Council Member's Message

Earth Day and the coming of Spring make April an obvious month to continue to talk about news related to the environment, climate and sustainability, so I hope you'll check out the story below about the award Minneapolis' Clean Energy Partnership received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month. I was also pleased to author a resolution in support of Earth Hour and coordinate the turning off of City Hall clock tower lights to honor this global acknowledgement of the benefits of conservation. Click HERE for the text of that resolution.

On another note, I am very pleased to announce the upcoming kick-off event for C-TAP, the City of Minneapolis' new Co-op Technical Assistance Program. I hope many of you will want to join us on Wednesday, April 20, 5:30-7:30, at Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue S, to learn more about this innovative initiative that is an outgrowth of the City's Business Technical Assistance Program (B-TAP).

I am excited about this initiative because cooperatives play a significant role in our City's economy and, indeed, the economy of our region. I held a series of community forums in 2014 and 2015 to explore the economic and community development impact of cooperative businesses in more depth. The first forum focused on the Northeast Investment Cooperative (NEIC) and its impact on Central Avenue revitalization. The second forum was held in conjunction with the National Cooperative Business Association's 2014 Purchasing Cooperatives Conference and the Annual Cooperative Conference, both of which were jointly hosted in Minneapolis. Our forum, which was hosted at cooperative brewery Fair State, featured Dame Pauline Green, the president of the International Cooperative Alliance and former Cooperative Member of the European Parliament, as well as a number of other representatives from cooperative businesses around the nation. At that time I also authored a resolution declaring "Cooperatives Week" in Minneapolis. Our third forum was a study session focused on grocery cooperatives and their place in the highly competitive Twin Cities grocery market.

The cooperative business model - that people can work together, sharing resources and governance, to strengthen communities - offers significant benefit for all of us in terms of increased economic vitality, social equity and community development. I have high hopes for what we can accomplish through this partnership between cooperatives and the City of Minneapolis.