September 2023 Breeze

Friday September 22, 7-9pm, Lafayette, 

Nimaawanji’idimin Giiwitaashkodeng: Together we are gathering around the fire; our guest speakers will be:

Evan Larson, Professor of Environmental Sciences & Society, University of Wisconsin-Platteville                

Melonee Montano, Graduate Fellow, Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Presentation Summary

The old pine forest on Minnesota Point is loved by many. Rooted in sand shaped by the waves of Lake Superior, the trees of this forest carry stories of ecological and cultural change that span centuries. In this presentation, Evan Larson and Melonee Montano will share the work and results of Nimaawanji’idimin Giiwitaashkodeng, a two year project funded by the Wisconsin Sea Grant program that is helping to tell a more complete, accurate, and truthful history of people on Zhaagawaamikong neyaashi, the places also known as Minnesota Point and Wisconsin Point. Fire history information derived from scars within the rings of long-dead red pine trees indicate the important role of fire in shaping the forests on Minnesota and Wisconsin Points; Indigenous Knowledge describing traditional Anishinaabe practices of using fire to promote blueberries and many other plants and medicines highlights the reciprocal relationship between people and land, moderated by fire, expressed in these tree-ring records. Dramatic and ongoing changes in the structure and composition of the forests coupled with increased fuel loads and fire risk on both points are expressions of settler-colonialism disrupting these long-standing relationships between people and place. Weaving together Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science vividly illustrates these changes and the processes driving them – the purpose of this presentation is to share these results and to help create space for conversations of what to do next as our collective understanding of the world around us changes and grows.

Hosted by Park Point Community Club, Friday, September 22, 2023, 7:00 – 9:00 PM, Lafayette Community Center (3016 Minnesota Ave., Duluth, Minnesota)

Fire, Blueberries and Treaty Rights

Sept. 19 Mayoral Candidates Forum

The PPCC Meeting is on Tues. Sept 19 and 7pm with 6:45pm the start of pre-meeting check in with neighbors. Mayor Emily Larson and Mayoral Candidate Roger Reinert will join us for a forum and q & a. They are also invited to stay afterwards from 8-830pm to meet and visit with neighbors.

Questions sent in advance to the candidates; each candidate will have up to three minutes to answer during this portion of the forum. During q and a, residents will have up to 30 seconds to ask and the candidates will have up to two minutes to answer. The candidates may stay until 830pm to connect with neighbors. A timer will be used to monitor progress of the answers.

Park Point Community Club’s Signature Civility Cookies will be served.

Next PPCC meeting is Tues. August 15, 7pm with time for checking in with neighbors at 645pm. We will have an update on the new Sky Harbor Airport terminal at this meeting: construction schedule for both the terminal and the snow removal equipment garage project. Updates from:

Kaci Nowicki
Principal, Sr. Airport Planner
(She/Her/Hers)
Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH®)
651.894.2508 mobile | 651.490.2000 main

• Thursday, August 24, 10am-2pm at Lafayette, includes burgers and brats! USACE with updates on the Section 111 study & Using NOAA Tools to Understand Erosion and Flooding on Minnesota Point & a lot more! Poster sessions from 12-2 in the lower level. John Swenson, Andy Breckenridge, Harry Jol, Melonee Montano and college students from Fond du Lac will be presenting research results and tools. Everyone is welcome!
• Friday September 22, 7-9pm, Lafayette,  Ojibwe Use of Fire on Minnesota Point Workshop with Evan Larson and Melonee Montano

The Breeze of August

The PPCC Exec. Board supported this plan last month, link here to draft.

Meeting notes.

Events earlier this month!

Scoops at St. Andrews By the Lake: Do you love ice cream and learning new things?  If so you will want to be at St Andrew’s By the Lake Church on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 for the first installment of Scoops @ St Andrew’s.  Love Creamery ice cream (and a vegan alternative) will be served starting at 6:30pm outside on the Crossing.  Mingle with your Park Point neighbors until 7:00pm when our speaker for the evening, Michael Cochran will share with us the history of rowing on Park Point.  Michael is an entertaining speaker, with a rich knowledge of rowing in Duluth.  He is also the author of “Invincible: History of the Duluth Boat Club, Established 1886

Found Toyota Highlander Remote Key July 8 at 23rd & MN Ave. Email parkpointcc@gmail.com if you have lost a remote for your vehicle.

