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Met Council overhaul plan is on the drawing board
The Met Council is in charge of Metro Transit, wastewater treatment, subsidized housing and land-use policy in the seven-county metro area.
MINNEAPOLIS — There’s no doubt about it. Twin Cities metro area cities and counties want more control of the Metropolitan Council.
Figuring out exactly how to get there is the mission of the Metropolitan Governance Task Force, which has spent several months endeavoring to come up with new visions for who should run that regional planning agency.
“Those of us who’ve worked on this for years have all evolved on this topic, and that shows that time’s up and we want change because we need it,” said Washington County Commissioner Karla Bigham, who first started raising this issue during her time in the state legislature.
“It’s a frustration, and the responsibility is great on delivering these projects. Whether it’s been Southwest Light Rail, or in the East Metro dealing with housing and water issues, just the ability to have accountability and transparency is so vitally important.”
The regional planning agency is in charge of Metro Transit, wastewater treatment, subsidized housing and land-use policy in the seven-county metro area. The governor appoints the chairperson and all the members who represent different districts that each have roughly the same population.
When lawmakers created the Metropolitan Council in 1967, they were okay with the idea of the governor picking the members. But the governor’s office has been held by Democrats since 2011, which has prompted Republicans to complain they’re underrepresented on the board.
Others have complained that the council has no statutory obligation to respond to complaints and concerns, the way they’d have to if they had been elected directly by voters.
One idea for revamping the board is to replace it with a Council of Governments, a group made of elected city and county officials or people they appoint to serve on the board.
“The work of the Met Council really affects counties and cities. They are tasked with implementing the priorities that come out of the Metropolitan Council, so they should have a seat at the table in making those decisions,” Sen. Eric Pratt, a Prior Lake Republican who serves on the task force, told KARE 11. “I think having a locally elected official serving on the Met Council we’re going to get better collaboration, better agreements.”
Opponents of the Council of Governments model point out that Met Council members can spend between 10 and 20 hours a week on the agency’s business, which would be a huge time commitment for locally elected officials.
Rep. Ginny Klevorn, a Plymouth Democrat who serves on the task force, said she understands the frustration people have felt with cost overruns and disruptions during the Southwest Light Rail project. But she said that one problematic project shouldn’t make it necessary to take down the current board structure.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean governance needs to be thrown out, but there needs to be a way where people know they’re heard, they’re seen, and their concerns are met and addressed,” Rep. Klevorn said.
“I want people to know we see them, that we hear them, but we also have to have this regional planning district. And just because we don’t agree with the decision doesn’t necessarily mean the governance model is correct or incorrect.”
Katie Topinka, the Met Council’s director of intergovernmental affairs, urged the task force to keep in mind the agency’s other functions.
“Questions and controversies around the Met Council have often surfaced around transportation planning and funding,” Topinka wrote in a letter to the task force. “But the Met Council carries out many other functions such as wastewater treatment, helping to address the region’s housing needs, and maintaining regional parks.”
She pointed out the U.S. Government has designated the Met Council as the regional transportation authority.
“We ask the Task Force to be mindful of circumstances that may trigger federal redesignation of the Met Council,” she said.
One of the reforms floated by task force members is the separate Metro Transit from the Met Council, but not everyone agrees with that notion.
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MINNEAPOLIS — How much do you know about your grandma’s upbringing?
“The Stories From My Grandmother’s Hands” is a book that aims to show young Black children how their grandmas lived through beautiful illustrations and descriptions.
KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
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