🍁 Mid-October rundown

🏷️ American Rug Laundry will move by the end of the year

American Rug Laundry is moving to St. Paul, and will be out of the Lake Street building it has occupied for 107 years by the end of the year.

In 2019, the company moved most of its rug cleaning operations to a new facility in Golden Valley. Since then, they've only used the Lake Street building for pickup-dropoff and as a retail showroom.

They put the building up for sale in February and it recently sold to an undisclosed buyer. Now, they're moving to a smaller retail location in St. Paul at Fairview and St. Clair. An employee said they plan to bring the iconic sign to the new location.

The company has operated continuously at 4222 East Lake since 1918, making it the neighborhood's longest-running business outside of two mills on Hiawatha. Brothers Sam and Far Navab have owned the business since 1999. They're offering 50 percent off all rugs in the store until the move.

• Read more: American Rug Laundry for sale (Feb. 2025)

🗳️ 2025 election overview

Early voting is now open ahead of November 4's massive municipal election, which will determine the entire City Council, Mayor, and Park Board.

The northwest quadrant of the neighborhood – north of 34th Street and west of 38th Avenue, for the most part – is part of Ward 9, while the rest is part of Ward 12. As in most other wards, the council election will be a showdown between what has equalized into something like a two-party system in Minneapolis politics: A "progressive" wing, which currently has a majority on the city council and is often associated with the PAC Minneapolis for the Many; and a "moderate" wing, aligned with Mayor Jacob Frey and often associated with the PAC All of Minneapolis.

In Ward 9, incumbent Jason Chavez is running for a third term with the endorsement of the Minneapolis DFL. The former legislative aide, part of the progressive wing, won the Ward 9 seat in 2021 and was elected again in 2023. He's challenged by Dan Orban, a lecturer at the University of Minnesota who is endorsed by All of Minneapolis. Chavez defeated Orban in the 2023 election with 78 percent of the vote.

In Ward 12, incumbent Aurin Chowdhury is running for a second term with the endorsement of the Minneapolis DFL. Also a member of the council's progressive wing, she'd worked as an aide for Chavez before winning a special election to take over for outgoing Andrew Johnson in 2023. Her primary challenger is Becka Thompson, a teacher who represented a northside district on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board until recently, when she resigned to move her official residency to Cooper. Thompson is endorsed by All of Minneapolis. Edward Bear Stops is also running in Ward 12.

On the park board, incumbent Stephanie Musich is running for a fourth term in District 5, which as of next year will cover the entire neighborhood. She's up against challengers Colton Baldus, Kay Carvajal Moran, and Justin Theodore Cermak.

The League of Women Voters hosted a candidate forum in each ward this month, which is typically the best opportunity to hear from all candidates in one room. You can watch Ward 9 here and Ward 12 here. The Park Board forum will be held October 29 at the downtown library.

The Star Tribune and Sahan Journal also publish nonpartisan questionnaire responses from each candidate.

🏫 Plan for new Anishinabe Academy building moving forward

The school board is continuing progress on a plan to move Anishinabe Academy to the former Cooper School at 44th Avenue and 33rd Street.

In March, a task force recommended moving Anishinabe, a Native American magnet school, from its current location inside the Anne Sullivan School to the site of the long-vacant Cooper School. The board approved the plan this summer, which could involve either tearing down Cooper and building a new facility in its place, or adding onto the existing building.

The board hired an architect in August. Yesterday the project team hosted an "Idea Sharing Gathering" and will host a virtual version of the meeting on October 20. The preliminary plan is to begin construction next fall and open in 2028.

• Read more: MPS eyeing vacant Cooper School for new home of Anishinabe Academy (March 2025)

Etc.

🚗 NAPA Auto Parts at 34th and Lake has closed. With the closure of O'Reilly Auto Parts in 2020, that leaves AutoZone at Lake and Minnehaha as the only auto parts shop left in the neighborhood. AutoZone's building is for sale, but the shop's lease runs through 2036.