Luke Hanson

Important thread about St. Paul's tax base problems. This is the 5-alarm fire for our city: a lot of legacy infrastructure and expenses + a huge share of untaxable land = we simply need more people to live here. A lot more.

I want people in leadership who will say that plainly. St. Paul must grow.

Both Minneapolis and St Paul should be looking to add a million more residents collectively in the next 50-70 years. All of the metro growth should come in the two central cities and the inner burbs, NOT in the exerbs. Density makes for better cities.

Bottom line is there is a need in St. Paul to work with private developers/capital as unsavory as that may be, as the tax base is currently not there. This cannot be magicked away or ignored.

The Sears in St. Paul is still closed, but its parking lot has a life of its own While a nonprofit developer hopes for funding to build out the former store, the lot is open for pop-ups, races and celebrations.

I'm sorry, but the Rice Street Sears parking lot is not "well used." www.startribune.com/the-secret-l...

There's a new "Overlook Walk" pedestrian bridge that connects Pike Place Market down to the piers at Alaskan Way, and it's a world-class public space. Don't miss it! Lots of fun shops and restaurants in Capitol Hill and University District. KEXP: great place for coffee and lounging near Space Needle

The Nut Roll is absolutely a can't-miss event, right up there with the @bikemn.bsky.social Twin Cities Bike Tour.

It's funny to think that my preference for urban living in areas with dense, mixed-used, walkable neighborhoods, multi-family housing, small businesses, and diversity probably stems from Sesame Street. Like an early education in Jane Jacob's urbanist theories.

Everything Molly discusses here is an immediate need that requires a thoughtful, pragmatic solution. I have no time for magical thinking

Vote for Molly Coleman in St. Paul's Ward 4 I live two blocks from Ward 4, and consider myself, if not an honorary resident, at least someone with plenty of vested interest in the heal...

I wrote about why I like Molly Coleman for Ward 4 City Council. If you live in the neighborhood, please vote for her before August 12th! (Chauntyll Allen would be my second choice.) tcsidewalks.blogspot.com/2025/07/vote...

Watch Ward 4 candidate @mollycoleman.bsky.social in her ride-along with @wedge.live

Molly talks zoning, housing, vacant buildings, transit, biking, and what levers a councilor has to truly address resident's needs.🏢🚲🚆🌳

She's demonstrating why we're so proud to have endorsed her.

SHORT VERSION: If you haven’t heard, there is a special election on August 12th for the Ward 4 City Council seat in Saint Paul. I’m backing @mollycoleman.bsky.social as my first choice and it’s not particularly close. Please vote!

(Long version threaded below) 1/ www.ramseycounty.us/residents/el...

Headshot of Molly and “Sierra Club endorsed” logo. Text reads “endorsed by Sierra Club.”

I’m deeply honored to receive the Sierra Club’s endorsement in this race. Cities can and must be at the forefront of preserving and protecting our planet, and I’m committed to ensuring that Saint Paul does its part.

Matt said it best, but I'll just add, i'm also endorsing @mollycoleman.bsky.social because I've seen the depth of her understanding of our city, both what is needed, and from where the organized pushback is going to come. Progressive, but clear-eyed and pragmatic about getting things done.

Molly Coleman for Saint Paul City Council — Vote August 12!

BONUS: Forgot to say, she’s endorsed by tons of labor and community folks too. An absurd coalition of supporting orgs and individuals for @mollycoleman.bsky.social

Check out her whole site here: www.coleman4council.com

Oregon Decides It Was a Mistake to Let Cities Ban Homes | Sightline Institute Two laws in Oregon undo 100 years of local zoning to ban homes, opening opportunities for affordable choices, from duplexes to apartments.

As of this summer, Oregon has probably done more than any other U.S. state to systematically shift zoning powers from the local to the state level.

www.sightline.org/2025/07/28/o...

