Soil Health & Regenerative Agriculture Panel Tonight at 7:00pm!
Got climate anxiety? Hope for climate change is under our feet and in our soil! Tonight, hear from a panel of featured experts on local food systems, regenerative agriculture, and soil health. Learn what’s happening right here in Minnesota, how they’re protecting soil health, and what we can do locally or with our own yards. This event is free and open to all. There’s still time to register to attend at https://armatage.org/soilhealth/
Kiss the Ground Community Screening
There’s also still time to stream the film, Kiss the Ground, which unveils a game-changer to our climate crisis: the Earth’s own soil. The solution is called “Regenerative Agriculture,” which can revive farmer prosperity, reduce flooding & drought, replenish fresh water sources, reduce fire hazards, reverse global warming, recreate regional access to nutrient-dense food, reduce toxic pesticides & fertilizers, reduce dead zones & water pollution, reverse extinction, and reconnect humanity & nature. Kiss the Ground presents the research, practice, and hope we need to move forward. Together. Sign up for the link at armatage.org/soilhealth
Get Involved with an Armatage Neighborhood Committee
Hi Neighbors! Did you know that Armatage has three committees that plan fun and educational events to bring the neighborhood together? Last year these groups worked as teams to host free workshops, film screenings, neighborhood clean-ups, food truck nights and more.
We would love for you to join us on either Safety, Equity & Outreach, the Green Team, or Community Engagement! Check out the Get Involved page on the Armatage neighborhood website and then choose to volunteer for a single event or join a Committee e-list to help plan new events throughout the year. Come meet new friends and neighbors while making Armatage an even better place to live!
Learn more, register for a meeting or volunteer at armatage.org/get-involved/:
- Safety, Equity & Outreach meets next on Tuesday, April 5 at 6:00pm on Zoom
- Community Engagement meets next on Thursday, April 7 at 6:00pm on Zoom
- The Green Team meets next on Thursday, April 14 at 7:00pm on Zoom
MPS Strike Resources
As the MPS strike continues, we’re sharing this strike fund created for Armatage Elementary staff, specifically educational support professionals who keep our school running! Resources for families include the following:
- Pick up a free breakfast and lunch between 9:00am and 1:00pm at their student’s school. Learn more at https://cws.mpls.k12.mn.us/mealbags
- Access other food shelves through the City’s interactive map at www2.minneapolismn.gov/government/programs-initiatives/homegrown-minneapolis/food-shelves/
- Looking for child care resources? Check out the district’s list at https://bit.ly/3q2I0I4
Low Cost Tree Sales are HERE!
Minneapolis property owners are able to order 5- to 8-foot trees in 30 varieties (including shade, fruit and flowering trees!) for $30 each to plant on their private property. Rental property owners and property owners who haven’t participated in the City Trees program can order a tree now. All other Minneapolis property owners can order two trees per address starting at 8:00am Wednesday, March 23.
New this year: two trees can be ordered per property! Tree are available first-come, first-served, and the sale closes on April 15 or when the trees run out, whichever is first. Tree pick-up will be May 21, 22 or 23 (subject to change). Volunteers onsite will help load each new tree and a complimentary bag of mulch into vehicles on request.
Blue Thumb Workshops: Resilient Yards & Pollinator Lawns
Register for Blue Thumb’s low cost virtual workshops this spring! Workshops teach earth-friendly actions that mitigate the impacts of heat waves, flooding rains, and habitat loss through rain gardens, native planting, and other do-it-yourself tactics. Resilient Yards will cover resilience, site assessment, rain gardens, native planting, designing with trees and shrubs, turf alternatives, and other information for an eco-friendly yard. Pollinator Lawns/Turf Alternatives will focus on options to traditional turf lawns including flowering lawns that support pollinators and that require less watering and mowing.
Workshops cost $15 and will be offered throughout the spring starting March 29. Full scholarships are available. Learn more and see a schedule of workshops by visiting https://bluethumb.org/events/ or calling 651-699-2426.
Stream the Ward 13 Public Safety Conversation
Missed Council Vice President Linea Palmisano’s public safety conversation? You can stream the event at https://vimeo.com/690682225
Speakers include MPD 5th Precinct Inspector Katie Blackwell, Hennepin County Director of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation Catherine Johnson, and Canopy Roots and the Behavioral Crisis Response Team.
Celebrate Cultures of Minneapolis at the International Festival
The Minneapolis International Festival happens on Saturday, March 26 from 1:00-5:00pm at the Central Gym (3400 Fourth Ave S). Celebrate the different cultures in the City of Minneapolis and surrounding communities with music, dance, art, cultural learning booths, exhibits, demonstrations, food and more. Some of the groups featured that day include: Nyttu Chongo, Kuyayki Peru, Chinese Heritage Foundation, Oromo Cultural Institute of MN, Spirit Boy Singers, food, art, jewelry and clothing from all over the globe.
