Last night, MFT 59, the union representing MPS teachers and education support professionals, announced that its members had voted to ratify the tentative agreement with the district.

When union contract negotiations are complete, the union membership has to vote on whether they agree to what the union leadership has negotiated on their behalf. This weekend, MFT 59 members voted to approve the deal that their leadership struck with the district, which officially ended the strike.

There is no school today to allow staff to transition back. School resumes tomorrow through the end of the week. Spring break will start on April 4. MFT 59 has a video explanation  of how the district will make up school time after the strike.  According to MFT 59, students will be in school until June 25. The school year was scheduled to be out June 10.

If you have any questions on the process of a union contract, send us an email or text.

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On Friday, I asked people on our text line what they are doing with the extra daylight we've been getting (almost 30 minutes more than last week!). Here's a recap on what you told us:

Walk around the lake with no fear of falling on icy paths, enjoy the sunsets longer, sun bathe, sleep, boil maple sap, cook up more of the leeks harvested last fall and stored in pails in a cold garage,  walk around Lake of the Isles, and my personal favorite: until it warms up, not much.

The cold weather is putting a damper on the spring-like daylight. "With the weather this week it feels like we've had less sunlight," another person texted in.

Shout out to the person who texted, "We should have permanent un-DST." We may be close to this becoming reality. Earlier in March, the U.S. Senate  passed legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent starting in 2023, which means no more time traveling twice a year. The House just needs to vote to approve it.

If you'd like to join our text line, text us at 612-204-2887! 

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At 10:30 a.m., representatives from Mayor Jacob Frey's Inclusive Economic Recovery Work Group will present recommendations for an inclusive economic recovery from the impacts of the civil unrest in 2020 and the ongoing pandemic. The news conference will be livestreamed on the City’s YouTube channel.

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LINK ROUNDUP 🔗

The beloved Anwatin Middle School behavior dean, Joseph Brown, passed away last month. With sentiments like this, "he was very much a protector but so compassionate and passionate," the loss of Mr. Brown will reverberate for a long time. (Star Tribune)

Minnesota is “sunsetting” its mail-order COVID-19 PCR program through Vault Health this week, and will start offering at-home rapid tests through the mail starting Tuesday. (MPR News)

Word on Instagram is that the Purcell-Cutts House, considered one of the country’s most extraordinary examples of Prairie School architecture, is reopening for tours through Mia in April. Tickets are slated to go on sale today, so keep checking the Mia website (we didn't see anything this morning). (Instagram/Mia)

Libby Kramer, managing editor of Southwest High School's student news organization, covered the educators strike during its second week.  (The Navigator)

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COMMUNITY RESOURCES 💪

‍38th Street United is holding an online info session on the Minnesota Main Street Revitalization Program, "designed to help cultural and commercial corridors throughout Minnesota rebuild and recover from the events of 2020." This will be an interesting program to consider alongside the city's economic plan being presented today (see above).

The Police Conduct Oversight Commission Audit Subcommittee meets at 1 p.m. today. The agenda topics include no-knock warrants and discipline research. You can watch the meeting live here. Recordings of all city meetings are uploaded to its YouTube channel.  

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OUT & ABOUT 🛵

Uproar is holding a comedy showcase tonight at Bryant Lake Bowl. Uproar uplifts comics who are often marginalized in the comedy scene. (Fun fact: I got up the nerve to do an Uproar open mic a month before the pandemic hit. The open mic was cancelled. I shall redeem myself, one day.)

Dave Power’s Experimental Improvisatory Sounds is in it its final week at Icehouse. Tonight's show features '69 Dodge and Thoughtcast.