New day for Minneapolis schools

Howe and Folwell to reopen to serve growing student body

by Tesha M. Christensen

It’s a new day for Minneapolis Public Schools, according to Area B Parent Liaison Kristin Berg Thompson.

While a few years ago it was shuttering schools, now the district is reopening some and adding on to others in the northeast, south and southwest areas of the city.

At its Nov. 29, 2011 meeting, the Board of Education approved nearly all the pieces of a plan it had reviewed earlier that month to address increasing enrollment in the district.

Howe will be reopened in 2013-2014  to serve as a PreK-5 dual campus with Hiawatha Community School. 

Additionally, Folwell will be reopened to house the Ramsey Arts Magnet School for the 2012-2013 school year. A new 6-8 middle school will be created in the Ramsey building for the Lyndale Elementary School and Burroughs Community School attendance areas.

Speaking on behalf of Area B, Berg Thompson stated that the area is excited to welcome Ramsey Arts Magnet. She pointed out that 70% of students who currently attend that school live closer to the Folwell site.

Melissa Erjavac is happy that the school board addressed the space problem before being in the throes of it. Her son is a second grader at Hiawatha. “I am happy that, with this decision, he will not be subjected to over-crowding,” she stated.

The district plans to use a variety of funds to pay for the changes.

Board member Hussein Samatar, who resides in Phillips neighborhood and serves on the finance committee, was the only one who voted against the changes. He explained that his nay vote wasn’t because he doesn’t want to see schools reopened or that he doesn’t think the district shouldn’t prepare for this growth. Samatar’s issues with the plan center around finances.

First, the estimates for reopening Howe ranged from between $2 to 4.6 million. Hussein wanted more solid numbers. In contrast, reopening Cooper, .7 miles away from Howe, would have been less (although that figure was never specified).

Additionally, the estimated cost to reopen Folwell is $9 million; Hussein said he wasn’t convinced that moving 1,000 students from Ramsey to Folwell was the best option academically for that pricetag.

“I know we don’t have the money to overspend,” Hussein stated.

Looking ahead, the district faces a structural deficit he believes will manifest itself in the next year or two. This will be a problem if the district maintains its current levels of spending (or increases it) without a corresponding increase in income.

Neighborhood resident Steve Warnke also questions why Cooper was not reopened, considering the various improvements made to the building before it was closed. “It would make more sense to use Cooper after the extensive amount of work put into it,” he stated.

Other neighborhood residents, such as Hilary Oppmann, expressed were delighted that Howe will be reopening.

“That is the best possible outcome,” Oppmann said. “It’s a beautiful building and good to have more school options in the neighborhood. MPS could never afford to build a building like Howe now, and I hated the idea that it might be torn down, losing the ability to ever use it again as a school, as well as possibly giving up that large public green space.”

Sarah Nassif has worked for six years to find a new use for the vacant Howe building. She heard the news it would be reopening as a school firsthand at the board meeting. “Wow,” she thought. “I can’t believe six years of work have finally paid off and we have our school back! Hooray!”

“I would like to thank Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy, the Longfellow Community Center staff, and Howe neighbors for volunteering such an incredible amount of time and expertise over the years to keep Howe a vital concern in our neighborhood,” Nassif said. “Together we raised awareness about a beautiful fixture in our neighborhood and saved it for ourselves and future residents to use and enjoy. That is a real impact we can be proud of.”

Printed in the January edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger. 

District not sure how it will fund school changes

Minneapolis Board members hope to avoid a levy

by Tesha M. Christensen

The question before Minneapolis Public Schools right now is how to sensibly deal with the growth that is occurring at the elementary-school age, according to school board member Hussein Samatar.

What makes this round of school changes different from those made a few years ago? “I really feel like we’re listening this time around,” said Samatar, who has served on the board since January 2011.

He encourages community members to email himself and other school board members to share concerns and ideas about this round of changes. Contact information is available at http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/board_members.html. Identify yourself as a parent, point out the school you are writing about, and discuss a specific issue. Another way to contact Samatar is through his Facebook page.

“We could have done better the last time around,” admitted Samatar. The district may have panicked in the past, but he pointed out that projecting enrollment is dependent on many factors outside the school district’s control.

“Enrollment has been really hard to predict,” stated Minneapolis School Board Chair Jill Davis. She is grateful for the detailed data available through the 2010 Census, and thinks that if the board would have had that information a few years ago things would have been different.

The block-by-block data released in July 2011 shows that Minneapolis has more young kids than it did before. While in the past, young families moved out of Minneapolis to the suburbs, now they’re staying, according to David Dudycha, enrollment consultant for Minneapolis. Additionally, Minneapolis Public Schools is losing fewer students to private and charter schools.  

To alleviate the pressure on its elementary and middle schools, the district has proposed a multi-prong solution that includes opening some schools that were closed a few years ago, adding onto to others, and moving some programs.

