Nathaniel Minor

Nathaniel Minor

@nbminor.bsky.social

Politics reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune. DM me your tips. Signal: nbminor.08

2.4K followers367 following279 posts

Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

Good morning. I'm sliding over from the @startribune.com's state Capitol beat to cover the Twin Cities' light rail expansion plans and some suburban city halls. First up: A look at the Met Council - Hennepin County Blue Line Extension funding fight www.startribune.com/blue-line-lr...

startribune.comFunding feud could derail Blue Line light-rail extension as key decision nearsHennepin County is keeping the project alive but says it needs the Met Council to chip in to cover construction costs.
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Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

“It has to be either a direct appropriation from the state or a direct appropriation from the federal government in order to go toward these types of projects,” Rep. Brad Tabke told me. That leaves a $224m hole for the BLE that someone is going to have to fill.

Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

Good morning. I'm sliding over from the @startribune.com's state Capitol beat to cover the Twin Cities' light rail expansion plans and some suburban city halls. First up: A look at the Met Council - Hennepin County Blue Line Extension funding fight www.startribune.com/blue-line-lr...

startribune.comFunding feud could derail Blue Line light-rail extension as key decision nearsHennepin County is keeping the project alive but says it needs the Met Council to chip in to cover construction costs.
Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

The key here is the county's and council's competing interpretation of a 2024 state law on whether the council can fund LRT capital. I tried to find the 2024 committee hearing for the bill ... and couldn't find one. It was wrapped into the mega tax bill that year at the end of session.

Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

But omnibus bill messiness aside, the legislator behind the law in question sided with Met Council's read: That the council is extremely limited in how it can fund LRT capital.

Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

Ok, Whittier/Lyndale/Kingfield people who bike: How on earth do I get into downtown? The 1st Ave S bike lane just ends at Franklin and so far I've found three bad ways to get across 94 into downtown from there.

Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

Lots to learn about how this would all work, whether it will work, etc, but this strikes me as a potentially a huge deal for the state’s future. A real legacy moment for Polis (and I’m dying to know who else made this happen).

Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

👀

Andy Kenney@andyknny.bsky.social

Debra Johnson will leave her job next year as chief executive of RTD, ending a difficult tenure that has seen RTD struggle to bring riders — and revenue — back to its buses and trains after a pandemic-era crash. She was offered a contract extension but declined it. denverite.com/2026/04/08/r...

denverite.comRTD CEO Debra Johnson to leave job next yearThe transit district has struggled to retain senior leaders and grow ridership.
Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

Not good news for Blue Line Extension in Mpls or Federal Blvd BRT in Denver

Yonah Freemark@yonahfreemark.com

The Federal Transit Administration released its annual report on new transit projects to fund. The report recommends a total of just $1.2 b for existing & new projects, a massive reduction from previous years. The federal role in funding new transit projects is being decimated.

transit.dot.govtransit.dot.gov
Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

How about the "FrontRunner" oh wait

Edward Russell@byerussell.com

What should Colorado call its proposed new Front Range passenger rail line? • Colorado Connector, or CoCo for short • Colorado Ranger, a play on "Front Range" • Front Range Express Destinations, or FRED for short • RangeLink

coloradosun.comColorado wants help picking a name for Front Range passenger train ahead of November vote to fund routeThe district wants to settle on a name before deciding whether to put a measure on the ballot that would increase sales taxes along the Front Range
Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

🥲 Denverite still doing the lord’s work, aka filing records requests with DOTI

Denverite@denverite.bsky.social

Dozens of upset neighbors allege a group of influential residents who were against the road diet gained an unfair advantage by hiring a former DOTI staffer to lobby the city.

denverite.comCity met with a lobbyist before cutting Alameda road narrowing, public records showCity transportation officials insist the scaled-back project is just as safe.
Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

Winter also wrote or co-wrote just about every significant transpo bill over the last decade. Funding, speed cameras, etc. She was a giant in that world. What a terrible thing. Rest in peace, Senator.

Andy Kenney@andyknny.bsky.social

Faith Winter is why Colorado has a paid family leave program. My enduring memory: breaking the news to her that the AP had called it and the measure had passed, five years ago this month. She was killed in a car crash today. I wish her loved ones solace and comfort. coloradosun.com/2025/11/26/f...

Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

NEW: Republican bill in Congress would explicitly ban federal funding for train between Twin Cities and Duluth, gut grant program that would fund Blue Line extension www.startribune.com/republican-b...

startribune.comRepublican bill would ban federal funding for train between Twin Cities and DuluthIt also would gut funding for a federal grant program the Metropolitan Council is counting on for a planned extension of the Blue Line light rail project and a planned bus rapid transit line.
Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

Coming from Denver, where RTD was somewhere around 70-75% of pre-pandemic service and really didn’t want to talk about it, this is remarkable.

wpb003@wpb003.bsky.social

With August's changes, Metro Transit says that BRT and local bus service levels will exceed those of 2019, for the first time since COVID.

Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

In reading and learning more about the Minnesota State Capitol for return-to-office stories and now security concerns, I was curious how the built environment around the cap has changed over the years. Folks, it's a lot. 1945 at left, current day at right

Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

A St. Louis Co Commissioner says USDOT staff told him last week that federal money was still coming for the Twin Cities-Duluth train. Then MN's four congressional Republicans asked USDOT to eliminate that $. “I’m extremely disappointed," the commissioner said. www.startribune.com/republicans-...

startribune.comRepublicans seek to gut federal funding for three Minnesota transit projectsOne project, the Northern Lights Express, has bipartisan support, and the Republican advocating for it said he’s disappointed by the delegation’s letter urging elimination of funding.
Nathaniel Minor
@nbminor.bsky.social

Colorado’s gonna legalize kei trucks

The Denver Post@denverpost.com

The Senate gave final approval to House Bill 1281, which would allow small cars called "kei vehicles" on Colorado roads (except highways). The lightweight vehicles are common in Japan, but Colorado's law has been "gray" on whether they're allowed here, Rep. Lindstedt said.

denverpost.comLive updates: Colorado Senate approves small “kei” cars for Colorado roads, hospital showdown drags onThe Colorado legislature has seven days left in the 2025 session and is working Thursday to push legislation through committee and floor votes. With several ongoing debates unresolved, our reporter…