MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis Park Board met last week with one item on the agenda: re-vamping and reducing Hiawatha Golf Course — which is proving to be an interesting and controversial concept.
Becka Thompson is seven months into her term on the board, and Hiawatha is a contentious issue.
There are plans to remove the 18-hole course through allowing flooding, and then bring it back as a nine-hole course with a new design on the rest of it.
“The idea is that there would be more space for programming, more green space would be what people are advocating for,” Thompson said.
This course has a rich history, and it involves Solomon Hughes, who helped integrate it in the late 40s. His name is now on the clubhouse.
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That is still part of the diversity-driven tradition, with annual tournaments a part of it each summer — and the possibility that some may lobby for this as a historical designation.
“What you’re saying to the community is this matters, this story matters, this history matters for the future,” Thompson said. “It matters right now. We’re gonna find a way to keep this, despite the obstacles.
It is heading to a vote among the nine park board members, and according to Thompson, that looks like the plan to re-develop has the votes.
“From what I know, five people are going to definitely vote for this, and there’s probably four that will say ‘no’ somewhere in there,” Thompson said. “There’s some wiggle room, but I’m pretty positive that the five are not going to move
Mike Max
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