For the past eight years, the city has replaced 40,000 ash trees along streets and in parks. But the estimate is there are three times that many soon-to-die ash trees on private property.
Neighbors said that too many trees were cleared from the storm-damaged Theodore Wirth Park, but forestry officials said safety and fire concerns justify the removals.
Why does Minneapolis keep planting trees under power lines?
After a few years, the trees are pruned into ridiculous V shapes to keep them from hitting power lines, a Curious Minnesota reader points out. December 12, 2020 8:16pm Related coverage
For years Rick Polenek has walked around his Minneapolis neighborhood and noticed big trees with odd, V-shaped gaps through the branches.
They were planted under power lines by the city, a decision by planners who had to know the trees would eventually need pruning, he said.
So Polenek turned to Curious Minnesota, the Star Tribune s community-driven reporting project fueled by questions from readers.