Star Tribune
Met Council pausing on funding agreements for Southwest, Blue Line Extension light rail
An agreement to close an estimated $272 million shortfall in the Southwest light-rail project budget has drawn criticism from some members of the Metropolitan Council, who said they weren’t consulted before the deal was announced last week.
The $2.7 billion Southwest line — the most-expensive public works project in state history — is slated to connect downtown Minneapolis with Eden Prairie beginning in 2027.
But Met Council members, facing intense scrutiny about the way the way they oversee public transportation projects in the Twin Cities, have paused their planning on light-rail projects to collect more information before a key decision next month on funding the Blue Line Extension — giving them more time to look at the bigger financial picture.
Questions about the Southwest funding cropped up during the council’s meeting Wednesday of a $75 million Hennepin County grant for the Blue Line light-rail extension, which is forecast to connect Brooklyn Park with downtown Minneapolis in 2030.
“I have concerns about post-COVID ridership and building two [light-rail] megaprojects at a time,” said Council Member Deb Barber.
While Barber, who chairs the council’s Transportation Committee, said she supports extending the Blue Line, she said council members need more time to consider the projects “so we know what we’re voting on.”
Council Member Judy Johnson agreed: “I think it’s important that the council take a breath and be deliberate.”
The Southwest project has been plagued with cost overruns and delays. The agreement announced last week between the Met Council and Hennepin County outlined how they might share project’s deficit, though the amount of money needed to finish the job was not released.
Under the agreement, Hennepin County would pick up 55% of the cost to complete Southwest, with the council covering the rest using federal funds set aside for transportation purposes.
The council would also pay an additional — but undetermined — amount in start-up costs, which includes testing trains before service begins along with the hiring and training of operators.
The Southwest agreement is expected to be approved by both the council and the Hennepin County Board, though it’s unclear when that will happen.
But at several Met Council meetings last week, some members expressed frustration with the proposal and said it wasn’t properly vetted before it was announced.
Others said they worried the federal funds going to Southwest for the next three years will mean other transportation projects throughout the seven-county metro will get short shrift — including a longstanding goal to add more electric buses to Metro Transit’s fleet.
The ensuing discussion was a rare break for council members, who generally agree with staff-directed recommendations.
It was unclear who negotiated the Southwest agreement with Hennepin County; Met Council Chair Charlie Zelle did not attend the council meetings last week.
But Council Member Wendy Wulff said they were faced with “what appears to be a bad agreement.”
“We have to hold firm and get to a good agreement,” she said. “We’re not going to be the rubber stamps everyone thinks we are.”
The deal drew criticism from beyond the council as well.
Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, said Friday he was concerned that devoting much of the council’s federal funds to Southwest will shortchange the transportation needs of the southwest metro communities he represents.
“We can find a funding solution that supports the completion of the Southwest light rail — and Blue Line Extension — without sacrificing other important regional projects,” said Tabke, vice chair of the House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.
The Southwest announcement “was so out of left field and completely lacking in context,” said Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, who was instrumental in getting the state’s Legislative Auditor to probe the Southwest project and formation of a statewide commission that is reviewing the council’s governance structure.
“Where is the announcement that [the council] is reforming themselves so they can effectively manage these projects?” Dibble asked.
In response, Met Council spokesman John Schadl said: “The Blue Line Extension is a critical component of our regional transportation system.” He said the council will resume consideration of the Blue Line grant agreement with Hennepin County, along with Southwest’s budget, at its Sept. 13 meeting.
Northern State 35, Concordia (St. Paul) 34: Wyatt Block’s 2-yard TD run and the PAT with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Wolves past the host Golden Bears. Block’s touchdown capped an 11-play, 72-yard drive by the Wolves, who trailed 24-7 in the second quarter. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire’s 34-yard field goal with three minutes, 32 seconds remaining gave the Golden Bears a 34-28 lead.
Winona State 31, Bemidji State 28: Cade Stenstrom rushed for two TDs and passed for 150 yards and a TD to help the host Warriors outlast the Beavers. Stenstrom’s 1-yard TD run and the PAT with two minutes, 10 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a 31-21 lead. The Beavers responded with an 11-play, 93-yard drive to pull within 31-28 with 18 seconds remaining but the Warriors recovered the ensuing kickoff.
Div. I-AA
North Dakota State 59, Murray State 6: The top-ranked Bison built a 42-3 lead in the first half and went on to defeat the host Racers in Murray, Ken. CharMar Brown ran for 97 yards and three TDs for the Bison.
