Golfers rally to save the Hiawatha Golf Course

Photo above: A group of about 100 Hiawatha Golf Course supporters gathered on Tues., Aug. 15, in response to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board decision on Aug. 9 to shut down the course. They encourage residents to browse their site, SaveHiawatha18.com for more information and to get involved in saving the course. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

Following Park Board decision to close course, supporters come together to push back

Article and photos by TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
“We don’t want a beautiful recreational asset turned into a stormwater pond,” Jerry Mullin told a group of about 100 Hiawatha Golf Course supporters on Tues., Aug. 15.
Mullin, an environmental consultant who used to work for Baar Engineering, has lived across the street from the golf course for 20 years. He and other speakers at a rally in support of Hiawatha Golf Course charged that the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board process hasn’t been fair since the beginning, and they want to have more of a say in what happens at the course.
Photo right: Jerry Mullin, and other speakers at a rally in support of Hiawatha Golf Course, charged that the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board process hasn’t been fair since the beginning, and they want to have more of a say in what happens at the course.

Following a flood in 2014, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) learned that the course is pumping far more water off the property than allowed by a Department of Natural Resources permit. The park board began holding meetings in 2015 to update residents on what was happening at the course and to begin envisioning what else the land could be used for if it wasn’t a golf course.
On Aug. 9, the park board approved reducing the pumping from 242 million gallons to 94 million gallons by a 6-3 vote. The course is expected to remain open through the 2019 season.
Supporters push for advocacy
Kathryn Kelly grew up near the golf course, and her mom still resides in the neighborhood. “I believe if they flood this golf course all the houses down there are at risk for flooding,” said Kelly, who was at home during the 1987 flood when the water came up to Longfellow Ave.
Kelly also played golf at Hiawatha as a teenager when she was a member of the Roosevelt High School team. “I think it should stay,” she stated. Kelly doesn’t support the park board idea of putting in parking lots and a pavilion. “I don’t understand how you can build a pavilion on a swamp,” Kelly commented.
Mayoral candidate Nekima Levy-Pound (photo right) told the crowd she believes this situation is another example of the Park Board not listening to the people. “Unfortunately, they have too much unchecked power,” Levy-Pound said. “The November elections are coming up, and they’re very important because we have the chance to change park board leaders.”
Levy-Pound said that she didn’t understand how the park board is moving ahead with closing the course before it has a solid plan for redevelopment or the funds to pay for it.
Levy-Pound questioned, “How can golf be a dying sport at Hiawatha Golf Course if this course is used by so many?” She pointed to the youth that use the course, as well as all the people who showed up for the rally.
“I believe that because of the power of your advocacy, it will remain open,” Levy-Pound said.
Several other candidates for office within the city spoke to the crowd, including Charlie Casserly, at-large park board candidate; Bob Fine, who is running for the District 6 Park Board seat in the southwest section of the city; Bill Shroyer, District 5 Park Board candidate; and Andrea Fahrenkrug, District 5 Park Board candidate.
Shroyer is a 17-year Park Board employee in the forestry and maintenance department. “They’re going to dredge the Mississippi, and they can’t dredge this lake?” he asked.
Shroyer thinks the user numbers generated for the site if it were redeveloped are fake. “I know the food forest isn’t going to bring half a million people here,” said Shroyer. “This is a success, and we’re not going to give it up.”
Andrea Fahrenkrug’s husband grew up playing the course at Hiawatha. She understands that some people don’t like to play golf and don’t use the course. “That’s fine,” she said. “You don’t have to want a golf course. We want a golf course.” She believes that diversity in the activities offered within the park system is important.
Bobbie Warfield (photo left) agreed. “There are 6,800 acres of park land in Minneapolis,” he pointed out. “What are we going to get by having another restaurant in Minneapolis? But this is the only golf course in south Minneapolis.”
Course supporters encouraged people to browse SaveHiawatha18.com for more information on how to get involved in saving the golf course.
MPRB’S next steps
Earlier in August, the MPRB directed staff to organize a process of amending the Nokomis Hiawatha Regional Park Master Plan to accommodate changes to the Hiawatha Golf Course property following the decision to reduce pumping there.
MPRB will be forming a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to determine if some form of traditional golf can remain on the property.
The process to determine the future usage of the course is estimated to take between nine and 12 months, according to a press release. The process to prepare plans and obtain permits will take another 12 months or more. During that time, MPRB will work with the DNR to continue current pumping levels so that Hiawatha Golf Course will remain open as an 18-hole golf course until at least the end of 2019.

