Uptown

Greening Minnesota ~ January 2010

There are a lot of environmentally friendly projects getting underway in the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota. And we're even saving all the rail news for a separate, future post!

Amid rising concern over the effects that road salt has on Minnesota's lakes, streams and groundwater, public works officials around the state are trying out new methods to spread salt on pavement, moistening rock salt so it sticks better, and working to establish a less-is-more culture, while also keeping motorists safe. The impacts are salt run rampant statewide after decades of dropping a pound of salt onto every 10 feet of highway without much thought. In addition to the environmental impact, money has also become a key motivator. The new techniques use less salt, costing cities and counties less.

The new Target Field ballpark for the Minnesota Twins will have a sustainable water system that will capture, conserve and reuse rain water. Minneapolis-based Pentair Inc. is building and...

August Events in the Twin Cities

August is a swinging month in the Twin Cities when it comes to community celebrations, festivals, and other excuses to walk around in shorts and eat "Something on a Stick." There's lots to do, starting with today!

New Brighton's annual summer Stockyard Days are taking place on August 2 through 9. The event, now in its 29th year, features a golf tournament, a kiddie parade and grand parade, street dances, and fireworks. For a complete list of times and locations for all Stockyard Days activities, go to www.stockyarddays.org and click on "events."

Lake Hiawatha’s Annual Neighborhood Festival is taking place today, Wednesday, August 5 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Lake Hiawatha Park, 2701 E. 44th Street in Minneapolis. There will be a talent show with prizes, carnival games, food for sale, and community information tables.

There will be some Outdoor Puppet Theater on Thursday,...

Upcoming Arts Events in the Twin Cities

The Twin Cities arts scene is particularly hopping during the summer. There are a few important and fun events coming up that you should know about!

First there is KOOZA, the Cirque du Soleil show happening on the St. Paul riverfront for the rest of the week.  Written and directed by David Shiner for Cirque du Soleil, there are shows happening every day through August 2, when they pack up their giant tent and leave. Tickets are $42-$215. Call 1-800-450-1480 or order them online at www.cirquedusoleil.com.

This Thursday and continuing through August 9th, the Minnesota Fringe Festival starts off its 15th installment.  This year, 160 productions will fill 11 days with 800 performances. The Fringe is the nation's largest nonjuried festival. Its performers, writers and companies test their work in a Darwinian scrum for audience approval and critical attention. Most are locals, but acts also appear from around the country and...

March Twin Cities Blog Round-Up Part II

As I wrote yesterday, I haven’t had a good local blog round-up in a while.  I’ve been fixing that, and there were so many blogs I wanted to mention that I split it into two! Yesterday I talked about home-oriented blogs that discussed foreclosure, mortgages, and green living. Today is Friday and as such, today’s post will be about fun and community!  If you missed yesterday’s entry be sure to take a look.

Next is the fun category of local community and conversation blogs! There are so many good ones here, let’s just get right to it. First I want to talk about a relatively recently started blog, Ambulance Driver is written by an EMS in our fair Twin Cities. Not only does this writer share knowledge of their experiences in the field, they talk about how public policy affects how they can do their job. I say “they”...

Minneapolis Real Estate Market Analysis February 2009

According to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities, the number of February 2009 new listings in Minneapolis dropped compared to 2008’s figures.   There were 764 new listings in the city, while in 2008 there were 952, a decrease of -19.7%. The Longfellow and University communities of Minneapolis saw slight increases in new listings, while the rest of the communities saw their new listings decrease.  Here is an inventory of February 2009 new listings in Minneapolis by community and the percentage of change from 2008.

Camden 98 (-27.9%)
Downtown Minneapolis 97 (-26.5%)
Longfellow 43 (+4.9%)
Nokomis 94 (-8.7%)
North 115 80 (-30.4%)
Northeast 55 (-15.4%)
Phillips 17 (-65.3%)
Powderhorn 51 (-30.1%)
Southwest 117 (-3.3%)
University Area 14 (+7.7%)
Uptown-Lakes 97 (-4.0%)


For the year to date, there have been 1,583 homes listed...

Minneapolis Real Estate Market Analysis: December 2008

It’s that last real estate market analysis for Minneapolis for the year of December 2008!  Let’s get to it! The number of new listings in Minneapolis has declined compared to 2007 again during the month of December, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities.  There were 555 new listings last month, while in December 2007, there were 567 new listings, a decrease of just -2.1%. The Northeast, Powderhorn, and University Area communities saw increases in new listings while the rest of the Minneapolis areas saw decreases in new listings.  Here is an inventory of December 2008 new listings in Minneapolis by community and the percentage of change that has occurred compared to December 2007 (Previous Barker & Hedges article about November 2008 Minneapolis Real Estate Market Activity.)

Camden 102 (+ 4.1%)
Downtown Minneapolis...

Minneapolis Southwest Community Highlights

The Southwest Community of Minneapolis consists of several neighborhoods loosely bordered on the north by 36th Street and on the east by Interstate 35W, with city limits serving as western and southern boundaries. 

Linden Hills – In the northwest corner of Southwest Minneapolis is the upscale, well-developed Linden Hills neighborhood.  Linden Hills is bound on the north by 36th Street West and Lake Calhoun, on the east by William Berry Drive and Lake Harriet, on the south by 47th Street West, and on the west by France Avenue.  Linden Hills is one of the larger neighborhoods in Minneapolis. The neighborhood was named after the linden trees and rolling hills that can be found in the area.

Linden Hills first was developed during the 1880s to lure homebuyers into leave downtown for homes on Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. Since that time, most of the original cottages have been replaced by a number of home types, like ramblers, colonials, Tudors,...

A Christmas Post (The Riverview Theater)

Perusing the Twitter boards today in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, I see that a lot of people are going to the Riverview Theater tonight to see a presentation of the classic holiday movie, “A Christmas Story.”  It’s playing right now (5:00 PM) and at 7:00 PM tonight, if you haven’t made any plans for this evening yet and you’re looking for something to do.  After all this cold weather we’ve had, it just might be worth it to get out of the house for a while! So, in light of the looming holiday and this great activity that is going on tonight, I thought that I might write a little bit about the Riverview Theater, located at 3800 42nd Avenue South in Minneapolis...

Minneapolis Real Estate Market Analysis: November 2008

The number of new listings in Minneapolis has declined compared to last year again during the month of November, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities.  There were 634 new listings, while in November 2007, there were 711 new listings.  That adds up to a decrease of -10.8%. During November, several communities did experience increases in new listings.  The Nokomis and Uptown-Lakes communities saw decreases in new listings.  Here is an inventory of November 2008 new listings in Minneapolis by community and the percentage of change that has occurred compared to November 2007 (Previous Barker & Hedges article about October 2008 Minneapolis Real Estate Market Activity.)

Camden 107 (+11.5%)
Downtown Minneapolis 88 (-9.3%)
Longfellow 38 (+5.6%)
Nokomis 50 (-40.5%)
North 77 (-26.7%)
Northeast 55 (+12.2%)
Phillips 20 (+17.6%)
Powderhorn 48 (-4.0%)
Southwest 67 (-5.6%)
...