Oct. 3, 2023: Resident learn that MPS plans to spend $1,000 to immediately remove the aging playground at the former Cooper Elementary School building (3239 44th Ave) installed in 1997. The playground dated to the late 1990s, and had received few updates since the school closed in 2005. It was built in 1923. Mulch and sand has been occasionally replenished, and damaged equipment removed and boarded up, rather than replaced.
Nov. 2, 2023: MPS hosts a listening session about the Cooper playground at Howe Elementary School attended by about 100 people.
March 2024: Signs posted say the playground is closed. The windows on the first floor of the building are boarded up to deter break-ins and vandalism…