Park News - Apr 2025

Garden Tool Swaps May 10
Attention, gardeners! From seasoned growers to novice seed-sowers, all are welcome at the 5th Annual Minneapolis Garden Tool Swap. Neighborhood and community organizations are excited to once again offer this free event on Saturday, May 10 at Lake Hiawatha Park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and at Armatage Park and Martin Luther King Jr. Park from 9 a.m.-noon. Kenwood Community Center will host the swap from 1-4 p.m. along with other activities.
As you start Spring cleaning, hang on to unused yard tools, planters, garden décor, books, seeds, and more, and share them with neighbors at the swap. You do not need to bring items in order to take, and you may bring without taking. All items donated at the swap are free for any participant to take home.
There will also be garden tool swaps going on in Northeast, Prospect Park and North Minneapolis on May 3 and at Brian Coyle Center May 16 with donations accepted anytime. For more event details, visit the City’s web page Garden Tool Swap - City of Minneapolis. https://www.minneapolismn.gov/resident-services/garbage-recycling-cleanup/garden-tool-swap/ 
Thousands of items have found new uses over the years that Minneapolis Recycling has been supporting and tracking the swaps.

NO LONGER SIBLEY PARK
At the April 16, 2025 board meeting, Commissioners for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) approved a resolution to remove the name "Sibley" from the park and all park assets – including the recreation center building – located at 1900 East 40th Street at Longfellow Avenue in South Minneapolis. Efforts to rename the park originated in 2016, when community members and students at Sanford Middle School, also in South Minneapolis, submitted a request, based on the history of violence that the park’s original namesake, Henry Hastings Sibley, perpetuated against the Dakota people.
However, after raising concerns about the name, Indigenous advisors asked that MPRB establish a process to consult with Indigenous community members and Tribal Governments when considering Indigenous names for parks. Once that process is established and its Naming Policy is updated, MPRB will lead an Indigenous-centered process and timeline for determining a permanent new name for the park.

SEWARD LONGFELLOW RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SHUTTING DOWN
Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice is closing its doors as a standalone organization. The core programs and initiatives of Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice will continue under the stewardship of Restorative Justice Community Action (RJCA), a Minneapolis based organization since 1997. "RJCA is deeply aligned with our goals, is a partner on many of our contracts, and will ensure that the work we have all so diligently supported lives on to benefit the community," said Michele Braley of SLRJ.

Trail connection improvements
Construction resumes this spring on trail connection improvements at Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park.
Trail segments that were built last fall will be striped and receive new signs. This includes:
• New bike trail west of Amelia Pond, southwest of Lake Nokomis
• New trail east of Cedar Avenue, near the Cedar/Edgewater/Lake Nokomis
• Parkway intersection
• New trail crossing at 22nd Avenue and Lake Nokomis Parkway, near Lake Nokomis Community Center
A new pedestrian bridge over Minnehaha Creek next to Lake Hiawatha is scheduled to be installed in May. The bridge will be delivered in pieces, assembled onsite and then set in place with a crane.
A couple of additional trail segments have been added to the project:
• A new shared-use trail will connect the Shoreview and 54th Street Triangle Park to West Lake Nokomis Parkway.
• The existing bike trail on the south side of Minnehaha Parkway from Cedar Avenue to Lake Nokomis Community Center will be milled and overlaid with new asphalt.
Turf restoration, tree planting and seeding for all areas affected by construction work is scheduled to be complete by June, weather permitting.