Star Tribune
St. Paul City Council considers EV charging requirements for new parking lots
Anyone building or reconstructing large surface parking lots in St. Paul would have to include the infrastructure for electric vehicle chargers, under an ordinance the City Council heard Wednesday.
The proposal aims to bring St. Paul closer to meeting climate policy targets and projected market demand for electric vehicles (EVs), city planner Bill Dermody said in a presentation to the council.
Retrofitting EV charging infrastructure is significantly more costly than integrating it into new construction, especially for multi-family developments, he said.
“If left solely to market forces, meeting future EV charging infrastructure needs will be much more costly and potentially leave many people struggling to participate in the EV revolution,” Dermody wrote in a memo, adding that the code changes “could help the city satisfy some of that demand in a more proactive, cost-effective and equitable manner.”
Under the proposed ordinance, developers building, expanding or reconstructing a surface lot with more than 15 parking spaces would need to make at least 80% of spaces “EV capable,” with electrical conduits in the ground and sufficient space in electric panels. Larger lots would also be required to make at least one out of every 30 parking spaces “EV ready,” with wiring for a charger installed.
Developers would not be required to purchase and install chargers, though wiring and other infrastructure would need to be capable of charging at Level 2 or higher power.
St. Paul’s proposal only applies to surface lots because other parking structures are governed by the state’s building code. The Legislature last year directed the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) to add state requirements for EV charging in parking structures and for parking associated with commercial and large multi-family buildings.
A state advisory group will start meeting next week to study the issue and recommend EV-related provisions to the code, a process that typically takes about three months, a department spokesperson said. Updating the building code is a more lengthy process, so any new state requirements will not be enforceable until mid-2026.
Other cities such as Minneapolis, Bloomington, St. Louis Park and Roseville have implemented minimum EV parking requirements in recent years to encourage and prepare for wider adoption of electric vehicles.
St. Paul’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan, approved by the council in 2019, set a target of increasing its number of electric vehicles to 33% of on-road traffic by 2030 and 80% by 2040.
With transportation blamed for roughly 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in St. Paul, city leaders set a goal of citywide carbon neutrality by 2050.
The city owns 23 public charging stations and is a partner on the EV Spot Network, a collection of 70 charging hubs across Minneapolis and St. Paul with spaces for privately owned electric vehicles.
That network also serves the cities’ Evie car share, a fleet of more than 170 electric vehicles that can be used for one-way trips ending in the program’s Minneapolis and St. Paul service area.
The St. Paul council will hold a public hearing on the proposal next week, and a final vote could take place as soon as the following week.
Mohamed Omar is the new board chair of Hennepin Healthcare System, the organization that runs HCMC, making him Minnesota’s first Somali American hospital board leader.
The health care system board permanently appointed Omar to the position Wednesday at their regular meeting. He had served as interim chair since Babette Apland stepped down in September.
Omar has been on the volunteer board for three years, working on the finance, investment, audit and compliance committees. He is the chief administrative officer at the Washburn Center for Children and previously was chief financial officer at the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.
In a statement, Omar said he was excited to lead a hospital board in the state with the largest Somali American population in the U.S. He said he shared the health system’s dedication to providing “equitable, high-quality care.”
“My commitment is to deepen our community engagement, build more authentic connections between patients and team members, and build a confident future together,” Omar’s statement said.
CEO Jennifer DeCubellis and Nneka Sederstrom, chief health equity officer, praised Omar’s selection to lead the board. They said more inclusive leadership with a commitment to ending health disparities are key to HCMC’s success.
Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando, who is also on health system board, said she was excited to work with Omar. She said county leaders are dedicated to good stewardship of the “state’s last public safety-net hospital.”
“As the first Hennepin County Board Chair of color, I know how impactful it is for our communities to see themselves represented in public leadership,” Fernando said.
DULUTH – The Superior National Forest has lifted its forestwide campfire ban, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, effective Friday.
Recent rain and humidity have improved conditions across the national forest’s 3 million acres, forest officials said in a news release.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has also lifted fire restrictions in Cook, Koochiching, Lake and northern St. Louis counties.
Fire danger is still a concern this time of year, said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist.
“As leaves fall and vegetation continues to dry out, it’s important for people to be cautious with anything that can cause a spark,” she said.
The national forest imposed its broad campfire ban nearly two weeks ago, after a third wildfire, named for Bogus Lake, was discovered on forest land. No significant fire activity has been reported in recent days for any of those three fires. A fourth fire inside the forest, the 8.5-acre Pfeiffer Lake Fire, started Oct. 17. It was contained within 24 hours, the Forest Service said.
Much of northeast Minnesota is still classified in the “severe drought” stage by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris was asked this week if she thought Donald Trump was a fascist, and she replied ‘’Yes, I do.’’ She subsequently called him the same thing herself, saying voters don’t want ‘’a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.’’
But what exactly is a fascist? And does the meaning of the word shift when viewed through a historical or political prism — especially so close to the end of a fraught presidential race?
An authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is often associated with the far right and characterized by a dictatorial leader who uses military forces to help suppress political and civil opposition.
History’s two most famous fascists were Nazi chief Adolf Hitler in Germany and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Known as Il Duce, or ”the duke,” Mussolini headed the National Fascist Party, which was symbolized by an eagle clutching a fasces — a bundle of rods with an axe among them.
At Mussolini’s urging, in October 1922, thousands of ”Blackshirts,” or ”squadristi,” made up an armed fascist militia that marched on Rome, vowing to seize power. Hitler’s Nazis similarly relied on a militia, known as the ”Brownshirts.” Both men eventually imposed single-party rule and encouraged violence in the streets. They used soldiers, but also fomented civilian unrest that pit loyalists against political opponents and larger swaths of everyday society.
Hitler and Mussolini censored the press and issued sophisticated propaganda. They played up racist fears and manipulated not just their active supporters but everyday citizens.
