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Photo by Dylan Thomas
A device called the VendingMiser promises to pay for itself by cutting the machines’ energy use.
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Green digest // Saving energy on vending
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By Dylan Thomas
Saving energy on vending
Chances are you have one humming away right now in your school or office, cooling the Cokes or coddling Snickers bars in its spiral grip.
Vending machines are everywhere, and many of them draw a steady stream of electricity from the grid even when the lunchroom is empty. The average vending machine uses 7 to 13 kilowatt-hours of energy per day, to the tune of about $300 per year.
Those figures come from Clean Energy Resource Teams, or CERTs, a public-private partnership that promotes energy-saving projects across the state. In February, CERTs launched a campaign that aims to reduce the amount of electricity used by vending machines, while at the same time lowering the energy bills for the businesses and organizations where those machines are located.
CERTs was organizing a statewide bulk-buy program to acquire a new vending machine add-on that cuts the machines’ energy use. Those who sign up by May 1 can get a VendingMiser for $164, a discount from its normal price of $179.
The VendingMiser plugs in between a vending machine and a wall outlet and includes a motion sensor that will turn off the machine for one to three hours when no one is around. The VendingMiser also has internal and external temperature monitors, so that a machine will turn back on to keep drinks and snacks cooled to the appropriate temperature.
At full price, the $179 VendingMiser could be expected to pay for itself through energy savings in less than 17 months. Purchasing the VendingMiser through CERTs shortens that payback period.
Those who purchase multiple VendingMisers for use on adjacent machines pay only $156 per unit.
Estimates from CERTs indicated a VendingMiser could cut energy costs by about $130 per year. They can cut energy consumption nearly in half when installed on a vending machine.
The folks behind VendingMiser also say their product may extend the life of some machines by limiting how often their compressors run. National vending machine companies endorse the devices, CERTs reported.
Find more information, and a place to sign up for the bulk-buy program, on the CERTs website: cleanenergyresourceteams.org.
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Neighborhood sustainability conference this month
Anyone interested in organizing a neighborhood improvement project this summer may want to check out the fifth annual Neighborhood Sustainability Conference March 13 at Central Lutheran Church, 333 12th St. S.
Organized by the nonprofit Alliance for Sustainability, the free event is a chance to meet fellow volunteers and learn about projects that have been successful in their neighborhoods. There will also be project “tool kits” and information on funding sources.
Alliance Program Director Sean Gosiewski suggested Southwest residents might be most interested in workshops on emerald ash borer and tree planting, block club outreach and rain gardens, but those were just a few of the topics to be covered during the day-long event.
Keynote speaker Mark Lakeman of the City Repair Project will discuss that nonprofit’s work to reclaim and rejuvenate urban spaces in Portland, Ore.
The event runs 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and is free, but an optional lunch costs $5. Attendees were asked to pre-register for the event online at afors.org or by calling 331-1099.
Gosiewski said attendees should consider carpooling or taking public transportation to the conference. The annual auto show taking place across the street at the Minneapolis Convention Center means parking will be pricey.
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More home energy workshops scheduled
LINDEN HILLS — The Center for Energy and Environment plans to bring its home energy workshops to yet another Southwest neighborhood.
Linden Hills residents have two opportunities in May to attend a workshop and learn about improving the energy efficiency of their homes. As was reported in this column last issue, the Minneapolis-based nonprofit is holding workshops in Kingfield and Fulton in March.
Neighborhood residents who attend the workshops have a chance to sign up for a professional home energy assessment, including a blower door test to locate air leaks. Homeowners also will learn about loans, rebates and other incentives that can be used to finance household energy-efficiency projects.
Ashley Robertson, a community organizer at the Center, said the home energy assessments last about 90 minutes have a value of $400. The cost to Linden Hills residents will be only a $30 co-pay, Robertson said.
Nearly 400 people attended first round of workshops held last year in Kingfield and Fulton.
The Linden Hills workshops were scheduled tentatively for 10 a.m. May 22 and 7 p.m. May 25 at Lake Harriet Community School Upper Campus, 4912 Vincent Ave. S.
