Much has changed since initiating Stepping Up MN, a virtual cleanup launched at the end of April to mobilize eager volunteers for community betterment. COVID-19 had us cloistered and adhering pretty religiously to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines against viral transmission. Litter accumulated in the streets, with city workers reassigned or furloughed and community stewards recommitting themselves to other priorities. Something needed to be done. Several people took the valiant first step of going outside, mobilizing neighbors in some cases, and taking steps toward creating visible improvement in areas along, and near, commonly trafficked city streets.
Here, we commend and celebrate those efforts.
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- Joolie went to the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary and removed human-generated refuse with a teammate.
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- Jenny Werness and her dog Hexie joined the virtual event to remove litter, as she does regularly in her neighborhood.
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- Christian Huelsman and partner Melanie Grue spruced up the area along the railroad tracks next to East Lake Street at Hiawatha Avenue.
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- Christian Huelsman picks up aged litter along the railroad tracks at Hiawatha/Lake.
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- Glen Johnson goes metal in Elliot Park.
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- Glen Johnson removed a bounty of trash in Elliot Park and found a souvenir from the Great Minnesota Get-Together.
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- Christian Huelsman assembled two bags of trash along an alley south of East Lake Street.
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- Bill Lindeke harvested along the chasm that is Interstate 94.
Certainly, since that last week in April, hundreds of volunteers have done much to clean up debris along Lake Street and across the Twin Cities. It took some time to find the right time to return to the virtual cleanup response to #SteppingUpMN, as many other voices and activism deserved the main stage. Minneapolis could not have recovered from the rubble in the streets without a groundswell of support for community. A global pandemic and an immediate response to racial injustice and unwarranted police behavior both have made us stronger, more resilient and better connected than ever.