Proposed changes in south Minneapolis include reopening Howe to create a dual campus with Hiawatha; moving the Ramsey Fine Arts Magnet program into Folwell, and expanding the Wellstone international high school at Roosevelt High to include middle school students. The board was expected to vote on these changes Nov. 28.

It has already approved a $16 million addition onto the Keewaydin campus of Lake Nokomis Community School. On Nov. 1, the architect was chosen. RSP Architects will be paid $907,500.

“It is a good thing to do,” said Samatar. “I think that Keewaydin has shown there is a need and growth potential.”

“It is a good investment to make, “ Davis agreed.

As of press time, Samatar was not yet sure how he was going to vote on the proposed changes regarding Howe, Ramsey Art Magnet and others. As a member of the district’s finance committee, Samatar has been working with others to pinpoint where the money for these changes will come from.

Hussein Samatar

IS A LEVY IN THE FUTURE?

The estimate for changes district-wide is $14,482,086. Funding will come from a variety of sources, such as the food service fund, general fund, and community development fund. The district may spend down its fund balances, noted Davis.

Samatar doesn’t foresee asking voters to approve a levy to fund the changes. “I understand this is a tough economic time. Minneapolis has been taxed enough,” Samatar stated. “We will do what we can not to increase the levy. We will do whatever else we can before we come back to that.”

Davis agreed that the board will try to avoid a levy. However, she pointed out that the district doesn’t know what changes the state may make to funding. Additionally, “integration and special education funding could hamper our efforts,” she said.

WILL CLASS SIZES GO UP?

The district has looked at a variety of solutions to the space issues, including increasing class sizes.

Samatar said that the district’s class sizes have been going up, and he doesn’t think increasing them more is the answer to this latest space crunch. Nor does he want to start busing kids from south to north to fill space in buildings empty in other parts of the city.

The school board wants to keep class sizes as low as possible, noted Davis. The district’s goal for class sizes is 26 students in K-3rd grade and 32 in grades 4-12. Six years ago, the ratio for the younger grades was 19 students to one teacher, according to Davis.

Questions before the school board, said Davis, include: how much space do you need in a building and what does it mean to have a building at capacity? The district is aiming for an 85% capacity rate in order to retain room for growth. The school board is also asking itself what kinds of strategies it needs to improve academic achievement, which impacts how a building is used. “To provide the kind of education experience we want to, we have to look at doing things differently,” Davis said.

Above all, Samatar wants to ensure that there are no winners or losers in these changes, that no one is left behind. “This time around we will not create anyone who feels they lost because of high enrollment,” Samatar pledged.

DETAILS ON HIAWATHA-HOWE DUAL CAMPUS

The recommendation before the school board is to create a dual campus with Hiawatha and Howe. Support staff will be shared and teachers and students looped across campuses. There are several other schools in the district that use the dual campus model, including Lake Nokomis Commuity School, Hale-Field and Lake Harriet. With the change, 258 students would move to Howe in 2013.

This proposal will provide 150 K-5 and 50 Pre-K seats in the Hiawatha attendance area.

Howe will be made up of existing Hiawatha teachers, grades 3-5, in the first year. One or two teachers each year will be added to the staff at the lower grades. Over a period of four years 10 new teachers will be integrated into the existing teams of teachers.

Why not reopen Howe as a K-5 school? According to district staff, a school that starts from kindergarten would be very small, have new staff and take time to develop a comprehensive program. It would be a challenge to provide a full set of electives.

It will cost between $3.5 and 5.5 million to reopen Howe, which has sat since 2005. The entire infrastructure of the building would be upgraded, including the roof, windows, and plumbing. The school would be upgraded with technology infrastructure and equipment to meet elementary standards. The playground and fields would also be upgraded to meet the program needs of the school and Sanford. The design and use of Howe will dictate the cost and location of equipment and fields.

If enrollment decreases what would happen to Howe? The school could be used to house preschool programs and alternative elementary programs as well as an annex space for Sanford Middle School. There are no plans to add onto Sanford; instead the district intends to make some changes within the existing structure to add a few classrooms. The district does not plan to add onto Hiawatha either, although it is high on the district’s list of buildings in need of capital investment as it relates to the educational programs.

Samatar appreciates that the idea of a reopening Howe and establishing a dual campus came from a community member at a meeting in May. “I feel if the idea comes from the community, it is much more credible,” Samatar remarked.

DETAILS ON THE RAMSEY ARTS MAGNET MOVE

By moving the Ramsey Fine Arts Magnet program from Ramsey to Folwell, the district will reuse a building that has been empty since spring 2010. It will create capacity for about 900 K-8 students in Zones 2 and 3. Ramsey will then be used as a 6-8 middle school to house about 200 students. Sixth and seventh graders who are currently at Burroughs and Lyndale will be able to complete their middle school years at Anthony, if they desire to. Overall, the switch will create middle school capacity and flexible space for Washburn High School in Zone 3.

