October Newsletter 2020

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

A newsletter of the District 1 Community Council. Battle Creek | Conway  | Eastview | Highwood Hello neighbors, It's been such a busy time, we didn't get a chance to pull our newsletter together for the first of the month. There is some great information to be aware of here, and we will probably send out an update sometime in October. In September, we heard from representatives of SP-350 and the Citizens Utility Board during an online session. The discussion provided an overview of Xcel Energy's proposed 15-year plan. You can find the video of the session on our website. An area of interest is to note the St. Paul Air Quality (at 1:12:33 on the video) and it's disparate impacts on our community. The City of St. Paul passed a Climate Resolution in December, 2019. SECO is submitting a letter to the City of St. Paul asking that the city take a stance on Xcel's proposal, which includes the construction of a new gas powered plant in Becker. Our request is for 100% clean, renewable energy for all, and that no new fossil infrastructure is created. Interested in what the State of Minnesota is doing regarding climate change? Take a survey on the state's website and sign up for email updates. National Night Out NNO was pushed back to Tuesday, October 6 to encourage residents to be outside and take precautions with activities. The SECO Communication Committee pulled together a list of safe ways to celebrate neighbors without getting together.  If you are hosting an event and would like staff to swing by and say hello, let us know!   What are your thoughts and ideas about our local parks? In our efforts to learn more about resident feelings regarding our local parks, the various District Council partners in this project have created a survey to collect information to share with each other, Parks & Recreation and other departments and officials.   Please complete our online survey by clicking here. Read more about the 10-Minute Walk program here. Vote From the Comfort of Your Own Home The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office is encouraging absentee voting among eligible voters to to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to keep our communities healthy.    To register to vote and request your absentee ballot, visit the Secretary of State’s website. Make sure you have a Minnesota-issued driver's license/State ID or the last 4 digits of your social security number   Ballots will start being sent out after September 18th. You can also track your ballot online to see when it's sent to you and when it returns. The deadline to register to vote is October 13. Ballots need to be mailed back prior to Election Day on Nov. 3rd in order to be counted. Census Update (10/5/2020) The Census Bureau recently released the State by State Total Response Rates, which shows what percentage of households in each state have been counted by Census Takers, as well as total response rates from across the country. Minnesota has the 9th highest enumeration rate in the country.   Response rates are broken up into three columns: Response rates are broken up into three columns: Self-responded – This reflects the percentage of households that self-responded to the Census online, by phone or by mail. Enumerated in nonresponse follow up (NRFU) – This reflects the percentage of households that responded to the Census during a visit from a Census Taker. Enumerated – Reflects the total response rate (self-response rate + the NRFU rate) This data is currently only available at the state level. The current rates in Minnesota are: Self-responded – 74.9% Enumerated in nonresponse follow up (NRFU) – 24.9% Enumerated – 99.9%     Upcoming Zoom Meetings We invite community members may attend or join our committees to have a voice in the things happening in our community. To participate online - contact us for the Zoom login.  Land Use Committee: October 5, 6:00-7:30 pm Guest: Fay Simer, North Area Coordinator MnDOT Metro District   Communications Committee: TBD   Board Meeting: October 26, 6:00-7:30 pm Contact us if you would like to attend and we will send you the link. Submit information and events to betsy@southeastside.org. Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*