Oct. 3, 2023: Resident learn that MPS plans to spend $1,000 to immediately remove the aging playground at the former Cooper Elementary School building (3239 44th Ave) installed in 1997. The playground dated to the late 1990s, and had received few updates since the school closed in 2005. It was built in 1923. Mulch and sand has been occasionally replenished, and damaged equipment removed and boarded up, rather than replaced.
Nov. 2, 2023: MPS hosts a listening session about the Cooper playground at Howe Elementary School attended by about 100 people.
March 2024: Signs posted say the playground is closed. The windows on the first floor of the building are boarded up to deter break-ins and vandalism.
Nov. 19, 2025: Lisa Priest of the Longfellow Community Council announces on Save Cooper Playground/PlayMpls.org: In case you haven’t yet heard the news…. WE’RE GETTING A PLAYGROUND! Thank you to all who have put countless hours into grant writing, survey sharing, writing letters, going to meetings and more, to get us to this place.
This week: Demo will begin on the current playground. The playground will be roped off during this time. All equipment except for the green structure at the south end (plus the balance beams, and the benches on the outside perimeter) will go. The sand will be removed and new mulch will be added. There will be a break over Thanksgiving. The week after Thanksgiving, the new playground will go in! I have been told that we will have a new playground by December 10th.
May 12, 2026: Minneapolis School Board hears a plan to either demolish or add onto Cooper School to house Anishinabe Academy at a cost of $90-105 million (as the district faces a $50 million deficit and many schools are under capacity). The plan presented at the school board meeting includes an enclosed playground, and it wasn't not clear if neighbors could use it. The timeline includes design in 2026 with occupancy by 2029. Anishinabe Academy is currently at 3100 E 28th St., sharing space with Sullivan STEAM School.
May 16, 2026: New playground celebration
July 2026: Community meeting planned on proposal to renovate existing building or tear down and build new for Anishinabe Academy
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