$269,580 in Small-Business Grants Land in Ward 7

The awards came through the Great Streets Business District Support Program, supplemented by $350,000 from the city's Small Business Resiliency Fund, and went to groups in every ward. The money pays for marketing campaigns, public events and direct outreach meant to draw shoppers back to neighborhood storefronts rather than to cover any single business's losses.

In the area LowryHillNews covers, the Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association received $40,000 and the Uptown Association received $40,000, both straddling Wards 7 and 10. The Stevens Square Community Organization, split between Wards 6 and 7, received $43,570; the East Isles Neighborhood Association, in Wards 7 and 10, received $35,000; and the Bryn Mawr Neighborhood Association received $10,010.

"In Minneapolis, we show up for our small businesses. It's just what we do," Mayor Jacob Frey said in announcing the awards.

The grants are the targeted, district-by-district piece of a larger response. In March the city detailed a $7 million Small Business Resiliency Fund built to offset Operation Metro Surge, which it estimates cost local businesses about $400 million; $4 million of that went to waive business license fees for more than 2,000 food and hospitality businesses. Recipients are expected to activate storefronts and host events through 2026.