Time for Commissioners to decide what happens at Golf Course

Meanwhile, golfers ramp up efforts to save course and continue to question why Minnehaha Creek can’t be dredged

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
As the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB) of Commissioners begin discussing the future of Hiawatha Golf Course, golfers are ramping up their efforts to save the course.
Local resident Craig Nichols, who lived near Hiawatha Golf Course for the past 10 years, started an online petition and is running a Facebook group called “Save Hiawatha Golf.” He presented a petition with over 1,200 signatures to the board during a July 19 public hearing.
“Hiawatha golf course has been a friendly and affordable home to golfers of the Twin Cities since 1934,” explained Nichols on the www.change.org petition page. “Through good times and bad, our families have been able to ‘escape’ to Hiawatha for a quick round and chat with friends.
Photo right: Craig Nichols practices putting at Hiawatha Golf Course. He recently started the Facebook Page, “Save Hiawatha Golf.” “I did this because I wanted the youth of Minneapolis to be able to have the opportunity to learn a game they can play their whole lives and with that learn to be part of a community,” he explained. “I felt the park board was leaving golfers out of the conversation, and seemed to not want people to know what was happening. Did you know the golf course isn’t allowed to post anything about its own future at the course? Even so much as a notice that there will be a meeting? Makes a person wonder about their transparency a little doesn’t it?” (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)
Hiawatha has a vibrant community of golfers from ages five to 85 that will have to find somewhere else to golf. Some of the younger and older golfers will have a difficult time getting to one of the suburban courses.
“Please convince the Minneapolis Park Board, the Minnesota DNR, and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District to do their jobs and come up with intelligent solutions to solve the problems Hiawatha faces rather than just shut generations of golfers out.”
Some have commented that if the course was rearranged and used a modern design, less would be located in the lower elevations.
Golfers are also pushing the park board to hold off making a decision until after new park board members are installed in 2018.
“We’d like to see the vote on the course put off until the next board is in,” wrote Nichols on the Save Hiawatha Golf Facebook page. “We feel they are rushing this through since most aren’t running again.”
As of press time, the full Board of Commissioners planned to consider the water management recommendation at its Wed., Aug. 9 meeting.
Local commissioner Steffanie Musich has stated that she is refraining from making a final decision about pumping until the board has been provided with the final staff report and the public hearing has been held. She is one of the few board members who is planning to run for re-election.
Two options
MPRB staff, with the assistance of local firm Barr Engineering, have narrowed the options for Hiawatha Golf Course to two.
Option A would reduce the pumping there to 308 million gallons of groundwater, which keeps the course open.
Option B drops the pumping to 94 million gallons of groundwater, which would effectively flood much of the property and close the course while keeping neighboring basements dry.
