8. Earth Day 1990 Program Y.
lif CITYOF ..........
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CHANHASSEN
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4144 690 COULTER DRIVE • P.O. BOX 147• CHANHASSEN,MINNESOTA 55317
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II (612)937-1900 • FAX (612)937-5739
MEMORANDUM
IITO: Don Ashworth, City Manager
IFROM: Todd Gerhardt, Asst. City Manager
DATE: March 8, 1990
IISUBJ: Establishing April 22, 1990, as Earth Day
Attached you will find a newsletter called "Minnesota Beautiful",
I a quarterly publication that highlights environmental
beautification projects and programs. The Mayor, at the last City
Council meeting, expressed interest in celebrating "Earth Day,
I 1990" (see attachment #1) and creating our own project to celebrate
this day. ._
Earth Day was started in Minnesota in 1970 to recognize the
I preservation and beautification of Our Minnesota environment.
p-1
In recognition of Earth Day, staff would recommend the City Council
II designate April 22, 1990, -:as "Earth Day". Staff would also
recommend that Earth Day 1,4 celebrated in conjunction with Arbor
Day. To celebrate both of these days, Staff would propose an Earth
Day/Arbor Day celebration. This celebration would consist of
I giving away 3,000 tree seedlings on Arbor Day, April 27, 1990.
Staff would propose the trees be given away between 11:30 a.m. to
I 6:00 p.m. at Colonial Center Shopping Center in front of Kenney's
Market. The goal of this project is to ,involve the citizens of
Chanhassen in expanding ° the =-natural`-`beauty of Chanhassen by
planting trees and creatin a- amil
The Chanhassen `Cub, Scout Troop 330 is interested in helping
distribute the trees and hopefully the City Council and staff
Iwould also assist on this day: xr 1"i4.4
Av
Say YES to the,Environment!
I ,ATTACHMENTS
1. Minnesota Beautiful Newsletter
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II
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1,
M UTIFUL
IWinter 1990
A Newsletter Published Quarterly For Volunteers Concerned About Environmental Beautification
Finnish Heritage Puts Embarrass in the Spotlight
1 By Mark Gustafson
I Until recently,visitors to Embarrass cal Society,The Iron Range Resource Embarrass continues to reap national
were few. They were almost cer- and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), attention for its efforts as well. In
tainly there to visit relatives who had Blandin Foundation,the Minnesota 1988,Embarrass was a winner in the
I chosen to remain in the post-mining Departments of Natural Resources local governments category of the
era. In fact,most visitors who drove and Trade and Economic Develop- national Take Pride in America pro-
through Embarrass did not even know ment,Minnesota Community Pride, gram and, most recently,they were
it as there is no main street identified The Governor's Design Team and selected as one of only 16 locations in
I with the community. several other organizations. the nation to be included in the East-
man Kodak national exhibit entitled,
That is,until a historic preservation- Included in the Historic Preservation "America's Uncommon Places: The
ist suggested that the struggling Iron efforts will be the restoration of sev- Blessings of Liberty."
I Range community restore its Finn- eral turn-of-the-century homesteads,
ish architecture as a means for mov- some with original smoke saunas,and Through all of the excitement and
ing the traditionally mining econ- a rare house-barn inhabited from national attention,one thing stands
I omy toward thatofa diversified econ- 1906-1909,with a three-gabled roof out in Embarrass. This community
omy,primarily tourism. and overhead wagon ramp. The of 900 has pulled together. There
Picture-it-Painted Program offered was no professional staff to do the
I "Historic Finnish Heritage?"mused by The Friends of MINNESOTA organizing, no hired laborers to
the citizens. All they saw were old BEAUTIFUL and The Valspar Cor- complete the work. The citizens of
shacks scattered throughout their poration donated paint for the resto- Embarrass have developed a pride
small community. But now,the resi- ration ofone homestead that is tenta- unlike any seen around there before.
• dents are no longer embarrassed about tively planned to be a bed and break- The efforts in Embarrass demonstrate
"those old shacks." They see a future fast for the area. thatby working together,citizens can
in their past which can help them As the restoration project progresses, reach for their dreams.
I rebound from the economic squeeze
caused by the closing of two nearby
taconite mines. Earth Day Revisited: 1970/1990
ITo help in the restoration proc-. Many Minnesotans remember the first Earth Day of 1970. Much has
citizens formed Sisu Heritage In . happened in the environmental arena in the ensuing 20 years and much
(sisu meaning"stubborn determina remains to be done. On April 22, 1990,citizens will again celebrate Earth
I don"in Finnish). Thanks to the de- Day. The goal this year is to involve every Minnesotan in an Earth Day 1990
termined efforts of this organization, activity. Join in with one of the projects already planned,or start your own
Embarrass's dream of establishing a campaign! -
I Finnish Cultural Center is rapidly
becoming a reality. They have used or more information on plans already underway, contact the Celebrate
the resources of the Minnesota Proj- + innesota Earth Day 1990 Work Committee,900 American Center Building,
I ect, the National Trust for Historic 50 East Kellogg Boulevard,St.Paul,Minnesota 55101,612/297-1990. Say
Preservation,the Minnesota Histori- ■ ES to the Environment!
