Met Council

Brenda Sanchez of Apple Valley faces 10 years for subscribing neighbor to 23 magazines

Upset with her Apple Valley neighbor, Branda Sanchez devised a creative scheme to get back at her: signing her up for 23 magazine subscriptions to the tune of $520.SEE ALSO: White Bear Lake neighbor from hell is a Met Council executive assistantBut police eventually figured out that Sanchez, 50, was ... More >>

How They Met

Twin Cities couples on the moment they found love

White Bear Lake's sudden shrinkage: DNR sued by group demanding less water pumping

Yesterday, the DNR was sued by a citizens' group calling itself the White Bear Lake Restoration Association. With the lake dramatically shrinking over the last decade or so, the group is demanding the DNR limit the amount of water cities can pump from the aquifer beneath it.SEE ALSO: White Bear Lake ... More >>

$100 million typo complicates case for keeping freight trains out of St. Louis Park

A group of St. Louis Park residents have been outspoken in their opposition to the preliminary plan for the Southwest LRT route, as it would reroute freight train traffic from south Minneapolis through their community.SEE ALSO: Business community comes out in support of Southwest LRTThe group, Safet ... More >>

43 percent of Minneapolis lives alone (that's 16 percent higher than the national average)

You might say we're independent. Independent, not lonely. Or ahead of the curve, yeah, that's it. Because everybody's doing it: A full 27 percent of U.S. households -- 31 million, to be exact -- boast just one occupant. That's a three fold increase from 1950, when a mere 9 percent of households shel ... More >>

White Bear Lake neighbor from hell is a Met Council executive assistant [UPDATE]

If the most recent allegations against her are true -- and based on her track record, it's nearly impossible to believe they aren't -- you have to wonder what the decision makers at the Metropolitan Council saw and continue to see in Lori Christensen.Christensen -- 49, a single mother, and employed ... More >>

MinnPost skewered by commenters over conflict of interest controversy

​Quite the controversy developed on normally staid MinnPost yesterday. The kerfuffle was over a piece entitled, "How MPR's legal misadventure is driving up the cost of LRT line," written by Steven Dornfeld. Framed as a straight news piece, it summarizes MPR's now-settled lawsuit against the Met Co ... More >>

Twin Cities' LRT and BRT lines will be repackaged with new logo, identity

As of 2014, Metro Transit's LRT and BRT lines will be known as the "Metro."​Just in time for the 2012 construction season, yesterday the Metropolitan Council approved a new identity and logo for the region's light rail and bus rapid transit lines.Those lines will be known as the "Metro" once the C ... More >>

Met Council, Dakota County can't agree on bus color scheme

Dakota County officials apparently aren't fans of this design -- they want their buses to be red.​Yellow and blue with red trim, or red and blue with yellow trim? This is the intractable issue confronting policy makers on the Met Council and in Dakota County.You see, the Met Council wants the colo ... More >>

Central Corridor undergoing redevelopment, but at what cost?

​Two years before its scheduled opening, the area along the Met Council's $957 million Central Corridor project is already undergoing redevelopment  -- but is it a case of government throwing good money after bad?

60 million Metro Transit Bus riders can't be wrong

This is the familiar scene as you try not to get groped and/or grope other passengers.​There's no better way to travel than the metro bus. Everyone's jammed in next to each other, with some preppy architecture student's sketch bag poking the ribs of a lawyer who is shouting into his cellphone -- a ... More >>

Vikings stadium won't go to a vote

Who cares if you want to pay for the new Vikings stadium?​The Minnesota Vikings new stadium will be a $1.1 billion monument dedicated to the death of democracy. That's what taxpayers learned last night, when the Ramsey County Charter Commission voted not to allow a vote on the tax that will build ... More >>

Metro Transit on crash course with major layoffs, fare hikes

​The looming government shutdown will almost certainly impact bus and light rail service across the Twin Cities. But the long-range impact of the budget mess carries even worse news for commuters. Metro Transit will be forced to lay off 500 employees, eliminate 200 bus routes, and curtail service ... More >>

Metro Transit will try to keep running during shutdown

​Transit riders can relax, at least for a little while. The Met Council says that Metro Transit buses, trains, light rail and Metro Mobility will all continue to operate regular services if or when state government is shut down by the budget impasse. But the council says transit services can' ... More >>

Republicans want to strip Met Council of transportation authority

MN SenateSen. Claire Robling wants to take transportation planning away from Met Council​A proposal to overhaul the Metropolitan Council--the agency responsible for long-term transportation planning, including bringing in money to expand light rail--is gaining ground in the Legislature. At the he ... More >>

Central Corridor light rail wins $460 million from feds

The feds agree to help fund the Central Corridor line.​The 11-mile Central Corridor light rail project has taken a major step forward. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman says the check is in the mail for the $460 million federal grant the project was banking on. The Federal Transit Administration OK'd ... More >>