Met Council has an open comment period on proposed modernization of formula for federal transit funding through 8/13. Chart below shows outcomes of proposed changes. metrocouncil.org/Transportati...

Brooks: St. Paul’s Midway is a neighborhood on a journey, but to what? One last grocery run before the Midway Cub abandons the neighborhood.

New office, restaurant, retail, hotel space going in at United Village, plus more proposed!

Housing proposed near Culver’s. A new cannabis dispensary that just got prelim approval!

Now is the time to bet on Midway and its workers & residents — not abandon them.
www.startribune.com/brooks-st-pa...

This area is zoned T4, which allows 75-foot building heights by right and even taller buildings under certain conditions. I personally doubt that increasing height allowances is the key to spurring development here.

This is why I support Molly. She stands up to the misinformation and makes a strong case for why this project needs to move forward.

Disappointed that other supposedly progressive candidates would rather pander to the immediate audience.

Great day to knock doors for @mollycoleman.bsky.social, in spite of the heat! If you live in St. Paul's Midway, St. Anthony Park, Merriam Park, Como, or Mac Groveland, make a plan to vote for Molly as your first choice for City Council by August 12th. www.coleman4council.com/get-involved

You see what's happening here, right? The Canseco family apparently owned the house to the left, then opened their neighborhood grocery by building an auxiliary commercial unit (ACU) in front of their house. Countless American businesses were started this way.

What is Kraus Anderson's plan for this massive sea of unused commercial property? @mayorcarter.bsky.social we desperately need penalties for empty storefronts and lots in our arterial commercial zones. It's long long overdue.

St. Paul Ward 4 voters, I hope you'll vote for @mollycoleman.bsky.social for City Council by August 12th. (Early voting has already begun.)

You can find some answers here: www.stpaul.gov/departments/...

People in casual summer attire walk, cycle, lounge, drink and dine on the “Paris Plages”, a temporary artificial beach installed along the River Seine each summer.

People in casual summer attire walk, cycle, lounge, drink and dine on the “Paris Plages”, a temporary artificial beach installed along the River Seine each summer.

People in casual summer attire walk, cycle, lounge, drink and dine on the “Paris Plages”, a temporary artificial beach installed along the River Seine each summer.

People in casual summer attire walk, cycle, lounge, drink and dine on the “Paris Plages”, a temporary artificial beach installed along the River Seine each summer.

Where once stood a roadway moving 30,000 cars per day, 'Paris Plages' is an artificial beach installed on the River Seine each summer. Proving pilot projects are Trojan Horses in the urban transformation process, it has been a centrepiece in the city's strategy to change hearts, minds, and streets.🧵

Thanks, Peter.

Let’s Bring More Corner Stores to Saint Paul — Sustain Saint Paul Have you heard? Sustain Saint Paul is launching an advocacy campaign to support a more walkable, vibrant city filled with small-scale, locally owned businesses—like coffee shops, bodegas, and corner s...

If you want to join me in urging the City of St. Paul to legalize commercial and mixed-use buildings more broadly around the city, send an email to the City by next Monday, July 14th. Details here: www.sustainstpaul.org/news/tdistrict

Allow Corner Stores and Coffee Shops in St. Paul’s Residential Zones It’s illegal to build corner stores and other small commercial spaces in most of St. Paul, thanks to decades-old zoning codes. That should change.

Here are the articles referred to in the radio segment:

Article 1: streets.mn/2025/06/11/a...

Article 2: streets.mn/2025/06/18/h...

Article 3: streets.mn/2025/06/25/h...

St. Paul resident says outdated zoning rules are holding cities back Luke Hanson is a St. Paul resident who dug into his city’s zoning history after noticing what he saw as a lack of small neighborhood businesses in some areas. It led him to write a three-part series o...

It was really special to be interviewed by @mprnews.org today about my recent @streets.mn articles on St. Paul's commercial zoning rules. You can listen to the 4-minute segment here: www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...