🚧 August miscellanea: Monthslong construction will soon begin at 46th and Hiawatha

A four-month project to reconstruct the 46th and Hiawatha intersection will begin next week, creating a traffic bottleneck at the intersection that handles more than 30,000 cars per day.

Between September 8 and December, Hiawatha will be reduced to one lane in each direction between 44th Street and the tunnel under Minnehaha Parkway. 46th Street will be closed between Hiawatha and the entrance to the 46th Street light rail station. So, you won't be able to cross Hiawatha on 46th Street, but you'll be able to turn between the two roads on the Longfellow side. Except during the month of September, when the right-turn lane from northbound Hiawatha onto eastbound 46th Street will be closed.

The light rail will continue to run as normal. The buses that pass through the intersection — 7, 9, 74, and A Line — will still stop at the 46th Street transit statio and will be routed through a series of detours along 42nd Street.

The state Department of Transportation secured federal highway funds to help pay for the $1.8 million in safety improvements at the intersection, which the city considers one of the most hazardous in the area. Most notably, the project will add a signalized pedestrian crossing at 45th Street while fencing the median between 45th and 46th, in an effort to deter jaywalkers crossing to and from the mid-block light rail station. (Planners say the stoplight will be synced with the 46th intersection to avoid getting caught at both.) The project will also reduce a lane from 46th Street in each direction, rework the bike trail connection, and add pedestrian refuges.

The work is scheduled to wrap up in December. For an excruciating level of detail on the plan, check out this write-up from last spring.

🚨 Late-night shooting near Longfellow Park

A late-night party at an Airbnb near Longfellow Park turned violent last weekend, resulting in more than 80 rounds of gunfire up and down the 3300 block of 38th Avenue. One partygoer was shot, and bullet holes were found in multiple homes and at least one car.

On the night of August 15, neighbors noticed a growing number of cars parking outside a party at 3301 38th Avenue. At some point after midnight, police visited in response to a noise complaint, but left when the party appeared quiet from the outside. Around 4:30 a.m., neighbors reported hearing a flurry of gunfire down the block, followed by vehicles racing out of the area. Soon after, a man in his twenties checked himself into Abbott Northwestern Hospital with gunshot wounds.

The house is owned by a Maplewood couple and has been licensed as a short-term rental since they purchased it in 2023. (City records show there are 38 active short-term rental licenses throughout the neighborhood.) Police records indicate the property has not received any other 911 complaints during that time. It is no longer listed on Airbnb.

A group of neighbors organized a meeting at Longfellow Park on Thursday to discuss the events. Several dozen residents attended, along with City Councilmembers Aurin Chowdhury and Jason Chavez, and Minneapolis Police Department Third Precinct Inspector Jose Gomez and Commander Richard Zimmerman. Police told attendees that they've identified a suspect but haven't made an arrest.

At Brackett Park this week, neighbors reported bursts of overnight gunfire on two separate nights. It's the first reported incident since a string of late-night gunplay events in Brackett Park last winter.

⚠️ Nationwide salmonella outbreak traced back to Longfellow produce distributor

A salmonella and E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 55 people in 15 states traces back to a Longfellow-based company called Everything Sprouts, according to the FDA.

The company has hydroponically grown sprouts out of a facility on 26th Avenue and 28th Street for more than 30 years, originally under the name "Calco." According to its website, the company "was founded in 1991 in Minneapolis by fifth-generation mung bean sprouters from Japan" and today distributes to Cub Foods, Kowalski's, Jerry's, and several local co-ops. The company has had previous food contamination issues at the facility in 2007 and 2003.

The facility received a letter from the FDA last year warning of "serious violations" from a recent inspection. This weekend, the company issued a recall of its alfalfa sprouts. At least two lawsuits have been filed against them.

The company built the 17,000-square-foot plant on the site of an old railyard parking lot in 1991. Since 2008, it has leased part of the building to the Ethiopian restaurant and injera bread manufacturer Katar River.

💸 Ward 12 would see highest city tax increase under proposed 2027 budget

Ward 12 homeowners would face the highest property tax increase of any ward in the city under Mayor Jacob Frey's proposed 2027 budget, according to the city's levy impact estimator.

The median Ward 12 owner-occupied home — with a value of $341,000 — would face about a 20 percent hike in city taxes next year, or an additional $409. (That doesn't include county, state, or school district levies.) Ward 12 encompasses a majority of the neighborhood, along with areas north and east of Lake Nokomis. In Ward 9, which covers the northwest quadrant of the neighborhood, the median homeowner faces a 13 percent increase.

Though the mayor's budget proposes an overall 11.3 percent increase in the city's levy, it's not spread evenly. Falling commercial property values have pushed more of the tax burden to residential properties. The relative increase in Ward 12 is due to property valuations rising faster there than in other wards.

The city council is in the midst of a series of public meetings about the budget, concluding in December.

🍽️ Square Roots plans to open by mid-September

Square Roots, the nonprofit soul food restaurant planned to take over the former Lagniappe space at 27th and Lake, is nearly ready to open. Founder Jared Brewington says they're just waiting on the restaurant's liquor license, which he anticipates will be approved within the next two weeks.

The adjoining back room, formerly the Du Nord Cocktail Room, is still slated to become a coffee-and-breakfast joint run by a related entity. He says that venture won't open until later this year.

The nonprofit restaurant is paired with a six-month training program for young culinary students, and will be funded in part by workforce development grants. The first cohort of students begins classes in October.

• Read more: "Square Roots" restaurant taking over the old Lagniappe space (June 2026)