Home Swede Home

"An Eagan couple's home reflects their Scandinavian heritage inside and out, seamlessly mixing the Old World and the new."
http://www.startribune.com/homes/79093737.html?page=1&c=y

2008 Dedication
Fireside Commons and Spiritual Resource Library
Easter Lutheran Church
Eagan, Minnesota
Artist: Steve Wolff



Unless the Lord builds the house, Those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
Psalms 127:1

By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established.
Proverbs 24:3

2007 Minneapolis Preservation Awards - Day Block  With CityDesk Studio






"Congratulations! The Day Block has been selected to receive an award for adaptive reuse of an historic property for 2007. CPED-Planning received 23 nominations this year, the most in a long time. Earlier this week, CPED facilitated a review of all nominations with the awards jury which was comprised of six professionals representing the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission and the Minneapolis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Congratulations again. We are truly grateful for your preservation-consciousness, your hard work, and your efforts to carry the legacy and heritage of Minneapolis into a better future."
--HPC

"A retooled Day Block among Preservation Award winners"  --Linda Mack, Star Tribune Thursday May 17, 2007

At Restaurant Alma, a collaborative effort yields **** results.

It's a restaurant critic's plight. When someone I'm meeting for the first time finds out about the unorthodox way in which I make my living, here's what invariably happens: My brain turns into a YouTube.com download. As the opening credits of "60 Minutes" flash the stopwatch's tick-tick-tick, I count down the seconds--usually it's less than five--before my newfound friend asks, "What's your favorite restaurant?"

I hate to disappoint my new pal, but the answer never waivers: I have not one but many, depending on both my mood and, more important, on who's going to pick up the check. There are, however, several spots that occupy a permanent berth on my hit parade. One of them is Restaurant Alma.

Alma isn't for everyone. The bare tables, the sturdy commodity dinnerware, the wide-open kitchen and the staff's Casual Friday attire are comfortably honest rather than elegant. The deliberately leisurely pace may nudge Type A types into fidgety despair, and the sane portion sizes could send coupon-clippers back to their local all-you-dare-consume buffet. No matter. The word restaurant has its roots in restore, and alma is Spanish for soul. The name fits, like a glove.
-- Rick Nelson Taste/ Star Tribune
Thursday July 6, 2006 excerpts

Parade of Homes Remodelors Showcase
October 14-16, 2005 Fri 1-7p, Sat & Sun 12-6p
1397 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, Minnesota


This Dutch Colonial was designed by Myrtus Wright and Charles Hausler in 1922 for S.J. Melady. Mr. Wright designed a number of residences in St. Paul, along with the Highland and Grandview Theaters. This project relocates the garage to “give back” the backyard. The addition and remodeling connects it to the house with a porch, new mudroom, family dining, and a kitchen where you want to cook!

Parade of Homes Remodelors Showcase
Oct 11, 12, 13 2002
4809 13th Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota



This whole house, a south Minneapolis 2-story, works better for a couple of avid readers. The remodeling and new addition looks to the backyard, lets the sun in, and includes a two-story library with stacks for lots and lots of books. It also creates a new gourmet kitchen, a 3/4 bath, and a second floor study. Talilored to the needs of the client, these kinds of ideas can make older houses more livable throughout the city.

Irish Dome
Rosemount, Minnesota

Irish Dome helps develop area athletes
Athletic facility has many uses

Finding a place to practice year-round shouldn't be much of a problem in the south metro anymore. With the Irish Sports Dome now open, athletic teams from the south metro area have been filing in for practice, games, tournaments and events at the Rosemmount-based facility. Open since January 6, the dome provides a big open green space (artificial turf with rubber fill) 150 yards long and 70 yards wide inside an enclosed dome. And it’s finding many suitors.

“The space available and turf surface are ideal for outdoor soccer training and are superior to other facilities available in close proximity to our club,“ Eagan traveling soccer president Brian Voss said.

Owner and manager Eric Heflin and a few of his business partners dreamed up the dome about thee years ago.“ Me and my partners, of lack of facilities like this in the twin cities, almost jokingly said we build our own dome,” Heflin said. “After doing some research we found that it might be feasible and away we went.”

The dome is a privately owned facility with a symbiotic relationship with the Rosemount school system. “It’ s a great opportunity for athletes to participate in the sport during winter,” Heflin said. Local teams from places like Eagan, Apple Valley and Lakeville as well as Rosemount use the facility. The facility is equipped for softball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball and football. Heflin and his crew knew there was a need in the area and now that it’s there, it has its fans. Summer is its non-busy season, but there are still a few tournaments, clinics and high school showcases during the summer.

“For this coming winter season, it looks like it’s filling up pretty quickly,” Heflin said. League information and rental information can be found on the website at www.IrishSportsDome.com
THISWEEK June 25, 2005
Andy Rogers

The Browning Complex
Apple Valley, Minnesota

New vet clinic coming to Apple Valley
The Apple Valley City Council unanimously approved the site plan for a new veterinary clinic on Aug 9. The veterinary clinic would border a primarily residential area at the intersection of Palomino Drive and Hunters Way.
In addition to Dr. Ron Hunt’s veterinary clinic, space would be leased to other medical businesses, said Apple Valley Assistant City Planner Kathy Bodmer.
The building wiill have a single story on the east side, which will face a residential area. The west side of the facility will have two stories.
“The design of the building is intended to help it tie in more of a residential feel,” Bodmer said. Apple Valley City Councilmember Tom Goodwin said the new office building will be a good addition to the city. “It’s a very nice looking building,” Goodwin said. “I think these people are providing a nice neighborhood service.”
--Complied by Heather J. Carlson

Restaurant Alma
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Taste
“Simplicity is the mantra at intimate Alma. From the minute I walked in the door, I got the sense that everything had been done with a loving attention to detail. . . The watchword here is mindfulness. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, uses the example of eating a tangerine slowly and attentively to teach the importance of being fully present in the moment. It is remarkable just how intensely pleasurable that simple experience can be when you give it your full attention."
--Star Tribune writer Jeremy Iggers in his December 9, 1999 Restaurant Review.

Minneapolis/St Paul Home Tour

“I have been in Minneapolis for 30 years, and the Elliot Park neighborhood for over 10. I have done renovations in Phillips and Lowry Hill, but my pet project is my own home. My architect, Rolf Lokensgard, and I tastefully converted my 1875 Italianate home - one of the first houses in the area - into two units. My next project is the boarded-up house next door.”
--Mary Lou Maxwell

Carnegie Library Additon and Remodeling
Hutchinson, Minnesota

Lighting the way to knowledge
Hutchinson’s library, with its new addtion, is a cozy, warm place to start any book adventure. The interior and exterior lights give the building a stately appearance on a crisp, winter evening, and make the structure the focal point of Library Square and the downtown area.
--Hutchinson Leader

News Release
May 13, 1999

The Blue Ribbon building, 530 University Ave SE (AM Coming Soon May/June 1998) rescue and renovation by owners Steve and Liza Kiwus, The Lander Group, and Rolf Lokensgard Architecture is one of 14 winners of the 1999 Preservation Awards from the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission. The building began as a Fire Station in 1901, suffered a sorry state of neglect, and now is home to studios, gallery, Dunn Bros Coffee, and future home of Restaurant Alma . (See Star Tribune Thursday, May 13, 1999)