The Cities Category Archive: Environment

The bain and blessing of surface parking lots

Posted at 3:20 PM on May 17, 2012 by Dan Olson (1 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Livability, Minneapolis

Welcome to my downtown Minneapolis neighborhood in a photo from 56 years ago, courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.

Surface parking lots are nothing new.

A Google Maps photo of this Warehouse District block shows a building has sprouted there.

But the Google photo also shows a breathtaking array of newer downtown surface parking lots.

How many? An estimate was floated over libations the other night with my friend Bill Clements, a former Finance and Commerce newspaper reporter who studied the question.

The answer? Bill's estimate, calculated a few years ago, is that a third of downtown Minneapolis is devoted to surface parking.

You don't need to take Bill's word for it. Google, "downtown Minneapolis." Zoom in a bit and count 'em. An amazing number of blocks are devoted to parking gas burners.

An excellent piece of reporting on the issue is here.

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Ramsey County hazardous waste drop-off available May 26

Posted at 11:39 AM on May 23, 2012 by Madeleine Baran (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, St. Paul

Looking to clean out your garage? Ramsey County is holding a one-day household hazardous waste drop-off event on May 26.

You can drop off items from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 401 Concord St., St. Paul. No proof of residency is required.

Here's the list of accepted items:

Automotive Products: fuels, brake fluid, gasoline, antifreeze, vehicle batteries, used oil & filters

Cleaning Products:
acids and other corrosive products, drain opener, oven cleaner, bathroom cleaner, rust remover

Electrical:
string lights, electrical cords (no attached electronics, appliances, or battery packs)

Home Improvement:
paint, thinners, solvents, adhesives, driveway sealant, wood preservatives, wood stains, lead paint chips, aerosol cans

Lawn & Garden Chemicals:
weed killer, insecticides, rodent poisons, pesticides

Mercury Containing Items:
skin-lightening creams, fever thermometers, switches, thermostats, vapor lamps, fluorescent lights

Recreational Products
rechargeable & button batteries, pool chemicals, propane tanks, gas cylinders

Wondering about something that isn't on this list? More info here and here.

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Minneapolis moving toward single-sort recycling

Posted at 4:38 PM on May 15, 2012 by Jon Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Minneapolis

(Image: City of Minneapolis)

Minneapolis has offered household recycling for the last 23 years. But for at least the last decade, recycling rates in the city have been stagnant, at around 18 percent.

That relatively low rate of recycling is partly due to the city's complex sorting scheme. Residents divide recyclables according to nine different categories and place them into separate bags for bi-weekly pickup.

But that sorting requirement might be thrown out.

The Minneapolis City Council's Transportation and Public Works Committee voted Tuesday to start shifting the city's recycling program to a single-sort collection. That means residents will be able to put all their recyclable materials into one container.

The city hopes to increase the rate of recycling in the city by 60 percent with the new system.

Council Member Elizabeth Glidden said she's heard from constituents about the city's recycling program since she took office in 2005.

"It's hard for me to express how excited I am about this recommendation," Glidden said. "I've had residents who, frankly, are angry that we don't have a system that is more simple, that encourages more recycling."

Consultants from Michigan-based Recycling Resources System outlined the pros and cons of different recycling programs. The consultants found that moving to single-sort recycling would decrease costs and increase recycling rates (see PDF).

Glidden told MPR News that the consultants also considered whether the system could add organics recycling, such as food and yard waste, to the single-sort recycling services in the future.

The Department of Public Works will return to the city council with financial and educational proposals to implement the system early this summer. It's expected the city will need to invest quite a bit in capital costs. New trucks are at least $150,000 each. But the bigger expense would be new recycling carts for homeowners, which could set the city back a minimum of $6.8 million, according to the report.

Minneapolis Director of Public Works Steven Kotke told MPR News that the city is trying to push single-sort recycling forward so that it can meet sustainability goals set by the county. By 2020, Hennepin County wants Minneapolis to achieve a recycling goal of 35 percent. The city receives a $850,000 county grant that's tied to changing to a more effective recycling program.

The recommendation to switch to single-sort recycling is expected to be heard by the full City Council on May 25. Kotke said the program could be on the streets by next year.

