🚶 March miscellanea: Announcing the Great Longfellow Saunter

First, an announcement: Longfellow Whatever is hosting its inaugural event — The Great Longfellow Saunter — on Saturday, June 6.

It'll be a pretty straightforward affair: We'll meet at Minnehaha Falls and walk a loop of the neighborhood's three main commercial corridors. Along the way, you might take in areas that you don't normally see on foot, and have occasion to meet the types of people who, like you, show up to things like this. (But it's plenty permissible to just wear headphones and walk in the company of others, or only talk to the person you came with.)

The route is about six miles in total and will probably take in the ballpark of three hours, depending on how often you stop. (Stopping is actively encouraged.)

It's free and open to everyone, including non-subscribers and people who want to abbreviate the route. It just requires a simple pre-registration. See you there, maybe!

🛝 The Cooper Playground is fully up and running after much of it was rebuilt this winter. It's a long time coming for the group of residents who organized to save the vacant property's playground after the school board abruptly announced plans to demolish it in 2023.

Crews will soon put the finishing touches on the area now that the ground is fully thawed, and the group is planning an event to commemorate the effort later this spring.

Meanwhile, plans are still moving forward for the Native American magnet school Anishinabe Academy to relocate to the long-vacant site as early as 2028.

• Read more: New hope for saving Cooper Playground (March 2024)
• Read more: MPS eyeing vacant Cooper School for new home of Anishinabe Academy (March 2025)

💸 Routine update on the Greater Longfellow Neighbor Relief Fund, Longfellow's largest fund for people impacted by Operation Metro Surge: The fund has eclipsed $275,000 raised since February 1 and continues steady fundraising even as the national profile of the crisis has abated. The Howe Daily Kitchen will donate 10 percent of sales to the fund on April 6. True Finds Vintage will donate $5 for every sale March 27 and April 4.

• Read more: Anatomy of a neighborhood aid fund (Feb. 2026)

💸 Another prominent neighborhood mutual aid project, Do'Gooders MN, is hosting a fundraiser on April 13 at the Hook and Ladder.

💸 A group of educators is hosting a mutual aid fundraiser, Southside Share the Wealth, for south Minneapolis students impacted by ICE operations at the Hook and Ladder on April 12. There will be live music, a silent auction, and student artwork for sale.

🗳️ Applications to run for the Longfellow Community Council board are due Wednesday. Neighbors can hear from candidates and the group's leaders at the LCC Annual Meeting — while eating free tacos from Habanero — on April 9 at Brackett Park.

🏷️ Speaking of LCC, the group's annual garage sale weekend is scheduled for June 12-14. Register your sale by May 19 to be included in the official map.

🍔 Quite a few people have inquired about the cadre of "I ❤️ 🍔 " signs that appeared in the front yard of a house at 39th and 39th this winter. Prank? Coded political message? Actual intense enthusiasm for burgers?

The short story: Owner Jeff Petrovitch had used his visible corner lot to host a slew of election signs this fall. Once election season was over, he was brainstorming with friends about absurd, pointless signs he could replace them with, and one person who was party to that conversation gifted him a ten-pack of these for his birthday. When his partner asked him how many he planned to display, he dutifully replied: "All of them, of course."

As for that other, slightly less absurd sign in the yard? If you'd like one for free — or if you want to replace one damaged during the winter — you can request one here.

🌿 Remember Ian Young, who led a group of neighbors on his block to install native plantings in the boulevard, and put together a playbook to help you do the same? He's partnered with LCC to begin that project in earnest, and is currently recruiting participants. Sign up here.

• Read more: Ian Young wants to help you help your neighbor plant their boulevard (Sept. 2025)