Photo left: For the past 10 years, Craig Nichols has lived within a few blocks of Hiawatha Golf Course. He values the course because it offers what others don’t by being the only course in Minneapolis fully within city limits. “Do people expect that kids from south Minneapolis will be able to get to Wirth or Gross, or Meadowbrook easily on their own?” he questioned. “It also has one of the most extensive practice area of any course in the metro, let alone the inner city,” Nichols added. Five high schools practice at Hiawatha, and other children participate in the First Tee program. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)
Without any pumping, the groundwater elevation underneath the golf course would rise by 4 feet and flood most of the course. MPRB has been pumping stormwater and groundwater off the course into Lake Hiawatha since the 1960s. The property was originally a wetland, called Rice Lake before it was dredged and the fill used to create a golf course, which is currently sinking.
Options A and B were presented to the public following a series of meetings regarding the issues at the course. During the April and May meetings, staff solicited opinions from the public about what they’d want on the land instead of a golf course, and suggestions were varied.
On June 21, staff announced that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which must approve the level of pumping at the property, favors Option B because it reduces pumping by 70% and is considered more sustainable and less costly in the long run.
However, the DNR will not make an official statement and decision about the project until the MPRB submits an appropriations permit application, and so some residents question whether the DNR is actually in favor of closing the course.
Would dredging solve the problem?
Other residents are pushing for MPRB to lower the level of the lake and dredge it and the creek to maintain the golf course.
Engineers have repeatedly said that dredging the lake would make it deeper but not lower the level of the lake, so it will not reduce pumping.
To lower the lake level, the outlet of the lake would need to be lowered. This could be accomplished by modifying an existing weir at 28th St. and another weir at Hiawatha Ave. It may also be necessary to dredge the creek between the two weirs. Lowering the lake would also result in lower water elevations in the creek downstream of the lake, and would affect how much flood storage is available both around Lake Hiawatha and farther downstream. Plus the project would require permits from several agencies.
Minnehaha Creek could be dredged, but not by more than one foot because of several utility crossings, including a Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) 11-foot diameter gravity sanitary sewer pipe. One foot deeper would not help the situation at Hiawatha, according to a MPRB face sheet available online.
However, if existing sanitary sewer pipes were protected in some way, MPRB could consider lowering 2,000 feet of channel to an elevation of 809, which would result in a slight reduction in the flooding at the Bloomington Pond Area/Sibley Pond and no impact in flooding at the Hiawatha west watershed.
There are three bridges/crossing downstream of Lake Hiawatha that would need to be modified or reconstructed to achieve the lower channel elevation, and the city water main upstream of 28th would need to be lowered. An abandoned CenterPoint gas main downstream of 28th would need to be removed. Additionally, the creek channel would need to be redesigned and restored to achieve a stable channel and banks, and it would take some time to re-establishing the existing biological communities.
If the pumping changes
If the pumping at the course changes, a master planning process will begin that will take 9-12 months and include input from a Community Advisory Committee. The course would continue to stay open, likely through the 2019 season.