The move is scheduled to occur by the start of the next school year to alleviate crowding at Anthony middle school. The district expects another 60 to 94 students in the 2012-13 school year; there are currently 880 students at Anthony.

In Zone 3, the zone with the greatest increases in enrollment, there are no closed school buildings (no school has closed in Zone 3 for over 20 years) that can be opened to accommodate the enrollment increases. All three of the shared-zone magnets (Emerson, Windom and Ramsey) are in Zone 3. In order to create capacity in Zone 3, the district intends to move shared-zone magnets out of zone 3 and into zone 2 as space demands continue.

The autism program will move to Folwell. A playground will be constructed, and the district is considering adding a dance studio.

The estimated cost for these changes is $6,839,285, of which the bulk is to reopen Folwell. The district estimates that it will spend $5,174,000 on construction, technology and equipment at Folwell.

The issues circling around moving the Ramsey Fine Art Magnet School from Ramsey into the currently-empty Folwell building are complicated. Parents and teachers met with the board to go over their concerns regarding the move and what issues need to be addressed in early November.

“Moving a program is a bigger thing than opening a building,” noted Davis. “It will be a hard change for people.”

Thus far, the reaction from parents, students and staff has been mixed. “They want to make sure we have the information we need and the people we need in place,” Davis stated.

“Folwell is a good space,” Samatar said. He pointed out that teachers agree that the building would accommodate the program. 

This story appeared in the December 2011 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.

Girls for a Cure

Nokomis woman bikes in LIVESTRONG challenges,
raises over $48,000 and heads up new organization to help those battling cancer

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN

Cancer sucks, something Nokomis resident Kari Kehr, 43, knows firsthand after losing her grandfather and two close friends to it. She has watched countless others, including her mother, battle it.

When Cathy Thyen, her roommate of eight years, and Best Buy co-worker died of a rare form of cancer in February 2009, Kehr pledged to ride her bike in the Austin Ride for the Roses/LIVESTRONG Challenge later that year. For Cathy. The two women had talked about doing it together, but time ran out for Cathy.

It wasn’t the first time Kehr had done something extraordinary to fight cancer. She went out to Boston to walk in the 3-Day for breast cancer research, and then walked three more times when the event came to the Twin Cities. The LIVESTRONG Challenge was her first long distance bike ride. “I’m not a biker,” Kehr said. “I’m doing this to fight cancer.”

That first year, Kehr raised $8,100. She and a friend biked 65 miles through Texas and went 3,300 feet in climbing elevation. She was honored with the LIVESTRONG Challenge Award recognizing her courage, perseverance, hope and “Warrior Spirit” through Cathy’s illness. When she learned of the award, “I was stunned and blown away,” Kehr recalled. “It was the best compliment I’d ever received.”

As she accepted the award, Kehr told those gathered in Austin: “I do believe that one person can make a difference and no effort is too small.”

When she sat down, things had changed for Kehr. She told the others at her table that it was the start of something big. Three years later, that desire to do more led to the creation of a non-profit.

“That feeling of helplessness when someone is diagnosed, that’s what drives me,” Kehr explained. She estimates that 60 to 70% of the people she knows have lost a loved one to cancer.

Kehr returned to the Ride for the Roses/LIVESTRONG again in 2010 and 2011, raising $20,000 each year for the cause. Her team, Girls for a Cure, has continued to grow each year and is made up of bikers (of both sexes) from around the United States. She is flabbergasted she was able to raise so much two years running, and credits her amazing donors.

One of the ways she raised money until recently was by selling “Cancer Sucks” t-shirts. The shirts were first made for a benefit for Cathy. Kehr (who is known as the Cancer Sucks girl in LIVESTRONG circles) estimates that over the past few years she has sold 800 to people around the world, mostly via Facebook. It helped when both Lance Armstrong and the CEO of LIVESTRONG wore the shirt. Regrettably, Kehr learned this summer that “Cancer Sucks” is trademarked, and she has discontinued selling the t-shirts.

People tell her all the time that they couldn’t do what she does, they couldn’t ride 65 miles through hilly country in one day. “That’s okay,” Kehr tells them, “because I need your money. I need people to support me.” 

She enjoys how biking gives her time to think without distractions. “There is a healing process when you bike,” Kehr said.

Girls For A Cure

Girls for a Cure (GFAC) received its 501c3 status in August. The organization aims to help people in Minnesota with all types of cancers. While the details are still being smoothed out and it will be about another year before any grants are made, Kehr envisions paying for prescription medicines and medical bills. Kehr knows there are people out there questioning whether to pay their mortgage or their medical bill.

She uses Cathy as her litmus test. Cathy would never have applied for assistance. So Girls for a Cure intends to reach out to others who know about those in need in order to pull them in.

