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2024 Metropolitan Mosquito Control
There was nothing normal about the winter of 2023-24. Unseasonably warm temperatures and a lack of snowfall for much of December through February gave way to relatively cool temperatures and moderate precipitation in late March and early April. In early spring, mosquitoes tend to stay in the water as larvae for longer. As air temperatures rise, the larvae begin to emerge as adult mosquitoes. The
Hummingbirds, Cicadas & Cicada Killer Wasps
Update: They are here! See the updated map as of May 3rd, 2024. Reader RA, of Chaska, reported seeing a hummingbird looking for a feeder, in his yard, on April 14. Spring is here and so is news on some of our favorite–and possibly less favorite–natural neighbors. According to UpNorthNews, hummingbirds are on their way north, expected to reach Minnesota and Wisconsin in another week
Shorewood City Water Report: “Forever Chemicals”
Note: Water quality, testing and standards are complicated. SCA recommends you contact any of the sources in this article for more clarity. Private wells are not tested by the City. Learn more about how to test your private well. The EPA just announced a first-ever National Drinking Water Standard to protect 100M people from PFAS pollution. This comes with $1B in funding for mitigation. Overview: Shorewood
STAND-OFF: Government v. Process
At the Monday, April 8th Shorewood Council meeting, the 3 attending members, (Labadie, Zerby and Callies*), without discussion, voted to approve the blanket spraying of Freeman and Manor Park soccer fields with an unspecified weedkiller. The recommendation by the contractor was for 6 applications per year, for up to 2 years. *All three are up for re-election this Fall. See it all here in the
Compliments: Street Inspector’s SeeClickFix Response
Typically the Shorewood SeeClickFix response to tree-utility wire conflict has been to push it back to residents to figure out–or ignore the request completely. The street inspector has taken a more customer friendly approach, and SCA appreciates his good work! See the image below.
Questions Swirl Around Shorewood’s “Closed Door” Hiring Policy
On March 25, the Council approved the hiring of Park & Recreation Manager Mitchell Czech on the council consent agenda. He will start at approximately $95k, the same level as the outgoing director, Janelle Crossfield. Drilling down: The resumes of the candidate finalists were not made public. When asked if the Park Commission would be involved in developing the job description or participating in the
Get Smarter: The Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail (LRT)
The Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail, commonly known as the “LRT” trail stretches over 15 miles between Hopkins and Carver Park Reserve, offering scenic views of Lake Minnetonka along the way. This aggregate trail passes through Minnetonka, Deephaven, Greenwood, Excelsior, Shorewood and Victoria. – Source: Three Rivers Park District History: The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) originally built the railroad corridor in 1870. It was
Do You Know About Shorewood’s Crisis Management Plan?
SCA editors view the city council meeting and work session videos. Our mission includes promoting transparency and accountability by evaluating council discussion and decisions. So, we took note when CM Sanschagrin made a nondescript suggestion at the Feb. 26 meeting, that the Council discuss the existence of Shorewood’s Crisis Management Plan (CMP). The context of his comment and question, reveals that as a newer councilmember,
Disruption: Zoombombing A Virtual Meeting
“Zoombombing” is the unwanted, disruptive intrusion, generally by Internet trolls, into a video-conference call. In a typical Zoombombing incident, a teleconferencing session is hijacked by the insertion of material that is lewd, obscene, or racist in nature. Source: Wikipedia At the Feb. 26, 2024 Shorewood Council meeting (content has been removed starting at 11:40) Shorewood, like many other local government institutions, has fallen victim to