Minneapolisrecycling

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Rain gardens blossom in Minneapolis

Posted at 3:57 PM on April 24, 2012 by Jon Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Food, Minneapolis

A rain garden installed in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis last year (Image courtesy of Metro Blooms)

A tornado in August 2009 knocked down trees and caused flooding at Phelps Park in the Bryant neighborhood of Minneapolis.

"That started some neighbors talking about bringing some aesthetics to the neighborhood," said Bryant Neighborhood Organization board member Erin Schwarzbauer. "We were trying to just rethink how our backyards work, as well as our neighborhood as a whole."

The neighborhood organization was looking for a solution to the flooding and loss of old trees. They were referred to Metro Blooms, a non-profit organization that promotes ecologically-friendly gardens and landscapes. Metro Blooms helped the Bryant neighbors plan about 15 rain gardens on the pathway of the new RiverLake Greenway, a bike boulevard that connects the Mississippi River to Lake Harriet.

"[It's] just kind of in an effort to make our small little neighborhood distinctive as people bike through and to bring that aesthetic of rain gardens to our neighborhood," Schwarzbauer said.

A rain garden is a flat, bowl-shaped garden usually planted with native plants and grasses that's used to prevent runoff from polluting nearby bodies of water.

Minneapolis has a goal of 3,000 rain gardens by 2015. Between 2009 and 2011, the number of rain gardens in the city jumped by almost 65 percent to 1,400, according to the city's department of public works.

That growth has partly been fueled by neighborhood projects like in Bryant.

But the gardens are more than ornamental. They're also designed to reduce the runoff to storm sewer systems, which often carries sediment and pollution into nearby bodies of water.

Last year Metro Blooms helped households in west Powderhorn plant 130 rain gardens to limit runoff to nearby Powderhorn Lake, said Metro Blooms Executive Director Becky Rice.

"It will capture the runoff before it leaves your property and allow it to infiltrate to the aquifers, so it can reach the rivers and the lakes and stream clean and cold," Rice said.

Native plants are typically chosen for rain gardens because of their hardiness and deep roots, Rice said, making the gardens "relatively" easy to maintain.

"It's a functional garden and it does require attention, but the plants can be fairly maintenance free," Rice said. "Especially in an urban environment where people are planting in their front yard, they're often looking for something [like a rain garden] that's a little more controlled or a little more showy."

Rain gardens also reduce impact on the city's stormwater sewer systems, said Lois Eberhart, water resources administrator for the Minneapolis Public Works Department said.

"A lot of rain gardens are designed so the water soaks into the ground," Eberhart said. "Soaking into the ground helps reduce the volume of stormwater runoff, so we have less stress on the system, less flooding, less erosion of creek banks."

In Minneapolis, the effort of putting in a rain garden is rewarded by a reduction in stormwater utility fees that pay for stormwater infrastructure.

"Learning about rain gardens helps people think about other things they can do to improve lakes and the river," Eberhart said. "When they have rain gardens and take pride in those, they're more attentive to cleaning up pet waste, maybe sweeping up grass clippings to keep them out of the gutter."

In Bryant, most neighbors who will receive rain gardens in June have already received their designs.

"They're beautiful and people are excited to get them planted," Schwarzbauer said. "There's going to be an education piece during the installation, so other neighbors are able to watch the recipients getting their rain garden installed so they'll be able to install their own."

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Trashy Earth Day reporting

Posted at 3:29 PM on April 23, 2012 by Dan Olson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Minneapolis, St. Paul

I mean literally. Here we are, a gaggle of Earth Day clean up volunteers on Saturday in Minneapolis.

And in the spirit of first person journalism, I donned donated gloves to join, from right to left, Beverly Christie, Kevin Chace, Mark Zimmerman, Trudi Meloche and yours truly in the trashy adventure. This photo was snapped on my MPR-supplied company camera by an unnamed volunteer.

We'd just finished clambering through the Mill Ruins Park area downriver from this site which is now called Water Works by city officials and remembered by many of us as the late Reiki Weston's long vacant Fuji Ya restaurant.

Totals aren't in for this year's event sponsored by the city's Parks and Recreation Board. Last year, officials say more than 1,500 volunteers removed over 10,000 pounds of trash during the one-day event.

No need to detail what we found Saturday. It's a sampling of the usual flotsam and jetsam of our consumption based economy. Likely all tossed with no malice aforethought, simply discarded without any thought.

Minneapolis had 30 sites where volunteers gathered for the trash hunt.

Now, some history, one of my favorite topics with a photo from one of my favorite places.

