Calling all nature lovers! We want to hear from you. 🌱

Spring is springing. Birds are returning. Green things are growing from the ground! We're putting together the first of our nature reports next week. Before that happens, we need you to send us a note. What are you seeing? What's happening where you live, walk, work, and play? Can you share any pictures?

Shoot us an email here or text us at 612-204-2887 and we'll include your on-the-ground reporting.

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The School Board meets tonight at 5:30 for the first time since Superintendent Ed Graff announced he would be leaving in June. They have a big agenda, but a few key items include a discussion of the timeline for replacing Board member Josh Pauly after his resignation, a timeline to name a replacement for Graff, and a final vote on whether to rename Jefferson Community School after Ella Baker, which we wrote about a couple months ago.

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In a community post, Eric Ortiz writes about the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association peace plan as a response to public safety concerns.

Do you want to write a community post of your own? Email your idea or a draft to info@southwestvoices.news and we'd love to chat!

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LINK ROUNDUP 🔗

Zinnia Folks Arts, which has been a mainstay on the corner of 50th and Bryant for the past decade, will be closing their brick-and-mortar store and moving to online sales only in mid-May. The final day for customers to visit the store at 826 West 50th Street will be Sunday, May 15. The moving sale will begin on April 13 and continue through May 15. (Zinnia Folk Arts)

The Met Council published an update on the Southwest Light Rail construction progress including a giant photo of the tunnel going under the Kenilworth Trail. (Met Council)

Homeowners, wondering how the property tax assessment you got from Hennepin County works? Here's a helpful video. (Hennepin County)

Congrats to Edward T. Barlow, a music teacher at Anwatin Middle School, for being chosen as a Minnesota Teacher of the Year finalist.

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COMMUNITY RESOURCES 💪

The City Council's Committee of the Whole (that means everyone) meets today at 1:30. They'll be discussing a "presentation on the development of an improvement plan" in conjunction with the Civil Unrest After-Action Report, reviewing American Rescue Plan spending decisions, and reviewing a joint city and county report on their strategy for combatting homelessness in Minneapolis.

Have you taken our parents survey yet? If you have school-aged kids in Minneapolis, we want to hear from you! Fill it out or share with any parents you might know.

Yard waste collection is back this week in a trash collection area near your curb or alley.

The final meeting of the Lake Street Alignment Process to help guide the future of Lake Street is tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the Global Market.

The Ward 11 Triannual Public Safety Meeting  with Councilmember Emily Koski is tonight from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Pearl Park Recreation Center's Gym (414 E Diamond Lake Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55419).

The Bde Maka Ska skate park open house that was originally scheduled for today has been rescheduled for April 26 at 5:30 p.m.

Do you live Fulton and have an idea for community engagement in your neighborhood? You are in luck! Fulton Neighborhood Association has a program called Fulton Small Grants, which provides grants from $500 - $2,500 for projects aimed at either youth education or community engagement. Applications are due April 15.

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OUT & ABOUT 🛵

Hanif Abdurraqib, an award-winning poet, essayist, and cultural critic (and perhaps most importantly on this special day, Timberwolves fan), will be reading at Minneapolis College today from 3:30 - 5:00. Tickets are free, open to the public. His reading is in partnership with Write Like Us, a Minnesota State program that pairs BIPOC author-mentors with BIPOC mentees.

Tonight at Bryant Lake Bowl's theater, Buffalo Weavers will weave quest artists with live musical performances and storytelling by Jothsna Harris, Change Narrative, to awaken the world to climate change and its impact and celebrate our ability to move to solutions..