Minneapolis, MN

The Open House for the North Commons Water Park on Tuesday July 10th, was a welcomed event for many local kids.  The water park is a partnership between the YMCA of Metropolitan Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

Located on James Ave. N., the park offers a safe, fun environment for children of all ages.  While the open house on Tuesday was a free event, there are Scholarships available for low-income kids for the season.  Many more can take advantage of this opportunity and enjoy the fun at the North Commons Water Park.

Via: Star Tribune - North Commons Water Park holds open house

YMCA, Minneapolis Park and Recreation board

Minneapolis Public Schools are looking for feedback from parents that on improving the school system.  The school board has mailed out a survey to all parents looking to find ideas and perceptions on what works in the classroom.

This survey is an opportunity to tell the schools your ideas and point of view.  The school is open for suggestions and new ideas to solve problems or questions that they have for classroom work.  If you have any opinion of how the school can better serve your children, then this is one of many opportunities that you should take advantage of.

Via: StarTribune.com - Editorial: Minneapolis schools want to hear from you

While Minneapolis is not in the Volunteer state, it has a long history of volunteerism.  The community always seems to look after itself and help out in many situations that helped create the “Minnesota nice” reputation.

Many reasons from short commutes, to non-profit organizations bring people together to help out on community projects.  Many in the city clearly see the benefits of their hard work and get a sense of pride from the work involved.

Via: MNspeak.com - Minneapolis Leads in Volunteerism

See also: The Seattle Times - Residents of Minneapolis-St. Paul volunteer most; Seattle ranks 5th

Volunteers of America of Minnesota, Minnesota Nice

Interstate 35W that runs through Minneapolis was flooded on Sunday evening near Diamond Lake Road.  The heavy rains during the day Sunday made driving in the construction zone of the crosstown area a miserable experience.  Some of the drains were clogged and caused motorists to slowly plow through the deep water.  A line of thunderstorms had passed through the Minneapolis area Sunday afternoon and evening causing many similar problems city wide.  Though few real problems arose.

Interstate 35W

Tomorrow is Prince’s concert at Minneapolis’ own First Avenue, the club that he performed at for Purple Rain.  With tickets on sale for $31.21, it should be an accessible event for every Prince fan.

This concert performance directly follows a concert at the Target Center right across the street.  His purpleness should hit the stage around 11pm and have a mix of tunes, possibly with some from his new album due in about two weeks.

Prince, 3121, First Avenue, Target Center

Since Autumn of 2005, Matt Barbar has been serving in our armed services in Iraq with only a few trips home from time to time.  He and his wife Julie have been keeping in touch through the use of email, IM, and video chat.  So when the couple were expecting, the idea of setting up a Webcast for Matt to view the birth was a perfect solution as he is still in Iraq for another few weeks.

For three hours, with Julie’s mom typing her text messages, Matt was able to watch the birth and converse back and forth with his wife.  While not the same thing as being home and participating, he was able to experience seeing his daughter’s first few minutes of life.

You can read the full story by Julianna Olsen and watch a video interview over at KARE11.

And in the future if you scoff at online video or personal broadcasting, remember that all this great technology can be used for something special, like letting people participate in events that they normally would not be able to.

Congratulations to Matt and Julie Barbar!

Personal Broadcasting, Online Video

Have a fun and safe celebration of our nation’s birthday today!

Independence Day, 4th of July

Looking for something different for the 4th of July?  There will be an Independence Day celebration at Minnesota’s Historic Fort Snelling from 10am to 5pm on July 4th, 2007.  While not a free event, it should be a very fun and exciting place to celebrate our nation’s birthday.

Picture courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.

Via: MN Historical Society - Independence Day at Fort Snelling

Independence Day, 4th of July, Fort Snelling

The weather here in Minneapolis is pretty mediocre, it went from a beautiful sunny, 75°F partly cloudy Sunday to a rainy Monday.  Well, it’s looking good for the holiday on the 4th though, so one can hope!

The 4th annual Harmon Killebrew Classic is scheduled for July 15th and 16th this year.  The golf event will be held at the Mendakota Country Club this year and starts with registration at 8:30am on the 16th.

The full schedule of events are as follows:

• July 15th, 6pm to 9:30pm, Dinner and Auction - The Metrodome
• July 16th, 8:30am to 9:30am, Tournament Registration - Mendakota country Club
• July 16th, 10am, The Harmon Killebrew Classic Golf Tournament
• July 16th, 3pm, Awards Reception

For more information or to get involved with the event, contact the Harmon Killebrew Foundation (info@harmonkillebrewfoundation.org), and view the official Harmon Killebrew Classic PDF.

Harmon Killebrew Foundation