Star Tribune
Blue Line LRT extension clears critical step despite opposition
Two cities that had reservations about approving plans to extend the Blue Line have have given their consent allowing work to move forward.
Robbinsdale and Crystal on Tuesday gave their support for the plan, joining Brooklyn Park, which gave its consent last week.
Minneapolis is set to vote on the proposal Wednesday, as is Hennepin County.
The affirmative votes from the two north metro suburbs are a critical step as planning continues for the light-rail line, which would run from downtown Minneapolis through Robbinsdale and Crystal on its way to Brooklyn Park. The line could cost between $2.9 and $3.2 billion.
Some residents in Robbinsdale hoped the City Council would vote no and cited a long list of concerns, including at-grade crossings along Bottineau Boulevard, a proposed parking garage at 40th and West Broadway, crime and the location of a station near North Memorial Health.
The Metropolitan Council projects the line could provide 12,000 to 13,000 rides a day. The line is projected to start in 2030.
Required by state law, municipal consent calls for cities and counties along a proposed light rail line to grant permission for the project to move forward.
Star Tribune
St. Paul’s Lowertown ‘rocked’ by senseless shooting, but know the neighborhood remains safe
“It’s alarming,” Khan said.
Friends and Lowertown residents, including the artist Ta-coumba T. Aiken, in hat, gathered at the Lost Fox, a coffee shop in the St. Paul neighborhood, Sunday afternoon, September 29, 2024 to remember Lowertown resident and artist Carrie Shobe Kwok, who was murdered last week. ] JEFF WHEELER • Jeff.Wheeler@startribune.com (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
As Khan and Mellem spoke, the hour grew past 9 p.m. in Mears Park, a sort of town square in Lowertown.
Just like the water in the park’s manmade stream, dogwalkers and other passersby flowed through. Classical music played from the bandshell’s speakers. A couple danced in the shadows of one corner. Across the street, bar patrons sat with drinks indoors and out on a patio.
Noecker, the city council member, said that any urban area is going to have people engaging in negative activity, “but if they are vastly outnumbered by people just doing neutral and positive activity… then it feels and is safe.”
She said the neighborhood demonstrated it would remain that way after such a shocking act of violence.
“People have been coming out to comfort one another and to talk with one another,” she said. “That’s ultimately one of the most important ingredients for safety and it’s not something that’s easy to create if it isn’t already there.”
DULUTH — When registration opened Tuesday night for next year’s Grandma’s Marathon, the destination race along Minnesota’s North Shore, there were 7,500 hopefuls queued up and ready to commit to the mileage.
It made for long wait times for some runners who were logged in for up to 2 hours, though some cruised through the process in under 20 minutes, according to race officials. It also made for a record-setting entry pace. The Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon is expected to sell out less than 24 hours after it opened. The William A. Irvin 5K could also sell out by the end of the day.
“We had over 11,000 signed up in the first five hours — more than we’ve ever had before,” according to Zach Schneider, the event’s marketing director, who added the servers were also running slow on opening night. “It was the perfect storm. People had to exercise a little patience.”
Grandma’s Marathon and the Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon are scheduled for June 21, 2025. The William Irvin 5K is June 20.
For those considering the challenge, an entry in the full marathon will be the easiest to secure, with more than 5,000 spots still available. By midmorning Wednesday, there were only about 350 entries left for the half-marathon and 400 for the 5K.
Schneider said a lot of runners took up the sport during the pandemic and, combined with decent weather the past few years, Grandma’s Marathon has consistently filled fast.
“We know our race depends so much on word-of-mouth,” he said. “When we get good weather, people go back and tell family and friends.”
Walz previously said he was in Hong Kong in May 1989 before the massacre, MPR News reported. He also said he was in Hong Kong the day the massacre happened on June 4 during a 2019 radio interview, CNN reported.
However, a photo taken on May 16, 1989 put him in the United States working at the National Guard Armory in Alliance, MPR reported. And a story published in a Nebraska newspaper on Aug. 11, 1989 quoted him as saying he would leave for China that Sunday, more than two months after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
“To watch what happened at the end of the day on June 4 was something that many of us will never forget, we pledge to never forget, and bearing witness and accurate telling of history is absolutely crucial for any nation to move forward,” Walz said during a 2009 congressional hearing to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the massacre.
Walz has also misstated the number of times he’s visited China. The campaign previously said he visited the country more than 30 times. However, MPR reported the campaign now says he was there closer to 15 times.
The discrepancy in Walz’s timeline comes as Republicans have been raising questions about whether Walz’s ties to the country, which has become one of the United States’ top adversaries, is influencing his decision making. The GOP-led House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into his time there and has asked both the FBI and now the Department of Homeland Security via a subpoena for any relevant information the agencies have on Walz.
Walz on shooting his son witnessed and viral “friend with school shooters” moment