The Hiawatha Golf Course in numbers

• The highest number of rounds was 55,000 in 2001.
• The lowest number of rounds was 14,000 in 2014 when the course was flooded.
• The annual average rounds per year is 40,800.
• However, in the last six years impacted by flooding, wet conditions, and market changes, the average was 23,800.
• For the period before the wet years, the average annual revenue was $250,000.
• For the six years impacted by flooding, the average annual revenue was a loss of $180,000.

This article appeared in the August 2017 Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger.

Women-owned lumberyard focuses on service, lasting relationships

“Women bring a unique vision to our business,” observed Jan Siwek (left), who owns Hiawatha Lumber Company with sisters-in-laws Pat Siwek (center) and Lisa Siwek. They purchased the lumberyard in May 2016, and have recently finished remodeling the hardware store and showroom. (Photo provided)

Three sisters-in-law purchase Hiawatha Lumber, remodel, increase inventory, and add specialty products

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
It is rare to find a women-owned lumberyard, but Longfellow neighborhood boasts of one.
Long considered a male- dominated industry, the lumber and building materials business is featuring more and more women in prominent sales, marketing, human resources, management, and ownership roles. Females now account for a larger percentage of employees in the lumber industry than ever before as workplace demographics continue to evolve and become more diverse.
When the 70-year-old Hiawatha Lumber Company (3233 E. 40th St.) was sold last year, it was purchased by three women with deep roots in the lumber industry.
“Women bring a unique vision to our business,” observed Jan Siwek, who owns the company with sisters-in-laws Pat Siwek and Lisa Siwek.
“Our focus on personal service, quality products, and lasting relationships carries on a tradition that seems lost in our industry,” said Siwek. “We focus on the customer, not the bottom line.”
Option for those who like to shop in their neighborhood
One of only three independent lumberyards in the Twin Cities, Hiawatha Lumber Company is a full-service lumberyard with nearly two acres of construction, structural and exterior lumber and building products.
In addition to an extensive assortment of high-quality lumber, the lumberyard sells Marvin windows and doors, millwork, hardware and building materials. Hiawatha Lumber Company also offers delivery and cutting services.
“Providing an exceptional offering of quality brands like Marvin, Integrity, Acclimated, Heritage, Teal, SmartSide, Prestige, Paslode, GRK, Milwaukee, etc. help us focus on the customer’s real goal: a comfortable home to enjoy with their family,” stated Siwek. “Our experts can gain the trust of our customers by listening to their desires and offering great choices of product without a song and dance.”
“Whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer or a general contractor, we have quality materials for your small or large projects,” remarked general manager Jon Skoglund (photo left provided), who has worked at Hiawatha Lumber Company for over 34 years.
“We provide an option for people who like to stay in their neighborhood and shop locally, and get the type of customer service that isn’t always available in bigger stores.”
Hiawatha Lumber specializes in hard-to-find millwork from the 1900s. “In most cases, standard-size windows and doors don’t fit the homes in our neighborhood, so it’s beneficial to our customers to be able to buy products that not only are custom fit to their homes, but will last,” stated Skoglund.
“Our staff has years of service in the industry, so we can offer expert advice and support to those who need it. Although big-box stores may have lower prices and larger inventories, we have higher-quality lumber, and we can easily custom order products for our customers.”
History of Hiawatha Lumber
In 1900, Minneapolis was the leading lumber market in the world, and the city was home to scores of sawmills and lumberyards.
Photo right: Hiawatha Lumber began by selling chicken coops to customers that were personally delivered by the owner. The owner’s son, Denny Gustafson, took over in 1964 and operated the lumberyard for over 50 years. (Photo submitted)
Before 1930, the lumberyard along the railroad at 40th and Dight was known as Berg Lumber. The building sat vacant during the depression until 1940, when it became Hiawatha Lumber.
Hiawatha Lumber began by selling chicken coops to customers that were personally delivered by the owner.
The owner’s son, Denny Gustafson, took over in 1964 and operated the lumber yard for over 50 years.
For decades, Hiawatha Lumber Company flourished. New homes, basement finishing, garages, and remodeling were hot, and the 1960s and 1970s were boom times for the lumberyard and the neighborhood.
“With the troubled economy, 2008 was a hard time for us, but with loyal customers and cooperative suppliers, we were able to weather the storm while many other lumberyards closed as a result of the economic downturn,” recalled Skoglund.
In May of 2016, the new owners immediately doubled or tripled the in-stock inventory, and reduced prices by 20-30 percent.
Then they set about on their own construction project in the winter of 2017, remodeling the hardware store and showroom in the winter of 2017 to showcase products, specifically Marvin and Integrity Windows and Doors.
Refocused and more diverse
“Refocused on quality products and a bigger and more diverse inventory, Hiawatha Lumber Company has a new attitude of excellence, affordability, and creativity in our products,” said Siwek.
A grand re-opening was held in June. “We had a great turnout, and it was nice to see our customers and get in touch with our neighbors,” said Skoglund.
Customers like the remodeling they’ve done, he pointed out. Plus, the original sign from the 1940s on the front of the building that was unearthed during the renovation is a big hit. Also, customers like the variety and quality of products that are now being offered.
“If you haven’t visited us in a while, you should stop in,” encouraged Skoglund. “We have a new look with a lot of new products, and we’re right in the neighborhood.” More at hiawathalumber.com.

This article appeared in the August 2017 edition of the Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger.

