Do
the walleye in Lake Nokomis glow? What are those
luminous patches in the lake?
 A
wenonah resident asked the questions. Have to
admit, this was a new one to us. So, after some
serious head scratching, our researchers hit the
books and dug into archives to find the answers. Do
our walleyes really glow? You won't believe what we found. Exclusive
story and historical photos. (April 1, 2007)
Bloomington
Mediation Group Proposes Settlement to Airport Noise Suit
Airport
Noise Solution? A Bloomington mediation group
held a press conference to propose a way to end the legal battle
between the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), and three
cities over continued sound mitigation of residential homes
and businesses.. Exclusive story. (April 1, 2007)
How the city stacks up
By
Michelle Bruch, Southwest
Journal, July
28, 2008 Issue
A look at where Minneapolis lands on national lists that
compare cities in all types of categories When
media outlets swarm the cities in September, they will have plenty
of prepackaged story ideas they can use to describe
Minneapolis.
The
city has collected a sizable number of national titles
in recent years, some intuitive
and some surprising: we’ve been named the
second drunkest city, for example, as well as the smartest
city. We were designated the “top tech city” in 2005,
and the same year another survey called us the ninth most “unwired” city.
We’re ranked in the top five for low stress, and the best place
to get a good night sleep.
Literature circulated by
the Republican National Convention notes that Men’s Fitness Magazine once rated Minneapolis the nation’s
most athletic city. The Republicans are also alerted
that Minnesota has more golfers per capita than anywhere else in the
country.
Denver, likewise, is promoting
its rankings in material related to the Democratic National Convention.
Denver has the 10th largest Downtown,
it’s home to the second largest performing arts complex, and it
has the country’s only Downtown amusement park.
Here are a few of our recent
designations, if you’re looking
for a local ego boost.
Fifth-best
city for young professionals. Says
who: Forbes magazine, 2008. Why:
Minneaplis has the highest concentration of the nation’s
top companies, according to the magazine. We also have
a low cost of living and lots of jobs that pay recent
grads higher than the national
average. Who beat us: New York (4th), Boston (2nd), Seattle (1st)
The
best city for sleep. Says
who: Sperling’s
Best Places. Why:
Residents reported having nearly 23 nights of good sleep each month.
Minneapolis also scores high on the overall happiness index,
it has short commute times and low unemployment. Who we beat: Anaheim (2nd), San Diego (3rd), Raleigh-Durham (4th)
The
city that watches the least TV. Says
who: Men’s Fitness,
2005. Why:
According to Nielsen Media Research, the Minneapolis
market spends 49 percent less time
in front of the TV than the surveyed cities’ average. Who we
beat: Colorado Springs (graded a C+), Albuquerque (graded a C+), Denver
(graded an A-)
Fourth
best city to build personal net worth. Says who: Salary.com, 2008. Why:
Minneapolis has a diverse economic base in commerce, finance, health
care, rail and trucking services. Taken into account were salaries,
cost of living, unemployment, education levels, poverty
levels and commute
times. Who beat us: Plano, Texas; Aurora, Colo.; and Omaha, Neb.
Seventh
best city for the outdoors. Says who: Forbes magazine, Summer 2008. Why:
Minneapolis devotes 15 percent of its land to more
parks, and the city has a high investment per resident
in parkland. Who beat us: Phoenix and Tampa (tied for 5th), San Diego (2nd), San
Francisco (1st)
No.
1 Most literate city. Says
who: The president of Central Connecticut State University
and the university’s Center
for Public Policy and Social Research in 2007. Why: Rankings are based on newspaper circulation, number of bookstores,
library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment
and Internet resources. Who we beat: Seattle (2nd), St. Paul (3rd) and Denver (4th)
19th
most livable city in the world (out of 50 analyzed). Says
who: Monocle magazine (a British magazine that covers
current affairs and fashion) 2008. Why: A thriving arts scene, a rising
culinary reputation, and lots of recycling and green roofs. Who beat
us: Copenhagen, Munich, Tokyo and Honolulu
One
of the fittest mayors in America. Says
who: Men’s Fitness,
2006. Why:
Mayor R.T. Rybak exercises as often as five days per
week, and he participates in more fitness-related events than most
mayors.
One
of the top five least-stressful cities. Says
who: Sperling’s
Best Places. Why:
Low unemployment, low violent crime rate and a low
suicide rate. Who we beat: Tacoma, Miami, New Orleans, Las Vegas,
New York (the top five most stressful cities)
Most
fun city. Says
who: Bert Sperling, working on a commission for the
Cranium board game in 2003. Why:
Lots of pro sports teams, accessible arts and the lakes. Who we beat:
Orange County (2nd), San Jose (3rd), Atlanta (4th)
Second
drunkest city. Says who: Forbes magazine, 2006. Why:
The city ranked No. 2 for the most adults who reported
having a drink in the last month, No. 3 for binge drinkers
and No. 12 for heavy
drinkers. Who
beat us: Milwaukee
Second
fittest city. Says
who: Men’s Fitness,
2008. Why:
Eighty-seven percent of adults are physically active
to the point where they’re not
putting their health at risk, a higher percent than
any other city. Donuts are 80 percent less popular
here than the average city. Who beat us: Colorado Springs
Minneapolis is the top tech city in the nation!
Minneapolis
is nation's top tech city according to Popular Science,
the world's largest science and technology magazine.
The "unassuming
yet consistently innovative Minneapolis" edged out
Atlanta and Washington, D.C. for the top tech city
based on the results
of data gathered and evaluated by the magazine
from
the Census Bureau, the National Science Foundation
and expert surveys. The survey results were published
in the magazine's March 2005 issue and is also
available online .
Popular
Science is the world's largest science and technology
magazine, with a circulation of 1.45 million subscribers
and a
readership
of more than seven million people.
(February
16, 2005)
And...
The U.S. City With the Smartest People Is...
 ...Minneapolis,
Minnesota. That's the word from researchers at the University
of Wisconsin-Whitewater who studied statistics from
five categories and 13 different measures of literacy
to provide a ranking for all cities with a population
of 250,000 or more.
The
literacy profile for each city included citizens' educational
level, newspaper circulation rates, library resources,
number of periodicals published, and the number of booksellers.
The
11 most literate U.S. cities are: (1. Minneapolis,
Minnesota (2. Seattle, Washington (3. Denver, Colorado
(4. Atlanta, Georgia (5. San Francisco, California (6.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (7. Washington, D.C. (8. Louisville,
Kentucky (9. Portland, Oregon (10. Cincinnati, Ohio
(11. St. Paul, Minnesota.
The
least literate cities are (in descending order):
Los Angeles, California and Toledo, Ohio (tie); Fresno,
California; Jacksonville, Florida; Memphis, Tennessee;
Santa Ana, California; San Antonio, Texas; Detroit,
Michigan; Long Beach, California; and Corpus Christi,
Texas. And the least literate city in the United States
is El Paso, Texas. (07/11/03)
Thanks
to the 60 residents and officials who attended NENA's
LRT
Parking & Traffic meeting,
we now have a good start on
what the residents want and some available options
for the
50th St. station areas. Summary
of resident input is here. Already, we have some
good
news. (Updated
9/25/04)
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