Park Point 5 Miler: Thursday, July 13, at 6:30 PM

Murder on Park Point, Friday July 14, Upper Lafayette 4-5:30pm PPCC with Lake Superior Writers Group and author Jeffrey M. Sauve,https://northstareditions.com/product/murder-at-minnesota-point/

63rd annual Duluth International Rowing Regatta: Saturday, July 15, all day

The Breeze of Park Point ~ July 2023

645pm: Arrive a little early and say hi to your neighbors

Guests: Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj

Meeting notes.

Looking ahead to July: Airport Planner Kaci Nowicki on the new terminal at Sky Harbor Airport with updates; bidding starts in June.

The June Breeze is here.

51st Park Point Art Fair is on 24, 25 June! To volunteer, call Diane G. 218-727-4067

Park Point Art Fair

Park Point Recreation Area     

June 24 & 25, 2023     

10am – 5pm

MN Point Open House~ the public is invited!

“Strengthening Coastal Community Resilience in the Great Lakes Region”

Thursday May 18 from 5-7pm, upstairs at Lafayette. 

Your interest & participation are vital to MN Point resiliency efforts!

Pizza & Refreshments will be served

We welcome Dr. David Hart, Minnesota Point ASFPM Project Lead. Dr. Hart is a Senior Scientist with the University of Wisconsin Aquatic Sciences Center and serves as the Assistant Director for Extension at the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. David’s research and outreach occur at the intersection of geographic information science, urban and environmental planning, and coastal management. Since 2014, he has directed a staff of outreach specialists who extend coastal science throughout Wisconsin.

He will give an overview of the coastal resilience self-assessment, how it is being used on Minnesota Point and how it has been used to benefit other Great Lakes communities. Topics will include:​​stewardship of the dunes, shore-land permits, monitoring erosion rates, city policies, and more. Community engagement will be a vital & integral piece of this planning process as emphasized at the April PPCC meeting. 

Minnesota Point has been selected as one of four coastal communities by the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) to receive a year of training and technical assistance to assess flood vulnerability and develop plans and policies that emphasize natural and nature-based solutions. 

The ASFPM Open House is scheduled from 5 – 7 PM on Thursday, May 18th at Lafayette and will include: 

• Pizza & Refreshments,Thank you DNR & PPCC
•  Information tables (DNR Coastal Program, City (Planning, Naturalist), PPCC MP50 (maps), ASFPM, and a short presentation.  David Hart, ASFPM, will speak from 6:00 – 6:30 about the Flood Plain Self-Assessment.  
• Sharing information and dialogues around tables of interest. 

Strengthening Coastal Communities Resilience in the Great Lakes Region Challenge: Minnesota Point

•  Our team is led by Julie McDonnell, Mn DNR and consists of other members including City of Duluth, Duluth Planning Commission, UMD, Park Point Community Club’s MP50 and Fond du Lac. 

The May 2023 Breeze

Technology to Impact Reckless Driving on Park Point! Neighbors are getting in touch with our state legislators as there are currently bills in the Minnesota House and Senate that would legalize speed and stop light camera use in the State of Minnesota.  This technology might really impact the speeding problems on Park Point. The bill, SF2026/HF2098,would allow cities throughout Minnesota to use radar speed cameras to enforce traffic laws. Here is a template to contact elected officials.

Tuesday 5/16/2023  PPCC Agenda/Notes Here

Call to Order, 7pm, social at 645 pm , Councilor Roz Randorf is planning to attend the beginning of the meeting.

Agenda notes here

Guest presenters: Kaci Nowicki,Principal, Sr. Airport Planner SEH, Mark Papko,DAA Director of Operations

From Kaci:

In March, the Duluth Airport Authority was notified they were awarded a competitive grant to replace the Sky Harbor terminal building.  The grant ($1.187 million) was awarded through a competitive terminal grant (Airports Terminal Program) funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.  Sky Harbor is one of only two airports in MN receiving the funding this year (MSP was the other).  The DAA will be removing the existing terminal structure (the hangar portion of the building will remain) and replacing the terminal with a new building attached to the hangar.  The funding comes with a very tight timeline that must be met for design.  The project design must be completed by May with bid opening occurring in the first half of June.  Construction will start as early as Fall 2023.  With this fast-paced design process, we want to make sure we are updating the PPCC and provide an opportunity to provide feedback.