Nokomis playground re-opens

Officials and community members including Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Commissioner Steffanie Musich and Nokomis East Neighborhood Association Board President Mike Ferrin, officially cut the ribbon to open the updated Nokomis Community Center playground on Friday, July 28, 2017. The $300,000 cost of the improvements came from 2015 CIP net debt bonds.  Work started in May, and included “logs” for balancing on and “wood” stepping stones made from recycled plastic materials, “tree” poles for climbing, and raised hills. There’s a “birds nest” to play in on one of the three-to-four-foot high raised hills, and a taller structure on another. There will be one tall slide and two smaller ones, a climber, diggers, swings and Willow Thicket. Planners tied the existing disconnected play structures into a single playground through the use of a long concrete border (that doubles as a balance beam for children) and a single container filled with an ADA-compliant surface. Bollards around the playground area had yet to be placed as of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The project has experienced some delays due to weather.

Avery Asante, 5, of Bloomington tries out the new swing after hopping from log to log in another section of the playground. “We love it,” said his father, Andrew Asante. “It’s nice to go to different parks.” To get a feel for how residents used the old equipment, playground designer Chris Desroches observed it in person and then factored in resident comments before fashioning the new design. Comments were solicited last year three open houses and the Monarch Festival.

“The park board has made significant investments in our neighborhood, and we couldn’t be more thrilled,” said Nokomis East Neighborhood Association Board President Mike Ferrin, referring to the new playground at Nokomis Community Center and the updates at Bossen field.

Four-year-old Faye Saybolt goes down the big slide at the Nokomis Community Center playground, a feature that residents recall having been there in the past and asked for again, according to project manager Beth Pfeifer. “It’s amazing,” said Faye’s mother, Jennifer Saybolt, who lives near the lake.

Max Kyle, age 3.5, of Ericsson, climbs on the raised hills that play off the nature area nearby but don’t replicate it. Kyle attends the preschool program at the Nokomis Community Center and will be seeing a lot of this playground, according to his father, Collin Lyle. “It’s nice that they updated it,” said Lyle. A surprise for the kids includes the old dolphin with teeth and a bowler hat buried in the sand so that children can dig it up. Planners think this lends towards the desire by community residents to keep pieces that inspire creativity.

When it was possible, old pieces such as the pull-up bars and metal arch were re-used. They will also be repainted to match the new items at the playground. The Willow Thicket that has been at the Rose Garden temporarily has found a permanent home at the Nokomis playground. 

Parks Commissioner Steffanie Musich is most excited by the natural play area to the south of the new playground equipment. It is the first like it in Minneapolis and will provide an example of how to do this elsewhere. “So many kids in an urban environment don’t have the opportunity to get comfortable with nature in a tactile way.” (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

Photos by Tesha M. Christensen

Appeared in the September 2017 Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger

Well-known Minnesota chef plans to open restaurant in The Capp

Development near 46th and Hiawatha will also include grocery store, other retail, and 150 apartments

