Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is an independent park district that owns, maintains, and programs activities in public parks in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It has 500 full-time and 1,300 part-time employees and an $111 million operating and capital budget.[2][3]

"MPRB" redirects here. For the protein, see PAQR8.
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board headquarters, located across West River Road from North Mississippi Regional Park.
Board overview
Formed1883 (1883)
JurisdictionCity of Minneapolis
Employees500 full-time
1,300 part-time
Annual budget$111 million
Board executive
  • Al Bangoura, Superintendent[1]
Websiteminneapolisparks.org
Area6,804 acres (27.53 km2)
Visitors23 million
Paths102 miles (164 km)
Golf courses7
Facilities179

The Minneapolis park system has been called the best-designed, best-financed, and best-maintained in America.[4] Minneapolis was rated the #1 park system in the country for the sixth year in a row by The Trust for Public Land in 2018 and again in 2020.[5][6]

History

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board was created by an act of the Minnesota State Legislature and a vote of Minneapolis residents in 1883. Charles M. Loring was elected the first president of the board. Loring convinced landowners to donate property around Bde Maka Ska, Lake Harriet and Lake of the Isles, as well as on Minnehaha Creek.[8]

Loring hired Horace Cleveland to create the original plan for Minneapolis parks in 1883, Cleveland's finest landscape architecture, preserving geographical landmarks and linking them with boulevards and parkways.[9][10] Loring and Cleveland were instrumental in creating Minnehaha Park, with its falls as a centerpiece.[8][11]

Theodore Wirth was superintendent from 1906 to 1936 and oversaw the expansion of Minneapolis parks from 1,810 to 5,241 acres (732 to 2,121 ha). Wirth was an advocate of active recreation in all city parks and put up signs saying "Please Walk on the Grass." Wirth also promoted neighborhood parks for the whole city, his plans called for a playground within one-quarter mile of every child and a recreation center within one-half mile of all residents.[12] In 2017, 97% of all residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.[13]

In July 2020, the park board voted to allow encampments for people experiencing homelessness at up to 20 city parks with 25 tents each. The change in policy came after several hundred people took up residence in Powderhorn Park in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. However, the Powderhorn situation became untenable after numerous sexual assaults, fights, and drug use reported at the encampment generated alarm for nearby residents, leading to the eviction of many people in tents.[14] Encampments continued until the park board closed the last remaining one at Minnehaha Falls Park on January 3, 2021. Three people died in encampments in city parks in 2020.[15]

On November 18, 2020 the board legalized female topfreedom in the parks.[16]

Description

The park system's 6,084 acres (24.62 km2) make up 15% of the total area of Minneapolis, one of the highest ratios in the country.[13]

The city's Chain of Lakes, consisting of seven lakes and Minnehaha Creek, is connected by bike, running, and walking paths and used for swimming, fishing, picnics, boating, and ice skating. A parkway for cars, a bikeway for riders, and a walkway for pedestrians runs parallel along the 52 miles (84 km) route of the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway.[17] Parks are also connected through the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area regional parks and visitor centers.

The country's oldest public wildflower garden, the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary, is located within Theodore Wirth Park. Wirth Park extends into Golden Valley and is almost 90% the size of Central Park in New York City.[18] Site of the 53-foot (16 m) Minnehaha Falls, Minnehaha Park is one of the city's oldest and most popular parks, receiving over 850,000 visitors each year.[7] Henry Wadsworth Longfellow named Hiawatha's wife Minnehaha for the Minneapolis waterfall in The Song of Hiawatha, a bestselling and often-parodied 19th century poem.[19]

The first natural swimming pool in the United States opened in Webber Park in 2015. The outdoor pool does not use any chemicals, rather it uses natural filters and plants in several container ponds to keep the water clean.[20]

Facilities
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board facilities include 6,804 acres (27.53 km2) of land and water, 179 properties, 102 miles (164 km) of biking and walking paths, 49 recreation centers, 22 lakes, 12 formal gardens, seven golf courses, and up to 20 encampments for people experiencing homelessness.[21][22]

Governance

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is an independently elected, semi-autonomous park district responsible for governing, maintaining, and developing the Minneapolis park system.[2] The jurisdiction of the park board is contiguous with the City of Minneapolis borders, although it owns and operates four golf courses outside the city limits.

Minneapolis voters elect nine commissioners every four years: one from each of the six park districts, and three that serve at-large.[23] The district and at-large members are elected using ranked choice voting.[24] The Board of Commissioners appoints the superintendent and sets policy for the park board.[2]

Police

The Superintendent of the Parks has oversight of the Minneapolis Park Police Department—the law enforcement authority of the park board. Led by a park police chief, the force consists of 30 sworn officers and 20 part-time park patrol agents. The park police is a separate entity than the Minneapolis Police Department, but the two forces had shared training, support services, and authority to police in both parks and throughout the city.[25] The park board voted unanimously on June 3, 2020, to end its relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department following the killing of George Floyd by a city police officer.[26]

See also

References
  1. Zamora, Karen (December 19, 2018). "Al Bangoura is new Minneapolis Park Board chief". Star Tribune. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  2. "Leadership and Structure". Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  3. Mahamud, Faiza (November 8, 2017). "Minneapolis Park Board: New faces coming". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  4. Garvin, Alexander (June 19, 2002). The American City : What Works, What Doesn't (2 ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-07-137367-8.
  5. Best, Eric (23 May 2018). "Minneapolis has nation's best park system 6 years running, study says". The Journal. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  6. "ParkScore – Minneapolis". Trust for Public Land. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  7. "Minnehaha Regional Park". Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  8. Smith, David C. (January 15, 2016). "Loring, Charles Morgridge (1833–1922)". MNopedia. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  9. Loring, Charles M. (November 11, 1912). History of the Parks and Public Grounds of Minneapolis. Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 599–608.
  10. Nadenicek, Daniel J.; Neckar, Lance M. (April 2002). "Introduction to the Reprint Edition". Landscape Architecture, as Applied to the Wants of the West; with an Essay on Forest Planting on the Great Plains. By Cleveland, H. W. S. University of Massachusetts Press, ASLA Centennial Reprint Series. xli. ISBN 978-1-55849-330-8.
  11. Smith, David C. (January 21, 2016). "Cleveland, Horace William Shaler (1814–1900)". MNopedia. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  12. "Theodore Wirth (1863–1949)". National Recreation and Park Association. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
  13. Mahamud, Faiza (May 23, 2017). "Minneapolis parks named tops in the nation, and St. Paul comes in second". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  14. Otárola, Miguel (22 July 2020). "Minneapolis Park Board clears one of the Powderhorn homeless encampments". Star Tribune. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  15. Mohs, Marielle (2020-01-02). "Minneapolis Park Board: Minnehaha Park Encampment Residents Must Vacate By Sunday". WCCO. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  16. Chanen, David (19 Nov 2020). "Minneapolis Park Board no more citations for women going topless in the parks". Star Tribune. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  17. "Grand Rounds Scenic Byway". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  18. "Theodore Wirth Park". Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  19. "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  20. Hirsi, Ibrahim (July 30, 2015). "North Minneapolis' Webber pool, the country's first natural public swimming pool, to hold another open house". MinnPost. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  21. "About Us". Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  22. "Encampments". Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  23. "Commissioners". Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  24. "What is Ranked-Choice Voting?". Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  25. "Park Police & Safety: About". Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board.
  26. Otárola, Miguel; Walsh, Paul (3 June 2020). "Minneapolis Park Board votes to end relationship with Minneapolis police". Star Tribune.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.