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Nathaniel Minor

@nbminor.bsky.social
2.5K followers 367 following 279 posts

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

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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The Green Line light rail extension to Minneapolis' western burbs is finally coming, but a premiere development plan on the line is breaking down. www.startribune.com/hopkins-deve...
startribune.com
Light rail is finally coming, but a grand Hopkins redevelopment plan is breaking down
Squabbles between the city, the developer and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District are becoming increasingly caustic.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Yeah I had that more spelled out in a draft but then just alluded to it near the top in the final version
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Anyway, if you've made it this far in the thread, I thank you. I'm happy to be kinda mostly back on the transpo beat. Hit me up if you have any ideas or tips!
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
“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.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
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.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
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.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
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.com
Funding feud could derail Blue Line light-rail extension as key decision nears
Hennepin 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 · 20/08/2026
I should've justed texted you 😂 And that's a great idea! I've known Avi for years.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
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.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
👋🏻 hello!!
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
God speed to you, Katie!
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
I can make a deal for a friend of Laura’s!
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
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).
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Well this would‘ve been a pretty big day on the ol’ beat www.cpr.org/2026/04/08/t...
cpr.org
State says it has reached tentative agreements that could build Denver to Boulder passenger train
Agreements must be approved by RTD, railroad and others before design phase can begin.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
👀
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Not good news for Blue Line Extension in Mpls or Federal Blvd BRT in Denver
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
I'll meet you at Easy Day anytime, David!
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Yeah, it’s based on msrp. I should’ve asked for the exact trim level and looked it up, and will next time. I was on hour three of standing in dmv parking lots by then
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
If he had a simpler answer to “what did this vehicle cost?” I definitely would’ve
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
It was a little messy because he had a trade in so paid less than msrp, which depending on trim level is ~$40k-$80k. His was somewhere in the middle. I really tried to show the range of what people pay and had lots of other context too!
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Also h/t to @blindeke.bsky.social and his invaluable piece last year on the history of the Twin Cities' orphaned suburban transit agencies www.minnpost.com/cityscape/20...
minnpost.com
Does the Twin Cities need the 'opt-out' transit agencies anymore? - MinnPost
The Met Council will decide how much regional sales tax money to give to opt-out providers that actually may be hurting regional transit efforts.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
It took nearly a year, but I was able to get "Regional Transportation District" into a @startribune.com story www.startribune.com/transit-plan...
startribune.com
Transit plan could upend Twin Cities’ decades-old suburban system
A bipartisan proposal at the Minnesota Capitol would consolidate a handful of suburban transit agencies that have offered services independent of Metro Transit.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
How about the "FrontRunner" oh wait
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
It's a promise to try at the very least
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
And I'm sorry for the typo in the newsletter
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Get more politicians on bikes content by signing up for the Strib's politics newsletter (and then also telling your politicians to ride bikes more often so I can write about it): link.email.startribune.com/join/7v1/sig...
link.email.startribune.com
Sign up for Hot Dish
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Congrats to Rep. @katiejonesmpls.bsky.social and family, who biked to the hospital last week and came back with baby Hans. Here's what she told me about the ride:
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
biggest broncos game in a decade happening now!
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
My feed is mostly Denver and Minneapolis folks and they may as well be on different planets rn
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Sure looks like it
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Wrote about a train 🥲 www.startribune.com/minnesotas-n...
startribune.com
Minnesota’s Northstar rail line, which never met its potential or expectations, winds down service
After years of sparse ridership, the last train will run on Sunday, Jan. 4.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
🥲 Denverite still doing the lord’s work, aka filing records requests with DOTI
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
I was at the Capitol the day of the Lebsock expulsion vote, and when the vote finally came everyone was focused on him. I turned my camera to her.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
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.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
It was not an easy one to make! I’ve seen Neko 3-4 times over the years and had never seen Paul though, so that was a big factor.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Had tickets to Neko Case at First Ave and sold ‘em so I could see Sir Paul and I’ve gotta say the man delivered.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
This one, perhaps: www.startribune.com/metro-transi...
startribune.com
Metro Transit adding full-time security to more stations and lines to win back riders
Expect to see more uniformed personnel at the Snelling Avenue Green Line station and a few others.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Reading up on MN transpo stuff and came across this series from editorial writer Steve Berg the Strib ran back in 2002. Lots of talk of induced demand, freeway blight, etc
Screenshot of a 2002 Star Tribune editorial about transportationScreenshot of a 2002 Star Tribune editorial about transportationScreenshot of a 2002 Star Tribune editorial about transportationScreenshot of a 2002 Star Tribune editorial about transportation
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
I will also bring that to the team!
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Duly noted.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Hiya David - That's a good thought, though in my defense I did reach out to every DSA-endorsed legislator, including Sen. McEwen, and either didn't hear back or got a no comment.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
NEW: Minnesota rebuffs DOJ demand for voter rolls, says feds don’t have legal right to it --> www.startribune.com/minnesota-re...
startribune.com
Minnesota rejects fed demand for state’s voter rolls
State elections officials say the U.S. Department of Justice doesn’t have a legal right to the state’s voter registration list.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
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.com
Republican bill would ban federal funding for train between Twin Cities and Duluth
It 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.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
25% overall, but it varied across service types www.cpr.org/2019/09/25/t...
cpr.org
Fares Don’t Cover The Price Of Buses and Trains. That Leaves RTD A Big Budget Dilemma
The new report shows ridership, operating expenses, and revenue from each bus, train and shuttle route in the district.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Combination of huge debt service payments, driver shortages, and less demand for the commuter-focused rail network RTD built.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Tbf that was across all RTD services and RTD also prioritized local bus services b/c that’s where ridership was still hanging on
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
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.
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Former President Biden paid his respects to Melissa and Mark Hortman today at the Minnesota State Capitol. www.startribune.com/joe-biden-vi...
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
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
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Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
🥲 congrats!! I’m sure the RTD board would love to have you at their next meeting
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