Kehr and the board members of GFAC want to partner with other organizations that provide cancer education and resources by raising awareness and financial support. “I’m not trying to rebuild the wheel,” Kehr noted. “There’s a lot of little things people do and we want to pull all that stuff together.”

They are working to solicit sponsorships from businesses and sports teams, as well as individuals.

Kehr has been amazed how people have rallied around GFAC. “It’s overwhelming some days and it’s humbling. It totally energizes me,” she said.

Find out more about Girls for a Cure at www.girlsforacure.org or on the Facebook page.

This story appeared in the December 2011 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger. Click here.

More kids than classrooms in South Minneapolis

More families staying in city due to economy, housing market

(Photos by Kristin Prideaux, Argente Photographie)

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN

After a decade of declining enrollment, Minneapolis Public Schools is experiencing a boom in elementary age students.

To deal with that, the district has proposed reopening Howe or Cooper in fall 2012 or 2013 and adding a $16 million addition onto Lake Nokomis Community School.

The K-8 students at Ramsey Fine Arts Magnet program may move from Ramsey into Folwell School, which is currently closed. Ramsey would then house sixth to eighth graders. The Wellstone international high school at Roosevelt High, which serves newly arriving international learners, may expand its program to include middle school students. This year, Longfellow School reopened to serve teen parents, and is also an early childhood education site. There are no plans to reopen Cooper at this time.

A final decision will be made by the school board after community meetings are held.

In July, the district received block-by-block census data, explained Courtney Cushing Kiernat, Enrollment Planning Project Manager. The number of young children in Minneapolis is increasing, and that puts pressure on its elementary and middle schools.

For years, the district has counted on having the most students in kindergarten and losing some by high school. The district has lost students to private and charter schools, as well as the suburbs, noted Davic Dudycha, enrollment consultant for Minneapolis.

These days fewer parents are sending their children to private schools and more families are staying in the city, according to Dudycha.

“We are very pleased that we’re growing,” said Area B Parent Liaison Kristin Berg Thompson. “This is a good problem to have.”

Minneapolis expects this trend to continue for at least five years.

Dave Holliday views the school district’s actions and planning for the past six years as “ineffective and short-sighted,” particularly as it relates to Howe School. (See related story for more on Howe.)

“Finally, it looks like someone at MPS is actually being a good steward of the district’s money (actually, the tax-payer’s money) and assets,” Holliday added.

It is valid to ask why Minneapolis is embarking on such a shift a few years after closing schools, Cushing Kiernat said.

She explained that a few years ago, the situation was very different than it is today. Enrollment had been steadily declining from a peak in 1999 when there were 48,000 students. In 2008, enrollment had fallen to 32,000 students. The economy was looking good and the housing market was different than it is today. Families were moving out of the city when their children became old enough to attend school.

Projecting enrollment isn’t an exact science. Cushing Kiernat pointed out, “There are so many factors beyond our control.” She added, “We’re really lucky to have the census data now.”

St. Paul Public Schools has also been losing students for the past decade. Its enrollment has decreased about 7,200 students since then, according to Julie Schultz Brown, Director of Communications Marketing & Development. “This year, for the first time in 10 years, we’ve had an increase,” she noted. It is a small increase — 72 students — but the district expects to continue growing gradually in the future.

HIAWATHA AND HOWE

The proposed enrollment strategy for Hiawatha came directly from the community meeting that took place May 31, 2011 at Hiawatha, according to Cushing Kiernat.

Among the suggestions given that evening were: reopen either Howe or Cooper to create a dual K-5 campus with Hiawatha, build onto Lake Nokomis and/or Hiawatha, build a new building on an old site or change the boundaries to relieve pressure at Hiawatha.

Until a community member suggested creating a dual campus with Hiawatha and Howe, the district hadn’t even considered it. “It was an ah-ha moment for us when we heard a community member talking about it,” said Cushing Kiernat.

The district estimates that 134 third, fourth and fifth graders will be affected by this change.

Hiawatha is over capacity so this will provide more space to students there, pointed out Berg Thompson, and will keep students

in the neighborhood. There are four blocks between Hiawatha and Howe.

“Opening an existing building is quicker and less expensive than adding on,” Cushing Kiernat stated. The district does not yet know how much it will cost to reopen Howe.

Howe Elementary School opened in 1927 and has been closed since 2005. “The reuse of the Howe building has been a long and challenging process for the community. The community has expressed concerns around the desire and need for Sanford Athletic fields and the preservation and expansion of the Howe field, as well as the preservation of the Howe building as a community asset,” said Cushing Kiernat.

Howe has 15 classrooms that will be used for third, fourth and fifth graders. Hiawatha will house only the younger grades, PreK to second grade.

Angie McCracken questions why the district didn’t respond to the increase in students sooner. Last year, “there were 31 students in my daughter’s kindergarten class,” she pointed out. McCracken is looking forward to her daughter attending Howe, a school just two blocks from their home.