Telling diverse stories of South Minneapolis is focus of new radio station

98.9 KRSM begins airing this fall to 300,000 Southside listeners and is already posting online content in six languages

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
A new community radio station dedicated to telling the stories of the densely populated, ethnically diverse South Minneapolis area is coming this fall.
After over five years of dreaming and planning, 98.9 KSRM is nearly ready to launch at the Waite House Community Center (2323 11th Ave. S.). A fundraising drive in June raised the money needed to build the antenna.
“Our community really came out to support us with local businesses, nonprofits, and community members collectively donating over $40,000,” said KRSM Radio Manager Brendan Kelly. “Our next step is to finalize construction plans, install the antenna, and then we’ll be ready to go.”
KRSM is a Low-Power FM station, which means that it will broadcast about five miles in each direction, covering 300,000 listeners in the Southside area. (See map to the right)
“This is community radio at its very most community,” said Kelly. “If I had my wish, every neighborhood would have something like this.”
He added, “South Minneapolis is a vibrant, diverse, and constantly changing part of our city. It’s home to a large Indigenous population (plus Little Earth, the birthplace of the American Indian Movement, and a Native Cultural Corridor on Franklin). It’s where more Somalis live than anywhere but Mogadishu. It’s where a lot of amazing artists and entrepreneurs and radical organizers call home. Why not build a platform to celebrate and share all of that?”
Online content in 6 languages
The Southside Media Project and 98.9 KSRM is a coalition of neighbors and nonprofits and is one part of Pillsbury United Communities’ Community Media Initiative that aims to provide a platform to raise up stories of the community.
About five years ago, concerned neighbors started meeting regularly with representatives from Pillsbury United Communities (Waite House), Little Earth of United Nations, Hope Community, and Main Street Project to discuss the possibility of creating a new media platform that more accurately reflected the communities, voices, and cultures of South Minneapolis.
Over those five years, the group successfully applied to the FCC for a license to broadcast at 98.9 FM, recruited over 100 volunteers, formed an advisory board, built a studio, led close to 60 free training sessions, launched the website (KRSMradio.org), and began broadcasting 83 hours of content each week.
Photo left: Greg Fields hosts The G Music Show for 98.9 KRSM Radio. The station hasn’t officially launched yet, but already has weekly content on its web site in six different languages (English, Spanish, Somali, Ojibwe, Hmong, and Haitian Creole). There are shows about mental health, politics, race and identity, food justice, entrepreneurship, architecture, and language, as well as lots of music. (Photo submitted)
The station will be a tool for sharing news, music, storytelling, debate, and public health/safety announcements.
“We haven’t even launched yet, and we already have weekly content in six different languages (English, Spanish, Somali, Ojibwe, Hmong, and Haitian Creole),” observed Kelly.
There are shows about mental health, politics, race and identity, food justice, entrepreneurship, architecture, and language, as well as lots of great music.
“A few of my favorite shows so far are Project 35 (an eclectic music show hosted by Válerie Déus), DesignHER Life (Felicia Perry’s ode to women of color creative entrepreneurs and the challenges they face), and The Jungle (where Adriana Foreman mixes great music with short recordings of dynamic Southsiders sharing whatever is in their heart at the moment…from reflections on student loans to guided meditations to poetry and self-care tips),” said Kelly.
He is also proud of some of the partnerships the station has formed with media makers outside Minneapolis.
“We’re airing fantastic content from reservation radio stations in Leech Lake and White Earth,” remarked Kelly. “We’re sharing Spanish language content from Democracy Now. Monday-Friday at noon, we share nationally syndicated call-in shows made specifically for Latinx communities (Tues./Wed,) and Indigenous populations (Mon./Thur./Fri.).”
Tradition of radio as place for civic conversation
Community radio played a crucial role in steering Kelly’s life in the direction it has taken.
“Radio K (1997-1999) was where I cut my teeth in Minneapolis,” recalled Kelly. It’s where he first tried out DJing and editing audio and recording promos and throwing shows and marketing and speaking in a community space. And it’s where he met local rapper Brother Ali.
“When I moved on from my show, I became Ali’s DJ and spent the next 15 years of my life recording, performing, and traveling… all thanks to community radio,” said Kelly.
In the past, when there were many local stations, the system allowed trusted voices to emerge from the community, Kelly pointed out. “It served as a petri dish for local music sounds. It was a place for civic conversation. We’re honoring that tradition while trying to update it with more attention to equity and representation.”
Representation also about who makes decisions
KSRM representatives have worked with five classrooms of kids from three different local schools, and the aim is to double those numbers next school year.
“But representation is about more than just who we put on the air, it’s about who we put in positions of power,” remarked Kelly.
So they’re working on creating paid internship programs to help orient young folks from the neighborhood with the behind-the-scenes work of running a radio station. They’ve been very intentional to fill their advisory board and the leadership positions on their volunteer committees with people of color and Indigenous folks.
“And our programming committee is spending this year to create an annual review process for each of our shows that will allow the hosts, their peers at the station, and listeners from the community to regularly check in with us about what we’re airing,” said Kelly. “Also, we have formal partnerships with Voices for Racial Justice and Hope Community (including representatives from each sitting on our advisory board) to make sure that we’re always holding ourselves accountable to our mission.”
“But, despite all of this, we will absolutely make mistakes,” Kelly said.
“And when we do,” Kelly added, “we’ll count on the community to lovingly hold us accountable and challenge us to do better.”
Email contact@KRSMradio.org to check in with an idea, criticism, or questions. Want to get involved? Join a volunteer committee, attend one of the free training sessions, or apply to host a show. Learn more on the web site KRSMradio.org under the header “Get involved.”