News

Check out new online tours to learn more about hundreds of public artworks across Minneapolis

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is excited to host the second annual Chain of Lakes Open Swim Classic at Lake Calhoun/Bde Maka Ska! The event will take place Sunday, August 27, from 8-11 am at Lake Calhoun-North Beach.

Closure necessary for trail rehabilitation and accessibility upgrades around Lake Calhoun/Bde Maka Ska

Basketball courts, playground among the major investments in a two-phase construction project

At its August 9 meeting, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Commissioners approved Resolution 2017-243, which directs MPRB staff to apply for a groundwater appropriations permit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to reduce pumping at the Hiawatha Golf Course property from the current amount of 242 million gallons of groundwater to 94 million gallons.

The resolution also directs staff to organize a process of amending the Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park Master Plan to accommodate changes to the Hiawatha Golf Course property made necessary by the reduced groundwater pumping. An amendment to the resolution also called on MPRB staff to form and work with a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to determine if some form of traditional golf can remain on the property.

The resolution did not directly address the closure of the golf course, and the process to determine future usages of the course is estimated to take between 9 and 12 months. The process to prepare plans and obtain permits will take another 12 months or more. During that time, the MPRB will work with the DNR to continue current pumping levels so that Hiawatha Golf Course will remain open as an 18-holf golf course until at least the end of 2019.

Background

Record rainfalls closed Hiawatha Golf Course in June 2014. In the months following the flooding, MPRB staff began the preparation of a series of concepts for the restoration and possible enhancement of Hiawatha. As concepts were about to be presented to the public, the MPRB became aware that a significant volume of groundwater was being pumped by MPRB from the golf course property into Lake Hiawatha. The final volume was determined to be 242 million gallons annually, significantly more than the MPRB’s groundwater appropriations permitted volume. Once the discovery was made, work stopped on the golf course’s restoration.

Since early 2016, MPRB staff has worked with the City of Minneapolis, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, DNR and its consultant, Barr Engineering, to assess the implications, options, and parameters for pumping groundwater at the Hiawatha Golf Course property.

While the DNR has stated it would allow the MPRB to continue groundwater pumping at the current volume, it would do so only until the next flood occurrence, after which the property would have to reduce pumping.

An important goal of any reduced water management/pumping scenarios has been protecting nearby homes from groundwater intrusion.

Community Involvement

Prior to the formal assessment performed by Barr Engineering, public meetings about the groundwater issue were held in June and November of 2016. During the assessment work, meetings were conducted with the public on March 30, 2017, April 20, 2017, May 18, 2017, and June 21, 2017 to share information related to pumping investigations and a range of water management alternatives; to discuss possible other uses should an 18-hole golf course not be possible to perpetuate; to demonstrate the narrowing of options to two water management alternatives; and to gain input on directions related to those alternatives.

Next Steps

A CAC will be formed to help MPRB staff determine possible uses for the property under an alternative that reduces groundwater pumping to approximately 94 million gallons per year; eliminates pumping of stormwater; creates an open channel through the property to address stormwater issues and trash in the neighborhoods north of the property; realigns Minnehaha Creek; maximizes water quality treatment; and introduces new uses to the property.

Information about the CAC’s charge and composition will be presented to the Board of Commissioners at the October 18, 2017 board meeting. Once the charge and composition has been approved by the Board, MPRB will seek CAC applicants.  

For more information, including public meeting materials, the Barr Engineering Report and a list of community question and answers, visit the Hiawatha Golf Course Assessment of Groundwater and Stormwater Pumping project page.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Meadowbrook Golf Club will reopen for play on Friday, August 11, 2017. Tee times can be made online or by calling 612-230-6524.

Meadowbrook was closed in June 2014 when record rainfalls flooded the course and caused significant damage throughout the course. Meadowbrook has been restored to conditions that are as good as – if not better – than before the 2014 flood.

The course will be open daily from sunrise to sunset. While the course is open for play, restoration work will continue through the fall and into 2018.

Meadowbrook Golf Club is located at 201 Meadowbrook Road Hopkins, MN 55343

Archaeological exploration to locate and assess buried Bassett, Columbia and Occidental Mill walls begins in August; careful deconstruction of former Fuji-Ya building begins in September

Summer means warms days, sunshine and sand wasps. This is the time of year when park users may see sand wasps swarm and burrow into the sand in tot lots, playgrounds and other Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) properties where sand is present.

Unlike yellow jackets and other types of wasps, sand wasps are not aggressive. While female sand wasps are capable of stinging, they will only do so to defend themselves. Male sand wasps can aggressively guard a territory and will challenge other males (even people) but they lack a stinger cannot harm humans.

Sand wasps are small, typically close to ½ inch in length and are typically black and yellow. Sand wasps nest individually in burrows but often nest in one small area.

Removing sand wasp nests with pesticides would close the affected area for an extended period and then likely leave trace amounts in the sand. Since sand wasps are typically not aggressive, MPRB staff most often recommend leaving them alone until the nesting time is over and they die naturally.

(Note: sightings of other stinging wasps that pose a threat can be reported to Customer Service at 612-230-6400. After verification, MPRB staff may use natural methods to encourage wasps to abandon the nest.)

In addition to sand wasps, other bees and bee hives may be found in the parks. Please be alert and avoid those areas as much as possible. For more information about bees, please visit the University of Minnesota Bee Lab website.

Public hearing set Aug. 9 on new Regional Park & Trail ordinance similar to 2016 Neighborhood Park ordinance

In the past, maintenance crews from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) have mowed 2,750 acres of grass in 160 neighborhood parks every 14 days. Thanks to the 20-Year Neighborhood Park Plan (NPP20), they're trimming all of that turf more often this summer: The goal is to cut back the average mowing cycle to 12 days in 2017, and shear off another two days by the end of the 2018 growing season.