Star Tribune
Possible flight path changes at MSP Airport rekindle noise worries
The Federal Aviation Administration is looking to change the technology used to direct planes in and out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, raising questions of whether flight paths could change and if the FAA will hear the concerns of residents below.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission’s Noise Oversight Committee, made up of officials from various nearby cities, is forming an outreach plan to let residents know what the FAA wants to do. The group aims to avoid the missteps the commission made the last time the FAA proposed consolidating flight paths.
“The last thing you want is for the FAA to get ahead of the communities,” said Chris Swanson, a Richfield city staffer who sits on the noise committee.
A decade ago, the FAA proposed using satellite navigation to route more planes into narrower flight paths. Residents along those paths were outraged, especially because they felt ignored.
“With no real input from the communities, it seemed like this was going to be run through,” said Bob Kane, an Edina resident who was among dozens protesting the changes in the early 2010s.
Edina and southwest Minneapolis residents mobilized against the changes in flight paths: Chain emails pinged around neighborhood groups, and residents packed airport commission meetings.
Richfield residents had supported the changes that would have routed more planes over Crosstown Hwy. 62, but Edina residents worried the plan would send more planes their way.
“They successfully mobilized and we were drowned out,” Pam Dmytrenko, then Richfield’s assistant city manager, told the Star Tribune in 2012.
After the outcry, airport officials put the navigation system updates on hold.
In other cities, updated navigation systems have meant new flight paths over neighborhoods unaccustomed to flight noise. Now, the FAA says it’s time to move to the new navigation system here. It could be in place by the summer of 2025.
The Airports Commission and city leaders are trying to figure out how to get the word out about what the FAA has planned and how to get feedback from a broad cross-section of residents, not just those who can attend midmorning meetings of the noise committee to offer comments.
Swanson said Richfield wants to make sure people know what the FAA proposes next year. If outreach is successful, he said, communities won’t be caught off-guard and could be prepared to let the airport commission and the FAA know what they think.
The new navigation system and procedures are becoming standard at larger airports.
“The FAA is continually modernizing the National Airspace System to improve safety and efficiency,” a statement from the agency read.
Edina City Manager Scott Neal said he hoped the technology — and the possibility of new flight paths — will mean noise is spread out across the metro, both west and east of the airport.
Neal said Edina residents’ protests were part of stopping the new navigation system and route changes a decade ago. He said the routes needed further study back then. But he knew the issue would come up again. “We’re ready for a conversation this time,” Neal said.
Worried residents like Kane hope the airport commission and FAA are ready to talk, too.
The airport commission and FAA “have to not only say they’re engaging with community stakeholders but truly listen and not just saying they’re listening … [to] truly understand the lives of the people underneath,” he said.
About 50 Ukrainian refugees have signed up to donate blood on Saturday in Minneapolis as a way to give thanks to Americans for welcoming them to this country and for support in the face of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The donated blood will then be given to the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota.
The Ukrainian American Community Center, located at 301 NE Main St. in Minneapolis, has organized the event. The blood drive will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, said Iryna Petrus, community outreach manager at the center.
“It’s a sign of gratitude to Americans for supporting Ukraine and saving children’s lives in Ukraine,” said Yosyf Sabir, speaking on behalf of the blood drive.
It’s also a way to say “thank you to the United States for welcoming us so warmly,” said Petrus. She said there will be a program at 10 a.m. Saturday when several leaders of the Ukrainian American Community Center will speak. She said the center is hopeful that Ukrainian groups in other parts of North America will do similar blood drives.
Those who are unable to give blood have been asked to donate cash, which will be used to purchase tourniquets that will sent to Ukraine to be used by persons who have been injured in the war. Every $50 raised will purchase one hemostatic tourniquet, the Ukrainian Center said in a news release.
If approved, that approach would drop the district’s fund balance to 6% of general fund expenditures. The current board policy is to maintain a fund balance of at least 10% of general fund expenditures.
Anoka-Hennepin’s current operating referendum brings in about $1,154 per student, but the state-allowed cap is about $2,200 per student. If increased to the cap amount, a referendum would bring in another $40 million, McIntyre said.
According to community feedback collected through surveys and community meetings over the last month, nearly 90% of respondents said they supported a referendum. Parents and families also expressed concern about growing class sizes as a result of cuts.
The two options have already been revised based on board members’ requests to reduce cuts that would mean fewer teachers at schools, McIntyre said.
At one point in the discussion, the district floated changes to middle and high school class schedules to save money, but that was removed after board member feedback. At the board’s meeting last month, several board members thanked district staff for transparency about potential cuts and responsiveness to board and community feedback.
“I would encourage people to keep asking questions,” Board Member Michelle Langenfeld said at the September board meeting, “because as we unfold more information, the opportunity becomes greater for us to make the most informed decision under these very, very difficult circumstances.”
On Monday morning, contract workers began snipping razor wire and removing it from fencing that was propped atop concrete barriers along the perimeter of the former Third Precinct police station, which was set ablaze during the uprising over George Floyd’s police killing.
Finally, the concrete barricades will come down, after 4.5 years. As private security guards looked on, contractors began removing the security measures put in place to secure the building at 3000 Minnehaha Av. after it became a focal point of protests.
For the past three years, Third Precinct police officers have been based out of a city building in downtown Minneapolis, with plans to eventually bring them back to a south Minneapolis Community Safety Center just down the street at 2633 Minnehaha Av.
What to do with the former police station – home to what has been called a “playground” for renegade cops – has been the subject of heated debate, with the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey at odds.
While the city debated its future, some conservatives jumped at the chance to use the charred building as a backdrop to hold press conferences and news reports in which they blasted the city and its leaders. Most recently, vice presidential nominee JD Vance made a campaign stop in front of the building earlier this month to blast his opponent, Gov. Tim Walz, for his handling of the 2020 riots and portray Minneapolis as a city overrun with crime.
GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance speaks outside the former Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct building in Minneapolis on Oct. 14. (Leila Navidi)
After that, several council members expressed frustration at the city’s failure to clean up the site. Despite signs saying “cleanup efforts are underway,” concrete barriers, fencing and razor wire remained all summer.
Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said earlier this month that the blight makes people feel uncared for and gives opportunists a backdrop to manipulate the scene for political gain.
Council Member Linea Palmisano blamed some of her council colleagues for the delays, accusing some members of being “desperate for any objection” to Frey’s proposal. The council passed a resolution saying that the building should not be used for any law enforcement functions again. Palmisano called it disgraceful that the building remains, scarred and secured, over four years later.
