Kingfield Neighborhood Association

Power of Pop Kicked Off at the Kingfield Farmers Market

By

Over 70 kids, ages 4-12. took advantage of the new Power of Produce (PoP) Club, funded by the Kingfield Neighborhood Association this past Sunday. This dynamic pilot program aims to engage and inspire children, opening up a world of food exploration and promoting healthier eating habits.

PoP Club participants receive a weekly $2 token to use on an array of fresh fruits, vegetables, and even food-producing plants. By placing the purchasing power in their hands, the program encourages wise food choices while fostering a deeper connection between our community and the local food system. Alongside the token-based system, the Market is crafting an engaging lineup of activities that include food tastings, kids’ activities and a farmers market scavenger hunt!

Join us September 24th at the Kingfield Farmers Market for another PoP market! Together, we’ll cultivate a healthier future for our children, our community, and our local farmers.

Empty Bowls 2024 Planning Kicks Off

By

The 13th Annual Kingfield Empty Bowls event will take place on “Soup-er Bowl” Sunday, February 11, 2024. Once again, we welcome our community to come together to fight hunger and homelessness in our area while sharing a delicious meal and lively conversation.

  • We look forward to working again with our restaurant community who have been very generous in their support donating soup, bread, dessert and coffee. 
  • On the bowls side of the equation:  We NEED bowls. We are seeking potters, connections to potters, and educators at a school with pottery students, or even poetry collectors.

The first planning meeting for the 2024 event is Wednesday, October 4, at 6:30 PM at Judson Memorial Baptist church  (41st and Harriet Ave. S.). If you want to donate or participate, simply reach out to me at . 

–Lori Olson, Kingfield Empty Bowls Chair 



Signs of the south Nicollet Pollinator Pathway!

By

Signs of Pollinator Pathway will be popping up through the neighborhood in early June so keep your eyes peeled for the happy bee signs!

We are planting over 50 garden stops for the Rusty Patched Bumblebee through the Lyndale, Kingfield, and Tangletown neighborhoods! Bees will know where to stop because each garden will have similar flowers blooming at the same time and these tiny native bees feed on “constancy” (kind of like a picky toddler who will only eat plain noodles for an entire two weeks, who then hates them and will only eat hotdogs!)

Thank you neighbors for sharing in this work with us to create a tasty neighborhood for pollinators!

MLK Park: A Survey About Adding New Features

By

Rank the projects!

The MLK Park Master Plan was finalized by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation board in 2019. A master plan for a park includes a 20-30 year plan for the parks in the area, including existing features and proposed design features. MLK Park is ranked #62 of 152 parks so any improvements or additions to this park will be at least six years out. However, there is a way to get new park features added sooner! Features that are included in the Master Plan for a park are easier to get approved by the Park Board.

Additionally, the Kingfield Neighborhood has $316,442 available in Park Dedication fees. Park Dedication fees are dollars paid by housing developers to the Minneapolis Park Board for new amenities to serve the new neighborhood residents. The price paid is roughly $1700 per unit of market rate housing and the money must be spent within the neighborhood where the housing was constructed. Park dedication fee expenditures are ultimately determined by the Park Board, but the neighborhood organization can make recommendations.

The Kingfield Neighborhood Association (KFNA) has determined it is beneficial to use this Park Dedication money sooner rather than waiting for inclusion of the park in a larger planning process, as the value of the funds are declining with inflation. KFNA has further identified a minimum of $42,000 additional dollars of Kingfield NRP funding and restricted dollars held by KFNA that could be used toward a park project resulting in an investment of at least $358,500. Thus, KFNA has evaluated the Master Plan for projects that fit the criteria for using Park Dedication funding. This criteria includes:

  • it is a new feature
  • it is included in the Master Plan
  • it could be implemented using a combination of Park Dedication fees and KFNA NRP dollars.

KFNA requests that neighbors rank the following three projects as to their preference for securing a dedicated Park Board Planner for detailed planning of the select element(s) in 2024 and implementation in 2025. There is limited detail in the master plan, so there is room for minor changes (such as moving an amenity), provided it does not conflict with other elements of the plan without then identifying where the other feature would be placed. A recommendation from the neighborhood organization will help to prioritize the project for which a detailed plan will be developed.

Link to the survey here: https://bit.ly/MLKParkSurvey2023

Bee Part of the Solution!

By

Pollinator Pathway Plant Sale Fundraiser

We are creating a path for the Rusty Patched Bumblebee through the Tangletown, Kingfield and Lyndale neighborhoods and your home can be a stop on this little native bee’s journey!

Be a part of this project by buying a pre-selected package of 18 native flowers favored by this pollinator to plant in your garden. Both the full sun and the partial shade packs contain 3.5-inch pots of 4 different varieties of native plants, at a cost of $125 per flat:

Full Sun 18-pack:
Giant Hyssop (qty. 4)
Purple Prairie Clover (qty. 6)
Azure Aster (qty. 4)
Golden Alexander (qty. 4)

Partial Shade 18-pack:
Red Columbine (qty. 6)
Turtlehead (qty. 4)
Wild Bergamot (qty. 4)
Culvers Root (qty. 4)

Your purchase supports our native bees and your neighborhood association at the same time! Learn more about the Nicollet Avenue Pollinator Pathway Project.

Buy now at: https://tangletown.org/pollinator-pathway-project-plant-sale/