To reserve a spot in one of the workshops contact Robertson at 335-5869 or arobertson@mncee.org.
To learn more about the Community Energy Services Program, visit the Center’s website: mncee.org.
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Newest development proposal: A courtyard with pool and movie screen in the heart of the Uptown nightlife scene
UPDATED August 31, 2010, 11:04am
By Nick Halter
A new development proposal in Uptown calls for the construction of a three-level restaurant with a rooftop patio, plus a private, ground-level courtyard with a pool and movie screen in the heart of the Uptown nightlife scene. The courtyard would go between Cowboy Slim’s and the new restaurant, which would be built directly across from the Lagoon Cinema on Lagoon Avenue, according to a plan submitted to the city of Minneapolis. The owner of the site is Uptown Gassen LLC, which is owned by Clark Gassen. Gassen is proposing a 3,000 square-foot, single-level retail building that would go along Girard Avenue between Lake Street and Lagoon. Underneath the proposed development would be a 125-car parking ramp. The restaurant’s three
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Harriet concession contract nears approval
UPDATED August 30, 2010, 1:00pm
By Jake Weyer
1 Comment
The board will decide this month whether to approve local restaurateur Kim Bartmann’s concept, Bread & Pickle.
After more than a year of community review and a selection process that narrowed a field of nearly a dozen applicants, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is scheduled to vote this month on a new Lake Harriet concession contract.
Staff recommended local restaurateur Kim Bartmann’s concept, Bread & Pickle, based on the suggestion of a community group that reviewed and interviewed the applicants. That group was made up of former members of a Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) the Park Board assembled last year after public outcry over a proposed concession change that would have required a new building. The CAC examined concession opportunities and drafted recommendations used to review applicants.
“The CAC was really a lengthy, drawn-out, long process,” said Park Board General Manager Don Siggelkow. “But it yielded the information and the understanding that I think brought this conclusion the way it needed to happen.”
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Urban fashion store and art gallery opens on Hennepin
UPDATED August 26, 2010, 10:14am
By Nick Halter
With rare Michael Jordan sneakers dating back to 1985, local art work, a DJ table and pinewood floors, Moh Habib on Aug. 21 unveiled Studiiyo 23, an urban fashion store and art gallery at 2319 Hennepin Ave. Everything about Studiiyo 23, from the name to the design to the merchandise, is a reflection of Habib, a 34-year-old world traveler who spent his high school and college years in Minnesota. “In those travels — I’ve been to 30 countries and 169 cities so far — I picked up the best of what I like from all those spots, and what I did was try to merge everything I love in life into one space,” he said. Habib has spent the last eight years working in Japan and Switzerland, first for Northwest Airlines and later as a
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Bryant Lake Bowl operator plans to buy Casey’s Bar and Grill
UPDATED August 25, 2010, 2:12pm
By Nick Halter
Kim Bartmann, who runs popular Lake Street establishments Bryant Lake Bowl and Barbette, said she has a purchase agreement for Casey’s Bar and Grill, 3510 Nicollet Ave. Bartmann wouldn’t offer specifics on what she will do with the space. She is asking to present to the Kingfield and Lyndale neighborhood groups soon to show them her plans. She said the renovation will last a couple weeks and said work will be done on the kitchen and dining area. Casey’s has a very limited food menu. “We’re a very food-focused company, so I think that will be a major change,” she said. Bartmann said Casey’s current owner has taken good care of the place and kept it clean. “It has a lot of potential,&rdq
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Neighborhood notebook
By Dylan Thomas, Nick Halter and Sarah McKenzie
THE WEDGELHENA hires new newspaper editorLowry Hill East Neighborhood Association hired a new editor for its monthly newspaper, The Wedge. Wedge resident Quentin Skinner took over with the July issues of The Wedge. Best known as the theater critic for City Pages, Skinner also has written two novels set in the Wedge, where he has lived for 15 years, according to an announcement posted Aug. 2 on thewedge.org. ——— WHITTIER Rex Hardware demolishedWrecking crews in early August demolished the former Rex Hardware building at 2601 Lyndale Ave. S. The demolition came 11 weeks after the Minneapolis City Council overturned a Heritage
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Parks update // Lake Harriet health
By jake weyer
