Finding a Green Way to Govern

It's a momentous day for bicycling in Minneapolis: our first-ever comprehensive Bicycle Master Plan passed the Council this morning.  It's a visionary, detailed document that identifies key corridors for the City to upgrade for bikes, lays out aggressive goals and the tasks to carry them out, and much more. I'd like to add my thanks to those of my colleagues this morning to a few of the people and organizations who made this happen.  One City Public Works staff member did more than anyone else to bring this plan forward: Don Pflaum.  His hard work and perseverance has paid off, and his accomplishment will help us improve cycling in Minneapolis for decades.  The newly reorganized Bicycle Advisory Committee (or BAC) was also instrumental in shaping this plan, making it better right through the Council process.  And the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition provided great external advocacy as the plan came forward. In passing the plan, the Council als...

Hennepin County has scheduled a short-term event to collect household hazardous waste from July 21-23 , 9am to 4pm, at Dunwoody College of Technology, For more information, including a complete list of acceptable and non-acceptable items and directions to the temporary drop-off site, call Hennepin County Environmental Services at (612) 348-3777 or go to here . These events highlight the need for year-round availability of household hazardous waste drop-off services. 818 Dunwoody Blvd.  

Arrests have been made in the murder of Shea Stremcha.  From the Minneapolis Police Department's communication on this incident: July 21, 2011 (MINNEAPOLIS) On July 20, Third Precinct officers were dispatched to 2944 45th Avenue South on a shooting. When they arrived they found an adult male inside the residence. The male had an apparent gun shot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Shea Jeffrey William Stremcha, 25 years of age. The cause of death was a gunshot wound. Minneapolis Police Department homicide investigators Sergeant John Holthusen and Sergeant Christopher Gaiters were assigned the case and began pursuing leads immediately. Officers assigned to the Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (VCAT) arrested Robert Shelby (date of birth 2-26-1984) in the 1700 block of 3rd Street Northeast (case number 11-212263). VCAT also arrested Semaj Williams (date of birth 12-6-1989) in the 600 block of West...

Composting is not just a sustainable way of handling biodegradable waste. It’s also a great way to put nutrients back into the soil of your garden. Learn the basics of composting at an upcoming b ackyard composting basics workshop on Saturday, July 16 , at 1pm at the Midtown Global Market, 920 E Lake St , Minneapolis .   The cost is $10 for the public and $8 for Do it Green! members.

There's disappointing news  from the Seward neighborhood today: the Cake Eater bakery is closing. 

The shutdown of state government will have  significant impacts on the City of Minneapolis .   Before the shutdown, Public Works crews had to scramble to finish projects that are funded by the state, or by federal funds that have passed through the state, before the first, to avoid disruptions.   The Council has authorized legal action to require the State of Minnesota to make Local Government Aid (LGA) payments during the shutdown.   The City has taken on some functions normally provided by the state, including electrical inspections.   Some City departments are more impacted than others: for instance, 60% of the Department of Health and Family Support face layoffs in a prolonged shutdown.  The longer the shutdown continues, the greater the possibility for impact on the City of Minneapolis . However, it's important to note that, if the Republicans in the legislature get their way, the short-term impacts of the government shutdown on Minneapolis ...