How the Twin City Lines bus strike transformed transit in Minneapolis and St. Paul
The strike provided the opportunity for public acquisition of the company and dramatic service improvements.
Steven Dornfeld reports on government, politics and public policy issues. He has been a government reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. From 2003 to 2011, he was the Metropolitan Council’s director of public affairs.
The strike provided the opportunity for public acquisition of the company and dramatic service improvements.
The Twin Cities’ system for planning, developing and operating transit is cumbersome, inefficient and increasingly dysfunctional.
Anderson, who died Sunday at age 83, was Minnesota’s first made-for-television governor. But his “Minnesota Miracle” was followed in 1978 by the “Minnesota Massacre.”
But the benefitting businesses love the grants, as do the cities where the jobs are created and the tax base is expanded.
Critics don’t appreciate the problems that gave rise to the much-maligned council’s creation — or that it remains a national model for regional planning.
MnDOT chief Charles Zelle believes projects’ cash flow can be managed short-term but would face “a great reduction” down the road.
The current system leads county commissioners to promote their favored projects for parochial political reasons and to gloss over any problems.
Funding for new projects has been hard to come by, with most of the focus being placed on low-cost, high-benefit improvements that improve safety and remove bottlenecks.
A study of fast-food workers is being used to bolster the argument for an increase in the minimum wage in Minnesota and at the federal level.
Efforts to increase transparency in the early 1970s have been slip-sliding away.
Lots of factors determine a homeowner’s final tax bill, but it is safe to assume that Minnesota property taxes won’t decline as much as DFL leaders claimed.
Transportation Commissioner Charles Zelle is making the case for new investments to improve the system and keep Minnesota economically competitive.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says U.S. prisons are too swollen, and experts in Minnesota suggest solutions.
The change in the law will once again permit lavish legislative parties and receptions paid for by special-interest groups.
Some call it “economic development,” while others view it as “corporate welfare.”
Gov. Mark Dayton can share in the blame after yanking proposals that would have modernized the tax system.
The Legislature provides $37 million in general fund money toward the state’s 10-percent share of the project.
DFLers will boast of a long list of accomplishments, but Republicans will have potent political issues.
As the legislative session winds down, new developments raise fascinating economic and political questions.
Minnesota House DFLers are pushing the questionable approach to deliver on their campaign promises.
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— The Editors
By Steven Dornfeld
May 16, 2013