I
Minnesota Clean Rivers Project 1989 Year End Summary
F
1989 was the first full year of a state- ups along their sections. Trees were nal organization donated 37,000 de-
wide effort to rid Minnesota's rivers planted, picnic and camping areas gradable plastic bags for cleanups. It I
of litter and debris. Thousands of were developed, wood duck houses also encouraged its 150,000 mem-
` letters were sent to volunteer groups, were erected and riverbanks were bers in Minnesota to participate in
communities, sportsman clubs and stabilized. These groups also logged the program.Campbell-Mithun-Esty
I
f youth organizations to solicit help in over 1,000 volunteer hours. Advertising agency is developing an
cleaning up the state's waterways. informational video and a marketing
Three different programs were de- ONE-TIME RIVER CLEANUPS plan for this program on a pro bono I
veloped to interest a wide variety of could be conducted by any group that basis.
1 participants. wasn't affiliated with either of the
g other two programs. These groups The Pollution Control Agency has set
1 THE MAYOR'S CHALLENGE wanted to do their part,without the aside$60,000 for a program to assist
I
RIVER CLEANUP was instituted to commitment involved in the Adopt a in the disposal cost of waste tires that
solicit involvement by communities River program and without the asso- are collected during these cleanups.
1 to clean segments of waterways that ciation of an organized community. The Minnesota National Guard and
were in or near their municipality. the Minnesota Civil Air Patrol con-
The League of Minnesota Cities Twenty-one organizations cleaned tine to provide information on dumps
helped to sponsor this effort by send- more than 90 tons of debris from along rivers and streams that are
ing letters and information to every over 60 miles of waterways utilizing observed during their flight exercises. '
community in the state. The initial thousands of volunteer hours. Most The State Planning Agency will enter
response wasoverwhelmingwith 240 of these cleanups took place in rural this information into its computers
mayors sending back cards express- areas and involved youth groups and and develop a detailed map of these I
ing an interest to participate. sportsman clubs. sites. Not only will this allow devel-
opment ofa statewide inventory,but
When the dust settled,59 communi- The Minnesota Clean Rivers Program it will provide an ongoing status report
I
ties actually conducted cleanups which achieved its success in 1989 with on river cleanup efforts.
involved 13,868 volunteer hours and support and commitment of Gover-
removed 395 tons of debris along nor Perpich, the State Legislature, For more information, contact the
287 miles of shoreline! The most Minnesota Department of Natural Minnesota Clean Rivers Project at I
frequently echoed comment was: "We Resources and private corporations.
didn't realize that it was this bad." The Lutheran Brotherhood frater- (612) 296-4822 or 1-800-652-9747 •
and ask for DNR.
THE ADOPT A RIVER PROGRAM .. I
was created to address the long-term g PUT'IT To "'
concerns ofmaintaining a clean river YoUR EAR q D 'i,, #
a system. An individual or organiza- YOU'LL H R 'lion can"adopt"a section of river or THe OCEAN! t stream and pledge to keep it clean for
a minimum of two years. They will --- -_ -- I
receive a Department of Natural
Resources sign with their name on it __ -...:$:„O: .S:.»-::».:5...0...5»..........'S...p..,.S.,,,,,,,,S-0
that states: "Please keep this river - r
clean, this river segment has been ”°' I
adopted by ." These signs and ;;;W?"accompanying decals were donated i ( '� Lr
by Northern States Power Company. ` �o / ! .. I
The Adopt a River Program had 40 -- - ' - -L - �,� 3
participating groups in 1989 which -�T� ` �` " ft- o:K' i�•r'.A:
,4?
adopted over 97 miles of rivers. Many -=-'_. : - -�- - �= .:•r
of these groups did more than clean- Reprinted with permission of Steve Sack and the Minneapolis Star Tribune
1
rte. ; , _
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.,-,_. _- _ ,_?SFr' _.--. - , ... -..
1
Mark Your Calendar Sue's Views .
IMINNESOTA BEAUTIFUL/Com- By Sue Hodder •
munity Pride Workshops-learn about ° ".`
volunteer recruitment and the appli-
' cation process for our programs. All k_
workshops are from 7-9 p.m.at the
following locations. Over the years one of my heroes has was being polluted with dioxin from
I FEBRUARY
been Ben Franklin. He was a man a nearby paper plant. One town even
for all seasons. His"one-liners"are nicknamed itself"Widowville"because
still being quoted to this day. One of all the cancer deaths they feel are
20 Northome*City Hall* that particularly made sense for this due to the polluted river that runs
I Contact Dolly Thomas at 21W column was,"when the well is dry,we through their town.
