Craig Wilson is the editor of the Hill & Lake Press. He lives in Lowry Hill.
When Lowry Hill residents Janet and Phil Hallaway learned that the Lake of the Isles skating rink was threatened with closure, they didn’t hesitate. Within days, the couple organized a grassroots campaign to preserve one of Minneapolis’s most beloved winter traditions.
For more than a century, generations of residents have laced up their skates at the north end of Lake of the Isles, where the rink has served as a community gathering place and a symbol of winter in the City of Lakes. The Hallaways, longtime neighborhood advocates, mobilized friends and neighbors through Phil’s network of West High School graduates. Their effort quickly gained traction, gathering thousands of signatures on a petition urging the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to restore and maintain the rink.
Park Board staff took notice. Hearing the concerns of both residents and commissioners, staff developed a plan to restore not only the Lake of the Isles rink but all outdoor rinks that had been cut in the previous budget cycle. The proposal reflected a renewed commitment to accessible winter recreation across the city. Staff are also developing a long-term policy to guide how outdoor ice rinks are managed as winters shorten and weather patterns shift due to climate change — ensuring skating remains a viable and equitable part of Minneapolis’s future.
Area District 4 Park Board Commissioner Elizabeth Shaffer and District 3 Commissioner Becky Alper championed keeping ice rinks from early 2025 onward — squeaky wheels working together to ensure that funding for ice skating remained in the Park Board’s 2026-27 budget.
Alper, who has written publicly about how much skating at Matthews Park in Seward means to her family, praised the collaboration between staff and elected officials. “I’m super excited about the plan for ice and how we managed to collectively come up with something that’s going to work really well for the community,” she said.
Thanks to community determination, staff initiative and cross-city cooperation, the rink at Lake of the Isles will stay open this winter — continuing a cherished tradition that binds neighbors together under the open sky.
When asked for her reaction, Janet Hallaway said, “It’s so refreshing when politicians listen to their constituents’ desires. A lot of people will be very happy about this outcome.”
