Bancroft Neighborhood Association

Minneapolis Public Works will be placing a test median in the Bancroft neighborhood for approximately one month.  The test will be conducted at the intersection of 42nd Street E and 17th Avenue S, and is expected to be in place throughout the month of March.  The purpose of the test is to gain experience with a proposed permanent median, which would be installed at a later date as part of the federally funded Southern Bike Connection project.

A median is expected to have the benefit of slowing traffic traveling along 42nd Street.  A median would also provide a stopping space for bicycles and pedestrians crossing 42nd Street at 17th Avenue.  Impacts from the median would include minimal parking loss on 42nd Street and prohibiting left turns from 42nd Street onto 17th Avenue, and from 17th Avenue onto 42nd Street. North-south traffic would also be prohibited on 17th Avenue across 42nd Street.

Temporary signing and barriers will be placed as part of the test, guiding motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians through the intersection according to the parameters above.  Comments are welcome through 311.  Signs inviting comment will be posted at the median.  For more information visit the project website:  www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/SouthernBikeConnection.asp

As gardening season approaches, Bancroft’s community garden is now accepting applications for plots.  Please print an application or pick one up on from the bulletin board outside the BNA office and return the application to the office by March 15th. There are plots up for grabs, but we don’t know how many yet, so plots will be assigned on a first come first serve basis.

Last year’s gardeners: please email info@bancroftneighborhood.org or call Garden Coordinator Mark Sauter at 612-722-7152 by March 15th to let us know whether you want to garden with us again this year.

Minneapolis 81, a website dedicated to creating walking and biking tours of all of the city’s 81 neighborhoods, has recently completed its Bancroft Neighborhood Tour.  With the help of BNA Board member Neal Baxter and former BNA Organizer Jessica, Minneapolis 81 documented many of the charming locations that make Bancroft unique.  The website offers a map, many beautiful photos, and fun bits of trivia, showing that there is always more to discover even in a small neighborhood like ours.  Sure, you’re probably familiar with Bancroft Meadows, the Meridian Garden, and Bancroft Elementary, but did you know about the beautiful metal sculpture in Yvette and Joakim’s front yard on 12th Avenue, or the intricate Victorian details of the William Webster House on Chicago Avenue (built in 1888)?  Visit Minneapolis81.com to take the tour, enjoy lovely photographs of our neighborhood in summer, and suggest any neighborhood gems that have been left out of the tour so far.

The winter temperatures are finally here, but the Southside Hub is gearing up for spring!  Please join us SATURDAY for our 2012 Seed-Packing Potluck!

• Saturday, Feb. 18 12-3pm, Powderhorn Park Building (3400 15th Ave S.)
• Pack seeds for this year’s distributions*
• Eat and chat about gardening and local food with your fellow Hub members and neighbors
• Ask Master Gardeners all your gardening questions
• Sign up for your 2012 Hub membership!

Please bring a dish to share as you are able.  Anyone interested in joining the Hub or helping to pack seeds is welcome.  This is a kid-friendly event!  We have some big seeds that kids love to pack.

*One of the great benefits of Hub membership is low-cost seeds.  We buy the seeds in bulk, which significantly lowers the cost, but then those seeds need to be re-packaged so they can be distributed to you.  Last year we distributed over 13,000 seed packets, so please help your Hub and come pack seeds!

For more information, reply to this email or contact Gardening Matters at 612-821-2358.

Who: Neighborhood staff, residents, board members & volunteers

Where: UROC, 2001 Plymouth Ave N, Minneapolis 55411

When: Saturday February 18th, 9:30am-12:30pm

What: Join us for a hands-on learning experience on redistricting. For the first time, you will have the power to draw and propose your own redistricting maps for Minneapolis City Council. This event will show you how to draw lines that are drawn around people, not politicians. Come by yourself or recruit a team to participate in this once-in-a-decade event. All maps entered will be submitted to the Minneapolis Charter Commission. Cosponsored by CURA, Urban Research and Outreach Center, and Common Cause Minnesota.

Please forward this message to anyone you think might be interested.

http://www.cura.umn.edu/events/2012-02-18/draw-your-own-map

A community sing to benefit Minnesotans United for All Families at Calvary Lutheran Church, 3901 Chicago Ave So, Minneapolis. Tickets at the door: $15/adult, $5/kids. Songs led by Bret Hesla and Mary Preusof Minnesota Community Sings, and Dan Chouinard, one of the Twin Cities’ busiest and best-loved musicians. Don’t miss this special evening of songs about love, justice, solidarity, struggle, and happiness!

From the Minnesota Community Sings FAQ page:

What? Minnesota Community SINGS is working to build the culture of community public singing in Minnesota. There is a lot of great singing going on already: community choirs, church choirs, schools. What we’re promoting is something different from these: ordinary people joining their friends and neighbors (and making new friends) by gathering in public to sing. Singing in halls, singing in big tents, singing in parks. All of us together.  It’s ancient. It’s worldwide. It’s our tradition in Minnesota (see History). It’s fun.

