Landmark climate legislation incentivizes EVs; misses e-bike opportunity
Build Back Better climate policies, originally proposed last fall, included a $900 tax credit for e-bikes, a provision missing from the legislation signed into law this week.
Bill Lindeke
Bill Lindeke is a lecturer in Urban Studies at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Geography, Environment and Society. He is the author of multiple books on Twin Cities culture and history, most recently St. Paul: an Urban Biography. Follow Bill on Twitter: @BillLindeke.
New Deal-era shuffleboard courts in Loring Park bring neighbors together
The Loring Park shuffleboard courts are one of the least likely spots in the Minneapolis vaunted park system. Whenever there’s action on the court, passers-by do double-takes, come up to the chain link fence and say, “What’s that?”
Historic Palace Theater is one of quiet downtown St. Paul’s bright spots
Like clockwork, the odd plaza along “7th Place” fills with rock music fans most weekends, and a corner of downtown St. Paul comes to life.
Why driving is bad for America
While driving extends our ability to move at high speed, it comes at the cost of almost every other kind of action.
The Coliseum building on Lake Street
During the unrest (of 2020), fires were set in many of the buildings on the corner, and the Coliseum did not escape. Fires burned the interior and triggered extensive water damage in fighting the blaze. Two years ago, the massive, three-story brick complex was slated for the wrecking ball.
Are the Minneapolis Mill District street diverters actually a good idea?
While the traffic diverters circumvent plans and process, did the Minneapolis Police Department hit upon a solution to the increasing problem of speeding, reckless driving and vehicular violence?
BOGO passports connect people to new small businesses in greater Longfellow
“Buy one, get one” promotion includes 16 different businesses in the Longfellow, Cooper, Howe and Hiawatha neighborhoods.
St. Thomas hoping to build baseball, hockey facilities on old Highland Ford site
If built, the new arenas and ballparks would occupy all of the Canadian Pacific parcel, along with another dozen acres of Highland Bridge land currently owned by Ryan Companies.
‘Alarming’ court decision on Minneapolis 2040 puts a halt on expansion, growth
The decision is alarming because it discards years of work by a team of Minneapolis city planners and staff, makes irrelevant hundreds of public meetings attended by thousands of Minneapolis citizens and puts in limbo billions of dollars of development across the city.
St. Paul’s oldest bike lane deserves an upgrade
The pending reconstruction of Summit Avenue gives St. Paul a golden opportunity to improve the street for the next generation.
Why a city investment in Open Streets would be a bargain for Minneapolis
For 11 years now, Open Streets have been a popular addition to the city’s summer calendar. But the organization that runs it, Our Streets Minneapolis, has hit a wall. A lack of funding has meant cuts to the number of events and limits to outreach.
How a dog-whistle campaign against the Purple Line forced White Bear Lake transit into a corner
The call by opponents of the Purple Line to “stop the bus invasion” begs the obvious question: Invasion of who?
‘There’s a much better way’: How pandemic relief offered a roadmap for addressing homelessness
The money allowed Ramsey County, like many local governments, to sign temporary leases for single-room occupancy shelters — making a huge difference for folks who had been out on the street.
Renewal, healing and muffins: Midtown Farmers Market celebrates 20th season with return to original location
The market coming back to the light rail stop marks a return to, if not normalcy, something that puts public space at the center of everyday life.
How a development boom on the West Side has put St. Paul’s sewer system to the test
There’s no infrastructure that’s so important, yet so ignored, as a city’s sewers.
Just how soul-sucking has this April been in Minnesota?
After another week of gray skies and cold weather, I asked some of the people participating in 30 Days of Biking: Was this cruel April just my bitter jaded imagination, or was this truly a horrible Minnesota spring?
Bringing back the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul means bringing back late-night rail service
Anyone who’s visited a large, thriving city knows the symbiosis between nightlife and transit.
A proposed apartment building perfect for Minneapolis’ 2040 plan. So why did the Planning Commission deny the project?
At the very least, developer Cody Fischer may have grounds for a lawsuit.
What’s next after the death of the Midway CVS
The retail environment has changed a lot since the pharmacy was pitched back in 2006.
What planners need to learn from the problems facing Southwest Light Rail
The lessons an upcoming state audit is sure to miss.
