U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar at Rep. Omar’s Town Hall at Sabathani Community Center on 5/13
Council Member Jenkins had the honor of speaking at U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar's Town Hall this past week right here in Ward 8 at Sabathani Community Center. Both elected officials spoke about their priorities for the community, including affordable housing and honoring the revitalization of George Floyd Square.
May 25th marks the 4th anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Our neighbors and the city are collaborating around a continued call and hope of moving forward with community at the forefront while still working on the important steps around improvements and transformation in community safety and how policing is done, tied to the MN Department of Human Rights and Department of Justice findings and consent decrees, and new community visions for safety, safety centers, and changes in community oversight of policing. Please take a moment to explore the status of the visioning process for the future of George Floyd Square.
George Floyd Square Vision
Our goal is to conclude a vision for GFS by the end of the year with the following objectives:
- The important racially and culturally centered values that should be the foundation for the future of George Floyd Square.
- The criteria for the future use of the Peoples Way site and a community-centered owner.
- The places to preserve for future memorial processes and clarify how the City can support this.
- A concept layout for the streets and sidewalks that aligns with the future use of the Peoples Way site and accommodates memorials within the public right-of-way.
Please save the date for our next Visioning Workshop on Tuesday, June 25th from 5:30-8pm, at The Square at the Chicago Ave Shops.
Sign up for project updates
Please share this email with your friends, family and other community members. Stay informed by signing up for project updates.
To learn more about the City's efforts at George Floyd Square, visit the program webpage.
Friends and colleagues joined Council Member Jenkins at the Twin Cities MS Walk on May 5th. It was a beautiful day to support all those who live with MS, and those that love and support people living with MS.
 Team Andrea at the Twin Cities MS Walk on May 5th
 Doors Open Minneapolis, a free event in which over 100 buildings across Minneapolis are open to the public for tours, demonstrations, kids activities and more! It’s an event centered around telling the story of our city, and is a great opportunity to get people out and exploring Minneapolis.
This free opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the many historically, architecturally, and culturally significant buildings that make up our city. Join us on May 18th and 19th!
Art-A-Whirl is this weekend!
- Over 800 artists
- Over 60 locations
- Workshops, galleries, installations and more
- Free and open to public
- This event is the largest of its kind in the country
If you join in Mental Health Awareness Month by wearing green, tag us on Facebook or X and use #GoGreenMinneapolisMHAM to show your support.
Resources for mental health
Physical health benefits your mental health
Regular physical activity can lower stress, reduce symptoms of mental health conditions, and improve sleep, which further improves mental health. Remember that helpful physical activity includes stretch breaks, five-minute walks, standing and dancing.
Read more.
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Mayor Jacob Frey delivered his 2024 State of the City Address at the NorthStar Center in downtown Minneapolis May 7.
The address focused on Minneapolis brimming with possibility and leaning into change during this transformational time. The mayor highlighted:
- The city’s record-setting affordable housing production over the past six years.
- Arts and vibrant storefronts work to revitalize downtown.
- The Southside Community Safety Center.
- Police reform.
- The importance of our City workforce.
- A high-level forecast of the budgeting process for 2025.
Read more about the State of the City address on the City website.
The Minneapolis City Council passed a comprehensive amendment to the tobacco ordinance April 25. The amendment makes the minimum per-pack price of cigarettes one of the highest in the country and ends price discounts. It focuses on reducing health disparities and on youth initiation of commercial tobacco products, and it protects the health of the city’s residents as a whole. The ordinance includes:
- Increasing the minimum per-pack price of cigarettes and other commercial tobacco products to $15.
- Ending price discounts and coupons for commercial tobacco products.
- Increasing the penalties for licensees that violate City policy.
- Ending the sampling “loophole” for any new commercial tobacco products shop.
An increase in prices is known to decrease commercial tobacco use.
- For every 10% increase in the price of cigarettes, adult smoking decreases by 3-5% and youth smoking decreases by 6-7%.
