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.

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Newspaper proposal withdrawn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

Photo by Dylan Thomas

Additional signs and pavement markings on Bryant Avenue South, like this sign near the Midtown Greenway, will make it clear the road is meant to be shared by bicycles and cars.

By Dylan Thomas

Making Bryant a bike boulevard

CARAG — 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,

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 ISLES

Jan. 30, between 3:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., W. Lake St. and East Calhoun

Photo by Jakey Weyer

Michele Gears browses the shelves at Guse Green Grocer, which opened Jan. 23 at 46th Street and Bryant Avenue.

By By Lana Walker and Jake Weyer

Guse Green Grocer opens at 46th & Bryant

When 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

photo by dylan thomas

School Board Member T. Williams introduced superintendent nomainee Bernadeia Johnson (front row, left) before a public meeting at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board headquarters Feb. 1.

By Dylan Thomas

School Board recommends Johnson to lead district

When 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,”

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 neighborhood


LINDEN 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

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