The Park Board announced a long-awaited updated on one of the things we get the most notes from readers about – repairing the Lake Harriet Bandshell.

This fall, the Board will be receiving bids and awarding a construction contract. This winter, they'll purchase the new wood shingles for the roof. Next year, repairs will happen on the roof and building, with the timeline lasting from the spring through the fall of 2023.

Building repairs will include the beleaguered roof, but could include "lighting, electrical and restrooms, adding bird-safe coating to Bandshell windows, and replacing doors and door frames."

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The Business, Inspections, Housing & Zoning Committee meets Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

A major item on the agenda is approving an application by Simpson Housing Services to use the Zion Lutheran Church building at 128 33rd St. W. for an emergency shelter with up to 64 beds. Simpson will be demolishing their building at 2730-2740 1st Ave. S. and replacing it with a new one that accommodates their current 70 beds of emergency shelter and adds 42 new units of deeply affordable housing alongside it. Here's a good Southwest Journal piece from Andrew Hazzard covering the project when it was introduced.

In the meantime, they need a place to house their current shelter beds. According to the application, the congregation at Zion will be hosting its final service on November 6 before it ceases operation. Simpson is proposing to create the 64-unit space in their building after that happens to accommodate their current residents.

Beyond that, the committee will discuss a plan to demolish a single-family home at 36th and Girard and replace it with a four-story, six unit condo building and approving $2.1 million of grants from Hennepin County's Environmental Response Fund, including two projects in Southwest Minneapolis: $48,454 for the project at 3030 Nicollet and $219,369 for the Simpson reconstruction project mentioned above.

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The Star Tribune published a great piece of solutions-oriented journalism on the juvenile justice system for young people that commit crimes. The piece follows two cousins that stole a car, one who was offered a non-criminal diversionary program that involved hearing from victims and mental health services and is now living a fairly standard, productive life, while the other faced felony charges, and was later killed after crashing a stolen car.

Key quote: "A child's future can hinge on the path that is chosen. Those who complete diversion are more likely to stay in school and less likely to commit more crimes than young people who are criminally charged."

The crux of the story is that programs and resources for underaged offenders vary wildly based on where the crime is committed. In Hennepin County 40% of teens that are charged and convicted in court go on to commit another crime, while only 15% of teens that enter the diversionary program do the same. It's worth reading the piece in its entirety.

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LINK ROUNDUP 🔗

Solomon Gustavo wrote a lengthy piece about the city's alternative policing pilots. The piece covers the history of the programs, how they came together, and interviews a variety of city officials about how the programs work, what changes they've made to how the city approaches public safety, and how they'll be funded moving forward. (MinnPost)

Metro Transit has said that they need "a couple hundred more operators" to begin offering service at the level they were pre-pandemic. (KARE 11)

Some amazing historic photos of the city's lakes. (Park Board Instagram)

Hennepin County Library is now hosting a series of oral histories of the Wedge neighborhood on their website. (Hennepin County Library)

A video of the popping pollinators at Lyndale Park. (Park Board Instagram)

A roundup of a few of the new coffee spots in town, including the new Boiler Room and Disco Death Records. Melody wrote up a story about Boiler Room's return for us last week. (Racket)

A judge ruled the city can't trash belongings of homeless people during sweeps. (Bring Me The News)

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COMMUNITY RESOURCES ✊

Minneapolis Documenters has a roundup of city meetings from last week.

The final Cedar-Isles Master Plan Community Advisory Committee meeting is happening tonight from 6 - 8 p.m. at Mary Merrill Park Board Headquarters, 2117 West River Road. Fill out the survey to give your feedback on the design if you haven't already. Later this year, the final plan will be published based on community advisory committee feedback and a 45-day comment period will be launched.

The city is developing plans to repair the historic Nicollet Ave. Bridge over Minnehaha Creek. If you want to learn more, they're hosting an open house from 4:30 - 6 p.m. tonight at the Washburn Library meeting room at 5244 Lyndale Ave S.

The School Board's Committee of the Whole meets tonight (agenda here). They'll be discussing a presentation on literacy, math, school improvements, and the school climate.

If you want to buy Southwest Soccer gear, you have until Wednesday night to order it.

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OUT & ABOUT 🎨

Bellows + Nat Harvie + The Nunnery are playing at Icehouse tonight.

Wagners Garden Center is hosting their Field & Festival craft market today from 4 - 7 p.m.

The Twin Cities Skaters are hosting Black State Fair Skate Night from 3 - 7 p.m. at the Midtown Global Market.

William Kent Krueger will be doing a signing for his latest book at Once Upon a Crime tonight.