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File photo
Burroughs Principal Tim Cadotte helps students put their lunch waste into a bin that will be composted as part of a school program.
By Dylan Thomas
State art award winners announced
WHITTIER — Four high school students from two Southwest-area schools were awarded the top prize in the Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards hosted by Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD).
Taylor Lindgren and Isaac Pollak of Southwest High School and Caroline Ricard and Zoe Sponsler-Hoehn of The Blake School were to be presented Gold Key Awards in a Feb. 22 ceremony at MCAD. Gold Key Award winners advance to national competition in New York.
This year, the jury for the state competition reviewed 1,147 individual artworks and 121 portfolios submitted by Minnesota students in grades seven though 12. The judges, art educators from around the United States, awarded 54 Gold Key Awards in the individual competition and eight Gold Key Awards in the portfolio competition.
The Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards exhibition at MCAD closed Feb. 22.
Minnesota Reading Corps accepting applications
Minnesota Reading Corps reports the demand for trained reading tutors in schools is on the rise, and announced an effort to recruit 400 members for the 2009–2010 school year.
The statewide initiative places AmeriCorps members and community volunteers in districts across the state, including Minneapolis. Corps members work with children in preschool through third grade to bring their reading skills up to grade level.
This school year, a record 367 members are working with children in 161 Minnesota schools. But there is still a greater need for trained reading tutors, the organization reported.
Minnesota Reading Corps began accepting applications for the 2009–2010 school year in January. There are part- and full-time positions available in elementary schools, preschools, Head Start programs and Early Childhood Family Education programs at locations around the state.
Corps members commit to the program for a year, beginning in August. Benefits are available to AmeriCorps members who join the program, including college tuition or federal student loan assistance.
District resolves to go green
The Board of Education endorsed efforts to green the district at its Feb. 10 meeting.
The Board adopted a resolution directing district administrators to pursue environmental sustainability and energy efficiency in school operations. It also called for the development of performance targets and objectives as the district continues efforts to reduce waste and conserve energy.
Many individual schools and district departments have programs in place to promote sustainability. The resolution aimed to coordinate those efforts, said Meredith Fox, a special assistant to Policy and Operations Director Steve Liss.
"We hope to reduce our carbon footprint as a district, promote awareness on this important topic, and ultimately achieve financial savings for the district, which is timely," Fox said.
That last comment sounded like a reference to the district's budget shortfall, which is estimated at $28 million for the 2009–2010 school year. The district spends more than $14 million a year on utilities, but is working to reduce those costs.
Fox said the district planned to enter into a new recycling contract this summer and would soon offer mixed recycling district-wide. She also highlighted two Southwest schools that have entered into what she called the "new frontier" of recycling: organics.
Burroughs and Lake Harriet community schools in Southwest compost lunchroom waste, reducing the amount of food waste that ends up in the landfill.
The district aims to expand organics recycling, and other schools appear to be interested.
Free American history courses at Anthony
KENNY — Middle and high school students can apply now for six-week, tuition-free American history courses in March and April at Anthony Middle School, 5757 Irving Ave. S.
And get this, kids: No homework!
Minneapolis Public Schools is joining with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to put on the Saturday Academy enrichment program. Students can choose from six courses covering a variety of topics, from the history of bicycling to the untold stories of World War II.
The classes run 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Saturdays for six weeks beginning March 7. Although there is no cost for the program, students must provide their own transportation.
The application deadline is Feb. 27.
Course descriptions, an online application form and more information on the Saturday Academy can be found on the Anthony website (http://anthony.mpls.k12.mn.us/Saturday_Academy.html/).
The Gilder Lehrman Institute promotes the study of history using primary source documents. Both Anthony and Washburn High School are in its national network of schools.
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Kenny neighborhood, Whittier neighborhood
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City declares snow emergency
UPDATED February 8, 2010, 1:27pm
By Cristof Traudes
With snow falling almost non stop since Sunday, the City of Minneapolis this afternoon declared a snow emergency.
Starting at 9 p.m. today, cars will not be allowed to be parked on either side of snow emergency route streets. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow, cars should only park on the odd side of non-snow emergency route streets, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, cars should only park on the even side of non-snow emergency route streets. Cars parked on the wrong sides of streets will be ticketed and towed.
To look up what streets are affected when, click here. More information is at ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow.
