IN THIS ISSUE:� River-Lake Greenway Update� Festival of One-Woman Shows� Small Business Training and Support

A N E W S L E T T E R F O R T H E B A N C R O F T N E I G H B O R H O O D J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 4 • V O L U M E X I V, I S S U E 1

TheBancroft Banner2003 BNA Annual Meetingwas a success!DONNA SANDERS, COMMUNITY DIRECTOR

Fun, food and neighborhood business happened on November 13, 2003, as theBancroft Neighborhood Association held its Annual Dinner andNeighborhood Meeting at Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church. Over 50Bancroft community members attended. The dinner featured a wide variety ofdonated goodies from area restaurants and food markets and Ben & Jerry’s IceCream, complements of BNA, was available for dessert.

The University of Minnesota Health Sciences Orchestra provided livelyDixie Land Jazz during dinner and the Girls Scouts made a grand flag presen-tation. Also, magician Brian Richards was on hand with his ever-popularmagic show for the children.

Current BNA Council President Mike Simons welcomed everyone to the12th annual meeting and began the evening’s agenda. First of all, residents andbusiness owners unanimously voted to approve the NRP Phase II ParticipationAgreement. Next, 8th Ward City Council Member Robert Lilligren gave anupdate on 8th Ward activities and answered questions. He told us crime wasdown on 38th & Chicago. Also, Ryan Development was chosen to be the devel-oper of the Sears project. Potential uses for the Sears building are senior hous-ing, artist’s workspace, Allina Medical, and a global market. Last of all, TiffanyGreen replaced Andrea Jenkins as his new aide.

BNA Director Donna Sanders conducted the BNA Community CouncilElections. 14 new Board Members were elected. Last of all, the 2002-2003Council Members were recognized and thanked for their service. Each mem-ber received a $20 gift certificate to the Global Dish Restaurant.

BNA elects new community council for 2003-2004The following community members were elected to the BNA Board ofDirectors at the November 13 Annual Meeting. The elected Board Membersare as follows:

Mark AndersonTed BarnhillSandy BarryFranklin DietrichBart GernanderJoel HaskardDan Kramer

Tom LeeWarren PorterKathy RothMike SimonsScott SmithChris TrippChristi Williams

Thanks!Big thanks to area businesses for food donations tothe Annual Meeting dinner!

Angel’s Restaurant805 East 38th StreetRice, chicken

Bruegger’s Bagels4554 NicolletBagels/cream cheese

The Candy Jar3805 CedarFudge

Chicago Deli Café and Grille4810 ChicagoTwo Greek salads

CUP Foods3754 ChicagoFive 12 packs of soda

Finer Meat Company3747 NicolletMeats & cheeses

Global Dish Restaurant4016 Bloomington Rice, chicken wings

Jakeeno’s Pizza and Pasta3555 ChicagoTwo servings of Rigatoni

Cedar Country Boy4164 CedarCondiments/buns

BNA CALENDAR - Jan.-MarchBNA meetings and events are open to the public —in fact, they depend on community involvement.All meetings and events are held at BethelLutheran Church, 4120 17th Avenue South at7:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Childcare avail-able with advance notice. Call 724-5313.

January 200438th & Chicago Business Association MeetingTuesday, January 13, 1–2 p.m.Angel’s Restaurant, 805 E 38th St.

38th and Chicago Task Force Meeting(date change because of holiday)Tuesday, January 20, 7–8:15 p.m.Calvary Church, 39th & Chicago

NRP Steering CommitteeMonday, January 26, 7:45 p.m.

38th & Chicago Community Celebration/Kick Off of Re-development PlanWednesday, January 28, 6–9 p.m.Dinner & celebration, Calvary Church39th & Chicago

February 2004BNA Board MeetingThursday, February 12, 7–8:45 p.m.

38th and Chicago Task Force MeetingMonday, February 16, 7–8:15 p.m.Calvary Church, 39th & Chicago

NRP Steering CommitteeTo be announced

March 2004BNA Board MeetingThursday, March 11, 7–8:45 p.m.