Who is this man?

This photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society is from 1970, which many regard as the first year for Earth Day, and says only "man distributing leaflets, University of Minnesota," and of course, it's clear the rally is front of Coffman Union. Who is he? Were you there? Are you in the photo?

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Eagle is newest neighbor in south Minneapolis

Posted at 12:00 PM on April 5, 2012 by Jon Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Minneapolis

An eagle takes off from a tree in Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. (Image courtesy of Alexandra Ellison)

Alexandra Ellison and her 10-year-old daughter Ella were walking through Powderhorn Park in south Minneapolis a few weeks ago when they saw an unusual sight.

"It was a fully mature bald eagle with the white head and the white tail feathers," Ellison said. "We watched it. And it would get off the perch and hover over the lake and hang down and grab a fish and go back to the same perch."

Ellison said neighbors have reported similar sightings. The eagle seems to frequent a large cottonwood tree.

"It was amazing, amazing that it's been there every day, it's started so many conversations in the neighborhood," Ellison said, noting the bluebirds, cormorants and wood ducks that frequent the park. "People think of Powderhorn sometimes dismissively, but it's got just tremendous wildlife."

The University of Minnesota Raptor Center Clinic Manager Lori Arent said it used to be very rare to see eagles in urban areas. Not anymore.

Until about five years ago, Arent said the region's eagle population was still reeling from the impacts of DDT, a chemical that almost wiped them out. As the population returned, more eagles have been competing for ever-shrinking traditional habitats.

"It's kind of bittersweet because you want to see them and yet we're kind of forcing them to move into urban areas," Arent said. "Because of all the development and progress, we've really fragmented their habitat."

Still, Arent said eagles are doing well as they move to the big cities.

"People's increased knowledge of eagles has really helped a lot," Arent said. "Eagles are protected and a lot of people know that, so they're not approaching them too closely or anything like that. They're observing them from afar, which isn't threatening to the eagles at all."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that mature bald eagles can weigh up to 14 pounds and have a wingspan of eight feet. The agency estimates that there are about 10,000 pairs of eagles in the United States.

If the Powderhorn eagle builds a nest, the Raptor Center will add it to their list of active eagle nests, which they use to find new families for orphaned eagles.

Arent said most urbanites would be surprised how many eagles are flying over their cities. Not Ellison.

"It was a really, really windy day, we were walking around the lake and..my husband said 'Oh, my God. Look up.'" Ellison said of a recent stroll. "We counted 17 eagles circling."

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Southwest metro residents debate SWLRT project

Posted at 11:29 AM on March 22, 2012 by Jessica Mador (2 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Suburbs, Transportation

A light rail train pulls into the Target Field station as a commuter walks by in February 2012. This station is planned to connect with the Southwest Corridor LRT, which will connect downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie. (Alex Kolyer for MPR)

As state lawmakers debate whether to fund the proposed Southwest light rail line in this year's bonding bill, people who live near the line are doing some debating of their own.

The $1.25 billion LRT line, one of Gov. Mark Dayton's top priorities, would run between Eden Prairie and downtown Minneapolis, where it would connect to other mass transit. For more on the politics of this LRT line, read my story that aired on Thursday's Morning Edition.

42-year-old Hopkins resident Judie Schumacher is against the LRT. She lives near the proposed route but plans to continue taking her express bus to her job with Wells Fargo in downtown Minneapolis. Schumacher prefers the bus because it's fast and convenient.

"I hop on an express bus and it's instantly on the freeway. You get right downtown super fast and it drops me off a couple of blocks from my building, versus the light rail," said Schumacher.

In contrast, the light rail line would make multiple stops between her Hopkins home and downtown Minneapolis.

Schumacher describes herself as a big proponent of public transportation. She grew up taking the bus and said she'd rather see the state invest in more flexible bus lines in the metro than light rail.

"I like the idea of choice but a billion and a half dollars to construct it, not even thinking about all of the money people are spending now analyzing it and researching it and doing the impact studies," said Schumacher. "The plan is so expensive. I very much like public funding of mass transit but I just don't think that this light rail going out to Eden Prairie makes a lot of sense."

43-year-old Jeff Zammas supports the Southwest Corridor LRT. He lives with his wife and young son near where the line would run through St. Louis Park. His wife takes the bus to her job in downtown Minneapolis now, but he says they'd take light rail downtown as a family.

