Housing & Transportation

Walz, Evers submit another request for federal funding on Duluth-Superior bridge project

BY: - December 4, 2023

Gov. Tim Walz and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced Monday they’d submitted a joint request for more than $1 billion in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to pay for the replacement of the aging bridge between Superior and Duluth. The grant request, through the DOT’s Bridge Investment Program (BIP) is the second grant […]

Blaine City Council rocked by allegations the mayor has a conflict of interest in sports project 

BY: - November 21, 2023

The mayor of Blaine is an investor in a baseball-themed restaurant going up near a planned massive sports entertainment district that may include a taxpayer-subsidized minor league baseball stadium.

‘Out of control’: Advocates rally in D.C. calling for action on housing crisis

BY: - November 15, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, joined about 100 tenant advocates at a press event outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to demand action on the housing crisis. Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to bolster tenant protections and rent regulations. The People’s […]

Less driving but more deaths: Spike in traffic fatalities puzzles lawmakers

BY: - November 13, 2023

Traffic deaths are lingering near historic highs in most states despite less driving overall, prompting policymakers to consider deploying more police or installing automated monitoring such as speed cameras to curb speeding and reckless driving. People are driving fewer miles than they were in 2019, but more are dying on roadways. Traffic deaths spiked 18% […]

A historic housing construction boom may finally moderate rent hikes

BY: - October 23, 2023

Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the country are trying to create more affordable housing. An unprecedented surge in the nationwide construction of new housing — mostly apartments — may finally be making a dent in fast-rising rents that have been making life harder for tenants. More than 1.65 million housing units were under […]

Household wealth is increasing, but renters are largely locked out

BY: - October 20, 2023

The latest federal Survey of Consumer Finances – a triennial government report on the financial health of U.S. households – paints a mostly rosy picture of the U.S. economy.  The typical household’s net worth, or wealth – the value of their financial assets minus their debts – has swelled by 37% since 2019, to $192,000. […]

Small towns at a disadvantage when applying for housing funding

BY: - October 18, 2023

Bigfork is a city of around 400 people in northern Minnesota, but it’s also home to a 24-hour hospital and a K-12 school district, which both serve an additional 600 people outside city limits.  “It’s the biggest little town that I’ve ever been to,” said Bigfork Mayor Bryan Boone.   Many local teachers and hospital employees […]

Minneapolis apartment building’s renters experience overwhelming rain damage

BY: - October 11, 2023

When a disgruntled tenant confronted his property manager about the water streaming in through his Minneapolis apartment ceiling, her response was unhelpful.  “I can’t stop the rain,” she said, according to the tenant. And she was laughing.  He and his neighbors at 905 Franklin Ave. W. have been experiencing inclement weather indoors due to a […]

Amid rising evictions and rents, states grapple with protections in tenant-landlord laws

BY: - September 28, 2023

At 90 years old, Hilda Chavera has found a new purpose in life: tenant organizing. A Minneapolis resident for 50 years, Chavera said she has seen her city change, with many of her neighbors struggling to stay in their homes. “People can’t afford their rent. They are getting kicked out of their homes. They feel […]

Minneapolis Public Housing Authority unveils new affordable housing as city fights for 2040 plan

BY: - September 26, 2023

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey used an unveiling of a new affordable housing fourplex on Tuesday to hammer the city’s legal foes in the ongoing court fight to allow more density.   “A judge recently smashed our ability to put up this kind of housing. This would not be possible but for the 2040 plan, this won’t […]

The Legislature almost killed the lawsuit against the Minneapolis 2040 Plan

BY: - September 8, 2023

Earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature nearly passed a law that would have killed the lawsuit that has dogged the city of Minneapolis for years over its 2040 Plan, which calls for ending single-family zoning and adding housing density across the city. The two nonprofit groups that sued the city under a state environmental law […]

Here’s the Minnesota projects funded through the federal infrastructure bill

BY: - September 7, 2023

LITTLE FALLS — Avon resident Ricky Zyvoloski crosses the Memorial Bridge in Little Falls twice a week to visit family. Sometimes he has to wait for one of the 46 trains per day that cross the road just before the bridge.  But with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Joe Biden in […]