I’ve been running on trails a lot lately, preparing for the Stillwater Half Marathon, which is mostly on the Gateway Trail. Along the way, I’ve been reflecting on whether I could become a better trail citizen. We runners and walkers are an awfully self-righteous breed. We love to criticize the manners of cyclists on area […]
Minnesota Republicans captured control of the Minnesota House of Representatives in part by fueling urban versus rural resentment: “Those metro-centric DFLers give everything to Minneapolis and St. Paul.” The truth is, turnout trends associated with non-presidential year elections were a much bigger reason why the DFL lost control of the Minnesota House. But this “core cities […]
I’m not an unquestioning LRT lackey. Some questions about LRT strike me as very fair. For instance, could we have a better overall transit system if we invested the same amount of public money – billions of dollars — in buses, vans, taxis and bus rapid transit instead of trains? Given how sprawled our metro […]
You may have seen the artist renderings. The drawings lay out a vision for The Yard, the planned four-acre urban park adjacent to the mammoth new Vikings Stadium. In the winter versions, the park is shown populated by happy, hearty Minnesota families skating, admiring ice sculptures, making snow angels and generally laughing in the face […]
There are many big unanswered questions associated with the new stadium being constructed for the Minnesota Vikings. How will we pay for our new sports palace if iPad gambling problems continue? Will we be able to host a Super Bowl, so Johnny Manziel and the rest of the Vikings can enjoy home field advantage? Will […]
The stadium formerly known as the “Hubert H. Humphrey III Metrodome at Mall of America Field” (HHH3M@MOAF) “Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome” (MOAF@HHHM) obviously screamed out for shorthand, or a nickname. So most of us just called it “The Dome,” much to the chagrin of the HHH3M@MOMAF MOAF@HHHM brand managers. […]
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) released a new 20-year plan in December 2013 – the Minnesota State Highway Investment Plan (MnSHIP). Spoiler alert: MnSHIP says we need more money to build more road capacity. MnSHIP says much more than that, but adding road capacity is a central theme, as has been the case for many […]