Minnesota's primary election is tomorrow, August 9th. If you want to vote in Minneapolis today, you can cast your early ballot or drop off your completed mail-in ballot at the Early Vote Center, (980 E. Hennepin Ave) or at the Hennepin County Government Center (300 Sixth St. S). Early voting hours are 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. today at both locations. Otherwise, you'll have to vote at your polling place tomorrow.
Before you go vote, you can look at what is on your ballot before you go to the polls.
If you're thinking, "there's a primary tomorrow?" do not fret! We have you covered with three local voter guides. Read through the candidates' answers to our questions (thanks for submitted questions!) and decide for yourself who to vote for.
Hennepin County Sheriff Voter Guide
Hennepin County Attorney Voter Guide
*Minneapolis Public Schools' School Board Voter Guide (updated)
*For the primary on Aug. 9, all Minneapolis voters are voting for two at-large school board candidates and voters in District 5 are also voting for one district school board member. The top four at-large candidates and top two District 5 school board candidates will move onto the general election on Nov. 8.
Last week, the Park Board voted to stop the Open Parkways pilot study. The Open Parkways project was exploring the possibility of making our parkways closed to vehicles during designated hours (we experienced something similar during the pandemic).
District 4 Park Board Commissioner Elizabeth Shaffer explained to her constituents, via an Aug. 5 email, why she voted to end the pilot.
"This past Wednesday I voted in support of suspending the pilot parkway toolkit.To help you understand the reasons for my vote, please read Resolution 2022-253 and my corresponding thoughts in support of this resolution. I know that not every decision I make will please everyone, but I strive to be transparent in communicating my decision-making process along the way.
First, no traffic study was done for temporary road closures under [Minnesota] state law prior to the start of this pilot. As [Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board] is a steward of roadways in parks, we need to abide by these state standards and guidelines (ex. our board process in recently lowering the speed limit on the parkways). Our parkways are roads for vehicle use.
Second, the $94,000 remaining project allocation was earmarked for testing various barricades…planters, swinging gates, etc….infrastructure that needs to be maintained. You can see some of these swinging gates near Thomas Beach on the southern end of Bde Maka Ska and their condition.
Our regional parks are woefully underfunded (ex. Lake Harriet Bandshell) and I am hesitant to add more to maintain (versus current direction of using temporary signing for event closures) until we can increase our regional funding from the state/Met Council.
Third, the $94,000 did not allocate any funds to experiment with programming dollars or event ideas for parkway closures...just infrastructure. If we were to do a pilot to close a parkway periodically, I would hope [the Park Board] would allocate funds to promote events or organize community groups to test events.
Fourth, no input was gathered from first responders about how they would access this stretch of parkway. The safety impacts of the pilot needed to be better understood due to its location along the river and recent disruptive events downtown."
How do you feel about the Open Parkways pilot being cancelled? Do you agree with Commissioner Shaffer? Feel differently? We'd want to publish your perspective. Email us at info@southwestvoices.news or send us a text at 612-204-2887.
Monday Meeting Review
If you are looking for summaries of any civic meeting, check out the Minneapolis Documenters website. They also have a meeting calendar.
Minneapolis City Council and committees
The Business, Inspections, Housing & Zoning committee meets today at 1:30 p.m. with a few significant Southwest-related agenda items. The Malt Shop, which re-opened last week with new owners, is applying for a liquor license. Ditto with Sushi Train, which is taking over 1st Wok's space at 3236 W. Lake St. (in Greenway Lakes Commons, formerly named Calhoun Commons). The committee is also set to approve an application from Basim Sabri to demolish an old towing company building at 2933 Pleasant Ave. to make room for his huge development project, including Karmel Square and Plaza.
The Public Health & Safety committee meets Wednesday at 1:30. p.m.
The Public Works & Infrastructure committee meets Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
You can access the meetings on City Council TV or the City's YouTube channel.
Met Council
The Met Council meets Wednesday at 4 p.m. You can access Met Council meetings through the agendas, which include a live YouTube link to the meeting.
Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education
There is a special business meeting on Friday from 9 - 9:30 a.m. to discuss the school board primary election results. You can stream the meeting here, attend the meeting at the John B. Davis Center, or watch the recorded meeting that will be posted here.
Hennepin County
Four committees meet on Tuesday: Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Public Works Committee, Health and Human Services Committee (which is accepting additional Emergency Rental Assistance funds), and the Administration, Libraries and Budget Committee. You can access Hennepin County meetings online here.
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
There are no Park Board meetings scheduled for this week.
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