Why? Well, besides the fact that singing together–all ages, all voices–is fun and feels great … Singing together can help us build ties with our friends and neighbors, as we come together to share our songs and stories, and learn new ones. As song leaders from MN Community Sings, it is our great pleasure to make new friends right here at home by asking neighbors from differing cultural traditions “What are the songs you sing when you sing together in groups?” When we gather for community singing in our city parks, we get a chance to sing together in Arabic or Spanish, languages regularly heard on the streets of the Twin Cities, as well as in English. What a fine way to meet our neighbors – by joining together in song.

INTERCITY REGIONAL TRAIL OPEN HOUSE IS FEB. 21
Three Rivers Park District, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the cities of Minneapolis,
Bloomington, and Richfield, and other project partners are working together to finalize a master plan for
the Intercity Regional Trail. When completed, the seven-mile Intercity Regional Trail will provide a
paved, multi-use regional trail route from Lake Nokomis Parkway in Minneapolis south through Richfield
and on to the Minnesota River in Bloomington.
The trail will connect to the Minneapolis Grand Rounds trail system at Lake Nokomis, Three Rivers Park
District’s Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail in Richfield, and the Mall of America in Bloomington. Possible
connections across the Minnesota River to Dakota County’s regional trail system also may be explored.
As part of the master planning process, an open house will be held to review the proposed trail segment
within the City of Minneapolis on February 21. Details are as follows:
Intercity Regional Trail open house
5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Hope Lutheran Church — Fellowship Hall
5728 Cedar Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55417
At the open house, people may view maps and informational displays about the proposed trail, and staff
from the City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and Three Rivers Park District will
be available to answer questions. The public is invited to submit comments about the trail master plan
at the open house. Comments also may be sent to: Three Rivers Park District, Intercity Regional Trail,
3000 Xenium Lane N., Plymouth, MN 55441-1299; or e-mailed to ICRT@ThreeRiversParkDistrict.org.
For more information, visit www.ThreeRiversParks.org and search for Intercity Regional Trail, or call
763-559-9000.

Congratulations, Bancroft Gardeners!  Metro Blooms, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting and celebrating city gardening, has has named our garden at 16th Avenue South and 41st Street its 2011 Metro Blooms Best Community Garden.  The award will be presented at their 2012 Blooms Day event, which will also include free 30 minute workshops, a plant sale, and a gardening expo.  Blooms Day 2012 takes place on Saturday, May 5 from 8:30am to 1:00pm at Kenny Community School, 5720 Emerson Ave South.

Applications for plots in the Bancroft Garden will be available on this website and on the bulletin board outside the BNA office (in Bethel Lutheran Church, 4120 17th Ave S.) starting on February 10th.  Those who had plots last year will be given priority, but there will also be some plots available for newcomers.

Want to get involved in BNA’s green initiatives, including the new community garden we are hoping to bring to the neighborhood this year?  Come to a meeting of BNA’s Green Initiatives Committee at 6:15 on the second Thursday of each month at Bethel Lutheran Church.

Volunteer for FAFSA February!

Sunday, February 12, 2-5 pm
Minneapolis Community and Technical College, 1501 Hennepin Avenue

Each year hundreds of Minneapolis Public School students fail to get federal college aid because of difficulties completing the required Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). These students are 70% less likely to apply to college.

AchieveMpls and MPS are teaming up for FAFSA February, a national campaign to help demystify the often confusing and universally dreaded ritual of completing the FAFSA and help all MPS students achieve their dream of college.

On Sunday, February 12, AchieveMpls is mobilizing community volunteers to help MPS students and their families complete their federal income tax returns and the FAFSA.

Busy on the 12th?  They also need volunteers to provide FAFSA assistance at individual MPS high schools events throughout February.

Your gift of time can have a major impact on the future of a MPS student. To volunteer or for more information, contact Rebecca Noecker at 612.455.1571 or rnoecker@achievempls.org.

Bring your family, your friends, or your sweetie for heart-warming fun at Lake Hiawatha next weekend.  This completely free event is made possible through contributions by local, independently owned businesses in the Standish-Ericsson, Longfellow, and Nokomis community. Keep our neighborhoods strong and vibrant by supporting local businesses with your patronization.

When:  Saturday, February 11, 2012 from Noon – 3PM

Where:  Lake Hiawatha Park 2701 E. 44th St., Minneapolis, MN 55406

Cost:   Free!  Check in at the welcome table for food and ride tickets.

Activities:

Horse Drawn Hay Rides

Hot Cider and Coffee

Beef Franks and Veggie Dogs

Live Music

Ice Skating

Face Painting

Arts and Crafts

Bonfire for Roasting Marshmallows

Ice Golf

Kids Dance DJ

Prize Drawings