Charisse Courteau, who has one child in fourth grade at Hiawatha, attended the community meeting on Oct. 13 at Hiawatha because she wanted to know how teachers felt about this proposal. “I was pleased to hear that they are willing to work and are a resilient staff and are willing to go the extra mile for students,” Courteau said.

LAKE NOKOMIS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

The district’s strategic facilities assessment revealed what people at Keewaydin already knew. The school doesn’t match up other middle schools. In terms of need, it was at the top of the list. According to principal Jane Ellis, the $16 million addition at the Keewaydin campus of Lake Nokomis Community School (LNCS) will bring the school up to par with other middle schools in the district. 

“We don’t want anything more or anything less,” stated Ellis.

The gymnasium at Keewaydin, built in 1928, is 48 feet long and only 18 feet high. “It is one-fifth the size of a full-size gym,” Ellis pointed out. Right now, if the school holds an all-school assembly it must use a local church because neither Wenonah nor Keewaydin have a large enough space for the 650 students enrolled at LNCS.

The school classrooms are smaller than other middle-school classrooms in the district. Several teachers don’t have set classrooms, but instead move from place to place, keeping their stuff on rolling carts. “It’s hard on teachers and students,” Ellis said.

“We’re limited by our building.”

A $16 million addition won’t solve all the issues at LCNS, but it’s a start, said Ellis. It will provide another 180 seats in the school for the 2013-14 school year.

Ellis pointed out that the Lake Nokomis Facilities Committee asked the school board for $24 million, which included money for classroom space, technology improvements and a larger multi-use space at Wenonah.

LNCS is a dual campus that was created seven years ago. Wenonah serves kindergarten to third grade and Keewaydin fourth to eighth grade. When the district considered closing Keewaydin and Wenonah and sending students to other schools that had vacancies, the community rallied around these schools and the grassroots effort resulted in a dual campus model, according to Ellis.

She pointed out that because of the lightrail, moving kids back and forth across Hiawatha is a “huge obstacle.”

The Nokomis area has also seen a boom in population that Ellis attributes to having the most affordable houses in the city.

In 2008, there were 913 students in the area served by Lake Nokomis School, according to census data. That number is projected to increase to between 1,100 and 1,200 by 2015. Of those possible students, MPS expects 700 to attend Lake Nokomis, which has a capacity of 600.

Work on an addition would be complete by the summer of 2013, if approved by the school board next month.

Why not move Keewaydin students to another school building that is closed? “The goal of the district is to keep students close to home,” remarked Cushing Kiernat.

Story printed in the November Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger. Click here to view.

Join fight for Chloe

5K/Coffee Stroll around Lake Nokomis on Oct. 8 honors two-year-old who died

by Tesha M. Christensen, Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger

Last year, two-year-old Chloe Sophia Barnes was fighting for her life, a fight that ended on Nov. 19, 2010. This year, her parents, Erica and Philip Barnes, are planning a benefit in her honor.

A 5K Family Timed Run/Coffee Stroll to raise money for MLD (metachromatic leukodystrophy) will be held on Lake Nokomis Saturday, Oct. 8. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the run/stroll starts at 9 a.m.

The event is in honor of Chloe’s brave and courageous battle, explains, Erica, a speech pathologist at Hale Elementary. Learn more at ChloesFight.org.

Every day this fall is an anniversary of something horrible that happened the year before, observed Philip, an analyst for Ameriprise Financial Center. Planning this benefit has helped he and his wife channel their ever-present sadness while being surrounded by people who care.

“We don’t feel alone in remembering Chloe because every waking moment people are asking about Chloe’s Fight and showing interest in Chloe. The planning is both stressful and therapeutic somehow,” Philip stated.

What’s wrong with my daughter?

At first, Philip and Erica thought their second daughter was just a slow learner. But when she wasn’t walking by 14 months, Erica knew something was wrong. Trained in rehabilitation, Erica could see that Chloe wanted to do something but couldn’t get her body to follow her instructions. Her little girl wasn’t sleeping and wanted to be held all the time. “That baby is in pain,” Erica told her husband.

The first pediatrician recommended physical therapy. They got a second opinion and this time the doctor ordered the MRI Erica had asked for.

When the hospital called back the same day, Erica knew the news was bad.

“There’s something wrong with her myelin,” Erica was told.

And that’s when she knew.

“At that moment I remember saying in my mind, ‘I’m going to lose Chloe. She’s going to die,’” Erica recalled.

Two agonizing months later, they got a diagnosis: metachromatic leukodystrophy or MLD. Children with this rare genetic disease are given three to five years. The doctor explained it like this: Chloe feels like her legs and hands are asleep all the time.

