Star Tribune
Group pushes replacing I-94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul with a thoroughfare
As state transportation planners mull the future of Interstate Highway 94 in the Twin Cities, a group that champions transportation not centered on cars wants to convert a 7.5 mile stretch of the freeway between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul with a street level thoroughfare.
A recent report by Our Streets Minneapolis said replacing the freeway won’t have a negative effect on traffic — as motorists find other routes for what are mostly short trips. But a thoroughfare will be better economically, environmentally and socially for neighborhoods long scarred by the freeway, the report’s authors say.
“I think that as we bring more information to the table about the economic benefits of this, and the environmental benefits and just the quality of life and sense of place benefits, more and more people are getting excited,” said Alex Burns of Our Streets. “And they are seeing this as an idea that should be legitimately considered.”
Our Streets officials hope their report, “Reimagining I-94,” will sway planners with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) who are in the midst of their own “Rethinking I-94” project. The state project is evaluating 10 ways of moving forward with an aging and deteriorating stretch of freeway that was built 50-60 years ago and is widely regarded as hurting the inner-city neighborhoods split by the freeway’s miles long trench.
Two of the 10 MnDOT alternatives would replace the freeway with a ground level boulevard that includes dedicated bus lanes and bike lanes. Other options being considered range from maintaining the existing stretch of freeway, a combination of a local access roadway with a narrower freeway for motorists passing through and expanding the freeway with additional traffic lanes and lanes for bus rapid transit and carpool lanes.
The Our Streets report, which lists the Toole Design Group, Visible City and Smart Mobility as contributors, comes down clearly on the replace side. Officials said they used MNDOT traffic, speed and congestion data.
The report concluded that highway removal has been a positive step in several other cities, including Rochester, New York; Milwaukee, and Oakland, Calif. Other key findings in the report include:
- Traffic would not be dramatically affected. Most trips on I-94 are short and local, using the freeway only for short distances. The most common average trip duration along this stretch of I-94 is 5 minutes, compared to 15 minutes and 20 minutes for I-494 and I-694 respectively. Most motorists would find other routes through neighborhoods.
- The models the state is using to study alternatives were developed 40 years ago and are not reliable and should not be used to predict congestion and travel times. The Reimaging authors say the state methodology is skewed toward freeways and does not look at the environmental and development benefits of removing the highway.
- Converting to a thoroughfare has enormous potential for transforming hundreds of acres of right-of-way into new space for housing, businesses and parks.
- Less traffic, noise and air pollution will improve the health and well-being of corridor residents.
- Rethinking I-94 is a political decision, not an engineering one. The freeway is not necessary for the Twin Cities to thrive, and if it is rebuilt or expanded, the harms it created will continue.
State and city officials, so far, appear non-committal.
“We appreciate the deep community interest and involvement as we work to plan the future of this vital corridor,” department spokeswoman Anne Meyer said in a statement. “MnDOT is considering a wide range of alternatives for the future of this corridor. The alternatives were developed in partnership with federal, state and local governments, as well as countless technical experts and feedback from the community.”
Unlike the original creation of I-94 during the 1950s and ’60s, she said, officials are “committed to continuing with our community-based approach focused on reconnecting neighborhoods and ensuring community members have a meaningful voice in transportation decisions that affect their lives.”
St. Paul City Councilmember Anika Bowie, who represents the old Rondo neighborhood where more than 1,000 homes were removed for I-94 construction, said she agrees with Our Streets about the freeway’s negative impact. She also supports ReConnect Rondo, a plan to install a 21-acre cap over several blocks of the freeway for housing and commercial development.
“I want to ensure we are going in a positive direction,” Bowie said. “I think Our Streets has brought a valuable perspective. Maybe there can be some type of merger of plans. The goal should be to reconnect, rebuild and repair.”
Celeste Robinson, a policy aide for Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley said in an email: “CM Wonsley is still reviewing the report. She is strongly supportive of the boulevard conversion generally but cannot offer comment on the report as of yet.”
Brette Hjelle, the interim director of Minneapolis Public Works, said in a statement that public works staff are aware of the Our Streets report and, “We look forward to reviewing and better understanding the contents of that report and the continued dialogue on this important project.”
State Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, DFL-Minneapolis, said she learned about the idea of converting this section of freeway into a boulevard while campaigning. A member of the House Transportation Committee, she said the the idea is worth considering. “I am generally excited about an at-grade option,” she said, adding that a thoroughfare’s benefits to air quality and neighborhood livability make it a real alternative. “I’m excited by the possibilities.”
Star Tribune
Officials identify motorist killed in Twin Cities crash with unlicensed driver fleeing police
Price, who suffered a broken leg in the crash, was arrested at the scene. Emergency responders took L to a hospital, where he died.
Video from a vehicle at the intersection showed the car on northbound Edgerton and turning left onto Bellwood. Price hit the car while speeding south on Edgerton.
Price told a sheriff’s investigator that his former girlfriend moved out of his home the day before and returned to speak with him on Friday. He said she accused him of cheating on her. Price said he tried to leave, but she was in his way, “so he moved her with an open hand,” one complaint read. He accused her of lying about him hitting her.
Price estimated that he was driving 80 to 90 miles per hour just before impact.
Price said he had taken oxycodone that belonged to his former girlfriend and smoked marijuana on the day of the crash. Law enforcement collected a blood sample from Price to have tested for illicit drugs.
Court records in Minnesota show that Price’s criminal history includes four convictions for driving either after his license was revoked or suspended, and once each for drunken driving and driving without insurance. He’s also been convicted four times for receiving stolen property, three times for theft and once each for illegal weapons possession, burglary, check forgery, disorderly conduct and obstructing police.
Star Tribune
Wisconsin school shooter had 2 guns and got messages from man accused of plotting his own attack
No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged in relation to the shooting, but they have been cooperating, Barnes said.
Online court records show no criminal cases against her father, Jeffrey Rupnow, or her mother, Mellissa Rupnow. They are divorced and shared custody of their daughter, but she primarily lived with her father, according to court documents. Divorce records indicate that Natalie was in therapy in 2022, but don’t say why.
The school shooting was the latest among dozens across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas.
But the Wisconsin shooting stands out because school shootings by teenage females have been extremely rare in the U.S., with males in their teens and 20s carrying out the majority of them, said David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database.
Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school that offers prekindergarten classes through high school. About 420 students attend the institution.
Star Tribune
Man accused in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing expected to appear at hearing on extradition to New York
Mangione, 26, of Towson, Maryland, was arrested on Dec. 9 when police were called to a McDonald’s restaurant on a commercial strip in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after he was reported to match the description of Thompson’s killer.
Thompson was gunned down on the street as he walked to the hotel where his Minnesota-based company was holding an investor conference. The shooting was captured on security video, but the suspect eluded police before Mangione was captured about 277 miles (446 kilometers) west of New York.
Authorities say Mangione was carrying the gun used to kill Thompson, a passport, a fake ID and about $10,000 in U.S. and foreign currency. His lawyer, Dickey, has questioned the evidence for the forgery charge and the legal basis for a gun charge. He had previously indicated Mangione would fight extradition to New York while being held in a Pennsylvania state prison.
Mangione, an Ivy League computer science graduate from a prominent family, was carrying a handwritten letter that called health insurance companies ”parasitic” and complained about corporate greed, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press last week.
Sisak reported from New York.