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
James Beard Award nominee chef Erick Harcey plans to open a new restaurant next year in The CAPP building, a mixed-use project near 46th and Hiawatha that will include a grocery store.
The restaurant at 3939 46th St. E. will be part of a five-story mixed-use development proposed by Excelsior-based Oppidan Investment Company. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2018.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to develop a restaurant in the Longfellow neighborhood,” Harcey said in a press release. “My team and I are looking forward to bringing an approachable space to the area and a destination for all.”
Name, concept still unknown
The new 4,000-foot, one-story restaurant building (illustration right provided by Oppidan) with outdoor seating will be located on the northwest slice of the property, between the extension of Snelling Ave. and the railroad tracks. The five-story building with the grocery store will be to the east, replacing the current structure that houses Creative Kidstuff’s corporate offices.
Harcey has not yet picked a name for his new restaurant, and other details, including concept and menu, are still in the works.
The new restaurant in Longfellow near Minnehaha Park comes at a time of flux for Harcey, who has recently stopped serving the “Perfect Burger” at his Victory 44 restaurant in North Minneapolis and shuttered the Upton 43 and Dirty Bird take-out in Linden Hills. The Upton 43, known for its modern spin on Nordic food, will be reopening at a smaller location in the North Loop.
Harcey’s deep Swedish roots are at the source of his cooking, according to his website.
“He has never quite recreated, in later life, the joy of coming home from school in Cambridge, MN, and smell, before he even opened the door, that his mother was baking potato dill bread. And it was several long talks near the end of his Swedish grandfather’s life that gave him the ultimate vision for Upton 43. But Chef Harcey is just as influenced by Marco Pierre White’s White Heat, and the insatiable inventiveness of Ferran Adría.”
When he’s not in the kitchen or planning a new restaurant, Harcey might be found coaching one of his four son’s baseball teams or trying to get a fat walleye to bite the end of his line.
No grocery store named yet
Both the restaurant building and the five-story structure with a grocery store, 150 apartments and pedestrian-friendly town center were reviewed by the city’s planning commission on July 17.
“We received project approvals from the Minneapolis planning commission about a month ago and are very excited, but still have some big challenges,” said Drew Johnson of Oppidan.
Photo right: James Beard Award nominee chef Erick Harcey plans to open a new restaurant next year in The CAPP building near Hiawatha and 46th, part of a multi-use development that will include 150 apartments and a grocery store. (Illustrations courtesy of Oppidan)
A grocer has not yet been selected.
“Now that we are approved, we’re going to the market to see who can best meet/achieve the specific land-use requirements of Minneapolis,” said Johnson.
Challenge ahead for the project include funding for the public improvements, including the new city street, Min Hi Line trail project, and relocating the Xcel power poles.
The city approved a variance to increase the maximum allowed gross floor area for commercial use from 20,000 square feet to 47,280 square feet, subject to a few conditions. Staff recommended that a principal entrance, accessible to the public during the open hours of operation, be prominently located at the corner of 46th St and Snelling Ave., and at least one commercial tenant space in addition to the grocery store face 46th St.
The city also requires that architectural elements, such as windows, shall be incorporated on the north, east and west building elevations to prevent blank, uninterrupted walls exceeding 25 feet in width as required by section 530.120 of the zoning code. On the west elevation of the elevator/stair tower and at the upper floors of the corner of the building facing 46th St and Snelling Ave, additional consideration shall be given to ensure the corner of the building is an attractive focal point with visual interest. Also, to be consistent with the zoning code, the exterior appearance of the face brick and thin brick cladding on the insulated precast wall panels will match, and the types of metal panel used will be limited to two, one of which will be an accent material.
At least 32 bicycle parking spaces must be provided for the nonresidential uses. Bicycle parking facilities provided between the building and 46th St. will be oriented parallel to the building. Oppidan was directed to explore relocating the bike parking to a location that is not between the building and a street, as well as options for installing discontinuous curbing to allow the on-site retention and infiltration of stormwater in landscaped areas.
The planning commission also gave a deadline for the project: all site improvements shall be completed by July 17, 2019.

Frogtown Radio WFNU 94.1 FM opening up airwaves in St. Paul

Line-up includes 40 music and talk shows representing all sorts of race, class, culture, and religious backgrounds

