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From YouTube: Bloomington Today: February 12, 2011
Description
This week's episode of Bloomington Today features the city's upcoming plans to expand its community gardens, offers helpful tips from the Bloomington Police Dept. about keeping your car safe, and introduces a new addition to the 35W corridor.
A
A
Welcome
to
Bloomington
today,
thanks
for
joining
us,
I'm
kailyn
real
bloomington
public
health
is
doing
what
they
can
to
keep
you
and
your
family
from
being
one
of
the
five
to
twenty
percent
of
the
population
that
comes
down
with
a
seasonal
flu
each
year,
take
a
look
according
to
Flug
of
the
most
common
times
to
catch.
The
flu
bug
are
between
late
fall
in
early
spring,
so,
if
you
haven't
received
your
flu
shot,
yet
it's
not
too
late.
City
Public
Health
is
still
offering
flu
vaccinations
for
the
public
somewhere.
B
A
B
Good
hand-washing
that
prevents
a
lot
of
disease
from
spreading,
also
covering
the
cough.
If
people
are
coughing,
they
should
cough
into
their
shirt
sleeve,
rather
than
into
somebody's
face.
We
also
would
recommend
that
people
stay
home
if
they're
ill
and
that,
if
that,
if
someone
else
is
ill,
they
don't
spend
time
with
that
person
if
they
can
possibly
prevent
that
from
happening.
A
Vaccinations
are
available,
the
first
and
third
Tuesday
of
every
month
from
3pm
to
530
p.m.
through
June,
if
necessary,
they're
walk-in
appointments
only
so
be
sure
to
stop
by
Public
Health
at
1900,
West
old,
shakopee
road
next
door
to
the
Bloomington
motor
vehicle
office.
Well,
do
you
need
an
incentive
to
start
using
public
transportation?
Here's
a
big
one.
The
new
transit
station
at
forty
sixth
Street
on
35w
is
now
complete.
A
We
were
at
a
recent
presentation
hosted
by
Metro
Transit,
explaining
just
what
the
new
station
is
and
why
it's
a
crucial
development
in
maximizing
the
traffic
flow
during
peak
hours
on
the
busy
freeway,
the
35w
corridor
runs
north
and
south
from
Minneapolis
to
lakeville.
It
is
the
busiest
commuter
highway
in
the
state
averaging
200,000
motorists
on
a
day
to
day
basis.
Bus
rapid
transit
is
now
pulling
into
the
fast
lane
and
doing
their
part
to
make
maximum
use
of
highway
capacity
with.
C
A
Station
is
the
first
of
its
kind
in
the
state
of
Minnesota.
It
allows
passengers
a
safe
area
to
leave
their
vehicles,
be
picked
up
at
the
station
located
on
35w
and
46
street
by
a
metro
bus
who
then
can
get
right
back
into
the
fast
lane
where
they
have
priority.
There's
no
fight
to
change
lanes
in
order
to
enter
and
exit
the
freeways
to
accommodate
stops,
ultimately
hoping
to
make
routes
faster
and
more
efficient
bus.
C
Rapid
transit
is
introduced
to
augment
the
Express
service,
to
provide
a
fast
reliable
trip
and
to
really
improve
the
service
quality
and
the
and
the
promise
of
transit
within
the
corridor
that
we
can
have
a
high
service
quality
similar
to
light
rail,
but
at
lower
cost
and
with
greater
flexibility,
we're
not
bound
to
an
alignment
on
the
freeway.
We
can
go
off
the
corridor.
We
can
serve
other
destinations
in
other
markets,
while
feeding
into
a
larger,
very
congestion,
free,
fast
running
way
on
the
corridor
itself.
This.
A
Station
allows
for
faster
transit
travel
to
more
destinations
in
the
south
and
southwest
suburbs
like
right
here
in
Bloomington.
Now,
one
brt
like
this
is
expected
to
be
constructed
somewhere
in
the
vicinity
of
american
boulevard
and
35w
for
more
information,
go
to
ww,
Metro,
Transit,
org
ever
think
about
taking
up
a
new
hobby.
Well,
here's
your
chance.
This
spring
Bloomington
will
expand
its
community
garden
significantly.
Center
for
the
Arts
manager.
Jim
URI
tells
us
a
bit
about
those
upcoming
changes
at
smith
park
and
harrison
park.
This.
D
A
D
A
Provided
a
plot
you
can
plan
essentially
anything
in
the
10
by
15
foot
space,
one
stipulation.
However,
you
cannot
use
chemicals
on
the
plants
or
the
soil
to
apply
for
a
plot
at
one
of
the
community
gardens
go
to
the
city's
website
at
wwc,
I,
bloomington,
MN,
us
keyword,
search
garden,
there's
a
one
page
application
along
with
a
$33
feet.
