Tornado Anniversary

On May 22, a tree was planted in the yard of Jan Carstens to honor her husband, Rob MacIntyre, who died in the tornado that devastated sections of North Minneapolis one year ago. Rob was a great friend to the environment and to the youth crews from Tree Trust who worked on projects in his neighborhood over the years. Following his death and at the request of Jan, a fund was set up at Tree Trust in Rob's name which will restore trees to the North Minneapolis community. Consider making a donation to the Rob MacIntyre Fund to help our neighbors while they continue the recovery process. 

A lot of great organizations, government agencies, and individuals have been on the ground providing assistance, but there is much more to be done. Estimated costs for recovery efforts have reached over $80 million. Tree Trust will continue to work with many partners to aid in restoring trees to the community during the coming months and years. Partners to date include the City of Minneapolis, State Farm, Wells Fargo, Xcel Energy, Minnesota Helps - North Minneapolis Recovery Fund, Bachmans, Knecht Nurseries and Landscaping and Taylor Truck Line.

Tree Trust has always had a focus on serving the neighborhoods of North Minneapolis and the recovery effort has created an even greater focus on the area. Our YouthBuild program has worked to rehab and rebuild homes and apartment buildings in tornado damaged neighborhoods. Our Community Forestry Department has distributed over 600 trees so far to residents of North Minneapolis who had their tree canopy devastated by the tornado and we will roll out additional tree restoration programs later this year. Many of the youth who participate in Tree Trust programs are residents of North Minneapolis and are proud to be able to help the areas where they live.

Tree Trust is grateful for the support of the metro community toward our work in North Minneapolis and we'll continue doing all we can in the coming months and years. Visit Tree Trust's website to make a donation or for more information.

For an update on recovery efforts by the City of Minneapolis, visit the Minneapolis Recovers: North Side Tornado page of the City of Minneapolis website.