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

4101 16^th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407
(Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church)

2012 Community Garden Policies

Dates of Use:

April 30th – October 31, 2012.  All garden debris must be removed by October 31, 2012 and plots should be prepared for winter.

Fees:

A $30.00 annual fee (payable to Bancroft Neighborhood Association) will be charged for a 10’ x 20’ plot, along with a signed Bancroft Community Garden Agreement.  This includes water.  No refunds will be given once garden sites are assigned.  A garden account will be maintained by the Bancroft Neighborhood Association.

Use of Fertilizers and Chemicals:

Use of chemicals for weed and pest control is strongly discouraged.  No spraying is allowed.

Maintenance of Garden:

• In deference to Bethel Church’s schedule, no garden work is allowed on Sunday mornings until after 12:00 noon.
• Plant flowers on the outside edge of the garden.
• Keep your plot well-maintained and weeded.  A two-week warning will be given by the garden committee if a plot is not maintained to group standards.  After that time, the group may assume control of the plot and the gardener will forfeit their fee.
• Weed the paths surrounding your plot.
• Water your own plot and return the hose when finished at the garden.
• No structures greater than six feet tall are allowed.

NOTE: All Gardeners must comply with all laws, ordinances and regulations.  No alcohol, drugs or illegal substances are allowed on the lot.  Gardeners must not cause any nuisance on the lot, make undue noise, or leave tools, trash or litter on the lot.

2010 Bancroft Neighborhood Association Community Garden Application

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.

• 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.

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.

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.

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.