"I think just having another option is good. It's just one less stress, you know, having to find a place to park, sitting in traffic," said Zammas. "We've gone downtown before and it seems like you hit every light and then you're trying to find parking or you can get into the parking lot, but then after the event you're just sitting in the parking lot."

Zammas said he supports building more mass transit, especially as gas prices rise.

"A few summers ago when it was four dollars a gallon a lot of people stopped driving their cars and traded in their big SUVs, so it'll happen again where it's going to go up - maybe not as drastically or as quickly, but I think the sooner you build stuff and have those options, the cheaper it's going to be," said Zammas. "If we wait until next year or the year after, it'll be more expensive. So, if we are going to do it we should probably just start moving forward with it."

Met Council officials say the Southwest Corridor LRT needs $25 million dollars in state bonding money to move forward. Besides the state's total $125 million share, the rest of the line's cost will come from these sources -

*Federal government (50 percent)
*Hennepin County (10 percent)
*Counties Transit Improvement Board's five-county sales tax (30 percent).

House and Senate Republicans say they need more information before they'll commit state funding to the project.

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MnDOT wants to make bicycling safer and more usable

Posted at 6:00 AM on March 19, 2012 by Jessica Mador (2 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Livability, Minneapolis, Transportation

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is urging cyclists to comment on Minnesota's statewide bicycle planning study. Eight similar public meetings occurred across the state in late February and March.

"Minnesota is often recognized as one of the top bicycle-friendly states in the country, and the best way to continue improving is to learn from constituents who use the highways, bike lanes and shoulders to bike," said Tim Mitchell, MnDOT bicycle and pedestrian coordinator.

A meeting on the project is scheduled on March 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach Center, located at 2001 Plymouth Avenue North.

MnDOT is seeking input on what should be improved to make bicycling a safer and more usable transportation option, ideas for future bicycling accommodations on Minnesota roads and barriers to making improvements. Officials say the feedback they collect will help them improve and develop consistent policies and practices for including bicycle components, such as wide shoulders or bike lanes, on future highway and bridge construction projects. It also will help MnDOT develop a new electronic and printable statewide bicycle map.

The public may also submit written comments to greta.alquist@state.mn.us or Greta Alquist, MnDOT Office of Transit MS 315, 395 John Ireland Blvd., St. Paul, MN, 55155.

Anyone unable to attend meetings in-person may join a statewide webinar discussion this Thursday, March 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Webinar details are posted at www.mndot.gov/bike/study.html.

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Get your trees here

Posted at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2012 by Jessica Mador (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Minneapolis

The city of Minneapolis is offering 1,500 eight foot tall, one-inch trunk trees this spring for $25. Any Minneapolis property owner - resident, business or nonprofit - is eligible for one. Trees are available starting March 12. The trees are first-come, first-served. Limit one tree per property, maximum five properties per owner. Trees must be picked up May 12-14 at the Minneapolis impound lot. Volunteers will be on hand to help load each new tree and complimentary bag of mulch into vehicles.

The city is also making an additional 400 trees available to residents in the tornado-affected area of north Minneapolis at no charge.

From the city:

Varieties of trees available for $25 are Bali cherry, bur oak, Black Hills spruce, Fall Fiesta maple, Honeycrisp apple, ironwood, Prairifire crabapple, Princeton elm, red bud (tree form) and Whitespire birch (clump form). Varieties available for the free trees program are Honeycrisp apple, swamp white oak, Firebird crabapple and Japanese tree lilac.

Ordering begins March 12 for both tree offerings at www.treetrust.org or 952-767-3886. Paper order forms will also be available at UROC, the University of Minnesota's Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center at 2001 Plymouth Ave. N., and at North Side Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board recreation centers. Additional forms are available by calling 952-767-3886.

Need help planting and learning how to take care of your new tree?

Tree Trust will host two free workshops for participants on proper tree planting and care 10 to 11 a.m., April 28, Powderhorn Park and 7 to 8 p.m., May 1, UROC (the University of Minnesota's Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center at 2001 Plymouth Ave. N.). To register, please contact Tree Trust's Forestry Department at 952-767-3886. Space is limited.

City officials are urging interested people to get their orders in early. They say in previous years, the trees have sold quickly.

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Free energy improvements for Frogtown

Posted at 3:10 PM on February 22, 2012 by Jessica Mador (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Livability, St. Paul

Frogtown residents and property owners are eligible for free energy audits and energy efficiency improvements.

