Star Tribune
Minnesota turnout in 2024 election was high
There are a few things Minnesota is known for around the country: hot dish, cold winters and, as it turns out, voting.
Minnesota recorded strong voter participation in the 2024 election, the secretary of state’s office said Wednesday. Around 76% of eligible voters in Minnesota cast a ballot. The figure is not final, the secretary of state’s office added, until the results are certified.
Voter turnout this year beat 2016′s turnout of 74.72% but failed to reach the record-breaking 79.96% turnout in 2020, according to the secretary of state.
“All over the state, we heard about voters excited to get out and make their voices heard before and on Election Day,” Simon in a statement. “Minnesotans proved once again that we are committed to our communities by showing up at the polls.”
Votes are still being tabulated across the country, but initial results point to Minnesota competing for the top spot this year. The University of Florida’s Election Lab ranked Minnesota’s turnout rate as the highest in the nation, followed by Wisconsin and Michigan.
The Democratic nominee for president has won Minnesota every election cycle since Jimmy Carter in 1976, with Richard Nixon in 1972 being the last Republican nominee to win the state.
Star Tribune
Now that 2024 election is over, here’s where to recycle your yard signs
The election season is finally over, but voters who displayed their support for candidates and issues with a plastic yard sign shouldn’t just throw them away.
Signs backing Donald Trump or Kamala Harris or the local school levy are recyclable. But not in the typical curbside bin.
Instead, several counties and cities in the Twin Cities metro are providing drop-off locations for residents to recycle political signs.
Keep in mind, some candidates and political parties will pick up their signs and use them again. But if that doesn’t happen, recycling is the way to go.
Angie Timmons of Hennepin County Environmental Services says several drop-off locations will be available from Nov. 12 through Nov 26.
“This work is in response to the many inquiries we would get this time of year,” Timmons said, noting it was one of the first ways the county was expanding the collection of hard-to-recycle items. “This is a small, but meaningful effort that aligns both with our priority actions to reinvent the solid waste system and address community concerns about plastics.”
St. Paul is accepting signs Saturday and the Washington County Environmental Center in Woodbury also takes them. Metal stakes should always be removed from the signs and can be recycled separately at scrap metal drop offs.
Cities and counties typically send the signs they collect to Choice Plastics, an industrial scrap plastic recycler and broker. The company was founded in 2001 and has an 80,000 square-foot facility in Mound.
Star Tribune
Maple Grove to expand community center into Life Time building
Maple Grove has reached an agreement with Life Time to take over its athletic club building and use it to expand the city’s community center. In exchange, the city will acquire land for the fitness chain to build a new facility.
City officials on Thursday announced the deal, which includes Maple Grove purchasing 17.5 acres of land for Life Time’s new athletic country club and other mixed-use development, south of Hwy. 610 at the intersection with Interstate 94. The land is part of the broader 100-acre Minnesota Health Village development, anchored by Maple Grove Hospital and medical offices.
Under the agreement, the city would acquire Life Time’s existing 70,000-square-foot building, which is connected to the Maple Grove Community Center. City officials plan to use nearly $11 million in capital funds to complete the deal. Life Time is seeking tax incentives for its new development, which would bring the city’s cost to $17.5 million.
City Administrator Heidi Nelson said the acquisition will add to the city’s $104 million, years-long plan to renovate its community center. The first phase, which is now underway, includes adding a third sheet of ice and expanding parking. Construction is expected to begin next year to renovate the aquatics area.
Voters in 2022 approved a local option sales tax to fund $90 million of the project, with state bonds and private contributions helping pay for the rest.
Nelson said the city could use the Life Time space for its teen center, a gymnasium and fitness equipment. The community center and Life Time already share indoor and outdoor pools. She said once the deal is approved, the city would enter into the design process for the space and finalize more details.
“We are excited to bring the fullest vision of the Maple Grove Community Center project to life,” Mayor Mark Steffenson said in a news release.
While Life Time constructs its new facility, the company would lease its current space so residents can continue using the fitness center. The company has yet to provide details on its plans for a new health club in the Minnesota Health Village area, which will be considered by the Maple Grove Planning Commission at its Nov. 25 meeting. The City Council would then consider the real estate agreement and tax abatement request on Dec. 2.
Star Tribune
Republican candidate Royce White says he will “very likely” run again in 2026
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Royce White said Thursday that he is likely to run for the office again in two years, when Democratic Sen. Tina Smith’s term runs out.
White first posted his latest plans on X, formerly Twitter. Asked for confirmation by phone, White said it’s “very likely” he will run against Smith, but said he is not ready to make a formal announcement. “I’m going to get a good 24-month run at Tina Smith,” White said.
A spokesperson for Smith did not return a call seeking information about her 2026 plans. An email to the Senator’s office was not returned Thursday.
Klobuchar beat White by more than 15 points, but it was the smallest margin she’s received in her four Senate campaigns, and White was also able to flip 29 rural counties that Klobuchar carried in 2018. Klobuchar beat GOP Jim Newberger by more than 24 points during her last run in 2018, Republican Kurt Bills by more than 34 points in 2012 and Republican Mark Kennedy by more than 20 points during her first run in 2006.
White said he is also considering running for governor in 2026. Gov. Tim Walz, who was part of Tuesday night’s losing presidential ticket, and whose term also ends in two years, has not yet revealed his plans.
“We’ll see how things shape up,” he said.