Star Tribune
Lane closure on I-35W in Burnsville could be a month-long traffic tangler
Motorists who use northbound Interstate 35W in the south metro could be in for some tough driving for the entire month of October as the Minnesota Department of Transportation slims the freeway down to two lanes.
Starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday, northbound I-35W will be reduced from three lanes to two between the I-35W/35E/35 split and Minnesota River bridge through Oct. 31, the agency said.
To help traffic flow, MnPASS lanes normally reserved for carpools, motorcycles, buses and drivers with transponders who pay to use them will be open at no charge to all motorists traveling between the split and Black Dog Road. North of Black Dog, regular E-Z Pass lane rules and fees will be in effect, MnDOT said.
The lane closure comes as the agency begins prep work for a bridge replacement and pavement resurfacing project on the calendar for the 2025 and 2026 construction seasons. Crews during October will be building crossovers on I-35W and Hwy. 13.
Next year, MnDOT will replace bridges on I-35W at Hwy. 13, Burnsville Parkway and Cliff Road, and replace concrete and asphalt pavement.
A new federal lawsuit alleges that a Woodbury man sustained a traumatic brain injury after being shot with a rubber bullet by Minneapolis police while peacefully protesting the killing of George Floyd outside the Third Precinct in 2020.
The ordeal left Mason Hermann, of Woodbury, with short-term memory loss, headaches and fatigue, the lawsuit contends.
Attorney Jeff Storms filed the 29-page lawsuit in court last week. It seeks unspecified damages from the city of Minneapolis for violating Hermann’s First Amendment rights.
Minneapolis has paid nearly $50 million to settle claims of police brutality or officer misconduct since Floyd’s murder. Many hefty payouts went to journalists and bystanders injured by law enforcement officials during the unrest, actions that have since been described as a pattern of unconstitutional behavior by the U.S. Department of Justice.
City spokesman Allen Henry acknowledged that the city has been served with the lawsuit, but declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Hermann, then 20, joined a growing crowd of protesters on Lake Street on May 27, 2020, to criticize MPD’s actions. No curfew restrictions were in place at that time.
Officers in tactical gear were perched on the Third Precinct’s roof and outside its barricaded entrance for hours, where some armed with 40-mm “less lethal” rounds fired upon the crowd. At approximately 6:50 p.m., according to the lawsuit, a rubber bullet struck the left side of Hermann’s head, without warning or provocation. No commands were given prior to that use of force.
The unidentified officer “shot Hermann with the projectile in retaliation for and to chill Hermann’s further speech,” the lawsuit says, adding that Hermann “never displayed any aggression” toward police.
The St. Paul nonprofit drew from successes in the Chicago area, including a Living Room in suburban La Grange, Ill., where operators reported that they prevented 218 ER visits in their first year. That saved an estimated $550,000 for the state of Illinois because many of the visitors otherwise would have used state-funded Medicaid insurance for ER visits.
But Vance has been doing debate prep sessions where he’s been joined by his wife, Usha Vance, Miller, senior Vance aides, and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who has played Walz, according to a person familiar with his preparations who requested anonymity to discuss strategy. Moderating their mock debates was Monica Crowley, who served in the Trump administration, hosts a podcast and contributed to Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for remaking government that Trump claims he knows ” nothing about.”
”JD Vance is prepared to wipe the floor with Tim Walz and expose him for the radical liberal he is,” Emmer told reporters on Monday.
Walz’s debate prep has included sessions hunkered down in a Minneapolis hotel, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg standing in for Vance, according to a person familiar with the process who requested anonymity to discuss the campaign’s internal dynamics. Others helping in the preparations include Rob Friedlander and Zayn Siddique, who helped Harris prepare for her debate with Trump, along with other aides to Walz and the campaign.
Klobuchar said Walz will show the American people ”a real person” who brings ”buoyancy” and positivity to the debate stage that will contrast with Vance, but ”he is not going to be shy about pointing out the problems.”
”Just because he’s an optimistic, positive person doesn’t mean he’s a pushover,” she said.
