Dan Engelhart (District 1)
The Hiawatha Golf Course Area Master Plan (aka Hiawatha Links) was approved by MPRB in 2022, calling for 9 holes of golf and the ecological restoration of Lake Hiawatha. As commissioner, will you support the master plan and work actively to move forward implementation of the plan?
Yes! Absolutely! Full support and will work actively with community committed to ecological restoration. I will add, I want us to move away from using the word ‘master’ in our plans… but that is possibly tangential
How will you work to ensure that the new parkland at Hiawatha honors the lake’s history as Rice Lake / Bdé Psíŋ with the Dakota people who have stewarded this land since time immemorial, and ensures safe access for Native lifeways?
By being in community with our Native Dakota Relatives, listening to community leaders and all in our community committed to this goal. I am an organizer skilled and trained in deep listening. I will carry that forward and work as the organizer I am to get this done with deep respect.
How will you work to ensure that the new parkland at Hiawatha honors the history of Black golfers and the course’s legacy as a social hub for Minneapolis’ Black golf community?
Similar to the above- the legacy of Black Golf and this particular golf course is important to uphold as we move forward with this plan.
A recent Star Tribune article covered the problem of stray golf balls from the course hitting houses along 43rd St. What would you do as commissioner to address that issue prior to the projected 2030 course reconstruction?
The article seems to state that moving the tee helped some (then golfers moved it). I would work within this plan that in my opinion must be upheld strongly to do whatever we can with this golf swing trajectory to stop errant balls everywhere but particularly to these homeowners that cannot have peace due to this.
What role can the new parkland at Hiawatha play in expanding foraging opportunities for Minneapolis residents?
Excellent role! One to promote! Work with our native relatives, make this a success story and foraging to be a huge part of harvesting through forage yet also of ecological restoration.
How should we balance coexistence with other species in urban green spaces, even when doing so might causes challenges for humans? For example, beavers are native to the area and restore degraded streams, but can inconvenience us when they cut down trees.
I learned that MPRB has at least curtailed the awful trapping that is basically drowning of Beavers around Bde Psin- this is good. I don’t believe we have to curtail the beaver population in this area- I would trust a deep and broad opinion and study of the needs yet am vehemently against killing Beavers to ‘benefit’ humans. I believe we have to let some of the ecological restoration happen, this may mean relocating some Beavers, but also I sure hope not.