Update on Hiawatha Golf Course

The MPRB began and supported several small but impactful projects at Hiawatha Golf Course while funding for a more comprehensive design effort was secured.

 

Installed in June 2023 and operated by the city of Minneapolis, the three-boom system captures trash entering Lake Hiawatha via the north storm pipe. In four months following installation, it captured:

• 23.7 lbs or 14.6 cubic feet of recyclable materials.

•232.8 lbs or 40.8 cubic feet of trash.

 

• Volunteer-led initiative.

• Featured Dakota-led site tours around Lake Hiawatha.

• Identified plants and explained their uses.

• Spoke about their upbringing and the history of the Dakota people in Minnesota.

• Spoke about the treaties between the U.S. government and the Dakota tribes.

 

• Volunteer-led experimental planting to engage and educate members of the public.

• Small planting on a sediment island at the outlet of the north storm pipe and along the lake's  south shore.

• Local volunteers planted several species of riparian and emergent plants.

 

Groundwater Monitoring Wells

• Completed installation of four wells in addition to the existing four wells. This will allow the MPRB to download and compile data from a broader area, resulting in high-accuracy models.

• In early 2024, this summarized data will be available. 

• This information will be used to better model groundwater and prepare for future design work at Lake Hiawatha.

 

An updated timeline for the project was presented at the Jan. 3, 2024 board meeting. The work has been broken into two parts, and construction could begin in 2027.

Over the next few months, a Community Engagement Assessment and Plan will be drafted and coupled with a Project Charter. The Charter will include the basic project information, the project purpose and objectives, roles and responsibilities of project team members, major project goals, potential scopes of work for consulting services, project background, project schedule and milestones, and funding sources for the initial phases of design.

Concurrent with the community engagement and charter documents, the MPRB will also be advertising for Statements of Qualification from local and national firms. The project teams will consist of landscape architects, golf course architects, engineers, community engagement specialists, and others that will help the MPRB move forward with design work at Lake Hiawatha.

This next phase of design will begin in spring 2024. Community engagement with neighbors, the golfing community, environmentalists, and indigenous peoples will continue throughout this work.