MINNEAPOLIS — Some well-traveled roads around a beloved lake have new signs, after a vote by the Minneapolis Board of Commissioners Wednesday.
East and West Lake Calhoun Parkway are now East and West Bde Maka Ska Parkway, after city crews swapped the signs Thursday morning.
The change follows passage of an ordinance renaming Calhoun Boulevard West, Calhoun Drive, East Lake Calhoun Parkway, and West Lake Calhoun Parkway to Bde Maka Ska Boulevard West, Bde Maka Ska Drive, East Bde Maka Ska Parkway and West Bde Maka Ska Parkway, respectively. The vote on the ordinance was 7-2, reports MPR News. It followed 45 days of public comment on the matter.
The name of the lake itself remains in flux until the Minnesota State Supreme Court considers an appeal from the DNR, after a lower court ruled that the agency over-stepped it's power in changing the name of Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska. The naming of streets is another matter entirely, as the park board has sole authority to name the streets and parkland it controls.
Calhoun is named after John C. Calhoun.He advocated for slavery and for removing Native Americans from their land.
Today's vote comes after 45 days of public comment. That period closed in July. According to the MPRB, park board staff sent a summary of comments to the full board earlier this month.