Star Tribune
Metro Transit steps up efforts to fine fare scofflaws
Metro Transit on Monday stepped up efforts to ensure riders on light-rail trains and buses are paying their fares, and began issuing fines to those who don’t.
A team of 12 community service officers fanned out along the Blue and Green lines to kick off the fare compliance program.
In four hours, the officers cited 23 passengers who did not show a valid form of payment, which includes Go-To Cards, paper transfers or tickets purchased on the Metro Transit app.
“I’m not surprised,” said Sgt. Kadra Mohamed with Metro Transit police, in a nod to the increase of unpaid riders who feel they won’t get caught.
Metro Transit has been lax in fare compliance checks in recent years. While more than 1,300 tickets were issued in 2019, that number dropped to 573 in 2020, 10 in 2021 and 49 in 2022. The agency has not had the staff to carry them out.
Bobby Lee of Minneapolis was cited because his transfer had expired. But he agreed that police should crack down on those who ride but don’t pay. He said checking fares could help keep people who do “bad things” off trains. “They should keep doing it.”
Lee was issued a $35 administrative citation, akin to a parking ticket, and has 90 days to pay. First-time fare dodgers like Lee can get their fines reduced by buying fares to be used later or by watching a video about transit expectations. They also can request a virtual or in-person hearing in hopes of having the citation dismissed.
The crackdown of fare scofflaws is the first part of a multipronged effort to beat back crime, connect those in need with social services and improve customer experience for all riders.
“Today is one step toward this,” said Metro Transit General Manager Lesley Kandaras. “We have a ways to go yet.”
Transit agency officials in June unveiled the Transit Rider Investment Program (TRIP), and adding nonsworn community service officers to conduct fare checks is part of that. Metro Transit operating budget will cover the cost.
“I think it is a good idea,” said Larry Laqua of Williston, N.D., as he boarded a Green Line train at the Stadium Village Station near the University of Minnesota on Monday afternoon. When people don’t pay, “it’s going to cost somebody.”
‘Sad day for me’
An announcement over speakers at Stadium Village Station blared a warning: “Those attempting to ride without a valid fare may be fined.”
Renard Thompson, 61, of Minneapolis had a pass for riders who use transit to access medical appointments but was in a rush to get on a Green Line train Monday and didn’t swipe his card. He was issued a ticket.
“It’s important they do this, but this is a sad day for me” he said, noting he rides the train six days a week and was not avoiding paying his fare.
The word to riders is pay your fare, said Drew Kerr, Metro Transit spokesman. That includes tapping prepaid cards for each ride.
“We are issuing citations,” he said “The time for warning and education has passed.”
While initial fines are relatively low, penalties rise with each subsequent violation up to $100. Those cited four or more times can expect a 120-day ban from using public transportation. The citations won’t appear on criminal background reports, but unpaid violations may be referred to a collections process.
Most riders issued citations Monday on the Green Line took their tickets without much protest. But one man who had not paid swore at Mohamed, who said, “I won’t arrest you if you get off the train.”
In the past, only sworn officers could issue tickets carrying a misdemeanor bearing a possible $180 fine.
Transit officials are hoping that by having community service officers — members of the Metro Transit police who are on a path to law enforcement careers — enforce fares will free up sworn police officers to handle illegal behavior, which has been on the rise in recent years.
Drug and alcohol use, theft, smoking and homeless people sleeping on trains have all spiked since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Crime was up 66% in the first quarter of this year when compared with the same time frame in 2022. That led to plans to combat crime, including the fare-checking program.
Some progress has occurred. Crime declined 22% over the summer and into early fall, officials said last month.
Community service officers will be trained in how to respond to mental health issues, de-escalation, first aid, naloxone administration and CPR, the agency said.
Community service officers’ duties also include riding transit to help customers find their way, monitoring behavior and contacting police when they observe illegal behavior or an emergency.
Their deployment comes after the Metropolitan Council, which oversees Metro Transit, approved a $6 million contract with Allied Universal this summer to place unarmed security officers at the 35W/Lake Street station and five other locations. Guards also were placed at the Blue Line’s Lake Street/Midtown and Franklin Avenue stations, the Chicago-Lake Transit Center, and the Brooklyn Center Transit Center to help deter crime and report it.
Kerr said Metro Transit realizes some people may not have the means to pay, but also highlighted programs such as the Transit Assistance Program (TAP) that allows low-income earners to ride for $1.
One person on Monday successfully had their citation tossed out. The rider will put $5 on a TAP card and have their fine waived, Kerr said.
“We ultimately want people to pay fares,” he said.
Rider Hui Lin, who lives in Dinkytown and takes transit occasionally, is on board with that.
“They should crack down,” she said after buying a ticket Monday at Stadium Village and boarding an eastbound Green Line train.
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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