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 36-year-old Alexandria man was sentenced to about four months in jail after pleading guilty to secretly recording employees at a hospital where he previously worked as a custodian.
Corey R. Johns was arrested in May 2023 and charged with one gross misdemeanor count of interfering with privacy. He pleaded guilty in June, and on Monday Douglas County Judge Michelle Clark sentenced Johns to 364 days in jail.
Johns will serve 120 days in the Douglas County Jail and have the remaining 244 days stayed for two years of probation. Clark also ordered Johns to attend a sex offender treatment program. He was ordered not work in a location where women routinely change clothes, possess pornographic material or have unsupervised contact with vulnerable adults or anyone under the age of 18.
According to the criminal complaint filed against Johns, Alexandria police responded to a call at Alomere Health in May 2023 after three female employees found a phone propped up by a shoe and pointed toward the changing area in a locker room. Before police arrived, Johns asked the women to give his phone back to him, the complaint states.
Johns told police he started recording employees in February and had also recorded in a co-ed locker room. At the jail, staff found a pen on Johns that he said was another type of recording device he had used, according to the complaint.
After the arrest, a spokesperson from Alomere Health said Johns was no longer affiliated with the organization.
“The safety and security of our staff has always been of the utmost importance. We are devastated that this has occurred and even the thought of this behavior by anyone is reprehensible,” the spokesperson said in a written statement. “The Alomere Health Human Resources team is working directly with employees who may have been impacted.”
Star Tribune
Nearly 10-year term for man who posted pic of him driving 150 mph before causing fatal wreck
A man has received a nearly 10-year term for documenting himself driving 150 miles per hour and posting his feat on social media moments before he crashed into the rear of another car southeast of St. Cloud and killed a passenger in the other vehicle.
Hunter M. Buckentine, 24, of Avon, Minn., was sentenced Monday in Sherburne County District Court after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in connection with the collision about 1:10 a.m. on Aug. 19, 2023, along Hwy. 10 in Clear Lake Township.
With time in jail after his arrest, Buckentine is expected to serve the about 6¼ years of his 9⅔-year term in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Buckentine was heading west on Hwy. 10 near SE. 97th Street in his Infiniti Q50 and struck a Chevy Cobalt from behind, according to the State Patrol. The impact sent the Cobalt into a ditch to the right, where it rolled several times, the patrol said. Buckentine’s car left the road, caught fire and hit a line of trees.
The Cobalt’s passenger who died was identified as Jordan D. Kramer, 34, of Clarissa, Minn. Kramer died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, the patrol said. Another passenger, Candice C. Pooler, 39, also of Clarissa, sustained critical injuries, according to the patrol. The Cobalt’s driver, Lindsey K. Soiseth, 35, of Lake Lillian, Minn., also survived her injuries.
Also suffering noncritical injuries were Buckentine and his passenger, 21-year-old Trenton C. Michels, 22, of Becker, Minn., the patrol said.
Court records show that Buckentine’s driving history includes three convictions for speeding and another for careless driving in connection with him crashing his car in May 2022 east of St. Cloud in Santiago Township.
Star Tribune
Man accused of Lyndale Avenue gunfire, homicide near Willmar is ID’d by law enforcement
A murder charge could come as soon as Thursday against a 25-year-old man who’s accused of firing shots from an apartment balcony in the heart of Minneapolis’ Lyn-Lake neighborhood before he fled and shot two people near Willmar as he attempted in vain to evade law enforcement in a high-speed chase.
The suspect, who is from Hopkins, remains held without bail in the Kandiyohi County jail on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with a shooting Tuesday afternoon.
Kandiyohi County Attorney Shane Baker said he’s not expecting to file charges Wednesday. Charges are also pending in Hennepin County stemming from the early afternoon gunfire. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged. Minnesota court records show nothing in the man’s criminal background other than a minor drug paraphernalia conviction and numerous parking and driving violations.
Tuesday’s events unfolded shortly before 1 p.m., when police were called to an apartment complex at the 2900 block of Lyndale Avenue S., where the man fired off several rounds into the street from the building’s top floor.
Police shuttered the busy intersection and surrounding blocks from W. 28th to Lake streets in the densely populated commercial and residential corridor as they attempted to negotiate his surrender.
According to a Tuesday night release from the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office, the man traveled west through several counties and then shot and injured a man at a rural Kandiyohi County residence. Police say the suspect then fatally shot a motorist that he attempted to carjack at the Hwy. 71 and Hwy. 23 bypass southeast of Willmar. Police were eventually able to take the man into custody. He was jailed in Kandiyohi County on charges that include murder.
A medical examiner will release the victim’s name after an autopsy and family is notified.
“Today, multiple lives were put in harm’s way, with one person sadly losing their life,” Kandiyohi County Sheriff Spokesperson Imran Ali said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. Please continue to hold the victims, their families and our first responders in your prayers today.”
