‍OUR TOP STORIES THIS WEEK

I talked with Futsal Society founder Caleb Crossley about the new futsal courts slated to be built at Clinton Field Park in Whittier.  The courts were funded by park dedication fees, a unique form of funding we have in Minneapolis that is directly tied to housing development. I wrote a story about the importance of accessible futsal in Whittier and how neighbors like you can see if your area has park dedication fees that are untapped.

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The Minneapolis park dedication fees are managed by the Park Board and, because we love a good theme, here is an interview Charlie did with Meg Forney, the new Park Board president. Forney stressed the necessity for youth engagement in the parks. Keeping youth active and in positive spaces are reasons the Futsal Society pushed so hard for the public futsal courts. The dove tails, there are many.

There are so many cool, free, outdoor events this weekend! You can find most of them on our new events calendar.
There, you'll find all the events from The Great Northern, including the Pond Hockey Championships happening this weekend on Lake Nokomis. Between that, the Art Shanties and the Kite Festival on Lake Harriet, and the Luminary Loppet that's coming up, there's a bunch of great stuff to do outside in the next couple weeks.

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OUT & ABOUT

Once again, check out our brand new, super digital, community-driven Events Calendar! You can sync this calendar with your smart phone and voila! All the events you could ever want (or just add one to your calendar at a time).  We would love it if you would submit events to our calendar, too. You don't have to be in charge of the event--just let us know it's happening and we will add it!

We here at SWV are jazzed about the girls' basketball game tonight. Roosevelt and Southwest, the city's two undefeated teams in conference play, will face off tonight at 7:00 at Southwest. Roosevelt has won by 20+ points in all but one of their games, while Southwest is riding a seven-game winning streak. It should be a good one. You can live stream the game here.

Charlie is excited about the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships happening this weekend on Lake Nokomis. Melody is excited about the Kite Festival happening on Saturday on Bde Unma/Lake Harriet.

Click on each event in our calendar to see more details on those and other events, like the fastpitch softball tryouts for U10 and U12 levels happening on Sunday.

Have a wonderful weekend, neighbor. Always look for the helpers. -Melody

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