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For the hiatus we cannot supply a good reason.
Yes, one of your publishers has truly gone south.
The other poor feller has been avoiding running off at the mouth.
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NEERLAND & OYAAS ONLINE
Opins & FAQS Re the State of Affairs
We have indeed taken a publishing break; for the most part the cyber inkwell had run dry. We have been knee deep in stuff that we have pledged not to discuss here and trying to avoid irritating elected officials at all levels by talking about some of our other adventures. So no stadium, bike lanes or freight railroad talk, but we do wish to update you on some of the more interesting things you may have missed “while we were out.”
We met with an interesting collaboration of designers and architects who are combining their respective skills and imagination for the power of good in this community. The “Department of Public Design” (DoPD) was formed to design, lead and construct bright ideas across multiple scales—from mending a fence to building interactive public events, to catalyzing neighborhood enthusiasm for large projects. DoPD has imagined a variety of ways it can contribute: a guerilla operation to rebuild a ramshackle retaining wall in a public park into an interactive piece of art or help a nonprofit in need jump start a capital improvement by adding creative design elements into a funding request. DoPD is still in a formative stage, ready to spring forward to get help expanding its thinking. If the concept resonates feel free to contact Wynne Yelland of LOCUS Architecture (wynne@locusarchitecture.com) or Jay Isenberg (jhi@isenbergassociates.com).
By the way, if you want to see an amazing site, stop by the office of LOCUS, 708 West 40th Street, and check out the series of vintage Minneapolis Star (and Tribune) newspapers they found carefully stored in a ceiling in the building. They date from the mid-thirties to mid-forties and provide a fascinating glimpse of the world and the block during that period.
Speaking of architects (and yes, we just did, and no, we can’t break this silly habit), our friends and clients at HGA received a prestigious American Institute of Architecture award for the design of the Napa Valley Performing Arts Center at Napa Valley College. The building’s glowing lobby, visible for miles, is already considered a signature icon in the Valley. (http://hga.com/work/napa-valley-college)
Speaking of HGA (yeah, yeah) the firm is now moved in and mostly unpacked in its new world headquarters in the magnificently renovated Ford Center on Fifth Avenue North and Fifth Street North. HGA shares the historic structure, which was once home to a vertical Model T factory, with Olson & Company, Minnesota’s largest advertising firm. HGA did the structural redesign and the interiors of its space. Genzler, our neighbors here in the Young Quinlan Building, did Olson’s interiors. The whole project was a vision of United Properties back when a historic renovation that counted on the power of transit was really a gamble. Safe to say a gamble that paid off. Olson’s Creative Director Dennis Ryan may have said it best: “The building and our space imputes what we wanted to impute—what we needed to impute.” [Editor’s question: Is this really a word or something Clellan Card coined during his days as Axel in the Treehouse?)
Short takes on what else happened while Online slept:
· Former Hennepin County Commissioner John E. Derus has taken the lead over his former colleague Mark Andrew in the number of fundraisers each has hosted for Rick Nolan, former Congressman and candidate for the 8th District Congressional seat. The score is now 3-to-2.
· 2020 Partners – the collaboration of business, institutional and residential interests formed to support “city building” efforts around Target Field, transit and the Hennepin Energy Center – has created a scorecard road show that provides participants the opportunity to participate in an urban planning exercise. The idea is to look with fresh eyes for the potential in the North Loop/Warehouse District/Farmers Market area as well as the potential for its neighbors and colleagues in Elliot Park, Mill District and Metrodome. On Tuesday, March 20, the group will drill down further on the ideas that have surfaced and discuss next possible steps. Dear Reader, as an online regular, you are cordially invited to attend. The meeting begins at 5:00 pm and will be in the “afore-touted” headquarters of HGA (420 Fifth Street North, Suite 100). Don’t you love how we tie things together?
· The nobles on high at the Royal Bank of Canada have decreed that Julie Allen shall heretofore rule as the Sovereign of the RBC Foundation in the Twin Cities Kingdom. Ms. Allen has been a standout in several postings at RBC, most recently in marketing matters. In terms of foundation work she doth know of what she speaks, logging countless hours of her own time in community endeavors, most notably as a leader of the Board of the Neighborhood Involvement Program.
· Speaking of Sovereigns (OK! OK!), Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Stenglein was successfully recruited to succeed Sam Grabarski as leader of the Minneapolis Downtown Council. Congratulations on this creative choice. Stenglein’s community passions have been expressed notably during his years of elected service, but much of the energy we look forward to seeing has been expressed in his private life, including service as the Aquatennial Commodore, Boy Scout troop leader, and float driver in the Minneapolis St. Patrick’s Day parade.
QUARKS and QUOTES…
Back when we used to publish we wrote about the Downtown Council’s 2025 vision and expressed much wonder and admiration for the plan, but offered concerns regarding development and ownership of new park and green spaces called for in the plan. We received the following clarification from Mayor Rybak’s always thoughtful Chief of Staff, Jeremy Hanson Willis:
Your report on the DT2025 plan references “misguided elected officials” who are “disengaged” from the plan. I beg to differ. At the encouragement of the Mayor and Council President, city staff (including myself) participated in each of the work groups of the 2025 plan development, over the course of many months. The Mayor and Council members also had multiple opportunities to participate and weigh in on issues as the plan evolved. In fact, it was the Mayor’s preference that the DT Council would have engaged the city even more than they actually did. Many of the ideas in the plan have clear champions at City Hall.
Because you mentioned the Gateway project in particular, you should know that both the mayor and I helped create and are members of the Steering Committee that is working to bring that idea to reality. I’d wager that almost no one has articulated the vision of a park north of the downtown library more than R.T. The Mayor is also a huge proponent of the conservancy. The City is helping to fund the feasibility study exploring locating the conservancy at the DID and I am on the advisory committee of that analysis. I’d say that we – at least in the mayor’s office – are anything but disengaged or misguided.
We began with a poem, and will finish with this short but enticing poem submitted by Jerry Okerman:
The wise old owl sat in the Oak,
the more he saw the less he spoke,
the more he saw the less he heard
and that is why he is such a wise old bird!
Thanks, Jerry! More wisdom from these birds in two weeks!
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