I attached an early rendering of the terminal.  A few facts of the terminal building project:

• Terminal will be replaced, with a slightly smaller footprint, in the same location.  The finished floor elevation will be higher than the existing to meet floodplain requirements and improve resiliency. 
• DAA is considering a public facing shaded community patio with vending
• Hangar will remain, with some exterior façade improvements.
• No impacts or changes to trail head or fence
• Interior terminal functions will include lobby, restrooms, manager’s office and pilot briefing spaces. 
• DAA is striving for a more welcoming and inviting exterior.
• Building will be fully ADA accessible  (existing terminal is not)

Contact info:

Kaci Nowicki
Principal, Sr. Airport Planner
(She/Her/Hers)
Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH®)651.894.2508 mobile | 651.490.2000 main
Preliminary Rendering:

The April Breeze of Park Point

Hi Neighbors!
Looking forward to seeing you Tuesday, 4/18, 645pm social before the 7pm PPCC meeting.

Also, if you’d like to come by a little early to the PP Summer Youth Program “Camp Lafayette”  Open House, you will meet this year’s staff!

Sharon, Baamlak & Kevin are returning! Thomas is joining the program, welcome!

PPSYP “Camp Lafayette” Open House@Lafayette Community Center
Tuesday, April 18th 5:00 – 7:00 pmMeet camp staff and other camp families On-site registration for remaining weeks available

Follow up documents from March 21 meeting, property south of the apartments:

Map of Public Open Space and Water Access

Easement 19th Public Space and Water Access

FEMA flood maps (Duluth): Thank you to Paul Treuer and Councilor Roz Randorf who attended the 2/16 public meeting on the new St. Louis County flood maps showing new coastal zone mapping. We are inviting City of Duluth Planning Department personnel to attend the March 21 meeting to learn how the new overlays will affect Park Point properties and future planning and funding for resiliency. 7pm, upper Lafayette on March 21. Here is the City’s site with details.

Agenda/Notes/Information

The Breeze, March 2023

2023 Summer Youth Program Here is the link to learn more and sign up! Come to the Open House on Tuesday, April 18th, 5-7pm and learn more about the program!

St. Louis Estuary Project Sites Here

Paddler Awareness for the St. Louis Estuary

Photos from Rinkfest 2023 Thank you to everyone who worked on this fun event!

The February Edition of the Breeze is here

Picture from 2/10

Resources from MP50

Greetings!  Here are notes and links to presentations on the Section 111 Study and FEMA Flood Maps made on January 13, 2023.   You are welcome to share these presentation materials.  On behalf of the community, thank you to the presenters for sharing this information with us.

Sincerely, Paul Treuer MP50 Coordinator

Section 111 Study Update

Capt. Sam Briscoe, Section 111 Project Lead, Nick Zager, Chief of Planning, USACE, Dr. James Selegean, Hydraulic Engineer, USACE, Kate Kubiak, Naturalist, City of Duluth: Nick Zager unable to attend today, John Love is in attendance.

Presentation recording– edited captions forthcoming

Brief notes:

In the process of contacting firms to develop a coastal model to inform study. Draft feasibility report completed early to mid 2024. Capt. Briscoe will update the MP50 group with a modified schedule.