Despite the pain, Chloe was happy and courageous

That’s when Philip and Erica realized just how courageous their little girl was. Despite experiencing constant tingling and pain, she was still a happy little girl, said her mother, and the “spunkiest girl ever.” She would sit on a stool and try to pull herself up as taught in physical therapy, despite the colossal effort it was, Erica remembered. If she did it, she was so proud. “I did it, I did it,” she’d say.

“It was heartbreaking, but it was beautiful,” Erica observed.

MLD typically isn’t caught until a child loses the ability to walk and is finding it difficult to breathe. By that time, there is little doctors can do. The Barnes were lucky to catch it early and that gave them hope.

The Barnes scheduled a stem cell transplant at the Mayo Clinic on Oct. 1, 2010. Chloe died from complications of that transplant and an acceleration of MLD six weeks later.

“We were lucky and Chloe got a chance,” Erica said. “Most of the time, they don’t catch it early enough and kids slowly die. They go into a vegetative state.”

When it became clear to them that Chloe was going to die, they entered the hospice program and brought Chloe home.  Eva, who is 18 months older than Chloe, put a cookie on Chloe’s pillow and asked when her sister was going to be better. Telling Eva that her sister was home to die was a horrible conversation, recalled Erica. “I prayed for her. Why didn’t Jesus make her better?” Eva asked.

As Christians, Erica and Philip asked the same question and reached the conclusion that they can’t make sense of what happened. It is their paradox of faith, Erica explained.

Through everything that happened, Erica didn’t shy away from crying in front of Eva. After Chloe’s death, Erica told Eva, “I’m really sad Chloe is in heaven, but I’m glad that you’re here with me.”

It’s important to Erica and Philip that Eva knows that people can be happy and sad at the same time.

Help make a difference

The upcoming benefit on Oct. 8 was born out of a desire to do something and make a difference.

A friend’s wish to run a marathon in Chloe’s honor morphed into a 5K for serious runners and a coffee stroll for serious coffee drinkers. Three coffee stations with complimentary coffee and treats will be set up around Lake Nokomis, a place that Chloe used to visit every day with her daycare provider.

All of the money raised will go towards two groups Philip and Erica believe are engaged in research that will lead to answers about MLD.  “It’s not that this is an impossible thing to figure out,” Erica said. “They just need funds and the interest.”

Many local businesses have stepped up to help sponsor the event, including Carbone’s, Cork Dork, and Nokomis Beach Coffee. Information about sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are available at chloesfight.org.

“Chloe has many fighters on her team,” stated Erica. “We feel like this world has been (and continues to be) filled with hundreds of people holding up their own small lights so that we can see our way over this dark, dark road of suffering. Without them I’m sure we would have fallen by now.” 

WHAT IS MLD?

MLD (metachromatic leukodystrophy) is an inherited metabolic disorder that appears in early childhood and results in the progressive demyelination (deterioration) of a child’s brain. This results in a slow progression of various debilitating symptoms from gross motor damage (ability to walk and move), respiratory failure, and seizures to blindness and loss of mental capacity and finally to death.

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THE 5K RUN?

All proceeds from the Chloe’s Fight 5k Family Run/Walk will go directly to the MLD foundation (a non-profit 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization) and will be dedicated to two research projects: The project conducted by Dr Paul Orchard from the Inherited Metabolic and Storage Disease Bone Marrow Transplantation Program at the University of Minnesota and the project conducted by Brains4Brain at the European Task Force on Brain and Neurodegenerative Lysomal Storage Diseases.

WHAT FRIENDS CAN DO TO HELP

• Don’t avoid people who are struggling with a terminal illness or have lost a loved one. “That’s the worst thing you can do,” Erica said.

• Do spend time with them, even if it is uncomfortable for you. What meant the most to Erica was when friends started crying when they saw them. It helped “knowing they were entering into our grief,” she said. When a friend accompanied her during an excruciating blood draw, she told Erica, “This is the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen.” That honesty affirmed Erica’s own feelings.

• Don’t telling grieving parents that “everything happens for a reason.” “You tell me the reason a 2-year-old gets diagnosed with a terminal illness,” said Erica. If you don’t know what to say, it’s fine to say that. “I don’t know what to say either,” Erica responded. On the flip side, saying something is better than not saying anything.

• Do find a way to help.  Don’t just ask, “What can I do?” because someone in crisis won’t have an answer to that. Someone set up a Caring Bridge site for Chloe. Another created a meal schedule. One of Philip’s coworkers donated PTO (paid time off).

ERICA’S ADVICE TO OTHER PARENTS IN THEIR SHOES

• Decide ahead of time how you are going to handle the many decisions you’ll be faced with. Philip and Erica decided that they would go with whoever felt most strongly about something, and then they’d never point fingers afterwards.

• You are always going to be sad -- but that doesn’t mean you won’t also be happy. Learn how to accommodate both.

• Your child knows you love her despite the myriad of painful procedures you are “letting” her go through. “It is built into children to love you and trust you,” Erica said.

