The Minnesota Legislature recently gaveled into session, bringing with it a major opportunity to support the Transforming North Commons campaign – a transformational investment for the North Minneapolis community and the broader region. This is a “traditional” bonding bill year, when capital improvement projects from across the state can receive funding.
Along with our partners at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, our #1 legislative priority this session is making sure $6 million is included in the bonding bill. If we are successful in securing these public dollars, then we only have $3.1 million more to raise from private donors to ensure North Commons is completed as promised.
You don’t need to follow the news daily to know that the current state of our politics is fraught with tension. While bonding bills have historically been an area of bipartisan cooperation, today’s political climate has made them more difficult to pass.
But I refuse to give up hope in our democracy. I believe that everyday civic actions, like calling or writing to elected officials, are an antidote to the political dysfunction we’ve been experiencing lately.
In that spirit, you’ll likely see us asking you to contact your legislators in support of North Commons as the bonding bill moves through the legislative process in the coming months. But today, I’m asking you to do something citizens are rarely asked to do – please thank the legislators who have tirelessly championed North Commons for many years: Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, Rep. Fue Lee, and Rep. Esther Agbaje. You can find out how to contact them and a sample message on our North Commons page.
Together we do have the power to ensure that North Commons gets the bonding support it deserves. Thank you in advance for standing together and speaking up.
Image Credit: Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board