Community Voices
Don’t put another train on the kids’ credit card
Let’s spend money on projects that relieve congestion where development has already happened, rather than borrowing for a speculative “build it and they will come” scheme.
Southwest Light Rail
Politics & Policy
Could Southwest Light Rail decide who controls the Minnesota Legislature?
Funding for the massive project — and its role in an ongoing debate over transportation — is emerging as a top GOP talking point in legislative campaigns.
Politics & Policy
Met Council secures final $145M for Southwest light rail — but the political cost may be much higher
There are now legal commitments to pay for the local share of the $1.858 billion project. But in keeping with so much of the process surrounding the planning of Southwest LRT, it wasn’t easy.
Community Voices
Southwest LRT will help ease the mismatch between urban job seekers and metro jobs
Connecting workers in need of jobs with employers in need of well-matched workers should be a driving force in transportation policy.
Politics & Policy
Political fights over light rail projects in Minnesota are nothing new
Deal-making helped launch Minnesota’s first LRT line in the 1990s.
D.C. Dispatches
With 2016 budget, feds remain committed to funding Southwest LRT — now it’s up to the Legislature
In spite of cuts made to the project in the past year, the rail line remains a top funding priority for the federal government.
Politics & Policy
Comments on Southwest LRT’s latest environmental impact statement reveal lingering concerns about safety
The concerns were revealed in many of the 200 responses submitted to the Met Council as part of the project’s supplemental draft EIS.
Politics & Policy
Met Council approves revamped Southwest LRT funding plan
Approved Wednesday was a somewhat reduced project, with 15 stations and a final budget of $1.744 billion.
Politics & Policy
Hennepin County’s Southwest LRT funding plan will mean less money for environmental cleanup
The plan calls for $5 million to be shifted from the county’s Environmental Response Fund to cover part of its share of the light rail extension project.
Politics & Policy
Transportation bill provision sends Met Council scrambling to fund Southwest LRT planning
Through the omnibus transportation bill, state lawmakers pulled almost $30 million in funding from the project.
Politics & Policy
Amid a celebration of the Green Line’s first year, a call for more light rail
The speakers who lined up to praise the Green Line couldn’t help but talk about the need to take the next steps.
Politics & Policy
Southwest LRT price tag jumps to $2 billion
Gov. Mark Dayton said he was “shocked and appalled” at the new cost of the project, saying it raises “serious questions about its viability and affordability.”
Politics & Policy
Minneapolis Park Board relents in battle with Met Council; drops objection to Kenilworth Channel bridges
The agreement will put and end to the park board’s pursuit of a shallow tunnel option to cross the Kenilworth Channel.
Politics & Policy
Is the Minneapolis Park Board guided by lessons from the past — or haunted by its history?
Minneapolis Park Board’s recent fight with the Met Council reveals a fear of not being sufficiently protective, even overprotective, of the city’s park system.
Politics & Policy
Two for the roads: comparing the parties’ transportation funding plans
An overview of the major plans proposed for fixing Minnesota’s roads and bridges — and how the debate over those proposals is likely to play out over the next few months.
Politics & Policy
In defense of the Met Council
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.
Politics & Policy
Park Board ups the ante in dispute with Met Council over Southwest LRT
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted Wednesday to spend up to $500,000 to study a shallow tunnel option for the Kenilworth Cooridor.
Politics & Policy
New Southwest LRT plan: Kenilworth residents will be ‘disappointed’
New plan eliminates one tunnel and adds one station along the route.
Greater Minnesota
As its people prosper, the Minnesota town of Hector hollows out
The factories are humming and farmers are bidding up the land in the Renville County town of Hector, but that hasn’t stopped Main Street from dying.
Community Voices
Hennepin Commissioner candidate: demand Southwest LRT alternatives
MinnPost wouldn’t include me in their Hennepin County Commissioner candidate interviews, so here’s why you should vote for me.
