The Autumn Daze Festival is one of the best festivals around. It lasts three days, and it is some of the most fun I have every year. The Autumn Daze Festival started on Friday, September 16th, and lasted until Sunday, September 18th. The St. Helena Catholic Parish located at 3204 East 43^rd Street hosts the festival to help raise money for the parish and school, where I am a student in the 8^th grade. This festival has been around for as far back as I can remember. 

Every year, a few weeks before the festival, my family and I deliver the Autumn Daze Express newspaper around the Corcoran Neighborhood to inform all of our neighbors about the upcoming event. Many people in our area consider the festival to be the unofficial end of summer for South Minneapolis.  My family and many of my neighbors in the Corcoran Neighborhood attend the festival every year.

On Oct. 25 there will be a public hearing on Minneapolis Public Schools’ (MPS) proposal to demolish the building at 2019 East Lake Street. 4:30 p.m. in Room 317 of City Hall, 350 South 5th Street (this is a meeting of the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission). MPS has purchased this and several other properties at 21^st and East Lake, and has demolished the other buildings to make way for a new 90,000 square foot, four-story education facility with a 160-stall off-street parking facility to house its Adult Basic Education (ABE) and Transitions Plus programs. The CNO Board is on record supporting these plans and led efforts to find this location in order to keep ABE in Corcoran with strong light rail and bus connections, consistent with the desires of ABE students and faculty. ABE will need to move from its current home at 2225 East Lake by the summer of 2018 to accommodate the next phase of Hennepin County’s master development plan for that site. The CNO Board is also on record supporting the preservation of the history of Burma Shave company’s former operations at 2019 East Lake, but is aware of no viable plan to invest in and repurpose the structure proposed for demolition. For more information on CNO’s position please contact executive director Eric Gustafson at 612-724-7457 or eric@corcoranneighborhood.org.

Thank you Corcoran neighbors, and CNO, for your interest in the history of the building at 2019 East Lake Street built in 1882 as Vine Congregational Church on 23rd Avenue South, and moved to its present site in 1892. A hearing before the Historic Preservation Commission has been scheduled for 4:30pm, Tuesday October 25th, in room 317, Minneapolis City Hall, 350 South Fifth Street. This meeting is open to the public, and I invite you to attend and express your support for preserving the rich history of this building and our neighborhood. After Vine Church built its new building in 1911, (now Vine Evangelical Church), the building became Hugnad Hall, a meeting place for the International Scandinavian Workers Association, and then was converted to a factory building in 1916 where Nell Wingert made her line of bonnets, aprons and knickers. In 1925 the Burma Shave company moved in and until 1940 made shaving cream and signs, growing to a nationally known company with 7,000 sets of roadside signs throughout the country. This building has been repurposed over and over for 134 years, and can be again! 

Corcoran Park Players will present THE RIVALS by Richard Brinsley Sheridan for three performances October 11, 12 and 13 at the Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church.

The Rivals follows Lydia Languish, a young lady who reads too many romance novels. She’s pursued by various suitors. Included among them are Bob Acres, Sir Lucius O'Trigger, and Jack Absolute (posing as Ensign Beverley). She prefers Beverly. Meanwhile, her aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, is carrying out an anonymous correspondence with Sir Lucius. Lydia’s cousin, Julia loves Faulkland. Sir Anthony Absolute arranges for his son to marry Lydia, however Ensign Beverly has been challenged to a duel by Bob Acres. Who will win the woman? You’ll need to see the play to find out!

Our local neighborhood organization, Corcoran Neighborhood Organization (CNO), is one of the most active and effective neighborhood organizations in Minneapolis. CNO (and other neighborhood organizations) have historically been funded primarily through city contracts through the Community Participation Program (CPP) and Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP). This funding covers less than one-fifth of our annual operating budget so in order to maintain high quality and sustainable programs, CNO relies on grants, program and event income, and individual donations to support our strong but lean operations. 

The CNO Board of Directors has set a goal to raise $5000 for CNO during our fall annual appeal campaign. We invite you to support our work by making a financial contribution in any amount.

As fall arrives the Midtown Farmers Market season is nearing its end, so be sure to enjoy all the market has to offer in its final month for 2016. As we head into October there are only five remaining Saturday markets and four Tuesday markets left this season! The last Tuesday market is October 25^th and the last Saturday market is October 29^th. Although the market season is almost over there will still be plenty of great items available at the market and plenty of activities to come out and enjoy. Be sure to stock up on fresh, local veggies for canning and pickling and don’t miss your final opportunities to enjoy the market and visit with friends, neighbors and our wonderful vendors before the season draws to a close. 

The following excerpt from a Sept. 14 Star Tribune article, "Minneapolis landlord Stephen Frenz deceived court, housing referee rules," provides an update on ongoing court proceedings against Frenz, who is currently selling 5 buildings comprising 69 units on the 31xx block of 22nd Avenue in the Corcoran neighborhood, a move that is expected to cause the displacement of many of the existing residents. Find a link to the complete article and other recent press on these buildings at www.corcoranneighborhood.org.

“A Hennepin Court housing court referee has ruled that Stephen Frenz, one of Minneapolis’ biggest landlords, deceived the court in a deliberate and elaborate scheme to get a lawsuit dismissed. Once the ruse failed, the ruling said, Frenz offered testimony that was not credible.

Thank you to those who invested in CNO this month. Your investment ensures residents are engaged in community processes to strengthen our neighborhood. We are grateful for you contribution and trust in our work.

Liz Blood, In Honor of Richard Phillip

Stacey Burns

Andrea Cecconi

Kate Duffy

Jean Emmons

Erika Garcia

Ginny Gelms

Jullonne Glad

Eric and Kimara Gustafson

Fierce Ferments

Susan Hensel

Mary Jansen

Meline Juarez

Matt Kazinka

Gwen McMahon

Kim and Tom Medin

Genevieve Olive

April and Simon Riordan

Kelly Savage

Tanya Snyder

Marissa Tappy

Adam and Devin Tomczik

Andrew Zimmer

Please consider making a financial contribution so CNO can continue our work together to strengthen our neighborhood! No contribution is too small and every dollar counts! You can give a secure tax deductible one time or sustaining donation at www.corcoranneighborhood.org/donate. You can also drop a check off or send in the mail to Corcoran Neighborhood Organization, 3451 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55407.

 75 neighbors came, drank lemonade, and ate cookies on Saturday, August 6^th at the Good Neighbor Lemonade Stand near the Midtown Farmers Market. Neighbors talked about everything from engaging with another despite differences, all the way to encouraging more neighborhood potlucks to build the community stronger.

The next Lemonade stand will be in the Lyndale neighborhood.  Follow Good Neighbor Lemonade on Facebook for dates and times.

In our last segment we left off with planting perennial vegetables, fruiting shrubs, and vines, and I said I would talk about companion planting.  The choice of plants you make determines where you place plants in relation to each other and their surroundings.  First, it is important to note that it is crucial and necessary to allow space for naturally occurring native species of flowers and plants to mature and take up space in and around your perennials and annuals, such as daisies, various milkweeds and creeping succulents, as these are vital components in the simulation of a natural habitat.

By year two, as  I mentioned, you want to plant perennial vegetables (sea kale, asparagus, sorrel, watercress, Jerusalem & Chinese artichokes, ramps aka wild leeks, strawberries), fruiting shrubs ( rhubarb, currants, berry bushes, goumi bush), and vines (groundnut, scarlet runner beans).