Jeanette Colby (District 4)
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?
This plan involved a great deal of work on the part of the community and Park Board staff. I appreciate the difficult compromises it represents and support the outcome. While the plan requires a significant financial investment, it delivers valuable environmental benefits for future generations. I look forward to working with the Friends of Lake Hiawatha and funders to move the plan forward.
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?
The Park Board has an Indigenous Action Plan and an advisory committee to guide actions related to "systems, processes, relationships, and sites related to acknowledgement, truth, and action of historical and contemporary Indigenous land, people, and nations" (Michael Schroeder, Assistant Superintendent, Planning, July 2025). This is a critical resource for all planning and change processes, including the new parkland at Lake Hiawatha.
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?
In my experience, the Park Board staff has shown real strength in engaging communities and integrating a variety of perspectives. I would support their work and trust Black golfers to step forward with meaningful ideas and approaches to recognizing the important history of Hiawatha golf course for the community. My approach as a commissioner would be to work with residents and help bring varied perspectives forward.
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?
My knowledge of this issue comes from the StarTribune. According to the coverage, this doesn't sound like a difficult problem to solve. I would work with the Superintendent to ensure that Park Board properties do not negatively impact neighbors. Park properties should improve, not detract from, the quality of life in Minneapolis.
What role can the new parkland at Hiawatha play in expanding foraging opportunities for Minneapolis residents?
I support creative ideas to allow more people to experience parks in a healthy way. Foraging supports learning about the plants and animals in our urban environments, and I would hope that new foraging opportunities go hand-in-hand with education -- for adults and kids.
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 would like to look for ways to increase the number of naturalists on staff and/or the ways naturalists can guide work in the parks. This is a great example of a situation that requires the expertise of someone who has expertise in human and non-human interaction in urban park environments.