Please consider an online donation to help further our efforts in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood. Thanks!
The mission of the Macalester-Groveland Community Council is to foster citizen participation in government and community decisions in order to protect and enhance those characteristics which make our neighborhood a desirable place to live, work, and play.

Looking for easy, low-cost (or NO cost) ways to make a difference for the environment right at home, and save money?

Save the Date

Join your neighbors for a FREE Energy Efficiency & Composting Workshop!
Thursday, March 18, 6-8pm
Saturday, March 20, 10-12pm
Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center, Macalester College
(Mac-Groveland Residents Only)

By attending one of these free workshops you’ll qualify to participate in these exciting one-time-only opportunities:

Help your neighbors make dirt, not waste!

Join your neighbors to volunteer for an innovative composting and energy conservation program in your neighborhood.  As a volunteer, you will assist the Macalester-Groveland Community Council (MGCC) in their partnership with Eureka Recycling and the Green Institute to grow composting and energy conservation in Macalester-Groveland. This program is the only one like it in the country and your neighbors need you to help Macalester-Groveland become the greenest neighborhood in Saint Paul.
•    Volunteers will assist neighbors to make dirt, not waste, through backyard composting.
•    Volunteers will be interested in composting and waste reduction.
•    Volunteers will receive training and work in teams of 2 or 3 to do home visits.
•    Volunteers will help grow a backyard composting movement in Saint Paul, one household at a time!
Requirements
•    Six to twenty hours of volunteer time.
•    Desire for making our neighborhood the greenest in Saint Paul.
•    Some backyard compost experience helpful, but not necessary. One person per team will have backyard compost experience. All volunteers will receive the same volunteer training.
•    Each home visit team needs one vehicle for transporting 2-3 compost bins (vans and hatchbacks work well).
•    Availability for one of our kick-off workshops: Thursday, March 18, 6-8pm or Saturday, March 20, 10am-12pm.
•    Availability in March and April for making home visits.  There will be many choices to fit into your busy schedule.

Composting home visits involve:
1.    Visit your neighbor’s homes or backyards with 1-2 other people
2.    Deliver a backyard compost bin supplied by Eureka Recycling and set it up.
3.    Answer questions, provide resources, and offer waste-reduction tips (we’ll help you with all of this).
4.    Get them started composting food scraps.

Hourcar car-sharing service now available at University of St. Thomas

Want a convenient, economical and earth-friendly way to drive without owning a car?

Open Board Position

The Macalester-Groveland Community Council is looking for an At-Large Business Representative. The individual will represent businesses in Macalester-Groveland on the Macalester-Groveland Community Council's Board of Directors. Interested candidates must represent a business located within Macalester-Groveland.  Candidates interested in running for this position are invited to attend the Macalester-Groveland Community Council’s Board Meeting on: Thursday, March 11th at 7 p.m. at Edgcumbe Recreation Center (320 S. Griggs).

For more information about being a board member, or if you are interested in running for the open seat, please contact Afton Martens, Lead Organizer for Crime Prevention and Outreach at 651-695-4000, or send an email to afton@macgrove.org. To learn more about the council, please visit the council website: http://www.macgrove.org/.  

Neighborhood businesses are encouraged to send a representative to attend the meeting to caucus and elect their representative on the Board.

Community Impact Statement: Graffiti in Macalester-Groveland

Macalester-Groveland was hit by a wave of graffiti (not gang-related) over the past several months. The St Paul Police and the Ramsey County Attorney's Office have requested the help of Mac-Groveland residents and businesses in completing Community Impact Statements to aid in sentencing the individual being charged (OPUS) with the crime.

A Community Impact Statement provides the opportunity for residents to speak out on individuals or businesses whose activities affected their sense of safety and well-being in their neighborhood. These are the information that cannot be found in police reports. A Community Impact Statement describes to the court (in your own words) and tells exactly how your life has been affected and changed as a result of a crime or crime pattern. It can describe any financial, physical, and important emotional effects (or all three) that a crime or crime pattern has had on you and your community where the offense(s) occurred. This is your opportunity to become more involved and to have a voice in the criminal justice system.

If you were impacted by the graffiti and would like to submit a Community Impact Statement, please contact Afton Martens at the Macalester-Groveland Community Council with your name, address (only statements which include your name and address will be considered; please indicate whether you would like to remain anonymous to the defendent), and how you were affected by the crime. For more information on Community Impact Statements, please see attached document below.
Afton Martens
Lead Organizer for Crime Prevention & Outreach
Macalester-Groveland Community Council
320 S Griggs St
St. Paul, MN 55105
Phone: 651.695.4000
Fax: 651.695.4004
afton@macgrove.org

Emerald Ash Borer

Stay up to date on Emerald Ash Borer in St. Paul by following the City of St. Paul's website here. Learn about management strategies and upcoming community meetings.

Quarterly Neighbor Rep Meetings

Have any great ideas or burning questions that could be answered at an upcoming Neighbor Rep meeting? Contact Afton at afton@macgrove.org to share your ideas.

2010 Macalester-Groveland/Highland Home Improvement Fair

Saturday, April 10, 2010
10am-3pm, Cretin Derham Hall (550 South Albert Street)

The 19th Annual Highland-Macalester-Groveland Home Improvement Fair will take place Saturday, April 10th, 2010 at Cretin Derham Hall (550 South Albert Street) in St. Paul from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Hundreds of area homeowners are once again expected to attend and learn about home improvement products, services, and/or educational efforts . It is one of our neighborhood’s most popular events and we are focusing on those businesses who are offering 'greening' opportunities for our neighbors.

For Home Improvement Fair applications, see attachments below. Application deadline is Friday, February 5th, 2010. Send your completed application with payment to Kathy Carruth at hdc@visi.com (email) or 651-695-4019 (fax) or mail it to:

Home Improvement Fair
1978 Ford Parkway
St. Paul, MN 55116

Questions? Contact Kathy at 651-695-4005 or Karmann at 651-695-4000.

City of St. Paul Snow Emergency and Snow Plowing Information

To sign up for SnowAlert to receive text and/or e-mail message notifications, go to http://www.stpaul.gov/snowalert. There you will find the opportunity to sign up for automatic email updates for snow emergency updates, as well as a variety of other updates.

For more information on snow emergency and snow plowing, go to the City of St. Paul website here: http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?nid=905 .

KidsPark

KidsPark President's Day Bowling Event at Midway Bowl!

All youth, families, and friends of KidsPark are invited to bowl. A portion of the proceeds go to KidsPark! Monday, February 15th, 2010 from 10AM to 1PM at Midway Bowl (1556 University Ave W), $5 per game, free shoe rental, plenty of bumper lanes, and prizes!


KidsPark is currently accepting enrollment at the new location in Desnoyer Park!

What is KidsPark?

KidsPark is a professionally staffed parent cooperative drop-in child care service sponsored by the Macalester-Groveland Community Council in cooperation with the St. Paul Division of Parks and Recreation. It has served families for over twenty years. KidsPark gives kids a chance to play with others in a supervised, stimulating environment, and gives their parents the opportunity to...

  • take a class
  • keep an appointment
  • have lunch with a friend                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
  • Volunteer
  • Shop
  • Exercise
  • spend one-on-one time with another child


Teacher’s Wish List!

KidsPark needs the following items:

  • High chair

If you have any of the above items to donate, please contact Claire at KidsPark at 651-603-0144.
To learn more about KidsPark, visit their website at http://www.kidsparkdropin.org.