Cedar Towing moving to site on Snelling

Community questions whether zoning geared towards pedestrians is right for area

by Tesha M. Christensen, Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger

Cedar Towing & Auction will be moving to the Longfellow neighborhood once the company complies with various landscaping and site conditions. Company representatives hope to move into the Snelling Avenue location sometime in October, according to Minneapolis Senior City Planner Becca Farrar.

The proposal by this one business has widened into a larger discussion of whether the pedestrian-oriented overlay district in the area should be removed.

Cedar Towing is presently located at 359 Hoover Street in Minneapolis on property owned by Fulford Hoover Investments, LLC. It will be moving to 3516 and 3534 Snelling Ave., the property that formerly housed John’s Welding Service. This land is owned by Martin Kemp.

To facilitate the move to Snelling Ave., Cedar Towing asked the city to remove the pedestrian-oriented overlay on the property, which prohibited a towing company. It also asked for a conditional use permit and a variance of the off-street parking requirement. Instead of 16 off-street parking spaces, Cedar will provide four. The additional parking spaces were deemed unnecessary by the planning commission because of the short-term nature of Cedar Towing’s customers.

The city’s planning division recommended that the city deny Cedar Towing’s request as it does not match the city’s comprehensive plan. However, Planning Commission members approved it at the Aug. 29, 2011 meeting and it was subsequently approved by the City Council at its Sept. 2 meeting.

Council member and planning commissioner Gary Schiff explained, “The Planning Commission approved the site plan unanimously because in this economy, we need jobs more than we need vacant industrial buildings.”

He added, “The property is zoned industrial and the business meets the industrial zoning requirements. The Pedestrian Overlay district on this block was a mistake, and never should have been placed. Ten years ago, when light rail opened, city planners had dreams of residential high-rise living popping up all along Hiawatha Avenue and pushing out all the industrial uses. Ten years after light rail opened, we can see that not only have developers not built hi-rises, but the pedestrian overlay district has harmed small businesses.”

Dan Swenson owns Alexander’s Import Auto, which is located one block away from the Cedar Towing site and is the type of business prohibited in the pedestrian overlay district. But because of his work with Minnehaha-Hiawatha Community Works, Swenson finds himself on both sides of this issue. It’s further complicated by his desire to have a good relationship with his new neighbor. “It’s bigger than me just sitting in my chair every day,” he acknowledged.

He understands the intended goals behind the pedestrian overlay (PO) districts, which encompasses a half-mile circle around each light rail station. A pedestrian overlay supports businesses that are friendly to people biking or walking, Swenson noted, but do not include businesses geared towards motorists.

 “The intentions of a PO are well intended, but don’t fit in this area,” he said, largely because of the existing grain elevators and industrial traffic on a narrow Dight Ave. coupled with the lack of sidewalks and streetlights. “The grain elevators are going nowhere,” he said, “so we have to work around them.”

He supports a move to change the pedestrian overlay, in part because he would like to expand his own business. However, he also questions why the city didn't bend its rules in the past for other businesses that have been in the area for a long time, such as his own. When he met with city staff about expanding his business because the property next to his came up for sale, he was told that his request wouldn't be approved because of the pedestrian overlay and the broader goals for the area. 

The Minneapolis Planning Department intends to review the zoning in the Hiawatha Corridor in the next 18 months, noted Schiff. Community meetings will be part of the planning process, but no specific dates have been set yet.

Neighborhood concerns

A neighborhood meeting about Cedar Towing’s proposal was held on Aug. 25 at St. James A.M.E. Church. Citizens asked questions and gave some input on conditions they wanted to see attached to the conditional use permit and variance. “Neighbors had great suggestions for improving the property that became requirements for the business,” said Schiff.

Community members expressed concerns about whether the impound lot would generate crime, lower property values and increase noise and traffic.

Swenson pointed out there was a two-day notice for the meeting and only about seven community members attended. “I don’t think the community had a good chance for input,” he remarked.

According to Judy Nelson, who lives about four blocks from the Snelling site, the neighborhood meeting was useful “because it gave a chance for the Cedar Towing owner to demonstrate his family connection to the property and for the neighbors to get to know the owner and more about the business impact on the neighborhood.” She added that Cedar Towing “will be more likely to survive in these down times by moving to this property, which is already owned by a family member.”

Also, because of the meeting, landmark sculptures (such as the broken heart) will be preserved, Nelson observed. The sculptures on the site will be refurbished, if possible, as part of an overall project to improve the landscaping at the Snelling Avenue sight. A new fence will be installed and trees planted at various locations, including along Dight Ave. The giant crane on site will be dismantled.

“The decision by Cedar Towing to only use Dight Avenue for bringing cars onto the site seemed to allay most concerns by neighbors who attended the meeting,” observed Schiff, who organized the neighborhood meeting.

