Star Tribune
Group pushes replacing I-94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul with a thoroughfare
As state transportation planners mull the future of Interstate Highway 94 in the Twin Cities, a group that champions transportation not centered on cars wants to convert a 7.5 mile stretch of the freeway between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul with a street level thoroughfare.
A recent report by Our Streets Minneapolis said replacing the freeway won’t have a negative effect on traffic — as motorists find other routes for what are mostly short trips. But a thoroughfare will be better economically, environmentally and socially for neighborhoods long scarred by the freeway, the report’s authors say.
“I think that as we bring more information to the table about the economic benefits of this, and the environmental benefits and just the quality of life and sense of place benefits, more and more people are getting excited,” said Alex Burns of Our Streets. “And they are seeing this as an idea that should be legitimately considered.”
Our Streets officials hope their report, “Reimagining I-94,” will sway planners with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) who are in the midst of their own “Rethinking I-94” project. The state project is evaluating 10 ways of moving forward with an aging and deteriorating stretch of freeway that was built 50-60 years ago and is widely regarded as hurting the inner-city neighborhoods split by the freeway’s miles long trench.
Two of the 10 MnDOT alternatives would replace the freeway with a ground level boulevard that includes dedicated bus lanes and bike lanes. Other options being considered range from maintaining the existing stretch of freeway, a combination of a local access roadway with a narrower freeway for motorists passing through and expanding the freeway with additional traffic lanes and lanes for bus rapid transit and carpool lanes.
The Our Streets report, which lists the Toole Design Group, Visible City and Smart Mobility as contributors, comes down clearly on the replace side. Officials said they used MNDOT traffic, speed and congestion data.
The report concluded that highway removal has been a positive step in several other cities, including Rochester, New York; Milwaukee, and Oakland, Calif. Other key findings in the report include:
- Traffic would not be dramatically affected. Most trips on I-94 are short and local, using the freeway only for short distances. The most common average trip duration along this stretch of I-94 is 5 minutes, compared to 15 minutes and 20 minutes for I-494 and I-694 respectively. Most motorists would find other routes through neighborhoods.
- The models the state is using to study alternatives were developed 40 years ago and are not reliable and should not be used to predict congestion and travel times. The Reimaging authors say the state methodology is skewed toward freeways and does not look at the environmental and development benefits of removing the highway.
- Converting to a thoroughfare has enormous potential for transforming hundreds of acres of right-of-way into new space for housing, businesses and parks.
- Less traffic, noise and air pollution will improve the health and well-being of corridor residents.
- Rethinking I-94 is a political decision, not an engineering one. The freeway is not necessary for the Twin Cities to thrive, and if it is rebuilt or expanded, the harms it created will continue.
State and city officials, so far, appear non-committal.
“We appreciate the deep community interest and involvement as we work to plan the future of this vital corridor,” department spokeswoman Anne Meyer said in a statement. “MnDOT is considering a wide range of alternatives for the future of this corridor. The alternatives were developed in partnership with federal, state and local governments, as well as countless technical experts and feedback from the community.”
Unlike the original creation of I-94 during the 1950s and ’60s, she said, officials are “committed to continuing with our community-based approach focused on reconnecting neighborhoods and ensuring community members have a meaningful voice in transportation decisions that affect their lives.”
St. Paul City Councilmember Anika Bowie, who represents the old Rondo neighborhood where more than 1,000 homes were removed for I-94 construction, said she agrees with Our Streets about the freeway’s negative impact. She also supports ReConnect Rondo, a plan to install a 21-acre cap over several blocks of the freeway for housing and commercial development.
“I want to ensure we are going in a positive direction,” Bowie said. “I think Our Streets has brought a valuable perspective. Maybe there can be some type of merger of plans. The goal should be to reconnect, rebuild and repair.”
Celeste Robinson, a policy aide for Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley said in an email: “CM Wonsley is still reviewing the report. She is strongly supportive of the boulevard conversion generally but cannot offer comment on the report as of yet.”
Brette Hjelle, the interim director of Minneapolis Public Works, said in a statement that public works staff are aware of the Our Streets report and, “We look forward to reviewing and better understanding the contents of that report and the continued dialogue on this important project.”
State Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, DFL-Minneapolis, said she learned about the idea of converting this section of freeway into a boulevard while campaigning. A member of the House Transportation Committee, she said the the idea is worth considering. “I am generally excited about an at-grade option,” she said, adding that a thoroughfare’s benefits to air quality and neighborhood livability make it a real alternative. “I’m excited by the possibilities.”
A jury found a longtime farmhand in southern Minnesota guilty in the killing of his boss, a man whose death prosecutors argued would bring the debt-ridden worker a “significant financial benefit.”
Travis Joel Bauer, 48, of Winthrop, was found guilty of second-degree murder by a jury in Sibley County District Court on Friday. The jury, after deliberating until 9 p.m., also found him not guilty of first-degree murder with premeditation.
Bauer was arrested last year in connection with the 2022 shooting of his boss, Dennis D. Weitzenkamp, 79.