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
Radio station 94.1 FM WFNU, located in Frogtown, is allowing the St. Paul community to speak for itself. The station covers approximately a 5-mile radius and includes all of the Midway Como Monitor delivery area.
Check out the 40 original shows, ranging from funk, metal, gospel, oddball country, experimental, jazz, and local hip hop music shows. Plus there are talk shows covering many varied experiences from fatherhood, sobriety and recovering, finding self as a Korean adoptee, local businesses, conservative and liberal political talk, high school sports, and spoken word.
“We have a show for everyone!” stated WFNU-LP Frogtown Community Radio Station Director Simona Zappas (photo left, provided).
“Our programmers come from all sorts of race, class, cultural, and religious backgrounds, and bring their own experiences and taste to their shows.”
They are always looking for new people to join the team.
“I’m starting to work on recruiting more women and LGBTQIA folks to join the station because right now most of our programmers are male,” remarked Zappas. “I’m really looking forward to more folks joining our growing station, and I’m grateful to everyone who is already part of it. Everyone puts so much of themselves into their shows, and it really pays off.”
The WFNU broadcast range covers downtown Saint Paul, most of St. Paul’s west side, and a snippet of South Minneapolis. Those not in the coverage area can stream at wfnu.org or on the app which you can find by searching WFNU on either the App or Google Play store.
Four years in the making
It took about four years to get WFNU an FM license. In 2011, President Obama signed the Local Community Radio Act, which opened up a finite number of low-power FM licenses, allowing for new frequencies to create community stations across the country.
“The exciting opportunity caught the eye of the Sam Buffington, the head organizer of the Frogtown Neighborhood Association (The FNA),” recalled Zappas. “Sam was the driving visioning force behind the effort to get Frogtown a radio station. At the time, Frogtown was the only neighborhood in Saint Paul that did not have a free community newspaper to share local news. Radio offered a cheaper, dynamic way to organize the community.”
To drive this project, Buffington brought on WFNU’s first, pioneering director, Julie Censullo.
It was clear the FCC would not do this again, pointed out Zappas, so organizers from Frogtown and Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis formed the Twin Cities Community Radio Initiative and began working with community members to submit applications to the FCC.
Photo right: Diverse representation and actually reflecting who is part of the Frogtown Community are fundamental to why WFNU exists. The station actively works to recruit and train folks to run their own radio shows. For more information, browse wfnu.org. (Photo submitted)
In December of 2014, the FCC granted the FNA a permit to build a community radio station and broadcast on 94.1 FM. By April of 2015, WFNU had recruited and trained enough volunteers to broadcast its first show. Initially, WFNU only existed online, as money was raised to get an antenna and build a studio.
In August 2016, the antenna went up, and WFNU began broadcasting on FM.
“In most cases, large media groups or corporations administer and project an identity onto a community by either positive or negative portrayals on TV, press or radio. Usually, these portrayals are built from racist, classist and sexist assumptions,” pointed out Zappas.
“Local radio is a great way to buck off those assumptions by having actual community members speak up about what is going on in their lives, their neighborhood, and their world. It’s a great way to share authentic identities by inviting neighbors to share their thoughts and play really good music.”
Using media to share stories
Zappas was hired to work at the station in February 2017. She has loved radio for a long time.
Her high school actually had a small station where kids could DJ during lunch for the rest of the student body. “It was controlled by a group of older boys who thought they were a lot cooler than they were and despite my repeated asks, they would not let me DJ. I figured it was since I’m a girl,” said Zappas.
“So, I spoke up and reminded the group that the station was for the whole student body and not just a select few. That’s really been my mentality and approach to media since then—decentralize the exclusionary power and share it with more folks.”
She studied media and cultural studies at Macalester while climbing the ranks at the radio station to ultimately become a co-director. She also interned and produced an original show at the St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN). Next, she worked in the Youth Department at Neighborhood House as a CTEP Americorps worker and added media-literacy elements to the existing curriculum.
“In my career so far, I have been fortunate to be part of a number of organizations who have been doing fantastic work in community media and media justice,” remarked Zappas. “This work is important to me because using media to share stories, and gain technology skills is an amazing way to feel empowered.”
Since joining WFNU, she has been working to expand the station and build stronger internal policies.
Opening up airwaves to all
“What’s really cool about radio is that the transmitters used have a limit of how far they can transmit sound,” said Zappas. “I know that sounds like a negative, but for WFNU we’re really trying to be St. Paul’s radio station, so with that in mind, how cool is it that our transmitter is strongest in St. Paul!”
Radio is also valuable because it’s one of the cheapest forms of media for listeners to use, and it doesn’t require much digital literacy she pointed out.
Diverse representation and actually reflecting who is part of the Frogtown Community are fundamental to why WFNU exists and why it is so good, according to Zappas.
“Radio is historically dominated by cisgendered, white men, and the ability to move upward in the field is really limited by access to higher education,” she said. “WFNU is determined to challenge those practices by making training in broadcasting accessible to anyone regardless of their background, and to opening up the airwaves to all folks.”
Anyone interested in having their own show can apply on the website. A number of volunteer committees are open to the public to join, including show selection and fundraising, or the general steering committee. To learn more, email simona@wfnu.org.

Article appeared in the August 2017 St. Paul Monitor.

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.”