Minneapolis, MN
Why a Minneapolis neighborhood sharpens a giant pencil every year
MINNEAPOLIS — Residents will gather Saturday in a scenic Minneapolis neighborhood for an annual ritual — the sharpening of a gigantic No. 2 pencil.
The 20-foot-tall (6-meter-tall) pencil was sculpted out of a mammoth oak tree at the home of John and Amy Higgins. The beloved tree was damaged in a storm a few years ago when fierce winds twisted the crown off. Neighbors mourned. A couple even wept. But the Higginses saw it not so much as a loss, but as a chance to give the tree new life.
The sharpening ceremony on their front lawn has evolved into a community spectacle that draws hundreds of people to the leafy neighborhood on Lake of the Isles, complete with music and pageantry. Some people dress as pencils or erasers. Two Swiss alphorn players will provide part of this year’s entertainment. The hosts will commemorate a Minneapolis icon, the late music superstar Prince, by handing out purple pencils on what would have been his 67th birthday.
In the wake of the storm, the Higginses knew they wanted to create a sculpture out of their tree. They envisioned a whimsical piece of pop art that people could recognize, but not a stereotypical chainsaw-carved, north-woods bear. Given the shape and circumference of the log, they came up with the idea of an oversized pencil standing tall in their yard.
“Why a pencil? Everybody uses a pencil,” Amy Higgins said. “Everybody knows a pencil. You see it in school, you see it in people’s work, or drawings, everything. So, it’s just so accessible to everybody, I think, and can easily mean something, and everyone can make what they want of it.”
So they enlisted wood sculptor Curtis Ingvoldstad to transform it into a replica of a classic Trusty brand No. 2 pencil.
“People interpret this however they want to. They should. They should come to this and find whatever they want out of it,” Ingvoldstad said. That’s true even if their reaction is negative, he added. “Whatever you want to bring, you know, it’s you at the end of the day. And it’s a good place. It’s good to have pieces that do that for people.”
John Higgins said they wanted the celebration to pull the community together.
“We tell a story about the dull tip, and we’re gonna get sharp,” he said. “There’s a renewal. We can write a new love letter, a thank you note. We can write a math problem, a to-do list. And that chance for renewal, that promise, people really seem to buy into and understand.”
To keep the point pointy, they haul a giant, custom-made pencil sharpener up the scaffolding that’s erected for the event.
Like a real pencil, this one is ephemeral. Every year they sharpen it, it gets a bit shorter. They’ve taken anywhere from 3 to 10 inches (8 to 25 centimeters) off a year. They haven’t decided how much to shave off this year. They’re OK knowing that they could reduce it to a stub one day. The artist said they’ll let time and life dictate its form — that’s part of the magic.
“Like any ritual, you’ve got to sacrifice something,” Ingvoldstad said. “So we’re sacrificing part of the monumentality of the pencil, so that we can give that to the audience that comes, and say, ‘This is our offering to you, and in goodwill to all the things that you’ve done this year.’”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed the second attempt by the Minneapolis City Council to give tenants more time to pay rent in the aftermath of Operation Metro Surge, which has pushed immigrant families into housing instability.
Currently, housing providers are required to give renters in Minneapolis 30 days to come up with money to pay their rent before filing an eviction case against them, which is called a pre-eviction notice period. The City Council voted last week to increase that timeframe to 45 days through the end of August.
During the federal operation, many immigrants sheltered at home and did not go to work because they feared being detained by federal immigration agents. As a result, many are struggling to pay rent. Supporters of the ordinance said the measure will give renters more time to access rental assistance, mutual aid or another paycheck to avoid an eviction case in court.
Other council members, housing providers, and Frey have voiced concern that giving residents more time to pay rent will push them into more debt. In his veto letter on Thursday, Frey wrote that rental assistance is the best solution to support renters.
“The City of Minneapolis has a longer pre-eviction notice period than most cities in the country,” Frey wrote in his veto letter. “I am not convinced that more time will result in improved outcomes.”
The city has allocated $3.8 million in emergency funds, and the Wilson Foundation agreed to match another $3 million.
Rental assistance at the state level to help immigrant renters due to the surge has stalled at the Legislature. A bill that would allocate $40 million in rental assistance passed the Senate, but is unlikely to pass a divided House.
“This would have been a tremendous relief for all families, as we would have more time to apply for rental assistance without facing the threat of eviction,” said Alibella Rodriguez, a member of Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia (United Renters for Justice) in a statement. “Instead, the Mayor’s veto is a terrible blow to all families, leaving us vulnerable to losing our homes through eviction — homes that served as the greatest refuge we had during the occupation.”
The 45-day pre-eviction notice period ordinance passed with a 8-5 vote. Nine votes are needed to override a mayoral veto. The council will likely vote on overriding the veto at their next meeting on May 7.
This is not the first time the council has tried to extend the pre-eviction notice period.
Last month, Frey vetoed the council’s vote to increase the pre-eviction notice period from 30 to 60 days. The council failed to override that vote. Council members brought forward an ordinance with a shorter time period hoping it would gain more support.
“We’re looking at a mere 15 days,” Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said at a news conference last week. “We changed the policy, we compromised, and it was so consequential, it was worthy of us taking up another cycle to bring it back.”
The St. Paul City Council unanimously approved temporarily extending the city’s pre-eviction notice period to 60 days last month.
According to data from the tenant advocacy group Home Line, eviction filings in Minneapolis increased by 3.4% in the first quarter of the year compared to the average between 2023 and 2025. Housing advocates have said that mutual aid efforts have likely helped keep many renters in their homes for now.
The city will be rolling out more than $6 million in rental assistance to help those affected by the surge. Information about how to access the Minneapolis specific funding can be found here. The Minneapolis funding does not require an eviction case to be filed against the tenant already. Funding is also available through Hennepin County, but an eviction case is required.
Minneapolis police said a 69-year-old man was found dead after a shooting inside a north Minneapolis home. Chief O’Hara said Wednesday, officers responded at about 8:48 p.m. to a report of a shooting and found the man inside a residence on Bryant Avenue North, near 48th Ave. North
Police said he had an apparent fatal gunshot wound. Officers secured the scene and canvassed the area.
Police said homicide investigators are working to determine what led up to the shooting and, at this point, it does not appear random. “This is a tragic loss of life,” said Chief O’Hara. “Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and loved ones. We need anyone who may have information about what happened to come forward.”
Anyone with information can email policetips@minneapolismn.gov or call 612-673-5845 to leave a voicemail. People who want to stay anonymous can contact CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org. Police said tips leading to an arrest and conviction may be eligible for a financial reward.
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