A  SHORT  HISTORY

The CREED Project was born conceptually as an initiative in the Summer of 1992 when an unsolicited Preliminary Report and Proposal was submitted to the Suburban Hennepin Regional Park District (SHRPD) in August of that year. The Proposal outlined the establishment of an energy/environment education center at the Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park (CRDRP) to include a whole range of outdoor & indoor working demonstrations and displays illustrating energy conversion from renewable sources, energy efficient devices and systems and energy conservation. The CRDRP straddles the Mississippi River between the municipalities of Brooklyn Park in Hennepin County on the southwest side and Coon Rapids in Anoka County on the northeast, about five miles downstream from the confluence of the Rum River in the municipality of Anoka and twelve miles upstream from downtown Minneapolis. It is operated jointly by SHRPD and Anoka County's Department of Parks and Recreation (ACDPR). The Park also lies within the jurisdiction of the Mississippi National River and Recreational Area (MNRRA - a Federal National Park Service entity), a 72 mile stretch of river corridor through the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area.

  • On September 17 of that year the Proposal was formally presented to Hennepin Park's Board of Commissioners. They accepted the idea in concept but took no action on the matter, since Park Board elections were to take place that Fall. On November 30 a further presentation was made to the Mississippi River Coordinating Commission.

  • On February 4, 1994 a CREED Project proposal was delivered to the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) for funding consideration for the 1995-1997 biennium. As part of this proposal staff from Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 and North Hennepin Community College were to offer services in kind in educational curriculum development. The proposal survived the first round of cuts and was presented to a hearing of the LCMR on July 6. Notice was received on August 24 of the proposal's failure to survive the final round of cuts. A proposal submitted again in 1996 also failed to survive the cuts, and it is now realized that the main reasons were the perceived parochial nature of the proposal and a failure in getting our message out to the members of the LCMR prior to their deliberations.

  • Even though the Boards of SHRPD and ACPRD did not commit themselves formally to the Project, their staffs were very cooperative and favorably disposed to the concept. They advised us in 1996 to go slow till repairs were finished on the dam which spans the Mississippi River at this point.

  • In the interim a CREED Board of Directors, chaired by Professor Robert Swanson of North Hennepin Community College, was established and in order to attract private funds CREED was incorporated with the State of Minnesota on May 7, 1996 and received its nonprofit status from the Federal Government on December 26, 1996. CREED 's non-profit status was registered with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office in June 1997.

    CREED's logo was designed by John Oleson, a fine arts student at Anoka Ramsey Community College. We believe it makes a strong statement regarding the interconnectedness of earth, water, and sky with the sun as life giver and sustainer of all three. Since the sun is the ultimate source of all our renewable energy its linkage to our environmental and economic well-being is implicit.


    For more information call or email;

    The Executive Director, Tom Abeles, tabeles@attglobal.net (612-823-3154),
    The Chairman of the Board, Bob Swanson, rcswanson@msn.com (763-424-4945),
    The Secretary/Treasurer, Valdi Stefanson, valdi.s@comcast.net (651-762-4015),
    or
    Lead Instructor/Newsletter Editor, Roger Aiken rogeraiken@creedproject.org (651-644-8318).

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    Last updated August 31, 2004