Park Board applies for grant to study Lake Harriet healthThe Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has decided it’s time for Lake Harriet to get a checkup. The board frequently receives complaints about the lake’s smells and surface algae and is hoping to perform a diagnostic study — funded by a $55,000 matching grant from the state — to see just how healthy the popular body of water is. “These grants are specifically being put out to prevent lakes from being designated as impaired lakes,” said the board’s Environmental and Field Services Director Debra Lynn Pilger. Pilger presented the details of the “clean water partnership grant” to the board at its Aug. 4 meeting. A
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Green digest // More mini markets
By Dylan Thomas
Farmers market season is at its late-summer peak, and more neighborhoods this year have easy access to fresh tomatoes and sweet corn thanks to an expansion of mini farmers markets sites. The number of mini farmers markets located mainly in low-income neighborhoods has tripled between 2008 and 2010, reported the Whittier-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), which established the market program in collaboration with the city. The Walker Place Farmers Market in the East Harriet neighborhood near a senior housing facility was one of the mini farmers markets to debut this summer. The Stevens Square Farmers Market, Southwest’s only other mini farmers market site, opened in 2008. The mini farmers markets are limited to five or fewer
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Wine may flow, after all
By Dylan Thomas
Uptown wine tasting was in question this springStart working on your swirl, sniff and slurp technique: The annual wine tasting sponsored by Hennepin Lake Liquors may go on this year, after all. This spring it appeared the wine tasting, an important fundraiser for Uptown-area neighborhoods, might not return for its 28th year. In mid-August, though, event organizer Pat Fleetham said he was nearly ready to announce a fall wine tasting. Fleetham said he was “tentatively proposing” a date in October for the tasting but still needed to finalize agreements with event sponsors before he could announce a time and location. The event in recent years had been held in early June. In March, though, Fleetham wrote in an email to
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Biz buzz // New improv theater
By Nick Halter
New Lyn-Lake improv theater will focus on long-formA new improv theater is coming to Lyn-Lake this fall, leasing the space formerly held by Lava Lounge clothing store at 3037 Lyndale Ave. Huge Improve Theater, the nonprofit company that is leasing the space, plans to have a roughly 100-seat theater open in late October and is pursuing a beer and wine license from the city. While Minneapolis already has improv theaters like Comedy Sportz and Brave New Workshop, HUGE Executive Director Butch Roy said the Lyn-Lake theater will be dedicated to a unique form of improv — long-form. No theater in the Twin Cities is devoted to the form. Most know improv in its short form through the “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” TV
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Schools notebook // Southwest steady on AYP
By Dylan Thomas
Six Minneapolis Public Schools in Southwest met goals for student proficiency in reading and math this year, down from eight schools in 2009. The district as a whole saw slightly fewer schools making AYP, or Adequate Yearly Progress, toward student achievement goals. About 14 percent of district schools met benchmarks on state standardized tests, down from nearly 19 percent in 2009. The slide means more district schools will face escalating sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind law, although many in education say the law sets an unachievable goal. Approved by Congress in 2001, No Child Left Behind set a goal of 100 percent proficiency on math and reading assessments by 2014. But the ever-rising benchmarks mean more schools every year are
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Park Board organizing LRT advisory group
By jake weyer
Adding another facet to the ongoing Southwest light rail discussion, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted last month to organize a citizens advisory committee (CAC) to mitigate the impact of the route on parkland. Park Board commissioners, City Council members, neighborhood associations, Mayor R.T. Rybak and County Commissioner Gail Dorfman will appoint the 17-member CAC. The group will consider historical, cultural, visual, social, and safety issues associated with the 14-mile Southwest Light Rail Transit line (LRT). The route will start Downtown, travel along the Kenilworth trail between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles, then stretch through St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka, ending in Eden Prairie. Along the way, it will intersect or run
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