The Webber Natural Swimming Pool in north Minneapolis is back open after it was closed for nearly two weeks because someone threw an unknown substance into the water.
Over the years, the pool has had issues with staying open — usually because of high levels of bacteria in the water — and that’s something the staff at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has been hard at work trying to solve.
Staff say they face new challenges because of just how unique this pool is, the only natural public swimming pool in the United States.
“It’s hard to say what’s coming next because we’ve had a lot of unusual challenges,” said Rachael Crabb, water resources expert with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
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Crabb says because the pool is treated using a natural process instead of chlorine, they get plenty of unwanted visitors like waterfowl.
“They’re a big source of bacteria for us,” Crabb said.
But if you take a look around you can see several steps they’ve taken to keep them out like black netting on the fence outside the pool. They’ve also removed nests in the spring. But this summer, it’s the turtles causing problems.
“These turtles were born in old Webber pond and when they are old enough to reproduce they try to come back to where they were born and nest,” Crabb said.
Flooding along Webber Parkway used to be an issue, but they’ve since built a floodwall.
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“If that water gets in the pool and the [regeneration area], we would definitely be closed because stormwater is very dirty,” Crabb said.
So why not just convert it to a chlorine pool? Crabb stresses it’s not that simple.
“There would need to be some significant redesign, and it would be a significant cost to do that,” Crabb said.
Crabb agrees it’s no fun closing for high levels of bacteria, but she fully believes the work they put in greatly reduces the days they are forced to close.
“Every year is different and when we find problems we figure out ways to solve them,” Crabb said.
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Webber Natural Swimming Pool will shift to modified hours on Aug. 19 and close for the season after Labor Day.
The lineup has been announced for the 2026 edition of Snow & Flurry, set for October 10th and 11th at Underground Music Cafe in Minneapolis, MN. Judge, Merauder, and Arkangel will headline the two-day event also featuring 25+ more acts in total.
Weekend passes are available now, with single-day tickets and daily lineups to be announced later.
Passes are available here.
Line up in order of flyer:
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Judge Merauder Arkangel The Killer Nehemiah Another Enemy Awaiting Eschiel Basic Needs Blistered Spirit Blood Stained Concrete Cudgel Direct Order Dose Enemy Of Man Enervate Ethic Eyes Of Sorrow Fleshless Body Lead Spirit Madman Meantime Neolithic Passion Self Interest Shits Creek Sin Sufrir Skewed What Counts Withdrawal Wrath Of Sanity Velocity
After spending months helping immigrant families weather the economic fallout of federal immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities, Smitten Kitten is asking the community for help sustaining itself.
The adult retail store in Minneapolis’ Lyn-Lake neighborhood issued a public plea for community financial support.
The strain comes after months of directing staff and volunteer time, resources and fundraising efforts toward mutual aid work that supported immigrants during Operation Metro Surge.
The store became one of the most visible community aid hubs after the federal operation began. Following the killing of Renee Good, Smitten Kitten began collecting groceries, diapers, toilet paper and other essentials.
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“Nothing is going to change unless we’re going to do something,” said Anne Lehman, Smitten Kitten social media manager and mutual aid advisor.
The store also helped direct efforts toward rent relief for immigrants facing heightened uncertainty and economic hardship.
“People had been hiding out since October. They’re going to need things like diapers, toilet paper and water.” Lehman said. “We ended up opening our store as a donation drop-off stop.”
Community support quickly exceeded expectations.
“It felt like every fifteen minutes someone was pulling up in an SUV that just came from Costco,” Lehman said. “As soon as we got it, it would be gone because of how great the need was.”
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Lehman said that the attention also created safety concerns for staff and visitors.
“We had to move where our stuff was because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had caught on to what we were doing and tried to intimidate us,” said Lehman.
In response, the store decided to move its operations elsewhere and began to focus on raising money for necessities. According to Lehman, the establishment raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various needs.
The operation, in part, ended by mid-February, and federal presence in Minnesota diminished. As things began to wind down, so did cash flow at Smitten Kitten.
“There were a lot of weeks where we were cutting it close on payroll,” said Lehman.
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In a social media post, Lehman asked the community to come help support the store by asking for donations, asking people to shop at their store or online.
“We are asking for help, but also all of these things that we’re pouring all of our energy into is not going away,” said Lehman. “If we want to continue doing mutual aid, we have to have a solid foundation of our business as well.”
MINNEAPOLIS — Real Capital Solutions (RCS) has acquired 3701 Wayzata Boulevard, a 308,681-square-foot office property in the Urban West End neighborhood of Minneapolis, for $34 million. Situated on 25.8 acres overlooking Brownie and Cedar lakes, the nine-story asset is 99 percent leased and serves as the headquarters location for several companies such as Tactile Medical, SRF Consulting Group, Regis Corp. and MOBE.
Originally developed as a corporate headquarters campus for Prudential and later occupied by Target Corp., the property underwent a comprehensive renovation and repositioning in 2019. Amenities today include a fitness center, conference facilities, a golf simulator, onsite café, outdoor gathering spaces, a rooftop patio, bike storage and direct access to regional trail systems.