897-5762 know the worth of water."
The West is not without its water
I21 Mahnomen*Court House* Not only is our well going dry--the problems, too. A recent television
Contact Peg Braaten at 218/ water that is in it is being poisoned program, "Poison In the Rockies,"
935-2226 with chemicals and contaminates. focused on"acid snowmelt"and how
rivers and streams are contaminated
I 22 Melrose*City Offices* The summer of 1988 showed us that with iron,magnesium,lead,cadmium,
Contact Jim Waggoner at we were dangerously close to a water zinc, mercury and arsenic due to
612/256-4278 crisis. Suddenly people were talking mining irresponsibility. This sounds
I about the Ogallala aquifer as if they more like a chemist's shopping list
22 Mon*Kanabec History were speaking of the Culligan man. than a rundown of water quality
Center*Contact Jan Larson content,doesn't it?
I at 612/679-5792 We were all astonished to find that
our underground water supply, the By now you and I are thinking,"when
26 Annandale*City Hall* one we've depended on for genera- will all this stop?" As I see it,we have
Contact Pat Nasi at 612/ dons,"may be too low to pump in 20 some major problems to deal with.
I 274-3055 years." (1) How do we stop wasting water
and start conserving it? (2)How do
28 Mankato*Government And instead of our other major source we get our water cleaned up? (3)
' Center*Contact Kathie Davis of water,the Great Mississippi,over- How can we keep our water pure?
at 507/387-5643 flowing all the way from Itasca to
New Orleans,we were seeing dried In other words,when will we begin to
MARCH up shores that yielded an overabun- give this water of ours some healthy
I dance of decayed trucks, old tires, respect?
1 Keewatin*City Hall*Con- cans,rusty mattresses and leaking oil Dun,.. ,.p.,p• _ agora= .
tact Darla Moore at 218/ drums. v.
I 778-6585
We Minnesotans were not the only ..,,.
I Hayfield*City Hall*Con- ones to experience a water crisis.The
tact Joyce Gaal at 507/ East Coast reported that the oceans •
•I 477-3535 were not producing healthy shrimp
but filthy medical supplies and syr-
6 Slayton*City Hall*Contact inges.And the West Coast found that tG i ..........- -
I Alice Bjerrum at 507/ an oil tanker did not deliver oil to the
836-8534 refinery but instead spilled it into the
ocean, altering the ecology of Alas- 4.....7..-=_..-.-_
III -wow nes must a the wa les M4Miat beech
kan and Canadian shores. with ell those meecal sweeter
Continued on Page 4 Oh yes, the South reported prob- Reprinted with permission of Ralph
lems,too. Tennessee's Pigeon River Dunagin and The Orlando Sentinel
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Other upcoming events: Friends of MINNESOTA BEAUTIFUL Membership Form
• ORGANIZATION rl
MARCH
NAME
31 Application deadline-MIN-
NESOTA BEAUTIFUL pm- ADDRESS
grams*Picture It Painted•
Small Grants for Environ- CITY STATE ZIP ,
mental Education*Norwest
Beautification Awards* PHONE DATE
Contact Mark Gustafson at
612/297-3190 I/We would like to join the Friends of MINNESOTA BEAUTIFUL.
I
Enclosed is:
APRIL $20 Individual Membership $50 Group Membership
22 Earth Day 1990 $200 Corporate Membership $ Additional Amount
I
Our Corporation would be interested in co-sponsoring a Beautifi-
27 Arbor Day cation Assistance Program with the Friends of MINNESOTA BEAUTI-
FUL. I
MAY May is Arbor Month Please send me more information about the Friends of MINNE-
SOTA BEAUTIFUL and the programs you support.
4-6 ' PartnersinProgress Confer- Membership forms should be returned to:
I
ence,Madden's Resort and
Conference Center,Brain- Friends of MINNESOTA BEAUTIFUL
erd•Contact Jane Leonard do Barbara K.Gustafson
I
at 612/297-1755 62 Windsor Court
New Brighton,MN 55112
...... _
900 AMERICAN CENTER BUILDING BULK RATE
150 EAST KELLOGG BOULEVARD U. S. POSTAGE
SAINT PAUL. MN 55101 PAID I
___:' ''''.:
St.Paul. MN
IlliAlli PHONE (612) 296-2169 Permit No. 171
MINNESOTA I
BEAUTIFUL
C ,v::_t) I
FEB 2 61990
I
c:1 rY OF CHANHASSEN
1
City of Chanhassen
Mr. Don Asworth
690 Coultier Drive
I
Chanhassen„ MN 55317
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