Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis opens new Graco Park along Mississippi River in northeast
A new park has opened in northeast Minneapolis featuring walking paths, a riverside landing, picnic tables, and hundreds of native plants.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board partnered with Graco Inc. and the Mississippi
Watershed Management Organization on the project.
Graco Park is named after the company, which is located right next to the property north of the Plymouth Avenue bridge near Boom Island Park.
“This is another monumental milestone in our ongoing, decades long mission to transition Minneapolis’ northern riverfront to being fully accessible,” said board president Meg Forney.
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She said Graco Park is part of a bigger vision to turn the city’s northern riverfront into a string of continuous parks.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board purchased the land from the Sheer Brothers Lumber company in 2010 with the intentions to rehabilitate the land, Minneapolis parks superintendent Al Bangoura said. In that time frame, the board was able to restore Halls Island and its ecosystem.
The island is located directly across from Graco Park.
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board with partners at a ribbon cutting ceremony of Graco Park. Courtesy of Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
A building located in the park will provide spaces for an incoming dance company and public use creative studio set to open in 2025.
Bangoura said it’s “where young people can come to a space and use their creative imaginations.”
The park also features geothermal heated sidewalks, which will prevent ice and keep the salt that is often used in Minnesota winter out of the waters.
There are plans to connect Graco Park’s riverfront to Boom Island Park’s trail under the Plymouth Avenue Bridge.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis closes three beaches ahead of 4th of July weekend due to high e. coli levels
A stretch of Interstate 94 in Minneapolis has reopened after a fatal crash closed it for hours Wednesday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said the crash occurred on westbound I-94 near Interstate 35W around 2:30 a.m. The patrol said the crash was fatal, but did not say how many people or vehicles were involved.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation said the road was cleared just before 6:15 a.m., and a WCCO crew at the scene saw traffic moving through.
This story will be updated.
Minneapolis, MN
North Minneapolis Heritage Park tenants swelter as $500K grant sits locked for furnaces
Apartment complex A/C problem
Scorching heat is making life miserable for some at Heritage Park apartments in north Minneapolis. FOX 9’s Mike Manzoni explains the situation.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Tenants at a north Minneapolis apartment complex are struggling to stay cool as broken air conditioning and other problems remain unresolved during another day of high temperatures.
Tenants at Heritage Park turn to fans as heat rises
What we know:
Several tenants at Heritage Park are relying on fans to keep cool, but temperatures inside the apartments are still reaching the 80s.
“How I’m trying to keep cool is with this fan. I have another fan in that room,” Eddie Robinson, a tenant, told FOX 9 on Monday. “It’s an oven.”
Beyond the lack of air conditioning, tenants are facing other challenges inside and outside the building.
Some apartments have mold and dirty floors, while the exterior shows broken staircases and boarded-up windows.
Repairs and funding struggles at Heritage Park
The backstory:
The court-appointed receiver, Minnetonka-based Certus Financial, said it is waiting for a $5.1 million grant to help with repairs. There is $500,000 in city grant money available, but it can only be used for furnaces, which does not help tenants during the summer heat.
The property receives $85,000 each month from the federal government to help maintain the 200 public housing apartments.
Despite this, the complex is still losing $250,000 every month, according to the firm’s manager, Will Haase.
The property has 440 units, with nearly half set aside for public housing. More than half of the units are vacant, worsening the property’s financial situation.
Haase said his firm is working on patching 30 roofs to address leaks and has already replaced 168 furnaces. While there are still a couple of hundred open work orders, that number is down from more than 2,000 when the receivership began six months ago.
When asked if razing the complex could be an option, he said that is “never not in play.”
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