- An increase in price leads to more attempts to quit.
- Calls to quit lines increase when prices increase.
- A study that looked at raising the state-level minimum price of cigarettes by an average of $2 per pack projected a resulting reduction in cigarette consumption by 15.9%.
Read more on the City website.
Outdoor air quality affects our health. The City of Minneapolis is recognizing National Air Quality Awareness Week by highlighting programs it uses to track local air quality and give tips to community members to improve neighborhood air quality.
Outdoor air quality affects health
Air quality issues can affect everyone, especially those living with asthma or other breathing challenges. Minnesota is fortunate to generally enjoy good air quality. However, some communities are disproportionately affected by air pollution, including people earning lower incomes and people in Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color.
Recreational fires: Follow the law and be a good neighbor
Residential wood burning accounts for 55% of Minnesota’s tiny pollution particles in the air. The tiny particles are small enough to be breathed in and even enter the bloodstream affecting a person’s health. When having a fire in your yard, consider your health, your family’s and your neighbors’.
Recreational fire laws
- Avoid burning when Minneapolis is under an air pollution advisory. Fires release fine particles that contribute to air pollution and are implicated in health problems including strokes, heart attacks and asthma. Sign up for air quality alerts from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
- Outdoor recreational fires are permitted between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m.
- Keep fires small: less than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet high.
- Burn only untreated, unpainted, dry wood. Never burn cardboard boxes, trash or debris, because the smoke can be toxic.
- Have a hose or fire extinguisher present.
Learn more about City regulations around recreational fires.
For more information on recreational fires or to register a complaint about a recreational fire, call or email 311. To register a complaint about a recreational fire outside 311 hours, call 911.
Read more on the City website.
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 Mayor Jacob Frey, in consultation with City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher, has nominated Michelle Phillips to be the City’s new director of the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights. Phillips currently serves as inspector general for the City of Oakland, California.
Phillips has a deep expertise in civilian oversight of police, providing leadership in the promotion of constitutional policing and building departmental infrastructure to ensure thorough and fair investigative processes. Prior to her service in Oakland, Phillips served as deputy inspector general with the City of Baltimore, leading an investigative team focused on rooting out fraud and abuse and building trust in local government.
If approved for the position of Civil Rights director, Phillips will oversee a department with 46 employees tasked with:
- Enforcing the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances.
- Investigating discriminatory practices.
- Ensuring the protection of members of protected classes.
- Promoting the understanding of civil rights among residents, businesses and government.
The Civil Rights Department, through its Office of Police Conduct Review, also plays a critical role in reform efforts required by the settlement agreement reached with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
The mayor’s nomination has been referred to the City Council to schedule a public hearing for consideration. Once confirmed, she would begin in July.
Read more about the nomination on the City website.
Join the City of Minneapolis for a free networking event on not just landing a job but building a career.
Get tips on job searching, building your resume, writing a cover letter and interviewing.
- Get a free professional headshot/photo.
- Meet with hiring managers.
- Enjoy a free lunch.
HR Bridges career fair 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Wednesday, May 22
CareerForce Center, 800 W. Broadway
Learn more about jobs at the City on the City website.
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Applicants, hires, gender and ethnic diversity are all up after a sustained Human Resources push to bolster recruitment and retention shows successes. Minneapolis’ first quarter hiring figures this year are exceeding 2023’s in several categories.
The City has set out to attract, engage and hire people with exceptional and diverse talent and to align their skills and passions with opportunities for public service. That work is paying off in:
- An increase in hiring and applicants.
- Retention and pathways to growth.
- An increase in diversity.
Read more about hiring and City jobs on the City website.
 Come help celebrate a new public artwork May 28. “Common Currents” is a two-part artwork sited at each end of Samatar Crossing. It is inspired by the journeys people have undertaken to begin new chapters in Minneapolis. The wavelike sculptures include colorful steel panels inscribed with poetry by local poets. They evoke Hussein Samatar’s enduring legacy of bridging cultures.