Applications
are
processed
on
a
first-come,
first-served
basis
with
priority
rental
status
given
to
the
2010
returning
renters,
as
well
as
Bloomington
residents.
Well
summer.
A
Winter
habits
make
you
more
susceptible
to
being
the
victim
of
a
crime.
We
spoke
with
the
Bloomington
Police
Force
to
learn
a
few
tips
along
with
sometimes
overlooked
ordinances
designed
to
keep
you
and
your
property
safe,
especially
during
the
winter
months.
It's
no
secret
that
it's
cold
outside
in
Minnesota
right
now
to
avoid
being
in
the
cold
too
long.
Minnie
drivers
start
their
vehicles
and
allow
time
to
warm
up.
A
E
Does
have
an
open
ignition
ordinance
and
that
makes
it
illegal
to
have
the
keys
in
the
car
or
in
the
ignition.
Well,
the
car
is
running
now.
If
you
have
the
doors
locked
and
the
cars
running,
that
would
be
legal.
So
what
we
see
is
some
people
are
leaving
the
cars
to
warm
up
before
they
go
somewhere
when
it's
cold
out
and
if
they
don't
have
the
vehicle
locked.
That
would
be
a
violation
of
the
city
ordinance
and
that's
also,
why
we're
seeing
some
of
these
cars
stolen.
E
E
A
E
Biggest
thing
is
to
protect
yourself
by
making
yourself
less
of
a
target.
Hide
your
valuables,
preferably
don't
keep
them
in
your
car,
but
if
you
do
hide
them,
hide
them
before
you
get
to
a
location,
sometimes
that
these
are
sitting
in
a
parking
lot
and
looking
for
targets,
and
so,
if
you
get
out
when
you're
at
that
location
and
take
your
briefcase
and
put
it
in
the
trunk,
someone
might
see
that
and
then
break
in
your
vehicle
and
try
to
access
the
trunk.
E
So
if
you
can
put
those
valuables
away
before
you
get
there,
that's
going
to
make
me
less
likely
to
be
a
target
and
keeping
the
valuables
out
of
sight.
Locking
your
vehicles
is
always
something
we
recommend
and
don't
hide
the
spare
keys
in
the
center
console,
or
something
like
that,
because
again,
when
that
these
are
rifling
through
your
car.
Looking
for
your
valuables,
they
might
find
the
keys
sergeant.
A
Elliot
says
that
the
2010
statistics
for
auto
theft
have
gone
down
considerably
from
years
past.
This
past
year
there
were
103,
auto
thefts
down
from
135
in
2009,
in
addition
to
educating
the
public
Bloomington
police
force,
largely
credit,
a
grant
from
the
state
of
Minnesota
allowing
extra
officers
on
the
streets
in
problem
areas
and
formulating
an
extensive
bait
car
program
for
the
decline
in
auto
thefts.
A
If
you
have
any
questions
about
the
current
city
ordinances
or
would
like
to
find
out
more
tips
on
how
to
protect
your
vehicle
visit,
the
city's
website
well
now
it's
time
for
a
short
break
when
we
return
we'll
be
joined
by
a
police
sergeant,
Chuck
Bala
and
he
fills
us
in
on
a
county
wide
initiative.
The
city
of
Bloomington
will
be
taking
part
of
stay
with
us.
F
A
G
Thanks
well,
the
traffic
enforcement
group
is
we're
just
starting
up
we're
hoping
to
have
our
first
meeting
the
first
week
in
march,
we're
hoping
to
have
the
program
actually
up
and
running
in
june.
It's
sponsored
by
the
hennepin
county
traffic
advisory
commission
and
we
deal
with
traffic
safety
issues
throughout
the
county.
It's
a
consortium
of
officers
that
deal
with
traffic
enforcement
and
we're
that's
the
group
that
sponsoring
the
group
but
I'm
the
president
of
that
group
and
as
such
Bloomington's
kind
of
taken
the
helm
at
the
beginning
of
this
project.
Okay,.
G
Say
it's
need
driven
I've
talked
before
on
the
roll
call,
show
and
I
think
even
on
this
show.
Before
about
the
increasing
amount
of
collaborative
efforts
toward
traffic
enforcement,
so
you
may
see
different
departments
in
Bloomington
doing
traffic
enforcement-
it
might
be
corcoran,
it
might
be,
Rogers
might
be
Minneapolis
and
if
we
can
flood
an
area
with
10
12
police
cars
and
couple
that
with
the
media
attention
and
putting
the
reports
on
our
activity
out,
it
really
makes
a
difference
in
traffic
safety
in
that
area.
Absolutely.
A
G
I'd
say
the
citizens
in
each
community
that
are
affected
by
this.
