Rebuild Repair Recycle | Southwest Connector

Segundo Velasquez, co-founder of Mano a Mano. (Photo by Margie O'Loughlin)

Non-profit sends medical supplies to Bolivia – and shares surplus at home

Joan and Segundo Velasquez founded Mano a Mano in 1994 with the goal of saving surplus medical supplies from the landfill in Minnesota and shipping them to Bolivia, where those supplies were … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 10/1/21

Purchase smarter

During the pandemic, we all became well-acquainted with our stuff. Perhaps you purged a lot of things to make more room for … well, living. Or maybe you acquired more things to make staying … more

By JESSIE ROELOFS | 10/1/21

Lessons from the drought

We may be getting some rain, and the temperature is turning cooler, but make no mistake we’re still in a drought. Our Environmental Services division monitors the impact of the drought on … more

by Charlie Zelle, Met Council Chair | 10/1/21

Trash in Lake Hiawatha includes various types of plastic and styrofoam. (Photo submitted by Friends of Lake Hiawatha)

What happens now to trash in Lake Hiawatha?

It’s been seven years since the conversation about the future of the Lake Hiawatha Golf Course started. And neighborhood residents are still waiting for something to be done about the trash.It … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 9/3/21

Linda Kjerland was a Garden for Wildlife mentee in her first year of developing a backyard habitat for wildlife. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)

Longfellow Garden for Wildlife Yard Tour 2021

Linda Kjerland moved to her Longfellow home 10 months ago, from a condo in St. Paul. Over the course of the winter, she started thinking about how to expand her garden and turn her lawn into … more

By Margie O’Loughlin | 9/3/21

Longfellow River Gorge Festival Sept. 11

Come share the river gorge – a community celebration with free ice cream, canoe rides, rowing, walking tours of the oak savanna restoration along the river and more. This event will be held at … more

9/3/21

Treaties not Tar Sands

On Aug. 25, several hundred protestors gathered at the MLK Recreation Center in St. Paul. Since Aug. 7, a group of water protectors have been traveling on foot 256 miles from Line 3's upstream … more

by Margie O'Loughlin | 9/2/21

Can I recycle this?

It's the age-old question that never seems to have an easy answer. Fortunately, understanding how things are recycled can help point you in the right direction. The purpose of a recycling facility is … more

By JESSIE ROELOFS | 9/2/21

Mac Pegovac (foreground) is the project manager for Ryan Companies Parks and Public Spaces. Bob Fossum of CRWD is pictured behind her. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)

Reviving upper Hidden Falls Creek

This summer, workers are building a channel and bridge that will connect a recreated upper Hidden Falls Creek with the lower falls at East River Parkway and Magoffin Avenue.It’s part of the … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 7/28/21

Get a free rain barrel

Friends of Mississippi River (FMR) is giving away free rain barrels and conversion kits this summer in partnership with the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO). The barrels hold 55 … more

7/28/21

Miss Northland, Wabin Agiizi Goo Ikwe (Morning Spirit Woman) is Lori Martin-Kingbird: a junior at the University of Minnesota who presented at the Celebration of Language Festival held on the athletic fields at Anne Sullivan Elementary School on Saturday, June 19. Martin-Kingbird is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Northern Minnesota, and is a candidate in this year’s Miss Minnesota Competition. Her social initiative in the competition is called “Water You Doing? Advocating for our Natural Resources.” She believes that water conservation starts at the individual level: first with one person, then with one community, and finally with one nation raising awareness and then standing up for safe drinking water. She said, “If we all work together, we can build hope for our future generations to sustain cleaner, healthier water.” (Photo by Margie O'Loughlin)

'Water You Doing? Advocating for our natural resources'

6/30/21

Better Futures is a re-use warehouse located at 2620 Minnehaha Avenue South. They sell materials salvaged through deconstruction at affordable prices, while keeping used materials out of the landfill. Employees Jason Allen (left) and Tino Jones (right) select boards from the wall of salvaged lumber. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)

Salvage reuse recycle building materials

Got a hammer? Got gloves? Deconstruction grants up to $5,000 are available for homeowners or developers of properties located within Hennepin County built before 1970. The work must be on residential … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 6/30/21

For Joe Vital, the city's refusal to support the EPNI indoor urban farm at the Roof Depot site is an issue of environmental racism. "It's absolutely frustrating," he said. "I want to see the urban farm happen because every year at Little Earth we bury people. We have the highest rate of asthma and lead poisoning in the city. East Phillips has been the dumping ground for the city since the 1920s. One death should be enough to motivate anyone." (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

1,063 COMMENTS AGAINST, 2 FOR

The city received 1,063 comments from individuals and organizations opposed to expanding the public works facility into the Roof Depot site at Hiawatha and 24th, and only two in favor of it. Instead, … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 5/26/21

Lake Street recovery coalition launches campaign promoting racial equity and community health

The Lake Street Leadership Recovery Coalition today announced its new campaign to support equitable recovery across the Twin Cities following the civil uprising caused by the murder of George Floyd … more

5/26/21

Trent Bowman is the president of NAREB, a coalition of Black real estate professionals. He said, “Throughout history, people of color have been left out of the homeownership game. It’s about leaving a legacy. It’s about building wealth in our communities. We have to understand the history of housing discrimination, so we can work in the present to leave something for our kids in the future.” (Photo courtesy of NAREB)

Reimagining dream of home ownership for all

In a recent article about the Twin Cities housing market during COVID-19, real estate professionals characterized the market as “frenzied.” A picture emerged of Minneapolis homes selling … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 5/26/21

Students in the Garden Warrior Program worked in the corn crop last summer at the Hugo farm site. (Photo submitted)

DREAM OF WILD HEALTH FROM FARM TO MARKET

Dream of Wild Health is one of the longest operating Native American-led nonprofits in the Twin Cities. Since 1998, they have been working to restore Indigenous relationship with the land, and to … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 5/26/21

This map shows the affect that the pollution from the city's expanded public works site will have on south Minneapolis. The site is in the city's Green Zone and sits along the popular Midtown Greenway bike and walking path.

City plans to increase pollution in Green Zone, tear down Roof Depot building in April

The pollution from the city’s proposed plan to expand its public works facility at Hiawatha and E. 26th would affect a majority of South Minneapolis, pointed out representatives of the East … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 3/24/21

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN ACTION

As more people see the need to not just talk about environmental justice and racism but to do something about it, support is growing for the East Phillips Urban Indoor Farm.During a virtual press … more

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 1/27/21

Green housing, jobs and farm along Midtown Greenway

Community members push city to use former Roof Depot site to solve current needs There are some nights in Cedar Field Park that "there's a fog in the air we don't know where … more

by TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN | 10/2/20

Who are the Global Shapers?

Global Shapers Community is a network of young people working together to address local, regional, and global challenges. Locally, they are collaborating to support the East Phillips Indoor Urban … more

10/2/20