5 p.m. May 28 East side of Samatar Crossing Gather on the downtown side of the crossing and walk or roll with artists and poets in a poetry procession to Cedar Riverside. Experience readings from the project poets along the way. The program will close on the east side with refreshments and music.
Artwork by Ifrah Mansour, Aaron Marx and Randy Walker with poets Sun Yung Shin, Sharon M. Day, ShaVunda Brown, Aegor, Ahmed Said Salah, Sixco, and Mohamed Shariff.
Find more information on Facebook Page or contact Kirstin Wiegmann.
 Office of Community Safety Director of Community Safety Design & Implementation Amanda Harrington received an award from the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). Harrington earned a master of social work from CEHD in 2006. Harrington’s role at the City works to improve safety for all community members – in south Minneapolis, the 3rd Precinct and across the city.
The award annually recognizes alumni for outstanding achievement and leadership in their profession, mentorship or exceptional volunteer service.
Read more about the award on the University of Minnesota website.
The City Council approved Mayor Jacob Frey’s nomination of Timothy Sexton to be the City’s new director of the Public Works Department. Sexton served as the assistant commissioner for sustainability, planning and program management for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Sexton began his new role with Public Works May 6, overseeing a department with approximately 1,100 employees that build, operate and maintain the City’s public infrastructure and deliver critical services, such as solid waste and recycling collection, safe drinking water, street maintenance and emergency sewer and road repairs.
At MnDOT, Sexton leads a staff of 350 people and provides strategic direction for all modal programs (freight, rail, waterways, aeronautics, transit, walking, biking, shared mobility), research and innovation, asset management, and sustainability and public health.
Read more on the City website.
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City staff continue to meet with the south Minneapolis community about the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center and the Lake Street Community Safety Center. Staff are also talking to people on the street about the two community safety centers. The information will help decide on what services could be in the community safety centers.
Upcoming for people in south Minneapolis, staff will talk with:
- Residents of Hale, Page and Diamond Lake neighborhoods at their monthly community association board meeting May 20.
- Residents of the Field, Regina and Northrop neighborhoods at their monthly board meeting June 19.
Please note some dates and times may change. Please go to the community safety center website for the most up-to-date information.
Online meeting May 22
An online meeting about services in the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center will be held May 22. Everyone who lives and works in south Minneapolis is welcome, but an RSVP is required.
Survey
Residents and businesses in south Minneapolis neighborhoods that will be served by the community safety centers should watch their mail for postcards arriving in early May. We hope to hear from everyone who works in and/or lives in the area served by the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center.
Stay tuned for reports on events that staff have recently attended.
Check out the City’s website for more information.
Hale Page Diamond Lake (HPDL) Community Association monthly board meeting
We encourage residents of the Hale, Page, and Diamond Lake neighborhoods to attend.
Date
Monday, May 20, 2024
Time of event
7:00 p.m.
Location
Attendance type: Remote
See HPDL.org for more information about this meeting
Culturally specific event for African American community
We encourage people who identify as African American and live, work, and visit Southeast Minneapolis attend this session.
Date
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Time of event
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Location
Attendance type: In person
Better Futures 2620 Minnehaha Ave
Culturally specific event for Somali community
We encourage people who identify as Somali and live, work, and visit Southeast Minneapolis to attend this session. This meeting will be in Somali.
Date
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Time of event
6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Location
Attendance type: In person
Phillips Community Center 2323 11th Ave S
Conversation with unhoused community members (NEW – not on the webpage)
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Time of event
6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Location
Attendance type: In person
Peace House
1816 Portland Ave
Virtual conversation about services in the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center
We encourage anyone who lives, works, and visits the Southeast Minneapolis to attend this online session.
Date
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Time of event
6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location
Attendance type: Virtual
RSVP is required by Friday, May 17, 2024.