Teen Job and Opportunity FairSaturday, March 13, 12–3 p.m.South High School

38th & Chicago Task Force MeetingMonday, March 15, 7–8:15 p.m.Calvary Church, 39th & Chicago

10th Annual South Minneapolis Housing & Home Improvement FairSaturday, March 27, 10–3 p.m.South High School

NRP Steering CommitteeTo be announced

River Lake Greenway UpdateBY CHRISTI WILLIAMS

The River Lake Greenway committee has been meeting for over a year nowdeveloping ideas for how to continue the Kingfield neighborhood’s vision fora bike path from Lake Harriet to the Mississippi on 40th and 42nd streets.We’ve held public forums to establish where the path might need to switchfrom 40th to 42nd to accommodate challenges on Hiawatha. This past sum-mer we held three public meetings and conducted a door-to-door survey ofthe houses near 40th Street in the Bancroft neighborhood and believe we’vemade great strides in narrowing down the options and getting communityconsensus. We are continuing to gather community input at neighborhoodpublic meetings and soon, plan a follow up mail-in survey for those that didnot get surveyed door-to-door.

Dan Kramer, head of the Bancroft River Lake Greenway Committee, hasbeen working closely with Larry Wacker from the Architectural firm Sanders,Wacker and Bergly. Mr. Wacker helped design the original greenway planwith the Kingfield neighborhood. Don Pflaugm, from Public Works, is work-ing with us to make sure we are on track with city code and process. He isadvising us on engineering concerns and providing technical materials toallow our ANC to make decisions. We have also been getting support fromSteve Brandt and Steve Jevning, members of the Kingfield neighborhoodassociation, who lead the project on the west side of Highway 35W.

We have established a written list of goals and objectives and an aggres-sive timeline for being able to submit a final report by April 1st. This willinclude several more public meetings and continued participation in therecently developed All-neighborhood Greenway committee. The All-neigh-borhood Greenway committee has met several times since it’s conception inSeptember and includes representatives from all neighborhoods East of Hwy35W and West of the Mississippi, as well and Steve Brandt and Steve Jevningfrom the Kingfield neighborhood.

Before our next meeting we expect to gather information about safetyconcerns and historical data on the effect of changing the direction of trafficin response to concerns raised at our last meeting.

We are very excited about this project and look forward to your contin-ued support.

BANCROFT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONVisit us on the web! www.bancroftneighborhood.org

BNA 2003 Year End UpdateThe achievements and accomplishments of the Bancroft NeighborhoodAssociation during 2003 were very diverse. Some of our most notable accom-plishments include: the completion of and neighborhood-wide vote on theParticipation Agreement for NRP Phase II; monthly BNA Ice Cream SummerSocials with collaboration from El Colegio Charter School; the active partici-pation of BNA in the River Lake (40th Street) Greenway project; increasedinvolvement in the 38th & Chicago Task Force; the annual garage sale; cleansweep; the changing of our low cost home loan program through TCF Bankto buy down interest rates to three percent; the commercial grant program;the Bancroft Garden Clubs; and six issues of the Bancroft Banner.If you would like to receive the 2003 Annual Report, please contact DonnaSanders at 724-5313 or email dsanders@bancroftneighborhood.org.

3 8 t h S T R E E T

4 2 n d S T R E E T

CE

DA

R A

VE

NU

E

CH

ICA

GO

AV

EN

UE

The Bancroft Banner is published by the

Bancroft Neighborhood Association and distributed

in the Bancroft neighborhood.

Newsletter StaffDonna Sanders, editor

Holle Brian, productionJennifer Harriss, copy editingFor information, or to receiveyour copy of the Banner, write:

Bancroft BannerBancroft Neighborhood Association

4120 17th Avenue SouthMinneapolis, MN 55407

phone 724-5313 / fax 724-3694e-mail info@bancroftneighborhood.org

C Printed on recycled paper

Small business training andsupport classes availableHave you always wanted to start a small business but weren’t sure how to getstarted? BNA Board Member Joel Haskard works with the PhillipsCommunity Development Corporation (PCDC), located on Franklin Avenueabove Maria’s Café. Twice a year, in partnership with the NeighborhoodDevelopment Center (NDC), PCDC offers a Micro-entrepreneur Trainingand Support Program. The courses are 16 weeks long (eight weeks with a classand eight appointments one-on-one with the instructor) and focus on help-ing participants complete a solid business and financial plan. Topics coveredinclude operations management, marketing, financial management and muchmore. Classes are scheduled to start early February 2004.

