Tom Olsen (At Large)
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?
I was proud to vote for the plan and will do everything in my power to move it forward efficiently.
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?
This is integrated into our very planning process, and I will only support final plans that embrace this history. My hope is that the restored natural areas will provide opportunities for interpretive signage and learning. I would also consider renaming the lake or including adding Bdé Psíŋ to our signs and plans. I also think this is a great opportunity to advance our “Indigenous Action Plan” by integrating those principles into our planning process and directly soliciting Native input.
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?
This is also integrated into the current plans. The clubhouse and surrounding areas will be devoted to this history. As the plans move forward, I would support committed staff time that supports and organizes programming that specifically targets Black golfers and Black youth who have an interest in the support. We need to also continue and improve our coordination with local schools to bring kids to the course and natural areas to learn about the rich history.
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?
This is a good question that I don’t have a complete answer to as this is new to me. But I think we can easily solve this by implementing design changes to the course that will reduce the amount of balls that would fly that way, increase tree and shrub coverage to block more shots, and if those don’t solve it, improve signage urging caution and threatening consequences for dangerous play, and create a policy where golfers must explicitly acknowledge their responsibility.
What role can the new parkland at Hiawatha play in expanding foraging opportunities for Minneapolis residents?
I would say that initially it would be fairly minimal as we work to minimize human impact. My first priority is to restore ecological harmony. Once we accomplish that, I think we can consider foraging options that wouldn’t negatively impact on the new environment. However, I do think we could build this option into the plan by intentionally planting edible/forgeable plants/trees/fruits etc.
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.
Generally, I think humans could stand to face a great deal more inconvenience. Our climate crisis is rooted in humanities’ need for more and more convenience. I think we can make a lot more “sacrifices” to benefit these species. The benefits of a more equal relationship with nature are often far greater than these inconveniences. For instance, while beavers may cut down trees, the local micro-climates they create are a huge boon to drought resistance, species diversity, and carbon sequestration. I think where we have to step in as a government institution is when critical infrastructure or people’s direct quality of life is impacted. Ultimately we have a fiduciary responsibility to the residents of Minneapolis that must be maintained. I also subscribe to the logic that it’s critical for Minneapolis to develop and grow so that we can limit suburban sprawl as much as possible. Sprawl causes immense amounts of environmental harm, and it’s our duty to limit that with our urban polcies.