Jim Selegean presented on the previous Section 111 study conducted in 2001 and its shortcomings. Shared proposed current Section 111 scope including conceptual sediment budget. Scope includes: literature review, bluff recession and characterization, growth of accretion fillets, sediment yield and characterization, misc. tributary inputs, sediment transport modeling, model validation, and dredging history

Resources shared in chat:

• Coastal Erosion Hazard Mapping Project could help pinpoint locations for quantifying
• Adam Bechle from Wisconsin Sea Grant may have information regarding WI bluff erosion rates and quantities
• Wisconsin bluff resources 
• Steve DeLong USGS recently published an analysis of the repeat lidar the MNDNR collected prior to and following the 2012 Duluth floods. available here: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EA002420 and as PDF here: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2022EA002420. The data generated are available here: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9PXCY4Y 
• a recently published landslide inventory for Minnesota available here: https://doi.org/10.5066/P94KF6OM 

Viewing and Understanding Preliminary Updates to the FEMA St. Louis County Flood Maps: Focus on MN Point

Ceil Strauss, State Floodplain Manager, Mn DNR

Presentation recording – edited captions forthcoming

Brief notes follow:

Current official maps of Duluth are old. Effective map is dated 1992, but really 1979. 

We are getting new St. Louis County maps which will include new coastal zone mapping. Preliminary new maps were released in late October 2022. Public open house to review new maps on 2/16/2023, 5-7pm at Public Works Pike Lake Conference Room, 4787 Midway Road, Duluth. Local official meeting will be held before public meeting from 2:00-4:00pm.

Official new maps ~2024-2025

Ceil’s slides contain a variety of links with resources. – need to get slides from Ceil

Resources shared in chat:

• https://www.fema.gov/glossary/zone-ve-and-v1-30 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb2AK-NUvxQ&t=14s  Brief FEMA video – Mapping Flood Risk along the Great Lakes. good tutorial 
• https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/training/what-is-storm-surge.html
• https://www.greatlakescoast.org/
• https://www.greatlakescoast.org/pubs/factSheets/Region_V_VE_Zone_FS_V7_012219_FINAL.pdf  
• Melanie’s presentation from 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afVTBMg3dOk 
• https://www.fema.gov/about/glossary 

Thursday, Jan. 26, rink is looking good!

• On 1/26, volunteers will staff lower Lafayette for warming from 6-9pm

• To volunteer to host at Lafayette, call Mark Elden, Rinkmaster at 218-340-6453. Thank you!

• Rinkfest 2023 is scheduled for Sunday, February 5th, watch for details. Food, fun and fires.

Here is The Breeze of January

January 17th 2023 brings the return of the membership pizza party! 6:30pm in upper Lafayette

Membership is ten dollars per person.

Past presentations of interest:

1/11 River Talks: Using fire to heal the land

The River Talks will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11, at the Lake Superior Estuarium (3 Marina Dr., Superior, Wis.), with “Nimaawanji’idimin Giiwitaashkodeng: Working with Fire to Heal the Land on Wisconsin and Minnesota Points,” an in-person and Zoom presentation by Evan Larson, University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Melonee Montano, Red Cliff tribal member and University of Minnesota graduate student. They will describe a collaborative project that is bringing information from tree rings and oral history together to understand how the Anishinaabeg people used fire to tend the landscape and how the return of fire can contribute to both cultural and ecological restoration. Refreshments will be provided.

1/13: Public Meeting on Section 111 Meeting and What the new FEMA maps mean for MN Point

Our next scheduled MP50 Working Group meeting is a zoom meeting on Friday, January 13, 2023 from 10:00 – 11:30 AM CST.  Here’s a link to the meeting agenda (zoom login link).  This meeting includes two presentations: Capt. Sam Briscoe, USACE, Section 111 Update and Ceil Strauss, FEMA Flood Map updates for St. Louis County:  Focus on Minnesota Point.  There will be time for questions following each presentation.  This meeting is open to the public.  The presentations will be recorded for those interested, but unable to attend. Please share this information with anyone interested in planning for Park Point’s future.

January 17th 2023 brings the return of the membership pizza party! 6:30pm in upper Lafayette

Membership is ten dollars per person.

The December Breeze is here

2/5,Rinkfest on Sunday, February 5, noon-3 pm, stay tuned for updates based on conditions. Fun, food and more!

Link to photos from Lafayette Edible Garden Potluck with speaker Pat Farrell on 1/9/2023, The Dirt on Soil

Skating at Lafayette! 3026 Minnesota Ave~ Check back for updates!

