Light may be on the horizon after months of darkness in a Minneapolis neighborhood.

Walking and running around Lake of the Isles is a regular routine for Kris Ensrud and her dog Kellie.

"You're starting to see it be darker, especially when I start out," said Ensrud.
    
Ensrud's start time is before dawn, so she noticed when lights around the lake started going dark last winter. 

"Like infectious disease, just spread around," said Ensrud.

About half the lights around the lake currently are not working, she said, calling it problematic. In the meantime, her dog has been wearing a reflective vest and she has been wearing a light of her own.

"The lights are a safety feature. I think we need them for safety," said Ensrud. "I'm not just talking about assault or something like that, I'm talking about bikes and humans . . . so that we can see each other."

The city has said the problem is due to copper wire theft. Back in May, city officials announced they would spend $1 million to fix 450 street lights that were out across the city.

"It feels like we're in northern Minnesota, and we can look out, and you're almost ready to see northern lights, because it can be that dark around the lake," said Arden Haug, the pastor at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church. "I think there is a sense of danger."

Amid that darkness are signs of progress. Every day this past week, Haug said he has seen workers repairing the lights.

Park Comissioner Elizabeth Shaffer wrote on Facebook said that "14 lights are done and the rest should be complete by the end of next week!"

City Councilmember Katie Cashman said in an email "Copper Wire theft from our City street lights emerged as a huge issue citywide around the time I started in my role in early 2024 and is an issue we prioritized in our Committee work plan for the Climate and Infrastructure Committee."

In 2024 the City Council passed a legislative directive and Minneapolis Public works were able to replace 10 miles of street light outages. 

This year, public works plans on 20 miles of street light repairs. Cashman said in an email to WCCO that the repair schedule did not prioritize the lakes and parks despite them being "important regional assets." Cashman also said that the city made a decision to let public works to spend $1 million over budget to clear the street light repair backlog. 

"We keep getting more excited that one day we're going to have lights, but it hasn't happened yet," said Haug.

Meanwhile, Ensrud wants to remain hopeful.

"I think it would be great. Great for the city and great for the neighborhood," said Ensrud.

Here is the latest update from Public Works on the summer progress:

Early Summer

1. Bancroft – complete
2. East River Road – complete
3. St. Anthony Parkway and Columbus Parkway – complete
4. Nokomis (start) – complete
5. Lake Harriet – complete

Mid/Late Summer

1. Lake of the Isles – in progress
2. Bde Maka Ska – paused

Fall

1. Cedar Lake
2. Minnehaha Parkway – partially complete (Cedar to Hiawatha)
3. Remaining areas, including Greenway and Franklin/Hiawatha trail.