It's
mainly
to
enforce
traffic
law
and
statistics
show
that
enforcement
works.
More
enforcement
decreases,
accidents,
increases
traffic
safety,
increases
compliance
for
things
like
seatbelt,
calling
for
a
safe
and
sober
ride
slowing
down,
but
also
has
an
effect
on
crime
stats
in
an
area.
So
we
can
use
this
in
an
area,
that's
having
a
high
crime
rate,
maybe
a
lot
of
carb
crawls
like
a
long
494
strip.
G
A
G
Question
I'm,
hoping
for
June,
that's
a
lot
of
summer
activities,
festivals,
the
basilica
block
party
events
that
could
really
benefit
from
this
are
really
going
by
July.
So
again,
our
first
meeting
is
in
margin,
if
all
the
people
that
matter
and
these
different
departments
can
be
on
the
same
page
and
we
can
move
forward,
it
could
be
as
early
as
April
and,
frankly,
I
think
we're
a
little
behind
the
curve.
G
Bloomington
is
our
Hennepin
County
Rather's,
the
only
county
in
the
Metro
that
doesn't
have
an
effort
like
this.
Yet
so,
and
it's
it's
difficult
because
we
have
40
some
jurisdictions
with
control
over
areas
of
Hennepin
County.
Compare
that
to
an
old
Kurt
Dakota
where
they
have
maybe
12
agencies.
So
it's
a
little
harder
to
get
one
to
come
to
the
table
and
play
well,
but
I
think
it's
going
to
be
an
important
thing
and
a
good
thing
now.
A
G
So
again,
like
I
said
it's
a
force
multiplier.
You
see
12
police
cars
driving
around
an
area.
You
know
something's
up
a
pretty
good
chance,
you're
going
to
get
stopped
or
arrested,
and
it
really
makes
a
big
difference
on
traffic
safety.
So
it's
taking
a
little
bit
eight
hours
from
each
department
and
it's
you're
getting
a
lot
back
for
that
investment.
So
really
most
departments
won't
notice
a
difference
for
the
eight
hours
a
month
and
they'll
really
see
a
difference
when
everyone's
in
their
city
absolutely.
A
G
It's
interesting:
the
crime
is
actually
down
pretty
much
nationwide
and
any
stat.
The
keeper
will
tell
you
that,
which
is
a
good
thing,
but
one
way
to
keep
those
stats
down
and
there's
a
direct
correlation
to
officer
presence
and
traffic
enforcement
in
reducing
crime
and
accident
rates.
There's
no
escaping
that.
If
there
are
more
police
cars
in
an
area,
that's
an
intersection
where
we
see
a
reduction
in
crashes
and
it's
the
same
thing
for
a
crime.
People
are
less
likely
to
want
to
go.
G
Do
burglary
in
the
middle
of
the
night
if
they
say
police
cars,
stopping
cars
left
and
right,
and
then
also
the
correlation
between
significant
arrests
that
have
been
made
across
the
country,
not
just
Bloomington,
but
all
over.
The
country
based
on
routine
traffic
stops.
Timothy
McVeigh
was
stopping
on
a
traffic,
stop
a
known.
Serial
killer
was
stopped
on
a
traffic
stop,
and
these
are
great
ways
to
catch
criminals.
So
there
are
a
number
of
reasons
why
this
works
absolutely.
A
G
Great
question
I
think
we're
in
a
position
to
lead
the
charge
and
and
as
I
hinted
before,
I
think
we're
a
little
behind
and
we're
the
most
visible
county
or
the
most
populous
county,
and
this
is
an
area
where
we
can
really
make
a
difference
on
traffic
safety,
certainly
within
the
communities
within
the
county,
but
more
important
within
the
state.
I've
talked
on
other
shows
about
our
involvement
in
state
grants.
G
Doing
similar
things
with
different
agencies
from
different
jurisdictions,
flooding
an
area,
but
those
are
all
driven
by
the
state
of
Minnesota
targeting
with
the
state
feels
we
need
to
target.
This
is
an
extension
of
that
and
we
can
work
more
local
problems
and
more
local
streets,
and
maybe
some
of
the
local
festivals
from
crystal
frolic
days
to
summer
fete
to
the
basilica
block
party.
Every
community
has
a
need
for
something
like
this
and
it's
something
in
the
state
may
not
want
to
target
so.
A
G
It's
going
to
be
labor-intensive
because
I'm
going
to
need
to
track
a
lot
of
stats
to
start,
so
we
should
be
able
to
see
a
big
difference
in
the
areas
we're
working
in
accident
rates,
crimes
going
down
and
I'm
hoping.
