Star Tribune
Interstate 94 design alternatives, released by MnDOT, get mixed reviews
The Minnesota Department of Transportation released a slate of 10 alternatives Monday for repairing the heavily used stretch of Interstate 94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul, with hopes they might also help improve the freeway’s historically antagonistic relationship with the communities that live beside it.
The options revealed by MnDOT’s Rethinking I-94 Policy Advisory Committee range from simply repairing what already exists to expanding the corridor to 10 lanes with broader shoulders for buses. They follow years of technical research and public engagement sessions in which Twin Cities residents were encouraged to dream big about how transforming I-94 could reconnect city neighborhoods.
“The alternatives feature a variety of roadway types, transit service and lane configurations,” said MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger. “We listened to input from communities along I-94, community leaders participating in rethinking, advocacy groups and our partner agencies as these alternatives were developed but will continue to do so as this process moves forward.”
The advisory committee includes city, county and state representatives, who said they would take some time to consider the options. But several were immediately disappointed to see alternatives included that would result in a bigger freeway.
“Why is expansion even on the table, if the goals and the project’s master vision is to have equity, climate resiliency, et cetera?” asked St. Paul City Council Member Mitra Jalali. She noted that St. Paul opposes expanding the freeway and supports a dedicated lane for mass transit.
“Freeway expansion is actually categorically in opposition to those things,” Jalali said.
Rethinking I-94 project manager Melissa Barnes said that MnDOT wanted to consider the full universe of alternatives, but that some ideas would be eliminated later in the process. None of the alternatives yet have cost estimates. The agency hopes to name a preferred alternative sometime before 2025.
One of the eliminated alternatives, which had gained traction during the public engagement process, was the Twin Cities Boulevard proposal by Our Streets Minneapolis to convert the stretch of I-94 between the two downtowns into a boulevard. That proposal didn’t pass “purpose and need,” Barnes said.
Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley asked that MnDOT consult an expert who has experience with highway-to-boulevard conversions before throwing out the idea, which she said has significant support among her constituents.
“If you want me to tell you what I think is the best idea, that’s an at-grade roadway that is more of a boulevard conversion that incorporates transit and walkability,” Conley said. “We are hearing from residents that they are interested in a slowdown, and not an expansion, of this freeway. So, I just can’t stress that enough.”
MnDOT also eliminated light rail along the freeway after determining there wouldn’t be enough ridership to justify the cost, said consultant Robert McHaney. Instead, some of the alternatives propose dedicated bus rapid transit lanes with stops to be determined. Others suggest reducing the number of lanes to two in each direction.
One grassroots proposal for I-94, ReConnect Rondo, is a 15-year effort led by residents of St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood to build a land bridge over the highway between Grotto and Chatsworth streets that would double as an African American cultural enterprise district.
The land bridge wasn’t included among the alternatives, but MnDOT consultant Jessica Karls nodded to the agency’s “respect” for the neighborhood campaign, and promised “continued collaboration” with Rondo residents as Rethinking I-94 progresses.
MnDOT will publish the alternatives Wednesday on its Rethinking I-94 website and open an online survey to collect public feedback sometime this week. Representatives will meet with neighborhood groups and complete additional technical work before publishing draft documents for formal public comment next spring.
When the Minnesota Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal by the University of St. Thomas regarding the environmental impact of its new hockey/basketball arena under construction, neighbor and arena foe Dan Kennedy said the “ethical” thing for the university to do was stop construction until neighbor concerns are addressed.
Not going to happen, university officials said Thursday.
While a public review of a revised Environmental Assessment Worksheet continues through Nov. 7, construction of the 5,000-seat Lee and Penny Anderson Arena continues. In an e-mail Thursday, a university spokesman said the arena is expected to be completed in fall 2025.
“The University of St. Thomas is aware of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to deny its petition to appeal and is reviewing the potential impacts of this decision,” an emailed statement from St. Thomas said. “Last week, the City of St. Paul published an updated EAW for public comment, and that process will continue. Construction of the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena will also continue, as permitted by law.”
But Kennedy said he believes that decision is not only wrong, but illegal. Because the state Court of Appeals this summer ruled the project’s first environmental review was inadequate, its site plans and building permits are invalid, said the president of Advocates for Responsible Development.
“We need somebody to specifically tell the University of St. Thomas that they must comply with the law,” Kennedy said. “This is an institution of higher learning, with a law school. They should comply with the law.”
Kennedy said he thought the Minnesota Court of Appeals had insisted on exactly that. In August, the appellate court ordered the city and university to conduct a new Environmental Assessment Worksheet. The previous assessment didn’t do enough to study the arena’s potential harm to the neighborhood’s parking, traffic and air quality, the court ruled.
“The reason why is that more sunlight in the morning time helps reinforce waking up, and having less light in the evening is less stimulation,” he said. “So when we’re winding down, preparing for sleep, having fewer hours of sunlight in the evening can help promote that process of falling asleep.”
Akingbola acknowledges that it can be sad to walk out of work or school when it’s already dark out, but in the long run, standard time is the way to go.
The U.S. already tried daylight savings year round in 1974
Despite the medical advice, there have been calls in recent years to make daylight savings time permanent.
Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, tried to pass a bill as recently as 2021 to make daylight savings time permanent, but it did not pass the Legislature.
The U.S. tried once before. According to Minnesota Star Tribune archives, due to an energy crisis, President Richard Nixon passed a law in January 1974 that made daylight savings a year-round thing.
A month into it, the Minneapolis Tribune ran an article saying there were calls to reverse the decision because there were more accidents in the pre-dawn darkness, particularly involving school children waiting for the bus. Under daylight savings time in January, sunrise wasn’t until well after 8 a.m. in Minnesota.
Karl-Anthony Towns may be in New York City, but his heart is in Minnesota.
On Wednesday night, Towns had some sweet seats for a Billie Eilish show at Madison Square Garden with his partner, Jordyn Woods, when she caught him watching the Timberwolves play the Chicago Bulls in a preseason game on his phone. Her video, posted to her Instagram story, made rounds on social media Thursday.
In the video, flames are literally spewing out from Eilish’s stage, lights are flashing all around and others in the crowd are head bobbing. And there is Towns, holding his phone in both hands and muttering to himself as the Timberwolves are down 88-75 late in the third quarter in a meaningless game.
“I promise he was enjoying the concert,” Woods wrote in the video’s caption.
The Wolves would go on to lose that game, 125-123. A nail-biter.
Towns’ trade to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and others stunned the NBA world and all of Minnesota, where he was a beloved player for nine seasons and a leader on a team rapidly ascending toward championship contention.
“It was a lot of emotions,” Towns said. “Some amazing moments and times in nine years of my life in Minnesota, a place that I’ve called home. Guys who are not just teammates to me but brothers. We were like brothers. It definitely was a wild day, definitely coming to work.”
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