Winthrop police found Weitzenkamp in his machine shed, slumped over to the left side of his body, with a bloody gunshot wound in the back of his head and no weapon within reach, court filings said. Weitzenkamp appeared to have been about to shuck an ear of corn, police said.
Bauer had helped Weitzenkamp “farm his land for many years and was considered part of the family,” a complaint against him read. Weitzenkamp was an Army veteran who served during the Vietnam War and moved to the Winthrop area in 1998, his online obituary said. He was survived by his wife of 37 years, five stepchildren, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and enjoyed “watching sports, playing cards, bowling, traveling with family, driving trucks and wintering in Florida,” the obituary added.
Bauer told police that he never saw Weitzenkamp at the farm property after they left for separate lunch breaks. But law enforcement analysis of Bauer’s and Weitzenkamp’s cellphones showed they were both at the farm at the time of the killing. The cap and pants Bauer had on that day had gunshot residue on them, police said.
Law enforcement’s argued Bauer’s finances “had significant debt and was behind on bills,” and that he received calls that he could lose his home if he didn’t pay his debts an hour before Weitzenkamp was found dead. Trust documents disclosed to investigators that Bauer “would receive significant financial benefit” from Weitzenkamp’s death, prosecutors said.
Sibley County Attorney, Don Lannoye, said prosecutors were pleased at the verdict.
Roseville has joined the ranks of Minnesota cities with ordinances aimed at reducing the amount of Styrofoam and single-use plastic takeout containers in the trash.
On Monday, Roseville’s City Council unanimously passed a “Green To Go” ordinance, which requires takeout containers to be compostable, recyclable or reusable. Diners will likely see some changes when they pick up dinner.
“Any takeout food that they bring home from a restaurant, either if they’re getting takeout or if they’re bringing home leftovers from dining in, should be in something that they can put in the recycling bin, or it’s compostable,” said Noelle Bakken, the city’s sustainability specialist.
The city joins neighbors, including Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis Park and Edina in enacting ordinances designed to make takeout containers more environmentally friendly.
The ordinance affects restaurants and food trucks, gas stations and convenience stores, grocery stores and schools. It does not affect hospitals and nursing homes, businesses with no retail food or beverage sales or caterers.
The ordinance includes utensils, though single-use straws may be available in dispensers or given to customers on request.
To-go container materials allowed under the ordinance include recyclable plastics (#1, #2, #5), metal and compostable plastic, paper or fiber products. No longer allowed are black plastic (including #5), Styrofoam and other plastics, including #4 and #6. Prepackaged foods and plastic films are exempt.
Bakken said the vote on the ordinance followed outreach with residents and businesses. Some businesses have been early adopters, and the city will help connect others to more sustainable packaging resources.
Star Tribune
Bloomington offers hopeful model for reducing police clashes with people in mental distress
For more than a quarter-century, James Ayers met with some of the most vulnerable residents in Minneapolis. As the former director of Walk-In Counseling Center, a free and anonymous counseling center on Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis that is staffed by volunteers, he witnessed the value of accessible mental health services.
“The tendency is to take a policing approach, to correct it without getting into what the hell is going on,” he told me.
It’s also why he and other counselors have praised a Bloomington police pilot program that aims to help residents gain access to counseling services when they call 911 during an emergency. The department has been nationally recognized after hiring two marriage and family therapists to help people address life challenges that may demand a mental health professional rather than a police officer.
“The whole idea is that people generally don’t deal with mental health issues until there is blood on the floor,” Ayers said. “And you can get ahead of the game by providing services as soon as possible when people are asking for it. The whole rationale for a walk-in counseling center is that you’ve gotta make it easy for people to talk. And that’s done by privacy, professionalism, timeliness. What’s going on in Bloomington is a good start.”
When I was a child, a relative of mine endured a mental health crisis outside our church. I was too young to understand the totality of mental health then, but I remember the moment when police arrived. One by one, they surrounded him. I was afraid. He wasn’t harmed but the possibility seemed real.
Every police department — and many have partnered with mental health organizations in recent years — should employ resources to address individuals facing mental health crises, as those situations can quickly deteriorate. Counselors and therapists, Bloomington’s program has shown, may help residents find solutions and avoid those encounters with police. They may also help families and individuals process their collective challenges before they matriculate and lead to violence and damage in their homes and communities.
The complexities and problems in policing here and elsewhere are well-documented. The model in Bloomington is one that could work throughout the Twin Cities, but only if patients’ privacy is protected and not improperly used by police. There is value in independent counseling services, but those services are not always attainable for those who need them most.
In Bloomington, more than 4,000 people are uninsured, according to the department, and the service gives those people access to therapists whom they might not see otherwise because of that barrier. To many, 911 is the universal number to call when there is a serious situation they can’t resolve on their own. That’s a habit we’ve all developed over time. Yet, a call to that number should not always start with a police response. If anything, the presence of counselors allows for nuance and patience in these scenarios, says the Minnesota Counseling Association, the local chapter of the American Counseling Association.
