Star Tribune
Metro Transit expands Gold Line bus rapid transit to Minneapolis in 2027
The $505 million Gold Line bus rapid transit project, which is slated to begin service in the east metro in March, will be extended to downtown Minneapolis in 2027, according to a Metro Transit announcement Tuesday.
The Gold Line project initially called for buses to operate primarily in a dedicated lane along Interstate 94, between Union Depot in downtown St. Paul to Woodbury.
But after hearing feedback from the public in recent months, Metro Transit officials decided to replace existing Route 94 express buses with Gold Line buses and service, said Nick Thompson, Metro Transit’s deputy general manager of capital programs.
This means there will be uninterrupted service between Woodbury and the farmers market in Minneapolis. Thompson said the cost of the extension will be $15 million to $20 million and be covered by the Metropolitan Council’s existing capital budget.
“There are new opportunities to connect lines as we build out our [public transit] system,” Thompson said.
Although Route 94 bus service currently operates only during peak morning and afternoon commuting hours, Gold Line buses will feature an all-day, frequent schedule using bus-only shoulders on the stretch of I-94 between the two downtowns. Route 94 buses will be replaced with new Gold Line vehicles.
Gold Line buses will also use existing C and D Line bus rapid transit shelters on S. 8th and 7th streets in downtown Minneapolis. A new bus shelter for the Gold Line will be built near U.S. Bank Stadium, Thompson said. The western-most stop will be at the Minneapolis Farmers Market — a stop on the Southwest light-rail line, which is slated to begin service in 2027.
The current Route 94 express bus stop at Snelling Avenue and I-94 in St. Paul will be enhanced for Gold Line buses, he added.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told a crowd in St. Paul on Monday night that civic education was crucial to a strong democracy as she celebrated the opening of a new educational exhibit.
“In order to preserve our democracy, we must all commit to teaching our children about the importance of law and an independent judiciary,” she said in remarks at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.
Sotomayor spoke at a private reception to commemorate the opening of a Justice and Democracy Center at the courthouse, an exhibit designed to teach the public about the foundations of the U.S. government and the rule of law.
Earlier in the evening, Sotomayor spoke to a group of schoolchildren who toured the new center.
In her remarks, she invoked the famous quote from Benjamin Franklin — that the then-new United States would remain “a republic, if you could keep it” — in urging more efforts to teach the public about rights guaranteed by law and the role of the courts.
She did joke, however, about failing an online educational tool designed to show users how to win the White House.
“Maybe that’s why I dissent so much,” she said.
Nearly a dozen University of Minnesota students were arrested Monday night after trying to occupy Morrill Hall, which holds the Twin Cities campus’ administrative offices, to push the U to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Several hundred pro-Palestine protestors gathered at the Minneapolis building as Students for a Democratic Society tied up patio furniture into giant barricades, covering the building’s large front windows.
The administration has “failed to divest from genocide,” said Ryan Mattson, a sophomore, adding that the U has also passed policies restricting their First Amendment rights to protest. “We will stay here until the university meets our demands or makes us leave.”
Shortly after, university police and Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office deputies entered and arrested protesters, citing property damage. At least 11 students were arrested.
It was the first time students have broken into and attempted to occupy the building after organizing encampments last school year to call on the U to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Pro-Palestine protesters block Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota on Monday. (Erin Adler)
The students said they chose Morrill Hall because of its history with student activism. In 1969, 70 Black students occupied the building in a peaceful 24-hour protest of institutional racism.
Before the arrests, students covered windows and staircases with mailers and green tarps. Students said they escorted administrators out of the building earlier so it didn’t appear any administrators were in the building when they blocked the entrances.
Complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobia have risen at the U and other college campuses since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel that killed an estimated 1,200 people and resulted in hundreds being taken hostage. Israel responded by invading the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 40,000, according to statistics released by the United Nations.
The situation didn’t reach crisis levels, however, until the costs of the school’s 2022 expansion into Burnsville wiped out STEP’s financial reserves. Its fund balance, the most critical indicator of a charter school’s financial health, fell from $2.7 million in 2022 to $54,461 in 2023, state records show. This year, the school is operating at a deficit of nearly $800,000.
In response to Ibrahim’s allegations, IQS said in a statement that its repeated interventions were aimed at ensuring the school operates within state guidelines and lives up to the promises made in its contract with the nonprofit.
“It is unfortunate that Dr. Ibrahim has made unfounded claims of racial bias,” IQS Board Chair Steve Kelley said in a statement. “He is wrong. IQS and its leadership team have acted professionally and impartially.”