The Minneapolis International Festival is FREE and open to the public. To learn more visit www.minneapolisparks.org and click on activities and events or by calling 612-230-6400. You can also find the event on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mplsinternationalfestival.
Celebrate Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month is a dedicated month to reflect on the often-overlooked contributions of women to United States history. The actual celebration of Women’s History Month grew out of a weeklong celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history and society organized by the school district of Sonoma, CA in 1978. A few years later, the idea had caught on within communities, school districts and organizations across the country.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. The U.S. Congress followed suit the next year, passing a resolution establishing a national celebration. Six years later, the National Women’s History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the event to the entire month of March. Thanks to our SEO Committee Member, Sheila Dingels, for this write-up and the following resources!
Here are some ways to celebrate Women’s History Month:
- Listen to 89.3 The Current for a different featured female artist each day.
- Learn about the women behind several of our neighboring schools, including Sister Kenny, Maude Armatage, and Susan B. Anthony.
- Donate to a non-profit organization that supports women and girls like Girls Who Code or the Malala Fund.
- Read one of innumerable books that celebrate women in history such as She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton.
Share E Line Bus Rapid Transit Feedback
Metro Transit’s new E Line Bus Rapid Transit will provide faster, more reliable transit in the Route 6 corridor from University Avenue/4th Street, Hennepin Avenue, and France Avenue from the University of Minnesota to Southdale.
The public comment period for the Recommended Corridor Plan is open now through April 8. Please explore the plan and provide comments on future E Line station locations at metrotransit.org/e-line-corridor-plan
New Minneapolis Warrant and Entry Policy
Mayor Jacob Frey has announced new proposed standards for the Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD) warrant and entry policy. Read more about the proposed warrant and entry policy on the City website. The new proposed policy:
- Prohibits the Minneapolis Police Department from applying for and using all no-knock search warrants.
- Requires that officers continuously knock and announce their presence and purpose before entering with at least a 20 second wait time for any warrant and 30 seconds for warrants carried out during nighttime hours (8:00pm-7:00am as defined by state statute).
- Creates a new risk classification and evaluation system for knock-and-announce search warrants.
- Introduces new, safer tactics when police enter a home.
- Enacts a more robust and thorough internal review and accountability process.
Save the Date: Tech Help for Seniors
Sat, April 23 | 1:00-3:00pm
Armatage Community Center
Come to the Armatage Community Center for free tech help on Sat, April 23 from 1:00-3:00pm!
We’re partnering with Cyber Seniors, a nonprofit that provides free tech help, youth training, and connects generations!
Bring your phone, tablet, computer, or other device AND your questions on troubleshooting issues, apps, content, and more to get help from friendly, trained Minneapolis teens who will walk you through step by step. Masks are required at all times per the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board policy. Learn more at armatage.org/techhelp/
Personal Safety & Carjacking Prevention Tips
Our Safety Equity & Outreach Committee put together these helpful safety tips and graphics with a few simple actions you can take to stay mindful AND safe, especially as the weather warms and we are out and about more often. See the full list at armatage.org/safety-tips/ Follow the ANA on Facebook or Instagram for posts to share with family, friends and neighbors.
Remove Racial Covenants Through the Just Deeds Project
Applications are open for the Minneapolis Just Deeds Project, which provides property owners with the opportunity to discharge racial covenants recorded against their properties and reclaim their homes as equitable spaces. Racial covenants were legal documents recorded against a property’s title that prohibited all future owners of the property from selling it, renting it or allowing it to be used by people of certain races or ethnicities. Thanks to the work of Mapping Prejudice, we know that more than 8,000 properties in Minneapolis contain racial covenants including many here in Armatage (see above).
The City’s Just Deeds Project and Hennepin County will help homeowners record a discharge form against their property title, free of charge. Participation is first come, first served and applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more, check whether your home has a racial covenant, and apply for the project on the city’s website here. If you have questions, contact JustDeedsProject@minneapolismn.gov.
COVID-19 Vaccines and Testing
Vaccines: if you haven’t been vaccinated or gotten a booster yet, get a free vaccine as soon as you can. Visit mn.gov/vaccine to use the Vaccine Locator Map (more options listed below). Learn more about boosters here.
Testing: you can now order four totally free COVID-19 rapid tests per residential household through https://www.covidtests.gov/ Ordering takes just a couple minutes. For more local testing options including home saliva PCR tests, visit https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/testsites/index.html
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The Armatage Neighborhood Association works to make Armatage a place where all are welcome, empowered, and connected through safety initiatives, community-building events, environmental work, advocacy and communications that keep you informed and engaged.
Big or small, EVERY donation matters! Give today at www.givemn.org/organization/Armatage-Neighborhood-Association As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, every donation to the ANA is tax-deductible and eligible for an employer match.