Cedar Towing will also work to change the official address of the property from Snelling to Dight, and remodel the building to include a front entry and parking area on Dight, according to Farrar.

Cedar Towing’s business operations include service tows, motor club towing/services, impound towing, jump starts, lock-outs, winching, tire changes and gas fills. Cedar Towing also provides snow plowing services, lot sweeping and a striping service. The business holds an Auto Lien Auction most Tuesdays at 11 a.m.

Cedar Towing declined to be interviewed for this story.

What is a Pedestrian-Oriented Overlay District?

The PO district is intended to preserve and encourage the pedestrian character of commercial areas and to promote street life and activity by regulating building orientation and by prohibiting certain high impact and automobile-oriented uses. To enhance the pedestrian experience, the ordinance requires building to provide amenities such as tables, seating and landscaping in the area between the building and the lot line.

The following uses are prohibited in the PO Overlay District:

• Drive-through facilities

•  Automobile services uses

• Transportation uses

• Self service storage

• Commercial parking lots, including the expansion of any existing commercial parking lot

• Conversion of any accessory parking lot to a commercial parking lot

People and butterflies connect at Minneapolis Monarch Festival

BY TESHA CHRISTENSEN, TC DAILY PLANET

September 13, 2011

People of all ages and backgrounds came together on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011 at the Monarch Festival on Lake Nokomis to share their love for the monarch butterfly.

That’s what Lis Young-Isebrand of the Monarch Lab at the University of Minnesota loves about this annual event.

“One of the best parts of the Monarch Festival for me is when I witness kids and adults becoming empowered to help the monarchs that they love. Many participants were surprised to learn that monarch larvae only eat milkweed and that they can grow this beautiful plant in their yards! They get excited and I am quite sure that many of them will increase monarch habitat,” said Young-Isebrand.

During the monarch tagging, Young-Isebrand encouraged participants to touch the butterfly. “People are so gentle and respectful,” she observed. “It seems a real connection between this small insect and people is made once they are allowed to touch them.”

“We had a great time,” noted Crystal Wood of Minneapolis after she and her daughter created a mudball containing a milkweed seed to plant in their own garden.

The 2011 stage line-up featured performances by Mariachi Mi Tierra, the Javier Trejo Trio (Mexican/Americana), Larry Long (American folk), the Tropical Zone Orchestra (salsa), KetzalCoatlicue (Aztec dance), Ballet Folklorico Mexico Azteca (traditional dance), Larrie Yazzie (Native American Fancy Dance) and Batak (fusion jazz).

“Our show promotes the mutual sharing between people beyond boundaries,” observed Pedro Fonseca of the Tropical Zone Orchestra. “If the ecosystems and small creatures work in harmony, we should be able to do so.”

There were numerous activities, including the Butterfly Fun Run, canoe tours of Lake Nokomis, and guided tours of the NatureScape. The steamroller operated by ArtOrg and Grupo Soap del Corazon, rolled over special print blocks created by kids to make individual butterfly artwork. Local vendors sold Hispanic and American food.

The festival is organized by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association and Community Celebration of Place. Learn more at the bilingual web site: www.monarchfestival.org.

“The volunteers, participants and organizers all did a wonderful job celebrating and promoting conservation for the monarch.  Everything went smoothly and it is because of the hard work of the volunteers!” stated Young-Isebrand.

Copyright: 

 © 2011 Tesha M. Christensen

See photos @ HTTP://WWW.FLICKR.COM/PHOTOS/TCDAILYPLANET/SETS/72157627658567282/

See original news story @ http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2011/09/13/people-and-butterflies-connect-minneapolis-monarch-festival

On the flip side

It's an odd thing for a reporter to be quoted in another person's story. In the last two months, it has happened to me twice, both for Star Tribune stories, and both for stories about arson.

The first one was about the arson at the Isanti County Historical Society where I served as Board President for five years. I still help out with their PR.

http://www.startribune.com/local/125314573.html

The second time occurred because I posted something on the e-Democracy.org site about witnessing the fire at a vacant church building along 42nd Street in Minneapolis. In addition to quoting me, the Strib also posted a link to a video I took of the fire.

http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/129645998.html

Here is my video:

Fire destroys church building in Minneapolis, arson suspected

BY TESHA CHRISTENSEN, TC DAILY PLANET

September 12, 2011

Firefighters battled a suspected arson fire in a vacant church at  at 3115 42nd Street in Minneapolis in the early morning hours of Monday, September 12. The fire was reported shortly after 2 a.m. (Additional photos below.)

According to investigators at the scene, there were multiple areas where the fire started, pointing to arson.

The building was constructed in 1911 and housed several churches over the years, including Across Nations Church and Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church. Most recently it was a furniture store.

Power was shut off to neighboring properties at 3:30 a.m. and was back on by 10 a.m.

See printed story at http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2011/09/12/fire-destroys-church-building-minneapolis-arson-suspected