Star Tribune
Minnesota 2024 voter’s guide: Who’s running, where they stand on the issues
We ask major party candidates for U.S. Senate and Congress about issues ranging from the economy to immigration.
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Star Tribune
Metro Transit saw its busiest month of the year in August
Through Network Now, the agency plans to introduce 20 new routes in areas that currently do not have service, and bring on-demand service to six additional suburbs. Metro Transit is expanding its microtransit service to Roseville and Woodbury this year to provide better connections to regular-route transit.
In Woodbury, that means helping transit users access the new Gold Line, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line that will run along Interstate 94 between downtown St. Paul and Maplewood, Oakdale, Landfall and Woodbury, starting in 2025.
By 2027, Metro Transit plans to have four new rapid bus lines in service and open the Green Line Extension, the light-rail line running from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie that is also known as Southwest LRT.
“We are making a significant investment in our transportation network, so it’s essential that we listen and respond to riders, local partners and community members across the region as we plan for the future,” Met Council Transportation Committee Chair Deb Barber said.
Feedback and input on the plan can be submitted online through Nov. 15. The agency also will hold a series of in-person public information sessions during October. They include 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Hopkins Pavilion, 11000 Excelsior Boulevard, and 11 a.m. Oct. 8 at Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.
Online meetings will take place at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 7 and Nov. 7.
Star Tribune
Judge says widow of downtown St. Paul’s largest building owner is on the hook for loan
Attorneys for Kortgard and Pillar Bank did not respond to requests for comment.
In an 11-page complaint filed Sept. 9, after using $7 million of the credit it’s owed to acquire the Lowry Apartments through a foreclosure sale, lender Colliers Funding argued Kortgard is liable for remaining debt associated with the building as a guarantor.
The lawsuit seeks more than $8 million plus interest, late charges, attorney fees and other costs. An attorney for the lender did not respond to requests for comments.
The court appointed a receiver to take over management of the Lowry Apartments last month after tenants complained that the building was unsafe and unsanitary. Other Madison Equities properties have lost major office tenants in recent months, and an attorney for the company warned large buildings could soon be boarded up and left without security.
Madison Equities did not pay the first half of this year’s property taxes on its downtown buildings. The company owes at least $1.7 million in taxes, fees and penalties, and at least $1.6 million more will be due in October.
Crockarell, who died in January, was a controversial figure in downtown St. Paul, engaging in a number of legal battles over decades with the city, other property owners, his tenants and his staff. As he amassed his portfolio, he grew a reputation for buying distressed buildings and offering below-market rents. Kortgard, an attorney, was a business partner.
Star Tribune
Oak Park Heights gets grant to help cover losses after power plant closes
The state Department of Employment and Economic Development has announced a $440,000 grant to Oak Park Heights that the city plans to begin cleaning city water of the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) discovered in two city wells earlier this year.
The grant was one of six Community Energy Transition Grants awarded to communities with power plants that have closed or are scheduled to close due to the state’s conversion to 100% clean electricity by 2040.
The Allen S. King power plant will close in 2028, taking with it about a third of Oak Park Heights’ tax collections. Oak Park Heights Mayor Mary McComber said in a statement that the city will use the grant for a feasibility study and pre-design work to construct a new water treatment facility to remove PFAS contaminants from city water.
“We are grateful for DEED’s partnership and continued support,” McComber said. The six Community Energy Transition Grants announced this week totaled $5.21 million in funding for Oak Park Heights, Monticello, Red Wing, Cook County, Becker, and Sherburne County.