‘Environment’ Archives
Shaping a Vision for Owámniyomni, St. Anthony Falls
Collage by GGN for Friends of the Falls & NACDI. Community Conversation #5: A Powerful Place for Partnerships. Image by Drew Arrieta for Friends of the Falls & NACDI. By Amanda Wigen, Friends of the Falls Long before they were claimed as “St. Anthony’s,” the Falls were the beating heart of Indigenous societies. Called Owámniyomni, or “turbulent waters,” by the Dakota, the Falls cascaded over a 50-foot limestone drop on Haha Wakpa (the Mississippi River) and roiled through now-submerged islands at their base. Dakota and other Indigenous people came to Owámniyomni for ceremony and to Spirit Island, a sacred place destroyed by industrialization, to give birth. When the Upper Lock on Minneapolis’ Central Riverfront closed to commercial navigation in 2015, an opportunity emerged to reimagine this historic and culturally significant landscape. What could we do with this massive structure - which in many ways is a symbol of the desecration of this place - [...]
East Phillips is not a Sacrificial Zone- EPNI continues to Negotiate with Minneapolis
By EPNI BOARD On June 30th the City Council of Minneapolis approved 13-0 to move forward with its negotiations with East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) on Mayor Frey’s proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) offer regarding the City’s “Hiawatha Expansion Project” proposal from the City Council to the Minneapolis City Attorney's Office. We are aware of the confusing messaging that has been released by the City that conveys a “finalized deal” and we affirm EPNI’s ongoing commitment to transparency and to health and safety for our low-income, majority BIPOC neighborhood. In pursuance of the City’s proposed Hiawatha Expansion Project, which they would locate in East Phillips across the street from Little Earth of United Tribes Housing, a day-care and numerous family residences, the city has offered EPNI: 3 acres of land and 24 months of exclusive development rights along with vague commitments of financial assistance and social programming. This offer comes [...]
New Pollinator Plantings Beautify Neighborhood and Decrease Erosion on Abbott Northwestern Hospital Campus
Photos taken by the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) A wildlife-friendly landscaping plan is part of Allina Health’s multi-year infrastructure project at Abbott Northwestern Hospital that benefits the environment and pollinators By DAVID JOOS Allina Health is showing its commitment to sustainability in its multi-year infrastructure project on the Abbott Northwestern Hospital campus in the Midtown Phillips Neighborhood of Minneapolis. As part of the project, Allina Health is transforming the campus with a new Surgical and Critical Care Pavilion and a new Transportation Hub. With the help of a Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) Action Grant of $50,000, Allina Health planted native, pollinator-friendly plantings in May 2022 along the Transportation Hub’s 5,000-square-foot slope near the Midtown Greenway. The new pollinator habitat includes carefully selected plants based on their bloom time and ability to grow well and prevent [...]