Neighborhood Energy Connection's Home Energy Squad will visit Frogtown through March 31. This Xcel Energy-sponsored program helps homeowners, renters and landlords improve their homes' comfort and energy efficiency and lower their utility bills. Home Energy Squad crews need about two hours to install energy-saving measures like programmable thermostats, CFL light bulbs, water-saving faucet aerators and showerheads, insulated water heater blankets, and door weather stripping.

The NEC's Home Energy Squad will go door-to-door offering its free services. But the organization is urging anyone in the neighborhood who's interested to call and schedule a free Home Energy Squad visit at 651-328-6221 or www.thenec.org.

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Minnesota's ice age is over...for this year

Posted at 2:05 PM on February 13, 2012 by Dan Olson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, History

At least the one at Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington.

That's where I found volunteer Tim Graf a couple weeks ago.

For 14 years he's been showing visitors how folks used to harvest ice from Minnesota lakes.

My intention, obviously, was to make a nice little radio story out of my visit.

Our faux winter, the winter that never was, brought all the sawing and harvesting to a bit of a premature end.

Here's Tim sawing through a harvested block.

Richardson Nature Center's Stacey Sigurdson and Tim admire an old fashioned ice box.

Earlier this winter scores of school kids came through on field trips to witness a wintertime activity that has mostly disappeared.

Graf is the scion of an honest to goodness ice harvesting dynasty, now out of business.

He says his grandparents owned an ice harvesting company in Worthington. Grandfather and the crews, he says, would harvest tens of thousands of tons of ice from Lake Okabena during the cold months, store the blocks in a huge ice barn and sell the blocks to customers to help keep food cool.

And courtesy of our friends at the Minnesota Historical Society photo collection we have a 1910 image of an ice harvest on a pond in southern Minnesota.

And in another MHS photo in the their collection from 1935 we have a man identified as Ole Gustafson delivering the cool stuff.

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Minneapolis seeks public input on 'climate action plan'

Posted at 11:50 AM on February 1, 2012 by Madeleine Baran (3 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Minneapolis

Did you know that Minneapolis has its own plan to address climate change?

City staffers are updating the Minneapolis Climate Action Plan this year, and they're asking for public input at a meeting tonight at 5:30 p.m. at the Central Library.

The city first signed a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions nearly two decades ago. The resolution adopting the plan noted, "there is international scientific consensus that the issue of climate change is of paramount global concern."

The 1993 goal was to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2005 (based on 1988 levels). The city's current goal is to reduce emissions by 15 percent by 2015 and 30 percent by 2025 (based on 2006 levels).

Meeting those goals has been a challenge. A 2009 city report compared emissions data from 2000 and 2006. It found a 4 percent decline in emissions.

Meanwhile, the past decade was the warmest on record, city planners said, and two years (2005 and 2010) tied for the warmest years since recording began in 1880.

The city's website says the problem is urgent:

Without strong and early action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, our city, state and nation will face severe consequences. In the Upper Midwest, we face increased heat waves, reduced air quality and increasing insect and waterborne diseases. Changes in precipitation mean we will also face increased periods of flooding and drought.

Tonight's event includes two speakers - Dr. Mark Seeley, a climatologist and professor at the University of Minnesota (and a regular commentator for MPR News) and Kristin Raab, the climate change project director for the Minnesota Department of Health.

The city has asked those who plan on attending to register for the event online.

If you can't attend, but still want to share your input, the city has created an online survey about energy efficiency and transportation.

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Grant puts Mpls Jaguar site on track for redevelopment

Posted at 8:45 PM on January 11, 2012 by Rupa Shenoy (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Housing, Minneapolis, St. Paul

The downtown Minneapolis Jaguar dealership that's sat vacant for several years will be cleaned up to make way for a new mixed-use development of housing and retail space.

That announcement came from the Metropolitan Council today. The organization approved $2.4 million dollars in grants as part of the Livable Communities program, which funds affordable housing, mixed-use development, and brownfield cleanups. This latest round of grants will help clean up 49 acres, the Met Council said in a release.

The grants include one for nearly $442,900 to do an environmental investigation at the Jaguar site, along with soil remediation and asbestos and PCB abatement. The 2.5 acres along Hennepin Avenue has been empty since 2007. The Met Council says plans include 286 apartments and about 40,000 square feet of retail grocery space.