We
can
track
that
again
we're
very
much
in
the
beginning
stages
of
this,
but
I
think
as
the
year
progresses.
We
should
be
able
to
show
a
pretty
measurable
difference
in
our
statistics
in
those
two
areas.
Once
the
group
has
worked,
those
areas.
G
Say
get
the
word
out,
and
this
is
one
of
those
rare
occasions
where,
where
we
in
law
enforcement
say
we
want
people
to
know
we're
out
there
we're
going
to
be
on
the
news
we're
going
to
be
on
the
media.
I'll
come
to
you,
we'll
put
it
out
on
the
roll
call,
show
the
Sun
current.
We
want
people
to
know,
there's
going
to
be
a
big
detail,
you're
going
to
see
a
lot
of
police
officers
get
the
word
out.
This
is
a
time
maybe
where
you
want
to
wear
your
seat
belt.
G
A
I
H
J
A
K
L
L
K
L
Right
now
we're
standing
at
the
at
the
Public
Works
building
and
our
East
employee
parking
lot.
We
can
reconstructed
using
pervious
concrete
and
the
pervious
concrete
was
a
demonstration
of
how
we
can
infiltrate
stormwater
versus
having
just
run
off
into
the
creeks
and
streams
of
Bloomington,
and
this
reduces
pollution
by
taking
you
up
phosphorus
and
nutrients
out
of
the
stormwater
runoff
and
infiltrating
those
in
the
ground
and
there's
also
metals
and
other
particulates
that
come
off
cars
that
now
we're
going
to
be
infiltrated
and
actually
treated
through
bacterial
activity
within
the
soils.
Let's.
L
A
M
50
cent
bar
soap
can
change
anything
mostly
down
there
and
Haiti.
They
need
soap,
pretty
much
to
survive
dollar.
A
lot
of
people
are
dying
because
they
they
get
less
a
dollar
twenty
five
a
day
or
less,
and
they
use
that
to
buy
food.
That's
their
first
priority
and
they
don't
they
don't
think
about
buying
soap.
We
can
make
a
big
difference
for
a
lot
of
people
like
we
can
just
just.
A
N
A
Kids
were
shown
videos
of
the
devastation
in
Haiti
after
last
year's
earthquake
and
were
eager
to
take
action
by
initiating
soap
for
hope
as
a
school
service
project.
Ultimately,
principal
Hartwig
ssin
hopes
to
collect
five
thousand
pounds
of
soap
as
well
as
instill
a
lasting
message
in
her
students
for.
N
Fifty
cents,
you
can
buy
a
bar
of
soap
and
I
think
about
all
the
things
that
we
just
blow
money
on
order,
or
we
think
we
have
to
have
we.
We
just
can't
live
without
this
new
video
game
or
we
can't
live
without
this
object
that
we
get
at
the
store
when,
in
fact,
for
fifty
cents
for
a
bar
of
soap,
you
can
save
many
many
lives.
So
my
goal
is
that
the
children
learn
that
the
value
of
what
really
counts
with
money
is
much
greater
than
what
we
just
do
for
ourselves.
All
sizes.
A
Of
new
bar
soap
is
accepted,
including
hotel
and
bath
sizes.
The
drive
ends
Monday
februari
28th.
The
Bloomington
drop-off
site
is
at
westwood
elementary
school
located
at
3701
West
108
Street
for
more
information
call
Wes
one
at
95,
2806
7200,
the
Bloomington
Advisory
Board
of
Health
is
seeking
nominations
for
its
2011
health
promotion
award.
This
recognizes
organizations,
businesses
or
individuals
that
have
made
a
significant
impact
on
the
health
and
wellness
of
Bloomington
residents.
A
O
The
ultimate
goal
really
is
to
provide
recognition
for
a
person
or
an
organization
whose
really
has
done
significant
work
towards
improving
the
health
of
residents
and
I.
Just
don't
think
people
get
recognized
enough,
so
you
know
it's.
It's
a
great
award
people
get
a
little
recognition
from
their
friends
and
family
and
from
the
city
council,
it's
presented
in
a
city
council
meeting,
so
people
are
publicly
recognized
for
their
efforts.
It's
usually
really
a
fun
event.
Nominees.
A
Should
either
live
work
or
have
their
organization
based
out
of
Bloomington?
There
are
a
few
ways
to
make
a
nomination.
You
can
go
to
the
city's
website
at
wwc,
I,
bloomington,
MN,
us
and
keyword
search
nomination
form.
Otherwise
you
can
give
Bloomington
public
health
all
at
95,
256,
3
8900
and
have
a
form
sent
to
you.
Bloomington
today
is
now
available
for
viewing
on
the
city's
youtube
channel
or
for
more
information
on
city
projects,
parks
or
road
construction
and
events
visit.