April 21, 2023 | Friday

Know Your Como: Those Who Take Care of Us*

By Sonjie Johnson

“Why is that plant looking sick? Why is that tree wilting?”

Most people, like the author, would walk by without noticing these symptoms of stress or disease. Not Pat and Todd Burnes.

Thirty-five-year Como Park residents, the Burnes worked, met and retired from the University of Minnesota Plant Pathology Department. An avid outdoors couple, they are often seen walking or biking the Como Park paths. That’s where we met and I learned that Pat and Todd are horticulturists.

Save the Date: Pick Up & Party

Saturday, May 13, 2-5pm @ Orchard Rec (875 Orchard Ave)

The Como Community Council will be hosting the 2nd Annual Pick Up & Party event at Orchard Rec Center.

We’ll kick off the event with a neighborhood pick up and then meet up at Orchard Rec Center for a FREE Community Meal, bird-house building, bookmobile, ice cream truck, community organization fair, and much more!

Community members are welcome to volunteer with us for the event. If you're interested in helping to plan our community events, you can join our Neighborhood Relations committee meetings on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:15pm.

Sign Up: Como Garage Sale May 17-21

D10 Como Community Council is once again coordinating a community sale weekend from Thursday, May 17 to Sunday the 121. If you would like to be included in our map, please fill out the Como Community Sale Form with your information before May 11.

We will be promoting this effort in our Weekly Newsletter, Facebook, and flyering some local community spaces, directing people to find the map on this page: District10ComoPark.org/GarageSale. You can also download and print this flier PDF to post in your community spaces.

Como Community Blood Drives

Wednesday, May 25, 9am-3pm @ Como Zoo

D10 Como Park is partnering with the American Red Cross and the Como Zoo & Conservatory to host a community blood drive at the Zoo Wednesday, March 8, 9am-3pm. Space is limited, reservations required.

The Red Cross just opened the online reservations for the Wednesday, May 25 drive from 9am to 3pm.

Please consider giving blood, with so many still working from home, workplace blood drives have all but vanished, these community drives make a huge impact!

D10 Annual Report and Election Results

The D10 Board held its annual meeting an election this week. The board presented our 2023 Annual Report detailing our activities over the past year. You can view the report and recorded presentation here on our website.

192 ballots were requested and 138 were returned by the deadline, making it the 4th highest voter turnout for a D10 annual election.

Incumbent board members Laura Oyen (Subdistrict 1), Maggie Zimmerman (Subdistrict 2), Jenne Nelson (Subdistrict 3), Lauren Erchul-McCabe (Subdistrict 4), Jonathan Herum (At-Large Senior Seat), Chad Hermes (At-Large), and Matthew Keliher (At-Large) were re-elected for another 2-year term.

Added to the board are Jay Hill (At-Large Seat) and Alex McLane, who was elected by write-in to fill the remaining half-term Subdistrict 1 seat. There are vacancies on the board for two At-Large Renter seats, an At-Large Youth (16-24) seat, and an At-Large seat. If you're interested in joining the board you can fill out a board application.

D10 meetings are open to the public and have space for community members to bring topics for discussion, in addition to participating in the full meeting discussion and volunteering in our various events and initiatives. Try us out! Questions? Email district10@district10comopark.org.

Como Volunteer Extraordinaire in the Spotlight

We were delighted to see that the Saint Paul Parks Conservancy published a Volunteer Spotlight piece on Como's own Pat Owens!

Pat has tended (an understatement) the flowerbeds and decorative grasses surrounding D10's offices at the Como Streetcar Station for the last year and a half. Congrats, Pat, on the well deserved recognition and thanks again for your tireless efforts keeping our park beautiful!

Holy Childhood Rummage Sale

May 4 & 5 @ Church of the Holy Childhood (1435 Midway Pkwy)

Get some practice in for the Como Garage Sale weekend by participating in the Rummage sale over on Midway Pkwy!

• Thursday, May 4 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Friday, May 5 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Bag day Friday. Lots of household items, furniture and clothing. If you have questions you can call the church office at 651-644-7495.

Get Ready for Gardening Season at the Power of Flowers

Saturday, May 6 - 12-2pm @ Como Lutheran Church Parking Lot (Corner of Hoyt and Hamline)

• Bring your excess seeds for a Seed Exchange
• Swap gently used, clean, working garden tools to trade for a new garden essential.
• Help your neighbors fight food insecurity and join Como Grow a Row
• Find out all about the Zinnia with the Zinnia Collective
• Taste the sweetness of local honey and vote for your favorite
• Play flower games
• Plant some flowers for a beautiful growing season and to feed our pollinator friends
• And More…

“Without flowering plants we would have very few seeds for the future of our planet. Join us to

find out more about the blossoms that produce all the fruits you love like your apples,

cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers” says Dawn Lamm, organizer for Como Community Seed

Library.