Another grant goes to the Schmidt Brew House in St. Paul. Nearly $248,200 funds for asbestos and lead paint abatement. The building was home to an ethanol plant from 2000 to 2004. Before that it was vacant for many years.

The Met Council says existing brew house buildings will be renovated into 130 affordable apartments.

Other plans have included a rathskeller, restaurants and offices.

The Council received 24 applications totaling more than $5 million for brownfield cleanup awards this funding round. It awarded 12 grants.

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Researchers: Zebra mussels spreading fast on Lake Minnetonka

Posted at 12:31 PM on December 21, 2011 by Elizabeth Dunbar (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment

Lake property owners' worst fear is coming true: The zebra mussel population in Lake Minnetonka is spreading rapidly, according to researchers studying the distribution and density of the invasive species.

Zebra mussels were first discovered in Wayzata Bay in 2010. The Minnehaha Creek Watershed is in the middle of a three-year study to figure out where and how the zebra mussels are spreading and to determine how rapidly they are multiplying.

The watershed today released results from June through September showing zebra mussels have spread to nearly all of the lake's eastern bays and are moving to western areas of the lake.

The study is unique in Minnesota in that it's looking at both the distribution and density over an extended period of time, watershed spokeswoman Telly Mamayek said.

She said researchers are receiving reports from the public about zebra mussels attached to boats and docks being pulled out of the water for the season. Zebra mussels can also be a nuisance for swimmers, as the mussels' shells can cut feet. The mussels also alter the food chain in lakes.

The second year of the study will begin next spring.

The maps below from the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District show where zebra mussels were detected in December 2010 vs. December 2011. The red marks indicate spots where there were zebra mussels, whereas the blue marks indicate where they were absent.

December 2010

December 2011

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Old holiday lights being recycled at 100+ Twin Cities sites

Posted at 9:52 AM on December 2, 2011 by Elizabeth Dunbar (4 Comments)
Filed under: Environment

LEDs light up the front yard of a home on South Blaisdell Avenue in Minneapolis' Lyndale neighborhood.

The Recycling Association of Minnesota collected just 600 pounds of holiday lights in its first recycling drive three years ago. Last year the total was 200,000, and organizers hope to collect even more this year.

More than 100 hardware stores, churches and city halls are collecting old lights in the Twin Cities.

Ellen Telander, the group's executive director, says about 450 sites statewide are collecting the lights, which will be sent to several vocational centers around the state that hire people with disabilities. The drop-off sites are all listed on a map on the group's website.

Telander said the effort is different from most other Christmas light recycling efforts around the country because workers separate each light bulb from the light strings and recycle both the cords and bulbs.

"It's kind of a long process," she said. "No one else is as crazy as us."

The bulbs are taken to a recycler in Blaine that processes light bulbs, and the cords are taken to a separate recycler. The recyclers pay for the materials, and that money goes to pay the approximately 400 workers who dismantle the light strings, Telander said.

The effort has been noticed outside of Minnesota: For the first time, sites in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Phoenix, Ariz., are all sending Christmas lights to Minnesota to be recycled this year.

"About 400 people visit our website every day, and I think people have also just heard about the program through word of mouth," Telander said.

Telander says it's an ideal time to offer holiday lights recycling because many people are converting to energy efficient LEDs.

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Keep the bird killers indoors

Posted at 2:00 PM on November 9, 2011 by Brandt Williams (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Livability

This is my cat Baci. He's an American shorthair, but his name is Italian for 'kisses' -- which is very fitting, because as you can see, he's got a very kissable mug.

But don't let that fool you. Baci is a former street cat. And I fear that if turned loose on the public, he would revert to his prior life and go on a bird killing spree - or at least start stealing cars.

According to the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), 95 million feral and outdoor cats kill more than 500 million birds every year. ABC vice president Darin Schroeder recently penned a letter to U.S. city mayors, urging them to oppose programs that call for the trapping, neutering and release of feral cats.

"Numerous published, scientific studies have shown that trap, neuter, re-abandon programs do not reduce feral cat populations, and that outdoor cats, even well-fed ones, kill hundreds of millions of wild birds and other animals each year in the U.S., including endangered species. Birds that nest or feed on the ground are especially vulnerable to cat attacks."

