Last night, the Planning Commission met to review a bunch of new projects. One item on the agenda – a big expansion for France 44, the liquor store and cheese shop.

Their application [PDF] says they want to add "a two-story, 8,807 square foot building addition on the east side of the existing building... The first floor offers a new seating area/lounge near West 44th Street, new entry vestibule, and storage/loading area. The second floor provides an additional lounge area, classroom with demonstration kitchen, restroom, as well as an outdoor herb garden and outdoor deck." Check out an image of the design a few scrolls down.

Looking to improve your knife skills in the kitchen? Want to learn more about African-American history in the U.S.? Get better at identifying and cooking various cuts of meat? Build your snowshoe animal tracking skills? Backyard maple syrup? Badminton?

Check out the list of winter adult enrichment classes that Minneapolis Public Schools offer. There is an incredibly broad list of topics and locations and they have a little something for everyone. Registration is open now, so get on it!

The School Board meets tonight. We'll have Melissa Whitler covering it for us as always.

On the agenda tonight is a "COVID-19 response update," which should include follow-ups from their last meeting that included a lengthy discussion two days before the district went fully remote. The board will also have a final review of the district's Strategic Plan, which you can review here. The plan contains specific goals around shrinking the education gaps between white students and students of color on slides 20-30. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and you can stream it live here.

LINK ROUNDUP

Yesterday we shared the wrong link to the Sahan Journal piece on how to help Afghan refugees settling in Minnesota. Here is the correct link. (Sahan Journal)

Mia has a fun podcast, The Object, where they talk about the history of various pieces of art that you can go see in their museum, like the stolen horses of Venice, Papal symbols embedded in art, or Gordon Parks' photos. (Mia)

The latest plans for the Uptown Theatre include transforming it into a 2,500 seat venue that would become the city's biggest music venue south of Downtown. (Racket)

COMMUNITY ACTION

‍Kingfield! Melody is coming your way. She'll be holding community hours from 12-2 on Thursday at Butter Bakery Cafe.

The city's traffic calming survey is open until January 31. If you haven't yet done so, take a minute and fill it out.

You can buy a tree (or two!) from the city for $30. The ordering process opens in March. Add your email here to get updates before they open.

Do you have organics but live in an apartment with no access to an organics recycling program? Check out all these drop-off sites across Southwest where you can drop your stuff off.

OUT & ABOUT ‍

Troubador Wine Bar on 28th and Hennepin Ave. S has live jazz at 7 p.m., Tuesday - Saturday every week. Check out their schedule here.