“This fall we had so many worthy applicants that we facilitated two class-es—one located in Phillips and one in Seward—to better serve the southMinneapolis community,” says PCDC Executive Director Michou Kokodoko.“These classes are an excellent way for people to develop a strong understand-ing of small business management.”

Classes have typically been held on Tuesday evenings. The costs are deter-mined on a sliding scale based on family income; typically students pay $75.Entrepreneurs who successfully complete the program and write a businessplan may be eligible to apply for loans, pro bono legal services, low-costaccounting services and other technical assistance.

“Some people go through the training and feel ready to start their busi-ness the next day, and others realize they should get a few things worked outbefore they make that leap,” Mr. Kokodoko says. “Either way, it is good, solidinformation to have, and can save entrepreneurs a lot of time and moneylater.”

For more information about the Spring 2004 Micro-EntrepreneurTraining and Support Program, please Call Joel Haskard at PCDC at 612-871-2435 or email at jhaskard@hotmail.com and ask for an application form.Remember to leave your name, phone number, and complete mailing addresswith zip code. Phillips CDC has loans and various technical assistance pro-grams available to residents and business owners within the BancroftNeighborhood and south Minneapolis.

Arts festival comesto BancroftCenter for Independent Artists (CIA) presents itsfirst Festival of One-Woman Shows (picturedabove), featuring eleven, all original, solo perfor-mances by a dynamic collection of actors, dancers,puppeteers and performance artists. The artists areGabrielle Civil, Francine Conley, Karen Haselmann,Judith Brin Ingber, Kirby Jeschkeit, LauraLittleford, Margo McCreary, Kiyoko Motoyama,Mankwe Ndosi, Carla Vogel and Nic Zapko.

The festival runs from Feb 6 to March 14, 2004in CIA’s intimate 65-seat theater in the Instituto deCultura y Educacion at 4137 Bloomington Ave.South in Minneapolis. Tickets are $10 ($8 for stu-dents, seniors and CIA members), and a FestivalPass is available for $35. For information and reser-vations, call 612-724-8392 or visit www.c4ia.org.

In April 2003, City Pages selected CIA as theBest Theater for New Work.

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

Minneapolis, MN

Permit No. 2549

The Bancroft Banner4120 17th Avenue SouthMinneapolis, MN 55407

BANCROFT IN BRIEF UPCOMING EVENTSNRP Phase IIHelp us spend $700,000 on the neighborhood. Be on theNeighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) SteeringCommittee! The Committee will meet once a month for the nextyear starting in January 2004. Call Donna Sanders at 724-5313 oremail dsanders@bancroftneighborhood.org to sign up. Excitingthings are happening in Bancroft. Be a part of it!

Attention new Bancroft parents!If you’ve had a baby in the last year and would like to connectwith other parents in the Bancroft neighborhood send me an e-mail. I’m hoping to get an informal baby support network goingwith some possible play groups and/or babysitting exchanges.Christi_Williams@msn.com/612-825-7203.

Ensemble Music offers classesEnsemble Music offers music classes for children ages 0-5 andtheir parents/caregivers and includes an emphasis on communitybuilding. Call or email for more information or to attend a freedemonstration class. 612-825-5942 or jessica@ensemblemusic.net

Spotlight on local businessesIf you have a home-based business in Bancroft Neighborhood,we’d like to hear from you. Email dsanders@bancroftneighborhood.org or call BNA at 724-5313.

Mark your calendars for the following annual events:

38th & Chicago Community Celebration

and Kick OffDinner & celebration to kick off the new redevelopment plan for the intersection.

Wednesday, January 28Calvary Church, 39th & Chicago

6–9 p.m.

Teen Job and Opportunity FairSaturday, March 13South High School

12–3 p.m.

South Minneapolis Housing & Home Improvement Fair

Saturday, March 27South High School

10–3 p.m.