The City Council will meet this morning at 9:30. You can watch it live here. Here's a link to the full agenda. Items on the agenda include finalizing the appointment of Margaret Anderson Kelliher as the city's new Public Works Director, Elliot Payne will be starting a discussion around creating a new Public Safety Department, and they'll sit in a closed session legal briefing on the Jaleel Stallings case (covered by the Minnesota Reformer here). The council will also re-introduce proposed ordinances that expired when the previous Council left office. These ordinances include tenant opportunity to purchase & affordable housing right of first refusal (both discussed in a report here), along with ordinances on short-term rentals, privacy and data security, and more.
Two exciting things are coming back to The Walker – The Cherry and Rock the Garden. The freshly-painted Cherry will head back to his rightful home on top of the Spoon following a fresh paint job on Feb. 18. Also earlier this week, they announced Rock the Garden will be returning on June 11. They'll be announcing the lineup on March 1.
Melissa Whitler's summary of this week's School Board meeting is live on our site. At this week's meeting, the Board approved a new strategic plan after vigorous discussion around inequities. The board also voted to approve a new student calendar for the next three school years that includes new professional development days and the inclusion of more holidays. There was also an hour of public comments about the union contracts and the superintendent's contract length.
LINK ROUNDUP 🔗
A group led by students from North High held a sit-in yesterday at City Hall. The poster for the event said: "We Are Tired. Hear Our Pain." Here's a video of the event. It's really worth watching and listening to what they have to say. (Twitter)
A Minneapolis Public Schools bus driver and student were victims of gun violence in separate incidents in North Minneapolis yesterday. (Star Tribune)
Thanks to an MPS partnership with Paper, students and teachers in grades 6-12 can speak to a tutor or academic support anytime, anywhere, using their MPS log-in credentials. (Paper)
A new EV car sharing service called the EV Spot Network has launched in the Twin Cities. You can find a car at Colfax & Hennepin. (Minneapolis City website)
Jason Brown finished 6th in the figure skating program at the Olympics using a routing designed by North High grad Rohene Ward. (Star Tribune)
State Sen. Scott Dibble has introduced a bill that would transfer the responsibility of the Southwest Light Rail project from the Met Council to the state's Department of Transportation (MnDOT). (Twitter)
Congratulations to Washburn Sophomores Ari Kimball and Chiara Brown, who swept the conference competition for Poetry Out Loud, a national arts education program that hosts a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. They'll advance to the 2022 state Poetry Out Loud competition at the end of February. (Washburn Twitter)
Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson will be reimbursing the county $48k for damaging a law enforcement vehicle. (Twitter)
Southwest and North had an incredible boys basketball showdown earlier this week. You can watch the highlights here. (YouTube)
COMMUNITY ACTION 💪
There's a great event coming up from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. this Sunday at Butter Bakery Cafe. Swing by the SOUPer Bowl Sunday event to support for Kingfield's Empty Bowls, an event dedicated to support organizations that fight hunger. You give a donation, you get a beautiful ceramic bowl filled with some delicious soup from Butter Bakery, Victor's, or Clancey's.
Minneapolis Boys High School Hockey (who is having a great season) is hosting Youth Night at Parade Ice Garden (this was rescheduled from Dec. 14). Fans are invited to bring NEW, twin-sized mattress pads, sheets, blankets/comforters, pillows as well as small stuffed animals to donate to My Very Own Bed, a local non-profit that provides new beds and linens to children in families who have recently transitioned from homelessness into more stable housing. All Minneapolis youth hockey players who wear their own team’s jersey get FREE admission to the JV and Varsity games.
OUT & ABOUT 🛵
Go see "Redwood," the Jungle Theater's new show about Meg and Drew, an interracial couple whose relationship is thrown into crisis when they find out that Drew belongs to the family that owned Meg’s relatives in an antebellum Kentucky.
Tonight, join a virtual discussion with AI expert Elizabeth Adams about opportunities AI presents for the Black community and how to address challenges of data privacy, digital inclusion, and algorithmic bias.