South Dakota State 20, South Dakota 17 (OT): Amar Johnson’s 3-yard TD run in overtime lifted the host Jackrabbits to the victory. The Coyotes opened the OT with a 40-yard field goal.
Youngstown State 41, North Dakota 40 (OT): The host Penguins went first in OT and scored and then stopped North Dakota’s two-point conversion to hold on for the victory. The Penguins sent the game into OT on a 35-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining.
Div. III
Augsburg 35, St. Olaf 34 (OT): The host Auggies stopped a two-point conversion in overtime to outlast the Oles. The Auggies went first in the overtime and scored on a 25-yard pass from Ryan Harvey to Tyrone Wilson. It was Harvey’s fifth TD pass — the fourth to Wilson. After the Auggies’ PAT, the Oles scored on a 25-yard TD pass from Theo Doran to Braden Menz. But the Oles’ pass attempt for the conversion failed.
After splitting their two-game West Coast trip to begin the season, the Wolves improved to 2-1 with a 112-101 win over Toronto in their home opener. It was a wire-to-wire win that featured some strong bursts of play from the Wolves and other times when their decision-making was suspect. But those moments when they were on, specifically the start of the game and most of the third quarter, were enough to carry them against a shorthanded Raptors team that was without RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown and Immanuel Quickley.
Julius Randle had 24 points while Anthony Edwards had 24 on 21 shot attempts. Donte DiVincenzo had 16 off the bench. Nickeil Alexander-Walker left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return, though he was in the bench area for the final minutes after going to the locker room briefly.
The Wolves’ starting lineup had its best stretch of basketball on the season after that unit started off sluggish in the first two games. Mike Conley, who was 3-for-16 to open the year, hit two early threes to set the tone, though Conley would finish 2-for-8.
Donte DiVincenzo replaced him at point guard halfway through the quarter and continued the hot shooting from the point guard slot with three threes of his own. The Wolves forced five Toronto turnovers and had a 32-18 lead after one.
Coach Chris Finch toyed with some different lineup combinations in the first half as he had Conley and DiVincenzo begin the quarter together while having Joe Ingles run the point later in the quarter. It led to an uneven second, and the Wolves led 56-44 at halftime.
But the Wolves played inspired coming out of the break. Jaden McDaniels, who didn’t take a shot in the first half, had nine points in the opening minutes of the third. Edwards hit a pair of threes as they pushed their lead to 22. The Wolves weren’t sharp closing the night, and the Raptors had the game within right inside of two minutes, but the Wolves had built enough of a cushion.
Rudy Gobert. Gobert had 15 points and 13 rebounds and was the beneficiary of some lobs from his teammates like Edwards, Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Joe Ingles. Gobert also finished with four blocks.
Gobert had two blocks on one possession in the fourth quarter that got the crowd off its feet and Gobert pounding his chest. Gobert blocked D.J. Carton and Jamison Battle.
Star Tribune
Trump denigrates Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of Michigan’s largest city
NOVI, Mich. — Donald Trump further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes Saturday in a suburb of the largest city in swing state Michigan.
”I think Detroit and some of our areas makes us a developing nation,” the former president told supporters in Novi. He said people want him to say Detroit is ”great,” but he thinks it ”needs help.”
The Republican nominee for the White House had told an economic group in Detroit earlier this month that the ”whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Democrat Kamala Harris wins the presidency. That comment drew harsh criticism from Democrats who praised the city for its recent drop in crime and growing population.
Trump’s stop in Novi, after an event Friday night in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan’s importance in the tight race. Harris is scheduled for a rally in Kalamazoo later Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama on the first day that early in-person voting becomes available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20% of registered voters. Trump won the state in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden carried it four years later.
Michigan is home to major car companies and the nation’s largest concentration of members of the United Auto Workers. It also has a significant Arab American population, and many have been frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
During his rally, Trump spotlighted local Muslim and Arab American leaders who joined him on stage. These voters ”could turn the election one way or the other,” Trump said, adding that he was banking on ”overwhelming support” from those voters in Michigan.
“When President Trump was president, it was peace,” said one of those leaders, Mayor Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights. ”We didn’t have any issues. There was no wars.”
While Trump is trying to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, he has a history of policies hostile to this group, including a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and a pledge to expand it to include refugees from Gaza if he wins on Nov. 5.
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