Central Corridor work begins, along with traffic jams

The Central Corridor project begins in earnest.​Despite the objections of some suburban state lawmakers who have a sudden and unusual interest in the business climate along University Avenue, heavy construction has started on the Central Corridor light rail project. Here are the major detours ... More >>

Metro Transit may hike fares 25 cents

Higher fares in 2012.​Metro Transit had a petty good year in 2010. With the exception of the new North Star commuter rail line, ridership was up across the board and is now at a 25-year high. And major work on the Central Corridor light rail project starts this spring. Next year might not be so ... More >>

Washington Avenue Bridge lane closures begin for light rail construction

WikipediaThe Central Corridor light rail will cross the Mississippi on the Washington Avenue Bridge.​Driving back and forth between the East and West Bank campuses at the U of M is about to get trickier, because crews are going to start lane closures on Saturday related to light rail construct ... More >>

Central Corridor light rail federal spending quadruples in Obama's FY2012 budget

Light rail gets a boost from Obama.​Federal spending on the Central Corridor light rail project would quadruple from $45 million this year to $200 million next year under President Barack Obama's new $3.7 trillion budget. Members of the Met Council, which oversees the project and has cast it as a ... More >>

Central Corridor light rail: 60-day congressional review begins

All aboard for St. Paul?​Congress has 60 days to approve funding for its half of the $957 million cost of a light rail line linking Minneapolis to St. Paul. The clock was set in motion when the Federal Transit Administration sent the approved Full Funding Grant Agreement to Capitol Hill, the ... More >>

Met Council approves light rail from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie

Coming to the southwest suburbs​Plans for a third light rail line connecting downtown Minneapolis and Eden Prairie have won approval from the Met Council. The 14-mile, $1.25 billion Southwest Corridor route will run through Minnetonka, Hopkins and St. Louis Park and link up downtown with the ... More >>

Central Corridor light rail construction timeline

Central Corridor construction gets going this fall​Work on the first three miles of the planned 11-mile light rail link between Minneapolis and St. Paul starts in September and will continue through November 2012, according to a timeline just released by the Met Council. The work this fall ce ... More >>

T-Paw's $685 million bonding bill underwhelms Democrats

The proposal is likely to create another budget bone of contention between the governor and the DFL-controlled Legislature.

Free bus/train rides tonight for St. Patty's Day

Metro Transit is doing their part to get the inebriated fools home safely tonight after their evenings of green beer and Guiness.

9/26 Morning Must Reads

Tim Pawlenty: Governor No

Tim Pawlenty racked up more vetoes this year than any governor in Minnesota's history. Is this the man we want to be vice president?

Who's to Blame?

In the wake of the I-35W bridge collapse, it's time to take a hard look at the politicians and policies that may have contributed to the disaster

The New Twins Park: A Big Roadblock at Home Plate

The big (and very tall) chill

Not in Service

Will the Met Council's proposed solution to a $60-million funding shortfall end bus service as we know it?

Crosstown Project: A Smokescreen for Transit Cuts?

You Can't Get There from Here

Is the bus shutdown part of the Governor's grand plan?

Cut the Crap

Sewage sludge: Fertilizer or public menace?

Built for Conflict

Steve Minn's gotta fight for his right to develop

Unbowed

Lisa McDonald talks about going from a contender to an also-ran, and hints at a future return

Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Ted Mondale thought he could sweet-talk the 'burbs into building their share of affordable housing-- but Eagan told him to get lost.

Dr. Gridlock

Lynn Woodward sold men's clothing, made millions in real estate, and raced Corvettes at 120 mph. Now he dreams of a car-free society.

Let Them Eat Sludge Cake

A new plan for disposing of metro-area sewage has critics crying foul

Railroaded

Will the Twin Cities' light rail megaproject get any cars off the streets? Help the environment? Save any money? Not necessarily, say its supporters--but that's not the point.

Embattled Creek

East Side residents called their own hearing to ask Ramsey County Commissioner Dino Guerin and his colleagues to stop a 1978 plan to build in Battle Creek Park.

GLASS CEILINGS, "LOCKER ROOM CONDUCT," AND WCCO.

Deconcentrating Poverty and Other Scams

How a growing number of Twin Cities neighborhoods are driving out the poor.

Hollman Lurches On

A Bridge Too Far?

The MCTO Follies, Continued...

MCTO Settles With Whistleblower

Swept Away

The likely demolition of over 700 public housing units in north Minneapolis will scatter people who live there and open up 73 acres of prime real estate at downtown's edge. Is it a matter of civic renewal or a land grab?

Watching the Detectives

Taken For a Ride

A trail of audits and an internal investigation suggest there may have been millions of dollars worth of loss and theft at the bus company over the years. Dick Lindgren says he found out the hard way that his bosses didn't want to know.