If you’d like to volunteer for this event we’ll have a sweet thank you for your effort. Sign up

here!

Thank you to Thrivent Financial Services for their generous support for this event and to District 10 Como Community Council for helping make the Power of Flowers a zero waste gathering. Most of all our deepest gratitude goes to Como Park Lutheran Church and their community minded celebration of an abundance for all.

2023 Summer Camp and Activity Registration Open

Como Parks & Rec Programming

North Dale Rec Center (1414 N. St. Albans)

• Taekwondo Jr May ages 6-8 - Mon & Wed in May- $60*
• Taekwondo May ages 9-21 - Mon & Wed in May - $60*
• ONLINE: Planting for Pollinators 18+ - May 13 10-11:30am - Free
• Cribbage ages 18+ - Mondays thru May 22 - Free
• Senior Day ages 50+ - Thursdays thru May 25 - Free
• Senior Fitness ages 55+ - Tues & Thurs thru May 25 - Free
• Pickleball Tu/Th ages 18+ - Tues & Thurs thru May 30 - $3
• Senior Gamers ages 50+ - Tuesdays thru May 30 - Free
• Pickleball Fri ages 18+ - Fridays thru May 26 - $3
• Tumbling ages 5-6 - Mondays May-June - $35*
• School Year Rec Check 1st-5th Grade - Weekdays thru June 14 - Free*

Northwest Como Rec Center (1550 N. Hamline)

• Parents Night Out ages 6-11 - Sat. Apr. 22, 6-9pm - $10*
• Archery May ages 8-17 - Mondays May 1-June 5, 2:15-4:15pm - $60*

*Registration Required

St. Paul Parks & Rec Fee Assistance Program

The City of Saint Paul operates a special program that helps families pay for Parks & Recreation youth classes and activities. Fee Assistance can be requested by families who meet program requirements when registering for youth activities. To be eligible for the program, youth must live in Saint Paul, be 18 years old or younger, and qualify for free and reduced lunches.

Fee Assistance can be used toward most recreational sports or activities offered by Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. To view the online catalog of all available activities offered, click here.

Neighborhood Notes

Upcoming License Renewals

• Como Lakeside Pavilion (1360 Lexington Pkwy): Liquor and Entertainment licenses are up for renewal June 4. Anyone with input should email the Como Community Council or contact the office of Ward 5 Council Member Amy Brendmoen: ward5@ci.stpaul.mn.us.

*While license renewal dates serve as community reminders, feedback on a business license can be submitted at any time.

Ramsey County Library of Things Grand Opening

Saturday, April 22, 10am @ RCL - White Bear Lake (2150 2nd St)

Libraries worldwide are adding what they call a Library of Things to the typical collections of books, magazines, audio and visual materials.

Over the years, Ramsey County Library has added unusual items as well: from framed prints and sculptures in the 1970s, to energy meters, bike locks and snowshoes more recently. The collections are intended to give you a chance to try something new without investing in it first and to save you money and storage space for items you may not use very often. The goal is also to save natural resources by not buying more things than we need and borrowing them instead.

Ramsey County Compost Bin Sale

SAVE $20

The Recycling Association of Minnesota is selling compost bins for $76 plus tax this year. Ramsey County residents can receive a $20 discount.

Order online at RecycleMinnesota.org and enter promo code “Ramsey” to receive the discounted price. Or call 651-641-4589 and mention that you are a Ramsey County resident.

Pick up your pre-ordered bin on Saturday, April 29 in Maplewood. Find additional sales at RecycleMinnesota.org.

St. Paul Joins Just Deeds Coalition

This week, the City of Saint Paul joined the Just Deeds coalition to help home and property owners discharge discriminatory racial covenants on their property deeds. 

Just Deeds is a collaborative effort between community groups, attorneys, and government agencies to identify and remove racial covenants on property deeds in Minnesota. In the early 20th century, racial covenants were a common practice that placed legal agreements on property deeds that prohibited the sale or lease of property to African Americans and other people of color. They were also used to maintain segregation and prevent the integration of neighborhoods.  

While they are now illegal and unenforceable, the language of these covenants remains a painful reminder of the racist policies that have shaped Saint Paul’s history. 

You can learn more about Racial Covenants, including how to see if your property has one and how to apply to discharge it from your deed, here on the city's website.

Last year, D10 hosted a presentation from a group from St. Kates who were researching the impact of racial covenants and other types of housing discrimination on demographic and economic outcomes including upward mobility. You can view the recording here.

Pothole Patrol

You can report potholes in the following way, depending on whether they are on a city street, county road, or state highway:

• City of Saint Paul: Email potholes@ci.stpaul.mn.us
• Or call 651-266-9700. 
• Ramsey County: Online or by calling 651-266-7100
• Minnesota Department of Transportation: Online

What's Happening at the Fairgrounds?