You can fill out the sign-up form
Conversation with new immigrants (NEW – not on the webpage)
Date
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Time of event
6 p.m.
Location
Waite House food shelf
2323 11th Ave S
Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) and Standish Ericsson Neighborhood Association (SENA) Community Listening Session
We encourage residents of the Standish, Ericsson, Keewaydin, Minnehaha, Morris Park, and Wenonah neighborhoods to attend.
Date
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Time of event
6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location
Attendance type: In person
Lake Nokomis Community Center 2401 E Minnehaha Pkwy
Field Regina Northrop Neighborhood Group (FRNNG) monthly board meeting
We encourage residents of the Field, Regina, Northrop neighborhoods to attend.
Date
New date coming soon
Time of event
To be determined
Location
Attendance type: In person
Holy Cross Lutheran Church 1720 E Minnehaha Parkway Minneapolis, MN 55407
See more information about this meeting
Conversation with people who identify as American Indian
We encourage people who identify as American Indian and live, work and visit Southeast Minneapolis to attend this session.
Date
Postponed
Time of event
Postponed
Location
Attendance type: In person
Minneapolis American Indian Center All Nations Indian Church 1515 E 23rd St.
National Night Out is a time for City residents to come together and celebrate with neighbors. Many blocks in Minneapolis take this opportunity to reconnect, eat and build relationships while kids play and bike freely on a closed street. Our goal this year is to increase participation.
Register your event by July 30
Registration is now open, and it’s free. Sign up early. Registration closes July 30, five days before the event.
Some points to consider:
- Register only one event per block, so confirm with your neighbors who will be registering.
- Consider whether you want your street blocked off to traffic.
- Ask neighbors for help organizing your event.
- Call 311 to request a fire truck, MPD K9, and/or MPD Mounted Patrol.
Contact the City crime prevention specialists with questions.
Register your block.
In Minneapolis, City-owned fire hydrants are flushed each year between May and October. Hydrant flushing removes mineral deposits from the water mains. It is also provides an opportunity to make sure hydrants are in working order.
Because flushing stirs up mineral deposits, it can temporarily discolor the tap water. The water is safe for drinking and bathing. However, to avoid staining clothing, we recommend waiting an hour or so and checking to see the water has returned to normal before doing laundry.
Get notified
You can sign up for notifications about water hydrant flushing in your area. Sign up for notifications. Make sure to create a full Smart911 profile online to register your address for location-based notifications like this.
Read more about what to do when hydrants in your area are being flushed.
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The City of Minneapolis is proud to provide city residents and businesses with safe, high-quality drinking water. You can look at monthly water quality reports at the City’s website or watch a video about how the City’s water is brought from the river to the tap.
On April 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the federal agency responsible for regulating drinking water, issued new standards for several per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, are a large group of human-made chemicals.
PFAS are used in many products, including:
- Nonstick cookware
- Food packaging
- Stain-resistant carpets
- Fire-suppressing foam
Unfortunately, research suggests that exposure to PFAS may result in adverse health impacts. The good news for Minneapolis residents is these regulated compounds have not been detected in the Mississippi River, which is our water source, or in the finished water that we send out to your tap.
The City of Minneapolis has been monitoring for PFAS for nearly 10 years. Minneapolis tap water has always met and continues to meet the new federal standards.
For continued information about Minneapolis drinking water, watch for our annual Consumer Confidence Report. This report has data and information about various water quality metrics we provide to customers and state and federal regulators. The new Consumer Confidence Report will be posted by the end of May on the City website.
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 Runway area construction and maintenance this summer and fall will require temporary runway closures. These closures will send flights to different runways, causing temporary changes in flight patterns. Residents might notice a difference until the construction is complete and the runways are reopened.
You can sign up for updates through the Metropolitan Airport Commission and read more on the airport’s website.
Council Member Jenkins is offering community office hours every Monday from 9:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m. at Sabathani Community Center. Please reach out to the Ward 8 office to schedule an appointment. |
