Minnesotans will be discovering the many ways the “historic” trifecta of 2023 hit them in the pocket for years. Not only did it blow through a budget surplus of $18…
The problem Yesterday, I testified that: In February 2023, Minnesota Management & Budget forecast a state government budget surplus of $17 billion for the 2024-2025 biennium. In that “historic” session, the DFL…
Minnesota’s only functioning legislative chamber, the state Senate, held a hearing in its Energy committee this afternoon, on a bill to provide energy cost assistance to low-income households. S.F. 486,…
Northstar Commuter Rail has never come close to meeting the rosy ridership projections touted at the $320 million line’s kick-off 15 years ago this month. Not before the pandemic, certainly…
Yesterday, we discussed the negative consequences of the Walz administration’s proposed California Transportation Standard (CTS). Today, we will discuss how it works. How the California Transportation Standard works The CTS…
When state and local governments propose transit projects they have to generate estimates of ridership. In 2017, Metro Transit used a “Regional Travel Demand Model” to generate an estimate of…
In an apparent attempt to confuse and mislead the public, Senate Democrat Leadership used last night’s floor debate on the omnibus education finance bill to vote both ways on language…
In the spirit of Easter, Capitol Watch would like to highlight three proposals likely to pass this session that will help Minnesotans and make the state a better place to…
The Met Council has finally lost the Twin Cities media when it comes to the boondoggle known as the Southwest Light Rail Transit project. The headlines for the release of…
HF 1992/SF 1946 was introduced yesterday, which includes Gov. Walz’ proposed transportation budget for the next two years. As is traditional with budget bills, the measure is being carried by…
The Met Council would be required to pay potentially millions of dollars to condominium owners for damages, legal and other fees stemming from construction of the Southwest Light Rail line,…
When it rains it pours, nonstop in the case of the seemingly doomed Southwest Light Rail Transit Line under construction. The latest debacle in the most expensive public works project…
There’s growing momentum and pressure on the Met Council to not just audit what went wrong with the scandal-plagued Southwest Light Rail Transit, Line but to flat-out stop construction and…
Judging by the Met Council and Southwest Light Rail Transit’s regular e-updates for the public, the most expensive public works project in Minnesota history appears to be right on track.…
The Met Council has been saying for years that it is ready to apply for a federal grant. Yet, here we are in 2019, during the Trump administration, without an…
Something is up. The Met Council is spending $200,000 in taxpayer dollars on lobbyists to secure the federal funding. Why spend bucks on lobbyists if you are certain of funding?…
Democrats are desperate to deflect responsibility for the monumental meltdown of the MNLARS vehicle registration system under the Dayton administration’s bungling bureaucracy. Legislative leaders are working on a measure to…
Wasteful new passenger rail projects have hit a wall under the Trump administration. But a temporary timeout from power in Washington never stops the elites at the Met Council and…
Look on the bright side Minneapolis: the wall could be passed off as an expansion of the nearby Walker Art Museum’s Sculpture Garden. Think of the wall as a giant…
At least Americans were told upfront that candidate Trump planned to build a wall like it or not. But Minneapolis residents have found out the hard way about the Met…