Crosstown (SW) Community Band
Tuesday evenings, re-beginning September 6
7 – 8pm at Richfield Lutheran Church [Nicollet Ave. S & 60th]
All musicians are welcome–bring your horn and come play!
By Ceugant
By Ceugant
Minneapolis Public Works is gearing up to conduct its 5th annual Pedestrian and Bicycle Count, and you can volunteer to help. Volunteers will be asked to count the number of pedestrians and bicyclists at several locations around the city. The main days for counting will be Tuesday, September 13 and Wednesday, September 14, although other days are available. Most of our counts are conducted from 4-6pm, however there are shifts throughout the day at select locations.
Minneapolis Public Works conducts pedestrian and bicyclist counts in order to understand the impact of non-motorized travel on streets, sidewalks, and bike paths. Accurate counts enable the City to plan and build for pedestrians and bicyclists, while tracking what’s successful and what should be done differently.
If you’re interested in volunteering, register online or contact Simon Blenski at or 612-275-6754. To learn more, visit our count home page to view traffic flow maps and the annual count report.
Happy Stepping,
City of Minneapolis Pedestrian Program
By Ceugant
The Nicollet East Harriet Business Association (NEHBA) has been given a grant from the city of Minneapolis; NEHBA has hired Mind*Spark Creative to conduct research in Southwest Minneapolis in order to uncover the “emotional truths†about the area. We are looking to define it’s identity in order to help create a “sense of place†for the business owners, residents and consumers who spend time in Southwest Minneapolis. One way we are engaging the community is through a survey, found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/nehba.
This survey will help us to identify how the residents of the area identify with Southwest and what it is that defines neighborhood for them. By identifying these elements, we feel it will help us to build on the existing personality of the area and help to bring it outward.
The survey will be open until 5:00 pm on Wednesday, September 14th. The results will be posted on www.NEHBA.org at the end of September. If you have any further questions, please contact .
By Ceugant
Solarize Kingfield is a solar installation program for local businesses and institutions, led by KFNA. We help businesses and institutions interested in installing up to 40 kW solar electric systems to simplify the process and reduce the cost of adding solar. The goal of the program is to make solar more accessible to commercial property owners and more visible to neighborhood residents. KFNA’s objective is to remove the barriers to solar installations for small local businesses and non-profit organizations in and near Kingfield, to help them save money and energy and strengthen their investment in the community. This work is supported by a grant from the City of Minneapolis.
We started working with two pilot sites in late 2010, one of which is moving toward commitment to a solar PV installation this year. We have also been working since 2010 with a group of local solar installers to find ways to simplify the process. Our partnering solar PV installers are Solarflow Energy, Applied Energy Innovations, Sundial Solar, and Innovative Power Systems. Partnering installers are locally based and/or have significant local experience, and have been willing to invest their time and expertise in this project. It is our hope that by working closely with these partnering installers, the City of Minneapolis, and other key actors, we can build local systems and capacity, and shape public policy, to enable the growth of solar energy in Minneapolis and our state.
After identifying a number of buildings in the neighborhood with solar potential, we invited their owners to a workshop in May, organized with Eureka Recycling, the City of Minneapolis, and other key resources. You can see the presentation from that workshop at https://kingfield.org/solarize-kingfield/ .
If you own a non-homesteaded building in or near Kingfield (commercial, nonprofit, or institution) and are interested in exploring a solar electric installation, let us know by emailing your building’s address and your contact information to , as soon as possible. If, based upon aerial photos, your property is felt to have good solar potential, Solarize Kingfield will pay for the solar assessment (typically $250-$400) AND reimburse the cost of the required on-site energy audit ($400-$500, depending on building size) for participating building owners. If you decide to pursue solar as a power option, Solarize Kingfield can also help pay up to 50% of the solar installer’s structural engineering assessment. However, these actions MUST occur before October 15, 2011, to be eligible.
Cost: For a solar electric system, the cost depends on the size of the system and the ease of installation. Before incentives and tax credits, typical costs range from $6.50–$9.00 for each watt of capacity. Incentives and tax credits can cover more than 60% of the cost in some cases. A typical profitable business can see installation costs recouped in 5-7 years. Your solar installer should be able to assist you in identifying your return on investment based on your specific situation.
By Ceugant
Tuesday September 13 and 20th (2 sessions)
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Location:Â Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 4055 Nicollet Avenue South, Minneapolis
$35 members, $40 MSHS non members
Co-sponsored by the Kingfield Neighborhood Association and Martin Luther King Park.
Please pre-register by calling 651-643-3601. Payment is required at time of registration.Â
The MSHS is a not-for-profit membership organization, and is one of the largest horticultural societies in the United States. Since 1866, we have served the gardening community through programs for individuals of all ages. For more information on member and membership benefits of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society or to subscribe to our Northern Gardener magazine, please visit our website: www.northerngardener.org. For more information, contact Vicky Vogels at , or 651-643-3601, ext 211.
Preserving produce is the other side of eating locally. We can take advantage of the summer and autumn harvests and prepare local food for the winter months. Different foods require different methods of preservation. In this two-session class we will look at three–storage, freezing, and drying.
A. Storage–keeping food basically as is– is the easiest and the most energy and time efficient, provided you create the right environment.
B. Freezing–fresh fruits and vegetables can be frozen quickly and easily during the harvest season. Whether you freeze purchased or home-grown produce, the keys to a successful product are using fruits and vegetables at the peak of ripeness and freezing quickly after purchase or harvest.
C. Drying–using ripe foods only–is a pleasantly delightful way to preserve many fruits and vegetables.
Class will include freezing and drying demonstrations, delicious samples, and an extensive hand-out with suggestions for creating your own storage area and charts for freezing and drying most fruits and vegetables.
MARIANNA PADILLA has been gardening for 38 years, and teaching vegetarian cooking for almost 30. She raises much of her own produce as well as most of the produce used in the cooking classes from the organic garden in her yard. She teaches organic gardening classes at her home and maintains an active compost, which a few neighbors contribute to. She fills a large chest freezer with produce each year, and makes her own dried food for camping. Food should engage the senses, feed our hunger, nourish our humanity, and be sustainable for the planet. For more info see: http://www.casamarianna.com/