Your Rights as a Member of the Public to Access Government Data
Government Data as defined by Minn. Stat. § 13.02, subd. 7 “All data collected, created, received, maintained or disseminated by any government entity regardless of its physical form, storage media or conditions of use”. The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDP) gives you, and all other members of the public, the right to inspect and have copies of public data that the MPRB keeps. The law defines what we provide when you ask to see the data we have.
With the exception of personnel data, all MPRB data is presumed classified as public unless Minnesota or federal law states exemption of the data as not public. Requests for personnel data that are not from the data subject are presumed not public unless classified as public by law. Not public classifications of data include private, nonpublic, confidential, or protected nonpublic.
How to Make a Data Request
To inspect data or request copies of data that the MPRB keeps, make a written request by completing the Request for Public Data Form found below, it is also found at the Customer Service counter and in the Board book at each Park Board meeting.
If you are a member of the public, see the Public Data Access Policy found below.
If you are a data subject, please see the Data Subject and Access Policy found below.
- Completed request forms will be accepted through the online form submission, by mail, fax, email, or in person at the Customer Service counter. You can make a request or review data maintained by MPRB during normal MPRB business hours of 8:00a.m. to 4:30p.m., Monday through Friday except for legal holidays.
- In your request, state a clear description of the data you would like to inspect or have copied. If we are not sure exactly what information you are requesting, we will ask you for clarification. You do not have to tell us who you are or explain why you are asking for the data.
- All requests are renewable after 30 days. To renew a request, notify the MPRB in writing, by emailing datarequest@minneapolisparks.org, or by submitting the Request for Public Data Form.
How we respond to a Data Request
Upon receiving your completed data practices request form, we will work to process it.
- If we do not have data responsive to your request, we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible.
- If we have data, but the data are not public, we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and state the specific law that classifies the data as not public.
- If we have the public data, we will respond to your request within a reasonable amount of time. You have the right to have public data explained. If you do not understand some of the data (technical terminology, abbreviations, or acronyms) please contact the MPRB Compliance Official and ask for an explanation.
We are not required to collect or create new data in order to respond to data requests. We are not required to provide data in a specific form if we do not keep the data in that form. We cannot charge you a fee for inspecting public data. You have the right to inspect all public data the MPRB keeps. We can’t charge you a fee for separating public data from data that are not public.
You have the right to have copies of the public data we keep. You have the right to have a copy of any data that you have a right to see. This includes the right to have copies of all or parts of specific documents, files, records, databases, or types of data that we keep. If you ask for the copies in electronic form, and we keep the data in electronic form, we will give you the data in electronic form. Once we have your request, we will provide the copies you asked for as soon as reasonably possible, depending on how many copies you are requesting and how many staff we have available to respond to your request. We have the right to charge you a reasonable fee for providing copies. We will charge you a fee for making copies of the data you request. If you ask that the copies be mailed or faxed to you, the fee will include postage if applicable.
If you request a certified copy of a document, we will charge you to certify the document. If you are requesting copies of data that have commercial value, we will charge you a fee in addition to the fee for the copies. We may require payment in advance.
You have the right to see and have copies of summary data. Summary data are statistical records or reports that are prepared by removing all identifiers from private or confidential data on individuals. We will prepare summary data for you if you submit a Request for Public Data form and pay for the cost of creating the data. We require prepayment for summary data requests. When we receive your request, we will contact you to make arrangements to prepare the summary data. We will let you or someone else prepare the summary data if: you explain in your request why you want to prepare the data; you agree not to release any of the private or confidential data used to prepare the summary data we determine that giving you access to private and confidential data will not compromise those data.
Responsible Authority, Jennifer Ringold
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
2117 West River Road
Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227
Email: datarequest@minneapolisparks.org
Phone: 612-230-6400
Data Practices Compliance Official, Katie Deneson
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
2117 West River Road
Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227
Email: datarequest@minneapolisparks.org
Phone: 612-230-6468