Schroeder also says outdoor and feral cats are at risk for rabies, parasites and of course being struck by automobiles. ABC is promoting a message campaign called "Cats Indoors" which encourages people to keep their furry little bird-murderers indoors, or in outdoor enclosures or tethered.

However, from my experience you have to watch a tethered cat closely. A few years ago, Baci nearly bagged a low-flying bird while on a leash outside my apartment. Killer.

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U of M documentary traces history of North Minneapolis

Posted at 4:30 PM on November 3, 2011 by Jessica Mador (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Housing, Immigration, Minneapolis, Race

A new documentary uses north Minneapolis buildings and historic spaces as the backdrop for an exploration of the power of place and community.

Cornerstones: Stories of Place on the North Side premiers statewide at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, on Twin Cities Public Television's Minnesota Channel.



The hour-long documentary was co-produced by the University of Minnesota's Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center and TPT, and written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Daniel Pierce Bergin, who won an Emmy award for his 2004 TPT documentary North Star: Minnesota's Black Pioneers. Cornerstones is narrated by veteran Twin Cities performer Jearlyn Steele.



Check out the website for additional interviews with Northside residents on the importance of place and memory. The site will also include interactive storytelling features and content from TPT, university researchers and community historians.

Rebroadcasts of Cornerstones are scheduled for 2 a.m., 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Nov. 14 and noon Nov. 20 on TPT's Life Channel. Viewers should check with their local PBS affiliates for airing dates and times.


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North Minneapolis sidewalk repairs complete

Posted at 5:19 PM on October 19, 2011 by Jessica Mador (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Housing, Livability, Minneapolis

Five months after a tornado ripped through north Minneapolis, officials say they've repaired about 1,600 sidewalk panels damaged by the storm. A Public Works department survey found that around 600 feet of curb were also damaged by the tornado and needed to be replaced. Most of the sidewalk and curb damage was caused by uprooted trees.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board first had to remove tree stumps and roots before city crews could repair the broken sidewalks.

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Judith Martin told us what really happened

Posted at 2:55 PM on October 5, 2011 by Dan Olson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Housing, Livability, Minneapolis, St. Paul , Suburbs

The late Judith Martin, a University of Minnesota geography and urban studies professor, was one of our "go to" people when we needed help understanding Twin Cities development.

Here she is in 1998, explaining to former MPR reporter William Wilcoxen how riverfront development happened the way it did in the Twin Cities:

"If you look at a place like Minneapolis where, y'know, the first people that came here looked at those falls, and nobody said, "Parkland!" - everybody said, "Opportunity to make money!" That's what you do there. You park your flour mills and sawmills along the riverfront, and nobody thinks twice about it because it's obvious, in the context of 19th-century thinking, that this is how you build a city."

Martin, as the picture above illustrates, was a riverfront partisan, an advocate for helping people rediscover the river's many attractions beyond being a place to park mills.

Judith Martin, 63, wasn't just a favorite with Minnesota Public Radio reporters. She was respected by academic peers and students.

An excerpt from the obituary prepared by Martin's family explains why:

"Among the many classes she taught was a survey course on the geography of the Twin Cities, which hundreds of students took each year--many learning to their chagrin that understanding the cities and their region was far more complex than they expected. Martin's brusque but cheery style inspired many to get out into the city and see what they could learn from close observation of the city and the people in it. One of her favorite exercises was to assign students to ride an unfamiliar bus route and describe the ridership patterns, landscape, and social relations that they observed."

Her family says Judith Martin, a native of Chicago, died this week from complications due to a recurrence of breast cancer.

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Kid pix only an emerald ash borer could love

Posted at 5:00 PM on September 30, 2011 by Dan Olson (0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Livability, St. Paul

These are the dreaded juvenile delinquents (emerald ash borer larvae) similar to the ones lurking in the leafy neighborhoods of St. Paul.

Jane Hodgins with the U.S. Forest Service office based on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus sent the photos, along with a note that most of them were snapped by USFS biologist Rob Venette.

Sure, it's like an insect family album. But Rob's work is deadly serious - as in, let's learn more about these buggers so we can get rid of them.

Venette wants to know, for example, does the release of the stingless wasp as a biological control agent work?

And, here in a winter photo of Rob's research, he's trying to learn if the larvae have the same aversion to winter temperatures as some two legged Minnesotans with condos in Florida?

Anyway, always good to put a face to a pest.

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