All systems are now running at the new office, so please refer to our updated information:

McKinley Community

3300 Lyndale Avenue North

Minneapolis, MN 55412

612-588-7550

We are just waiting for new flooring to be put in the area of the building where our desks and main office will be before we are fully operational and will have hours of operation going out once that is complete.

Thanks to all of the residents who came out to Monday night’s meeting regarding the status of a new store being built at 3559 Lyndale Avenue North.

The building itself will be completed on or around April 1st.

That said, the application for a business license has not been approved and is over a month away from possible approval, so THERE IS STILL TIME TO LET FOLKS KNOW WHAT YOU WANT AND DON’T WANT AT THAT LOCATION!!!! We are trying to get a list from the City of both their requests and our residents requests that they have received.

This is the time to have a new model of store being built in our community, one that every resident wants to shop at and is proud to have in their neighborhood. It is up to us to kindly demand the things we want to see and then support the City and the owner in making sure these desires & issues are held in compliance and to a higher standard.

That being said, fire away, what do you want to see if a store is built?

Now is the time for Minneapolis companies to get on board with the City’s STEP-UP Achieve summer jobs program.The City’s STEP-UP Achieve summer jobs program prepares youth for future employment by offering summer work experience and training at Minneapolis businesses. When Minneapolis businesses become STEP-UP partners, they help provide new opportunities for young people to get a summer job. Each additional job pledged to STEP-UP provides a potentially life-changing opportunity for a young person and helps strengthen our region’s high-skill, knowledge-based economy.Since its creation in 2004, STEP-UP has created valuable workplace experiences for more than 14,000 Minneapolis youth (ages 14-21) and was highlighted as a national model at a White House conference in early January.

STEP-UP Achieve, a component of the STEP-UP program jointly run by the City of Minneapolis and AchieveMpls, trains and places young people in employer-paid internships with top local companies, public agencies and nonprofit organizations.As of today, more than 80 employers have publically signed on to provide more than 550 employer-paid STEP-UP Achieve jobs in 2012. Current STEP-UP Achieve employers increasing the number of jobs they will offer in 2012 include Adolfson & Peterson Construction, the City of Minneapolis, HealthPartners, Hennepin County, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, U.S. Bancorp, University of Minnesota, VA Medical Center, Wells Fargo and Xcel Energy. New companies joining the STEP-UP Achieve program include ABM Janitorial, Agosto, Inc, Clear Channel Outdoor, Mark O. Finney DDS, Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, and Reve Consulting. A full list of companies who have pledged jobs this year can be found on the AchieveMpls.org website.

For more information about pledging a job for the STEP-UP Achieve summer jobs program or attending an upcoming STEP-UP Achieve employer information session, contact Jeremiah Brown at (612) 455-1562 or jbrown@achievempls.org or visit AchieveMpls.org.

Since 2008, the City of Minneapolis has helped nearly 350 home buyers purchase homes in neighborhoods stressed by foreclosure through its Minneapolis Advantage Program. The forgivable loan program assists with down payment and closing costs, and helps rebuild neighborhoods, stabilize communities and promote sustainable home ownership.

Funding Available in 2012
Approximately $400,000, or around 25 loans, is available to help potential buyers purchase a foreclosed home in eligible neighborhoods. Based on income eligibility requirements, buyers within 80% of the area median income (approximately $64,000 for a four-member household) can receive up to $20,000 and buyers within 120% of the area median income (approximately $100,700 for a four-member household) can receive up to $10,000. These funds can be used to pay for closing costs and down payment assistance. For more information, call the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation, program administrator, at 612-588-3033 or see Minneapolis Advantage Program–Mortgage Assistance.

Minneapolis Advantage partnersThe success of this program has spurred additional investment from partners who also want to help with recovery. The City’s investment of $1.2 million in the program has leveraged an additional $3.2 million from Wells Fargo, Minnesota Housing, Federal Home Loan Bank Des Moines and through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Neighborhood Stabilization Program.Minneapolis Advantage Program performance

• All homes had to be foreclosed, vacant, or in a high foreclosure-impacted neighborhood
• Loan recipients purchased homes in 30 Minneapolis neighborhoods
• Nearly 350 homes have been purchased
• Nearly 60% of the home buyers moved to Minneapolis from elsewhere
• 89% of the recipients are first time home buyers
• 48% of the home buyers are between the ages of 31-50
• Average household size is two
• 49% of the homes’ purchase prices are less than $100,000; 39% of purchase prices are between $100,000-$150,000

Interested in purchasing a foreclosed home? Check out www.ownahomemn.org for a listing of foreclosed homes that have been renovated and are on the market; www.livemsp.org provides a directory of home buyer incentive programs and resources by neighborhood; www.hocmn.org offers resources and education to home buyers.

