[Music] Welcome to Agenda Edina, a program summarizing the actions taken at city hall that affect you most. I'm your host Dorothia Marty. The Edina police and fire departments are facing off, not for an emergency, but for a good cause. They're going head-to-head in a friendly food drive competition to fight hunger in our community. Now through December 31st, both departments are collecting non-p perishable food for the VEP food pantry, which helps local families in need during the holiday season. >> VEP has always been an organization that we've tried to help out, you know, whenever we can. And and so that was my my first thought was like, let's involve VEP. And um you know, there's always that natural competition between firefighters and cops. And so I thought this would be the the absolute perfect fit. >> Residents can drop off canned goods, pasta, rice, cereal, and boxed meals at the Edina Police Department located at 4801 West 50th Street. Edina Fire Station 1 located at 6250 Tracy Avenue or Edina Fire Station 2 located at 4401 West 76th Street. Donations are accepted during regular business hours at the fire stations and any time of day in the police department lobby. >> The only way to get the good folks down at the police department to stop bragging about how many people they're going to help during this food drive is for us here at the fire station to collect more than them. Help us out. >> All donations go directly to VEP, helping ensure local families have nutritious meals this holiday season. So whether you're team police or team fire, every can counts. The Southdale YMCA is celebrating a big anniversary this month. 50 years in operation. When the branch on York Avenue South first opened its doors in 1975, the monthly dues were just $10. Although $10 doesn't go as far today, the Y continues its commitment to be accessible for everyone. Edina TV shows us why there is more to celebrate than the midentury benchmark. >> When you walk through the Y doors, specifically at this Y, our community is truly represented. >> For 50 years, those entering the Southdale YMCA have found more than a gym. They found an opportunity. >> Anybody coming in this door is going to get a chance to leave here in a better spot. >> Over those years, its vision has remained the same. Offering a place to belong, learn, and grow beyond the many class offerings. The Y is a place to socialize. >> Social isolation is a huge piece of what we battle each day. Um, and we provide programming for a 55 plus crowd. >> When it came time to mark 50 years in operation, it was all about offering a good time. >> Today, we'll be out in the hallways celebrating, sharing popcorn, cider, the opportunity to do some 1975 trivia. you know, if you're if you're willing to support, we'll also uh we'll also come along for that journey with you. >> The people helping are all volunteers giving back in their own way, while others left donations. The goal is to reach $50,000. >> Last year, the Southdale YMCA gave back $457,000 to our community. Um we have the responsibility to raise support for that financial aid. [Music] a commitment to keep serving the community into the future, improving lives along the way. >> This is what Edina looks like every day. That's all I know and I think serving that community is pretty pretty impactful and it I have a lot of fun doing it. >> I'm Dan Carpenter for Adina TV. To close out the Southdale YMCA's 50th anniversary celebration, it hosted a happy hour event where members dressed in 1975 inspired attire. You can learn more about the Southdale YMCA by visiting its website at ymcamorth.org. This fall, work to make the city's fleet of heavy vehicles more environmentally friendly shifted into high gear. Large dump trucks used for everything from hauling gravel to plowing snow will be switching over to a new fuel source next year, biodiesel. And the source for that fuel is grown right here in Minnesota. Edina TV shows us how Minnesota farmers are helping to fuel cleaner air in the city. Some edina trucks are going organic. Edino residents are concerned about the health of the environment. So in 2021, the city implemented a climate action plan with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and being totally carbon neutral by the year 2050. While Edina has been steadily adding electric cars to the fleet, going electric with larger trucks isn't practical. As we look at our larger vehicles like our snow plows, our fire trucks, our dump trucks, it's just much more expensive to add that electrification component. And so it was just cost prohibitive, but also there was a concern around service levels. >> The answer came from soybeans. They are used to create biodiesel fuel. >> A fuel source that's basically a soybased blend that takes all the hydrocarbons out of the emissions. So it you have none of the oil base. It's all a soybean based. So there's no oil. That means cleaner air for everyone. The city began a pilot program to see if cold temperatures might be a problem when using biodiesel fuel. >> We switched over to a B50 blend just to try to clean everything up as far as the emission standpoint. So, it needs a completely separate fuel tank just to keep it separate. And then the fuel tank needs to be heated during the winter and insulated because the B100 will freeze up. And we tried that with a few vehicles at a time and it worked great. The trucks will also get slightly better fuel mileage. To fund the conversion of 10 trucks, the city looked to multiple sources, including the US Department of Energy, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The biggest one is the United States Department of Agriculture is funding this uh because this project not only supports our climate goals, but it also is really going to support the Minnesota's agricultural economy since all the soy will be largely grown in Minnesota and refined down in Albert Lee. >> It's a win-win for Edina residents, Minnesota farmers, and a successful model for other cities >> to say this is an option. you can deploy it in a cold climate and you can maintain service levels and do it in a cost-effective manner. So, I was really excited about it because it would allow us to keep our service levels and also then remove that emissions from our fleet inventory as we think about our greenhouse gas emissions and achieving our climate action plan goal. >> For a TV, I'm Kenneth Gaml. >> A large insulated and heated tank for storing the biodiesel is under construction and will be delivered in the spring. 10 tandem dump trucks will be fully switched over by then. The rest of the fleet will be evaluated to potentially run on B100 biodiesel as older trucks are replaced. This Native American Heritage Month, the city of Edina honors the history, culture, and invaluable contributions of Native American people to our Edina community, including this land we now call home. Thanksgiving also offers a chance to reflect on our shared history, including the experiences of Native American tribes adversely impacted by early settlers for generations. May we honor their resilience and rich cultural heritage as we gather in gratitude this season. City Hall will be closed November 27th and 28th in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Thank you for watching this episode of Agenda Edina. I'm your host Dorothia Marty. [Music]