OUR BIG STORIES THIS WEEK

Yesterday the City Council's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee held a public hearing for Public Works director nominee Margaret Anderson Kelliher. During the hearing, Kelliher addressed the backlog of street light outages and acknowledged that it is a public safety issue. Charlie talked with some Stevens Square residents about how these outages are impacting their neighborhood.

This morning, U.S. Olympic curling team member and Minnesotan John Schuster was the flag bearer for the opening ceremonies in Beijing. Turns out, Minneapolis once hosted curling championships in a state-of-the-art facility. You may be surprised to learn what building was originally constructed for curling competition. Historian Kathleen Kullberg gives us the fascinating details (and archive photographs).

Last week, the Minneapolis City Council approved a police “buyback” program for the Lowry Hill neighborhood. As part of the agreement, a group of neighbors in Lowry Hill will be paying for an estimated 11 hours of additional Minneapolis Police Department patrols every day. Charlie wrote about the neighborhood group who spearheaded this agreement with the City, and what other neighborhoods are doing.
Charlie also analyzed how other cities are lowering homicide rates through community resources, collaborations, and getting guns off the street. Some cities with decreased homicide rates also had a decrease in police officers.

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OUT & ABOUT 🛵

Our events calendar is overflowing with weekend activities. Here are a few we are stoked about:

Tonight Gigi's Cafe is hosting an art gala that highlights neighborhood artists. I spoke with the art curator about the event and why it's so important during the pandemic.

Tomorrow night is Fire + Ice at 50th & France. The "Wondrous Whirling Orb" will be revealed and there will be fire dancers. That sounds like a fun way to stay warm.

After the sun sets on Saturday , Lake of the Isles will host the Luminary Loppet. You can walk, snowshoe, or ski on the candlelit trail winding across lake. Make sure to register.

Before the Luminary Loppet, stop by the Luminary Havdalah, a free community-wide gathering at Levin Park, just east of Lake of the Isles, at 7:00 p.m. "Jews and friends from around the Twin Cities are invited to come together to sing, celebrate, and bring some light into this special winter’s night."