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Neighborhood notebook
By Sarah McKenzie, Dylan Thomas and Jake Weyer
CARAG
Newspaper proposal withdrawn CARAG residents approved a motion to support the current management structure of the Uptown Neighborhood News in January, putting an end to a months-long discussion of a possible reorganization. CARAG Board of Directors Member Anna Matthes and Jill Bode, a CARAG representative to the newspaper’s managing board, requested in November that CARAG consider transferring management of the newspaper to them for several months. Matthes and Bode proposed they eventually take control of the paper, which they said was operating under an inefficient management structure. In January, Matthes also said newspaper managers had lost focus on community-building efforts, instead focusing on
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Green digest // Making Bryant a bike boulevard
By Dylan Thomas
Making Bryant a bike boulevardCARAG — If you bike, live or work along Bryant Avenue South take note: An upcoming public meeting is your chance to contribute to plans for a future bicycle boulevard. City planners expect to make changes to the street this summer that will make the north-south street more bike-friendly. Area residents have an opportunity to voice their opinions on some of those changes 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Bryant Square Park, 3101 Bryant Ave. S. New pavement markings and signage to identify the bicycle boulevard are a given, but other elements intended to slow vehicle traffic and improve the safety of intersections will be put to a vote. Ballots will ask voters to rank new street features such as curb extensions,
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Crime reports
By Jake Weyer
Editor’s note: Alleged crimes against persons (assault, murder, etc.) will feature the + symbol. Note, this compilation of crime reports provides highlights of area criminal activity. It’s not intended to be a comprehensive overview of Southwest crime.
CARAG+ Jan. 26, 8:20 p.m., 3200 Emerson Ave. S.Officers were dispatched to a report of a robbery at gunpoint. The victim was a 26-year-old man and two suspects, who fled in a car, were involved. Police thought the robbery might be related to several others that have been reported recently in the area. EAST ISLESJan. 30, between 3:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., W. Lake St. and East Calhoun
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Biz buzz // Guse Green Grocer
By By Lana Walker and Jake Weyer
Guse Green Grocer opens at 46th & BryantWhen Tom and Terry Thomson, owners of the long-awaited Guse Green Grocer, put in an order for 40 pounds of organic bananas, their supplier commented that the order was too much for such a little store. When the following Monday morning rolled around, however, it seemed the supplier could eat his words. “I called him and said, ‘We only have five bananas left!’” Terry Thomson said. Located on the corner of 46th Street and Bryant Avenue, the grocery store celebrated its soft opening on Jan. 23 and 24. It didn’t have an advertising scheme or a grand event, but 400 eager customers showed up on day one and the weekend was full of positive feedback and neighborhood
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Schools notebook // Board recommends Johnson
By Dylan Thomas
School Board recommends Johnson to lead districtWhen it came time to name candidates who might replace Minneapolis Superintendent Bill Green, the School Board had only one person in mind: current Deputy Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson. School Board Chair Tom Madden, reading from a prepared statement at the Board’s Jan. 19 meeting, emphasized the importance of “stability” in a district rocked by a decade of enrollment declines, budget deficits and school closings. “The constant churn which has come to characterize Minneapolis Public Schools has taken a toll on our children, our families and our staff,” Madden said. He also said the district was “fundamentally on the right track,”
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Co-op loan drive short $100,000; deadline extended
By Jake Weyer
The Linden Hills Co-op needs $1.5 million in member loans to help pay for a move to the west side of the neighborhoodLINDEN HILLS — The Linden Hills Co-op arrived at its Jan. 31 loan-drive deadline about $100,000 short of the $1.5 million needed to help pay for a move from 43rd & Upton to the former Almsted’s Sunnyside Market site near 44th Street and France Avenue. That was close enough for Bob Olson, who owns the new site, to grant an extension for the drive and for the co-op to move forward with its plans, said spokeswoman Jeanne Lakso. “We’ll continue to collect loan agreements for at least the next two weeks and we’re fully confident we’re going to meet if not exceed our goal,” Lakso
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Kingfield unveils plans for new community gardens
By Jake Weyer
KINGFIELD — It’s hard to think about gardening in frigid February, when hoes, rakes and seeds are stowed away and snow blankets frozen plots, but green thumbs are buzzing right now in one Southwest neighborhood. Following up on years of resident interest, the Kingfield Neighborhood Association (KFNA) this spring will launch two community gardens, one on the Center for Performing Arts property at 3754 Pleasant Ave. S. and the second on another private lot at 3912 Van Nest Ave. The sites will serve as the first of four community gardens KFNA would eventually like to develop in the area. “Our goal is really to create a network of gardens and gardeners throughout the neighborhood,” said KFNA executive director Sarah
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