Volunteer to help at the 5th Annual Small Business Saturday on Selby event, December 5!
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Rondo Community Library to Reopen on December 31
Rondo Community Library’s temporary location at the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center will close on November 23, 2026, to prepare for the library's return to its permanent location at Dale Street and University Avenue. The newly renovated Rondo Community Library at 461 N Dale Street will open to the public on December 31, 2026. Library staff look forward to welcoming you into the improved, dynamic space that was informed by community input. While Rondo Community Library remains temporarily closed as staff prepare for its opening, library users can visit nearby library locations including Hamline Midway Library and Rice Street Library. Residents are also welcome to visit Mobile Library stops in the area that include Liberty Plaza, Wilder Square, Front Hi Rise, and Skyline Tower. A schedule of times and addresses can be found online. More information can be found at www.sppl.org/rd
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Bulky Item Pickup
I don't know how to communicate this message to the people who need to know it the most. So, without knowing whom to truly speak to, I am going to share this information with the hope that people reading this newsletter can help some of our less informed neighbors. Here we go: There is NO REASON to drop bulk items randomly in alleys, at street corners, or on someone's unsuspecting property. Bulk pickup is FREE for residents in the sense that collectively, Saint Paul has already priced in the removal of these larger items. Saint Paul has made it so easy that you don't even need to call to schedule a pickup anymore. All that is needed is to place your bulk item out by 6 a.m. on your trash pickup day. It will be taken away by the city within two days. It is that simple. See details here: (https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/public-works/garbage-and-recycling/residential-collection/bulky-item-collection - process-changes) The two big exceptions are: properties with 5+ units are not eligible for this program, and residents must speak with their landlord. They may possibly incur a fee. Maybe this is where this illegal dumping issue arises. I am not sure. Second exception: mattresses, box springs, and metal bed frames must be scheduled ahead of time with Second Chance Recycling. For the great majority of residences in the city, please take advantage of this service. And if you happen to see a bulk item illegally dumped in the city, you now have the email, website, and phone number to access the city resources that can get it removed.
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The Dale Street Redesign Is a Winner: A Safer Street for Saint Paul
By Jason Shiggs, SUPC Community Improvement and Safety Committee Chair Let me just say it: Ramsey County’s Dale Street redesign is a winner. They hit the mark on this one. As someone who cares about the future of Saint Paul and the safety of our neighborhoods, I’m thrilled with what I’m seeing along Dale Street. The project addresses something residents have been asking for all along: slow down the traffic and make it easier for people to move safely through our neighborhood. We want our neighborhood to come together. We want children at Benjamin Mays and Capitol Hill to be able to walk safely to nearby parks. We want students at Barack and Michelle Obama Elementary to move between parts of the neighborhood without having to contend with fast-moving traffic. In other words, we want Dale Street to be more than a road for cars. We want it to be a street that connects our community. And Ramsey County has made terrific progress toward that goal.
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Selby Dale Safety Meeting: What Neighbors Need to Know
Background Since 1999, Mississippi Market, located at Selby & Dale, has sat at the corner of four sub-districts, making it the only grocery store in four of the six sub-districts of Summit-University. For a lot of us, it is more convenient to go to Mississippi Market for half a gallon of soy milk than to go anywhere else. Many of our retired neighbors feel more comfortable going to a small local store than a big-box store. Over the warmer months of 2026, like in many parts of the metro, Mississippi Market saw a significant increase in the number of individuals engaged in theft and vandalism. The Meeting...
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I-94 Updates and Thoughts
By Rob Huffman Note: This is an opinion piece and does not reflect the viewpoint of SUPC as an organization. In mid-April Our Streets hosted a dinner and discussion with members of the Rondo community, the Summit-University neighborhood, and the St. Paul Reparations Commission at the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. To promote the event I posted a flyer and got a reply typical of social media, from someone outside the community: “It was 60 years ago. Get over it!” A few days before, I was facilitating a discussion with 8th graders at a neighborhood school to help them design posters about various racial slurs and why not to use them, beyond simply being hurtful. One of the big takeaways they expressed was that these words carry the weight of their histories for the people they target, and that pain is still felt when they are used today. What that commenter failed to realize is that it isn’t just words that hurt; it’s also when people dismiss the pain that marginalized groups still feel from past harms, whether it’s from outright hostility or simple indifference.
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Is it Snowing in May?
By Phil Hague The summer snowflakes blanketing the neighborhood lately are seeds from Eastern Cottonwood Trees (Populus deltoides). The fluffy seeds seem to be everywhere! This year brings an unusually heavy crop, which the trees usually generate the year after stressful conditions like drought. Cottonwoods are among the fastest-growing trees in North America, capable of adding six feet or more in height per year. They can grow into massive trees, with beautiful, deeply textured bark. Over 200 wildlife species rely on the trees for food and shelter. and they were historically used by Indigenous peoples for food, medicine, and fuel. Only female cottonwoods produce the cotton-like seeds. A single tree can release 20 million seeds in one season, Each seed is attached to a silky filament that carries it up to a mile in the breeze. They are tiny but mighty. If one lands on moist soil, it can sprout within hours. So be ready for lots of little trees to appear in the coming weeks. Beware that the seeds will clog your air conditioning condenser, but they can be easily removed with a gentle hose rinse on the outside of the unit.
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