This morning, while driving into work, I saw a woodchuck nonchalantly munching on some delectible grass near Franklin Ave. and West River Road.
I thought of some of the wildlife I have seen in Minneapolis that is rarely seen in other cities: Foxes scampering in the grass under the Washington Ave. bridge along the river. Beaver swimming near Pike Island under Fort Snelling A big owl staring into my face in the middle of the night at Lake Nokomis. Great Blue Herons fishing by streetlamp, again at Lake Nokomis. And I began to think: we could actually put together a pretty respectable wild animal safari here in Minneapolis. And I wanted to know: have other Minneapolis issues list members had their own wild animal encounters in Minneapolis? What wild creatures have you seen? Where have you seen them? Any other tips for people looking for wild animal experiences in Minneapolis? Jay Clark Cooper P.S. Many people on this list volunteer their time to improve their communities. The roll call of neighborhood volunteers lost a dedicated member with the death of Merriam Park resident Mary McEvoy, lost in the plane crash with Paul Wellstone last Friday. Since my main post was Minneapolis specific, I hope people will grant me a little slack to say a few words about Mary. I first met Mary at a planning meeting to prevent the hookup of Ayd Mill Road. I remember how she walked in and sat down, and somehow she instantly lifted the spirits of everybody in the room. She was a little fireplug, filling the room with enthusiasm and confidence. She also came up with a great strategy of forming No Connect groups at the local caucuses, which were successful in helping to stop the connection in 2000. I have worked with many volunteers in many neighborhood groups over the years, and rarely have I seen someone with such sheer force of personality so profoundly uplift people and embolden the efforts to tackle powerful interests and take on a tough community issue. She was so encouraging to everyone else, and I just enjoyed watching her work with others. She always built up other people, she never sought the limelight for herself. I already knew she was a special person, but then I started running into her in the most unexpected places. With a river and a bridge between me and any No Connect signs, I went to my Minneapolis DFL caucus. There I saw Mary McEvoy on the sidwalk hobnobbing with Buck Humphrey. I found out that Mary held a state position in the DFL party. Several months later, I was involved in a neighborhood organization history project. A graduate student had done extensive research, but had never turned the research results over to us. We called the student and her faculty advisor for close to a year, with no results. Finally, in desperation, we called the student's department head. Within 48 hours we got the research work. The department head was Mary McEvoy. Until I heard her voice, I could not believe that the feisty Ayd Mill neighborhood activist was also an accomplished and internationally recognized scholar. The respect I already had for Mary took a big jump when I realized that with all her major political and scholarly responsibilities she still took the time to be involved in a very local issue. I think most people holding statewide political positions would shy away from getting involved in a local fractious controversial issue such as Ayd Mill Road. But not Mary. She dove in headlong, and we were all the better for it. Her willingness to fight for causes she believed in regardless of the consequences was a trait she shared with Paul Wellstone. Her zeal was infectious, and her work will be continued by those of us lucky enough to have been inspired by her passion and energy and commitment. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
