St. Anthony Parkway bike trail construction starting this week

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board contractors are scheduled to begin repairs the week of Sept. 20 on the St. Anthony Parkway bike trail within Columbia Golf Course.

The work is part of a citywide project to improve and extend the life of existing trails within the park system. In the coming month, 8.2 miles of trails will be resurfaced, including the bike portion of St. Anthony Parkway between Central Avenue and 5th Street NE on the southern end of the golf course.

At most locations, repairs are expected to take between two and four days. Work includes filling cracks and adding a layer of seal coating to create a smoother and more durable trail surface.

During the project, individual segments will be closed and detour signs will be posted.

—Information from Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

Free COVID-19 tests available Thursdays at Columbia Golf Course

The City of Minneapolis is offering free COVID-19 saliva testing at Columbia Golf Course.

The testing will take place at the Columbia Manor reception hall from 4-7 p.m. on March 25 and April 1, 8, and 15. You can expect to get test results in about 24 hours.

Testing is encouraged and available to everyone, whether or not you have symptoms. It’s one of the best ways to stop the spread of COVID-19 and help prevent exposing your loved ones to the virus along with wearing masks correctly, keeping 6 feet from anyone you don’t live with and hand-washing.

Testing is especially important now with people going back to school and because some of the recently found variants seem to spread more easily than the original strain — up to 70% more.

Do not eat, drink or use tobacco products for 30 minutes before taking a COVID-19 saliva test.

Find information about other free COVID-19 testing location on the city's website.