Council NEWS & EVENTS

Council’s wastewater operations earn management, environmental awards

Metropolitan Council Environmental Services was recognized during a national conference held in Minneapolis earlier this month.

Council offers water efficiency grants to municipal water suppliers

Grants can be used for rebates to residents who replace inefficient water-using devices with approved devices that use substantially less water, or for irrigation system audits.

Travel on butterfly wings to a regional park

Buses and trains aren’t just for getting to work, or the doctor, or a professional sports game. Several Metro Transit routes go to regional parks.

Minneapolis Police Inspector Eddie Frizell will lead Metro Transit Police Department

A veteran Minneapolis police officer with decades of experience in multiple aspects of law enforcement, Frizell will fill the position August 5.

Met Council grants will promote equity in regional park use

Council policy makers want to make sure that residents of all ages, abilities, incomes, ethnicities, cultures, and national origins can enjoy the region’s abundance of regional parks and trails.

New website gives local governments easy access to wastewater flow data, I/I program information

“We developed this tool in answer to a request from our most recent community task force on inflow and infiltration,” explained Anna Bessel, Assistant Manager for Engineering Programs.

More than 17,000 households apply for Metro HRA waiting list

When the state’s three largest housing authorities opened their waiting lists, they knew the demand would be high. Metro HRA will place 2,000 on its list, Minneapolis 2,000, and St. Paul 3,500.

Met Council's Saint Paul headquarters is an ENERGY STAR top performer

The Council meets strict energy efficiency criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy.

Attorney seminar a step toward broadening legal contracts

A seminar planned for later this summer will offer guidance to attorneys — particularly people of color as well as women — to better position themselves for legal-services contracts with the Council.

FTA releases full funding for Orange Line BRT

Receipt of grant keeps project on schedule to move ahead with next phase of construction.

SWLRT gets critical approval from federal government to begin construction

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) cleared the path for construction to begin on the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project (SWLRT).

Metropolitan Council Chair to Step Down November 30

Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff will pursue a new professional opportunity. Vice Chair Harry Melander will assume the duties of the Chair in the Chair’s absence, until the end of the administration.

Metropolitan Council awards $4.5 million in grants to support affordable housing development

The grants are expected to support the creation of more than 650 housing units affordable to low- and very low-income residents and important connections to jobs and services.

Metropolitan Council launches major travel behavior survey

Thousands of households are expected to participate using smartphones — a first for the region.

Apprentice Program to help fill Metro Transit driver shortage

Metro Transit will participate in the Minnesota Apprenticeship initiative, which will bring on as many as 200 new employees in the coming years.

Council receives loan to finance wastewater treatment capital improvement projects

$45 million loan from the Minnesota Clean Water Revolving Fund will finance multiple wastewater treatment plant and interceptor sewer system capital improvement projects in 2018-2019.

New report shows population and household growth in the Twin Cities metro outpaces available housing

The Twin Cities is facing a critical housing shortage as the population increases. In addition to needing more housing supply, demographics are increasing the need for more diverse housing.

Fuhrmann leaves passenger rail legacy for generations to come

Leaders at Metro Transit and Metropolitan Council recognize Fuhrmann as the person responsible for the region’s 62 miles of passenger rail (40 miles for Northstar and 22 for LRT).

Met Council expands opportunities available to minority businesses

By expanding its criteria to include other certifications recognized by the State and other regional governments, the Council will increase the number of businesses it works with to 2,800. 

Transit leaders break ground on $25 million renovation to Mall of America transit center

Upgrades to state's busiest transit hub will provide safer, more efficient experience for thousands of daily customers

Upcoming Council and Committee meetings

The Council and its committees meet regularly most months.  Find information on all upcoming Council and Committee meetings.   

Water Efficiency Grant Program Informational Meeting

Staff will provide an overview of the grant program and be available to answer applicant questions.

Comment on proposed Public Housing Agency Plan Housing Choice Voucher Program

The Metropolitan Council’s Community Development Committee is receiving public comment on the proposed 2020-2024 Public Housing Agency (PHA) Five Year Plan and 2020 Annual Plan.

Local grants for cleaning contamination and building a better community

Learn about local public grant programs that assist with the cost of cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated sites and tour a former brownfield site.

Comment on Draft Transportation Unified Planning Work Program

The program outlines and documents the proposed transportation-related planning activities in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area for the upcoming year. Submit your comments by Sept. 9.

Can manufactured homes help the housing crisis?

FastCompany.com

Tiny houses get all the attention, but mobile homes–despite the stigma–are already a huge part of the country’s housing, and could have a bigger part to play. 

Explaining the multifamily housing boom in the Twin Cities suburbs. (Yes, there is one.)

MinnPost

Increasingly, suburbs around the country are making room for a different kind of development: multi-family homes: Apartments, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes.

St. Paul would get new wastewater incinerator under $150 million proposal

TwinCities.com Pioneer Press

As the metro grows, so does the amount of its poop. And that means a major wastewater plant along the Mississippi River in St. Paul needs to grow as well, to burn heavier volumes of solid waste.

Metro Transit works to provide commuters options in wake of construction

Star Tribune

Metro Transit increased service by 40 percent, with additional park-and-rides and expanded trip times, and partnered with the city and MnDOT on creating transit advantages, like bus-only lanes..

Met Council Partners with Xcel to Operate on 100 Percent Renewable Energy by 2040

KSTP-TV

Xcel Energy and the Metropolitan Council announced Friday a commitment to allow the council to operate on 100 percent renewable energy by 2040.

Lake Elmo neighbors are nearly 6 decades apart in age, but united in their care for a murky backyard pond

TwinCities.com Pioneer Press

The two are among 113 volunteers metrowide who check the health of lakes and rivers for the Metropolitan Council. They have become friends, in the process of befriending the pond.

The numbers don't lie: Twin Cities needs more housing

Star Tribune

Construction hit the average last year, but dwellings in the region are far below the projected population growth. 

Shortchange transit, shortchange growth

Star Tribune

Every world-class city has a world-class transit system, something peer regions like Seattle, Denver and even Dallas in deep-red Texas acknowledge as they invest more rapidly than the Twin Cities.
 

Minneapolis is growing at its fastest rate since 1950

MinnPost

Last week, Mayor Jacob Frey announced a goal to fund $50 million on housing projects in Minneapolis to address an affordable housing crisis in a city “growing faster that it has since 1950.”

Met Council explores treating, reusing wastewater in SE metro

MPRNews.org

The Metropolitan Council is asking the public to weigh in on a preliminary proposal to treat wastewater in the southeast Twin Cities metro area so it could be reused by a waste-to-biofuel plant.