Two days in a row of running? I’m nothing if not a weekend warrior. This time, Carly and I got in a 4-miler in North Minneapolis, starting down by the Port of Minneapolis, downwind from where the city’s garbage trucks are stored. Our noses knew that much.
The view from there consists of many piles of various grades of gravel. I know nothing about what happens here, but it feels like a place where Frank Sobatka would feel at home if he was in Minneapolis rather than Baltimore.
I did manage to find out that the port handles: Fertilizer, Coal, Aggregate, Handled Steel, Twine, & Pipe.
It looks like stuff arrives or departs by train or barge from this venue, based on the tracks we crossed heading away from the river. Apparently, they belong to CP & TC&W.
Question: Mile 856.8 from where?
Traffic was light on I-94. This was during the Vikings game, so many Minnesotans were on their couch or sitting in the Dome at the time.
Getting into North Minneapolis’ residential areas, we encountered the first of many uprooted trees from the tornado that tore through the neighborhood in May. This one has been turned into a billboard.
I believe this was looking north from Dowling at Dupont. The canopy has been wiped out in this part of the city.
Many homes still have blue tarps on their roofs to help fight the elements. Five months into this, there is still a lot of work to be done to prepare for winter, which is not far off at this point.
96% of the students at Sojourner Truth Academny are eligible for free or reduced lunch programs.
The Church of St. Bridget is across Emerson from Sojourner Truth Academy. In fact, part of the old convent from the church houses the charter school. It looks like the parish history has a few blanks to fill in.
The massive Crystal Lake Cemetery runs from Humboldt to Penn Avenues. The 170 acre cemetery dates back to 1890.
Folwell Park is across Dowling from Crystal Lake Cemetery. We saw people playing basketball, using the playground, having a picnic, and hanging out enjoying a beautiful day in the shade.
Waters of Life Outreach Ministry, at Dowling & Russell Ave N, was founded in 2003. The church’s pastor, Earl Gilchrist, has an interesting bio, explaining that he found God while in Stillwater Prison in 1986.
Luther Memorial Lutheran Church offers English and Hmong services, and appears to have an active music program for children.
2 miles into our run, we reached Victory Memorial Parkway, which was looking darn nice on a dry fall day.
The 568 trees on the parkway memorialize the Hennepin County soldiers who died in WWI.
We circled back on 37th Ave N, and discovered that the street is under major construction.
This work is creating the 37th Ave Greenway, which will run from from Folwell Park to Victory Memorial Parkway. It’s a flood control project that turns half the street into a rain garden and bike trail along this stretch.
The Sanctuary Covenant Church was founded on Superbowl Sunday, 2003. They have one of the highest production quality websites I’ve seen from a local religious institution. Services are currently held at Anwatin Middle School in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood.
As we worked our way back into the eastern part of the neighborhood, we found ourselves back in the path of May’s tornado, such as this street where the canopy has disappeared.
Kwanzaa Community Church, at 37th & Bryant, appears to be involved in a variety of valuable community involvement projects.
Reaching the end of 37th Ave N at the I-94 sound wall, we caught an view of the port on the river.
Crossing I-94 to wrap up the run, we caught a view of the Minneapolis skyline.
“Question: Mile 856.8 from where?”
–I’m guessing it is the river miles down the Mississippi River from Mpls to St Louis MO. Probably the Army Corp of Engineers manages that section separately from the lower MS River or the Missouri or Ohio Rivers. But, I’m only guessing.