Tuesday 12/27/2022 Lower Lafayette open from 530pm to ~ 8pm with host Mark Elden

Good Morning! Lead rinkmaster Mark Elden reports that conditions at Lafayette are good for skating this week!!
If you’d like to open and host lower Lafayette, contact Mark 218-340-6453 and let me know and I will share the dates and times on the PPCC website.
The picnic table is set for getting skates on and the public bathrooms behind upper Lafayette are open until 9pm.
Thank you to Rick Lyle and Bob Boynton for helping Mark get the rink ready over the last three plus weeks. 
Also, thank you to the City of Duluth crew for plowing the rink this morning.
Link to rink prep photos is here.

MP50: The maps Paul Treuer spoke of at the meeting can be accessed via the links below:

Flood Map Changes

DNR Contact Information, Flood Map details and hints on how to use the links- link here

Pdf copies of map panels and the Flood Insurance Study- link here

FEMA Flood Map Service Center- link here for GIS maps

Park Point Traffic Safety: Pat Sterner has been working with the DPD and looking at the data related to Park Point. See the data and notes below. Thank you to James Gittemeier & Adam Fornear from the City and Officer Josh Kneeland from the police department for participating in the meeting.

11.15.2022 Meeting guest will be:

James Gittemeier, City of Duluth senior transportation planner.

Meeting starts at 7pm, come a little earlier & say hi to your neighbors

The November Breeze of Park Point

On tonight’s agenda:

2023 Art Fair Budget

Skating at Lafayette- volunteers needed to make this a reality

Committee updates

Minnesota Point Preservation Society continues its work at the blow through on the Art Fair site. Al Robins and Gary Glass repaired the snow fencing on Oct. 23.

Tuesday, Oct. 18, upper Lafayette 7pm; hope to see you then!

Agenda Notes

October Breeze

Thank you to the DRC for hosting the meeting. A 1917 Duluth Central Women’s Rowing trophy will be presented to the Club along with the 1917 yearbook that describes the race.

Other happenings in the near future:

Thursday, Sep. 22, 2022, 4:30 – 5:30 PM CDT, Park Point Beach House, 4750 Minnesota Ave., Duluth, MN.  The City of Duluth invites the public to an outreach meeting regarding FEMA Advanced Assistance Coastal Resilience and Mitigation.  The meeting will include project details from consultants including: options for shoreline stabilization of the North Shore and bayside of the Park Point recreation area.  

Now Thursday, Sep. 29, 2022, 4:00 – 5:00 PM CDT, (date change from 9/22) UMD Life Science 185, University of Minnesota Duluth Earth and Environmental Studies Department Seminar: Dr. John Swenson, Associate Professor EES, Sediment Sources and Sites in Far Western Arm of Lake Superior.  About half of this presentation will deal directly with sediment issues pertaining to the Section 111 Study of erosion to Minnesota-Wisconsin Point.  The LSci building is on the southwestern end of the UMD building complex. Metered parking is available on Kirby Drive (in front of LSci building) and in the adjacent Lot A (by the MWAH Planetarium). Below is a link to a campus map:  https://www.d.umn.edu/maps/LSci/.  Please note: This seminar was previously scheduled for Sep. 22, 2022.  A recording of this seminar, once available, will be shared with those unable to attend.  

Thursday, Sep. 29, 2022, 1:00 – 2:30 PM CDT, CHAOS (Coastal Hazards of Superior) Zoom Meeting,   Speakers:  Sara Hudson, City of Ashland, will discuss  efforts made by the City of Ashland to address coastal hazards of the waterfront, and Mike LeBeau, City of Duluth Construction Project Supervisor, will share efforts to rebuild the Duluth Lakewalk.  Contact Sarah Brown, CHAOS Coordinator to join CHAOS (sarah.brown@wisconsin.gov)

Oct. 6th at Lafayette, Painting in the Park

Here is the link to registration/information on our website: https://secure.rec1.com/MN/duluthparks/catalog/index/af5b9295a9299026283b30360b26ac0c?filter=c2VhcmNoPXBhaW50JnJlbnRhbCU1QmZyb20lNUQ9JnJlbnRhbCU1QnRvJTVEPQ==

Here is the Facebook Event for it: https://www.facebook.com/events/426881062872649/?ref=newsfeed