A few questions have come up recently around resources available to residents, here is a short list of links to these resources:

Grafitti reporting: http://311.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/Ef3/General.jsp?form=SS018PW00SolidWasteGraffiti&page=Email

Adopt-a-Trash Can Program: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/solid-waste/clean-city.asp#

Streetlight Issues: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/streetlighting/issues.asp

Know Someone Who Needs Help with Raking, Shoveling or other Chores?Chore Program – low-cost home maintenance services such as routine housecleaning, seasonal jobs, lawn care, snow removal and minor repairs.  aimed at helping seniors living in their homes (individuals 60 and over).  Call 612-374-3322.

We need your help. As you know the Northside has a significant number of vacant houses. These vacant homes have multiple negative effects on our neighborhoods including increased crime, lower property values, and livability issues.

The MPD has been working with other city departments and the 4^th Precinct CARE Task Force to identify and track vacant properties in the 4^th Precinct. While the lists and incident reports that we currently have are helpful, we believe that you, the block club leaders and residents of the neighborhoods, could more effectively and correctly help us identify these properties.

So, we are asking you to canvas your block/neighborhood and to log the addresses of houses that are vacant whether because of foreclosure, being for rent, for sale or for some other reason. Please send the address information to me at Jennifer.waisanen@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, or call me at 673-5873. If I don’t answer the phone, just leave the information on my voicemail. We are trying to complete the information gathering by Friday January 28^th so that we can merge and analyze the data.

Our goal for collecting this information is to identify both long and short term strategies to help us manage the evolving vacant housing problem and reduce property crimes.

Thank you for your help with this important problem.   If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. Thanks again for your help, and for all you do to make our neighborhood great!

Jennifer Waisanen

Crime Prevention Specialist

Minneapolis Police Department – 4^th Precinct

1925 Plymouth Ave N

Minneapolis, MN 55411

The City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis 911 is reminding folks about the importance of 911 and raising awareness of what to do and what not to do when calling to report an emergency.

Tips for calling 911

When calling 911 folks should follow these guidelines:

• Do not hang up. If the call isn’t answered immediately or if you encounter silence on the line, do not hang up and redial unless the silence lasts more than 8 seconds.
• Do not hang up if you call 911 by accident. Hang ups require 911 operators to call back the number the incoming 911 call came from. This happens up to 500 times a day and uses valuable 911 resources including phone lines that should be used for answering emergency calls.
• Give your location when calling 911. This includes, address, intersection, and landmarks. Be prepared to give a short description of a suspect.
• Help can be sent while you talk. A caller should state the problem briefly, answer the operator’s questions and stay on the line until the operator terminates the call.
• You can ask 911 operators to stay on the line until help arrives.
• The situation does not have to be an emergency to call 911. Folks can call 911 to report suspicious, criminal activity in progress (e.g. alarms, shots fired, shouts for help, sounds of glass breaking, unfamiliar person carrying items from a house).
• If you need a translator, let the operator know or simply say, “Language line.”

When to call 911

There are many reasons to call 911 including:

• If the situation requires an ambulance or the fire department to respond immediately
• To report a situation that requires a police officer at the scene (for example: assaults, burglaries, kidnapping, domestic disputes, auto theft, accidents in which there are injures / or it is unknown whether injuries have occurred, etc.).
• To report a crime that is in progress
• To report suspicious criminal activity that you witness (for example: sounds of shots fired, cries for help, sounds of glass breaking or if you see an unfamiliar person carrying items from a house).

When not to call 911

There are also many reasons not to call 911. Folks should avoid calling 911 to get directions, legal advice, or to find out if someone is in jail. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Jail Roster is available online athttp://www4.co.hennepin.mn.us/webbooking/ or by calling 612-348-5112. People should also not call 911 to report city issues that do not need police, fire, or an ambulance to respond. They should use the City of Minneapolis Web site or call 311.