Greta Kaul

This summer has been hot, smoky and soggy, and Minnesotans are sick of it Slightly more than half of days since mid-May have featured heavy rain, extreme heat, bad air or some combination in the Twin Cities.

More than half of days so far this summer have been hot, smoky, rainy or some combo thereof, an analysis by @cjsinner.bsky.social found.

Climatologist Kenny Blumenfeld says yeah, it's been a weird summer.

w/Anna Sago and Richard Chin:
www.startribune.com/this-summer-...

Make that 20 days! I missed one where AQI was bad and temp wasn’t.

Oh wow! Thanks for counting the rain days.

Fair!

I personally don't mind the rain unless it's rain + smoke (which I did not even know could happen until this year)

And I hope it's a cold winter ::shakes fist::

Had to check to make sure this month has been my personal weather hell and I'm not just imagining it. Yep!

On 19/29 days with data this month in the TC, the temp has been over 85 and/or the AQI has been moderate or worse. (Data from AirNow and NOAA)

Can't wait for winter.

It’s not just you. Here’s why Twin Cities road work is ‘more intense’ this summer. “There’s increased investment across the board,” one transportation official says.

A very nonzero % of conversations we're all having this summer are about why there's so much road construction going on at once. Nate Minor with some answers: www.startribune.com/its-not-just...

Calling all regular Metro Transit riders: How has your experience changed since the pandemic? Metro Transit is struggling to recover its pre-pandemic ridership. Tell us about your experience.

Hi! I'm working on a story about Metro Transit's post-pandemic transit ridership recovery and am looking for riders to talk to.

How has your experience/use of Metro Transit changed since the pandemic? Form you can fill out if you're up for chatting with me here:
www.startribune.com/calling-all-...

Want a faster bus in your city? Metro Transit wants your input on next rapid bus routes. Metro Transit is narrowing a list of 17 possible routes down to three that will become the J, K and L bus rapid transit lines.

Context: www.startribune.com/metro-transi...

Metro Transit is asking for public feedback on 10 candidates for coming BRT routes by 9/1. That's narrowed down from 17.

Here's the website to comment: tc2.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant...

No notes!

Minnesota's open political culture complicates Capitol security measures Minnesota’s statehouse is one of around 10 states without security protocol to enter the building — and some denizens wonder if that open culture will change in the wake of June’s shootings.

As statehouses have added heavier security, Minnesota's is one of an increasingly few that doesn't have metal detectors at the door.

I talked to people in and out of the Capitol about how our political culture has complicated security discussions. www.startribune.com/minnesota-ca...

This narrative has been around a while (1904).

Multiply that by four and you get ONE BEATLE.

According to the BLS and the internet, the cost to see THE BEATLES at their peak at Met Stadium in 1965 was between $35.73 and $56.14 in today's dollars. Now I'm really salty.

Now if it were George...

Mine too. Plus, it's *a Beatle* and yeah, isn't he rich enough?

Now some tickets are down to $172. I hate this! This is why I don't do stadium shows.

My cutoff was like $100-120 so I guess I will probably live my life without seeing Paul's granny music live.

A friend got in about 30 minutes before me and $250 were the cheapest tickets left.

I logged into the McCartney presale for U.S. Bank and it told me there were still tickets left at around $60-$70 a little bit ago. $170? Not so much. Make it make sense?

Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis to reopen to the public Aug. 9 The bridge, which has closed in halved sections since spring 2024, will reopen with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring food trucks and other entertainment.

The full length of Minneapolis’ Stone Arch Bridge is set to reopen to the public Aug. 9 following more than a year of repairs:

Bloomington just reduced its minimum "dwell time" to eight seconds, after Clear Channel, the company that owns all four billboards in the city, requested it as they look at converting the boards from static to digital.

Bloomington sets aside aesthetic objections, loosens rules for electronic billboards The rules for how long digital ads must be displayed before changing vary by city in Minnesota.

Who decides how long messages must be up on electronic billboards before switching? Cities, the state, the federal government. But in the absence of conclusions on what's safest, the requirements vary widely across the metro, from seconds to 60 minutes. www.startribune.com/electronic-b...

A midcentury street naming convention draws a ‘mental GPS’ across the Twin Cities east metro A decades-old naming system based on the alphabet and proximity to the Capitol still reigns in Washington County, with benefits for emergency officials and those who know the code.

Grew up in the east metro and this blew my mind. I always wondered why St. Mary's Point has all those streets beginning with the letter "Q." Matt McKinney explains here: www.startribune.com/washington-c...

OK maybe $ every other month because I let it be wobbly for a long time before I do anything about it.

One con to bike commuting's my back wheel keeps getting messed up from parts of the ride where bumps unavoidable (St. Paul streets!). It is not cheap to get trued ~monthly. Factory defect? Should I bite the bullet and buy new wheels? Do I resent this too much to do anything about it except complain?

Amid all the 94 traffic, my ~6-mile commute is generally faster by bike than driving or transit (even with all the closed bridges). This article has some tips for anyone who can and wants to shift modes, even one day a week.

In some Minnesota suburbs, most new apartments cater to seniors Arden Hills, Anoka and Excelsior were among the Twin Cities suburbs where a majority of new apartments catered to seniors.

A developer pitched market rate apartments in Arden Hills. Residents opposed them, listing concerns about crime, traffic and low-income housing. The developer built senior housing.

Amid pressure to add density, some TC suburbs are mostly adding senior housing.
www.startribune.com/density-seni...