Bill Lindeke
@blindeke.bsky.social
Urban Geographer @ UMN. Cityscape columnist @ Minnpost. Skyway Don Quixote. Tread lightly on earth. he/him Author of "St. Paul: Urban Biography”
"More than 1,400 single adults are on the priority waiting list for coordinated entry, which connects people experiencing homelessness to housing." sahanjournal.com/housing/st-p...
St. Paul begins clearing city’s largest homeless encampment
St. Paul police and city crews began cleanup at the city’s largest homeless encampment, at Pig’s Eye Park, on Tuesday, ahead of an announced plan to shut down the camp on Wednesday.
sahanjournal.com
St. Paul literally falling apart, and one of the city's best bike trails (Swede Hollow) out of commission indefinitely.
Improving the Route 74 is a great move! This is a key corridor in St. Paul.
Metro Transit (Official)@metrotransitmn.bsky.social · yesterday🚌 Service changes take effect Aug. 22! Quarterly updates include Better Bus improvements for Routes 14 & 74, plus new Routes 48 and 215 to expand access and improve reliability. These changes are part of our Network Now framework, shaped by rider and community feedback. Info at metrotransit.org
I wish there were better ideas in this column. I agree about TIF decertification / transparency, but PILOT is noise and pushing for state $ is an obvious challenge. www.myvillager.com/viewpoint/ed...
The truly unglamorous work that can save Saint Paul
Saint Paul faces a $26 million budget gap for 2027. This deficit is more than a math problem; it’s a litmus test for the city’s future affordability. After closing a
myvillager.com
It's kind of funny to "mark places on a map" where you think Snelling Avenue is unsafe*... but you have until tomorrow to do this activity. Please take a few minutes and weigh in! * ALL OF IT www.sustainstpaul.org/news/mndot/s...
Tell MnDOT to make safety improvements on Snelling and Montreal Avenues - before August 5th — Sustain Saint Paul
By Sustain Transportation Committee Co-Leader Kevin Gallatin MnDOT is soliciting public feedback about Snelling and Montreal Avenues from Dayton Avenue to Hwy 5/West Seventh St . in St. Paul in adv...
sustainstpaul.org
A story of cause and effect: Last November, Ontario banned cities from using speed safety cameras to issue tickets. Reckless speeding immediately surged in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and cities throughout the province. A 🧵 about my latest in Bloomberg (gift link)
What Happens When Speed Cameras Get Shut Off
In 2025, Ontario banned automated traffic enforcement. Now the number of drivers exceeding the speed limit has surged, according to traffic data.
bloomberg.com
"The E-Line draws about 5,600 riders daily—nearly double what Metro Transit expected." www.fox9.com/news/6-month...
6 months in: Minneapolis E-Line nearly twice the riders Metro Transit expected
Metro Transit’s E-Line is marking six months on the road, and business owners are weighing in on the changes it has brought to their neighborhoods.
fox9.com
RETVRN
Vince Mpls@vincempls.bsky.social · yesterdayGood Morning! #OnThisDay Aug 4 1937: Chicago Milwaukee St Paul & Pacific Train No. 100 "Hiawatha" departs the Milwaukee Road Depot in downtown Minneapolis, heading for Chicago. At top speeds of over 100mph, these were the fastest scheduled trains in the world.
Wild story (featuring my friend Shanai) out of Aitkin MN, political clashes in a small town. www.startribune.com/tolkkinen-ai...
Tolkkinen: A provocation at a rural Trump protest sparked anger, and then a dialogue
The backlash to the conservative protester’s action could have driven a deeper wedge in Aitkin. Three women wanted to make sure that didn’t happen.
startribune.com
“Without this, people become homeless. They lose their income. They lose their stability. Whatever tiny safety net they had is gone.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
‘Just cruel’: Medicaid halt in California and Minnesota plunges caregivers and disabled people into uncertainty
Shock and fury as Trump administration holds back Medicaid funding to states over alleged caregiving fraud
theguardian.com
"Geo Group, the private prison company that runs the ICE facility, did not respond to inquiries." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
ICE detainee reveals video of drinking water apparently contaminated with worm-like creatures
‘Disturbing’ footage shared by California detainee surfaces amid wider complaints about conditions in ICE detention
theguardian.com
The immigration law named after a murdered Georgia college student boosted the administration’s immigration powers. Eighteen months later, some Democrats are answering for it.
46 Democrats Voted for the Laken Riley Act. For Some, It’s Now a Midterms Liability.
This story was originally reported by Mel Leonor Barclay of The 19th....
talkingpointsmemo.com
This past weekend, former Mayor Eric Adams was in Wisconsin Rapids—population 18,654—trying to convince residents that they should allow a real estate developer to build a data center in the heart of their town. The public hearing did not go well. hellgatenyc.com/eric-adams-i...
I wrote about why you should vote for Rebecca Noecker for Ramsey County Board. Vote early or on Election Day on 8/11! tcsidewalks.blogspot.com/2026/08/vote...
Vote for Rebecca Noecker for Ramsey County Board
[Rebecca is the right choice for Ramsey County Board.] There aren’t many elected officials that I’ve seen up close for their entire career...
tcsidewalks.blogspot.com
Shenanigans around tile drainage and wetland easements on the SD/MN border: bluestemprairie.substack.com/p/call-for-i...
Call for input on wetlands regulations should catch South Dakotans’ attention
Brad Johnson's commentary deserves Northeast South Dakotan's full attention
bluestemprairie.substack.com
"Some drivers are endangering workers and themselves by prematurely going around the barriers of the unfinished road." www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Highway 280 on track to reopen before State Fair. But it's still closed right now
MnDOT officials say they are on track to reopen Highway 280 before their target date of Aug. 22 before the Minnesota State Fair. Officials also say some drivers are endangering workers by prematurely ...
mprnews.org
I love Talarico and hope he wins. But he’s already raised $70M On the flipside, control of critical state legislatures will come down to seats where candidates raise 0.1% of that. I’ve researched the highest leverage swing district candidates you should donate to secure.actblue.com/donate/donat...
Donate to the candidates on the front lines of the fight against MAGA gerrymandering
These are anti-MAGA state candidates in *extremely* close races
secure.actblue.com
Remember when we used to laugh at North Korea?
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3d agoTrump: “The Winning Shot in the Bedminster Club Championship! Thank you very much to all of those who participated. I won with a 70, & am so honored in that, unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practice, bc I’m focused on many other things. It’s called TALENT, and I have it”
So rare to see local news/weather document how climate change is implicated in our ever increasingly extreme weather. Bravo to @svensundgaard.bsky.social, who gives a fantastic weather/climate breakdown for our crazy July @bringmethenews.bsky.social bringmethenews.com/minnesota-we...
July was brutal in Minnesota, and the numbers show how much climate change is to blame
From record heat up north to the state's worst-ever air quality, meteorologist Sven Sundgaard breaks down a brutal month that he says has the fingerprints of climate change all over it.
bringmethenews.com
I like this time-spent breakdown comparing airplanes v. trains b/w Portland and Seattle. Very similar end-to-end, but vastly superior quality of time via train trips. www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1G1...
Just watching my favorite adaptation of The Odyssey... blueypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Calypso...
Calypso (Episode)
Calypso is the seventeenth episode of Season One of Bluey. Calypso (debut) Pretzel (debut) Bluey Honey Chloe Coco Indy (debut) Rusty (debut) The Terriers (debut) This is Joe Brumm's favourite episode ...
blueypedia.fandom.com
Absolutely chilling story on the murder of bicylist/boxer Hannah Rapp by a crazed driver. The gruesome extrapolation of car brain includes this passage: www.espn.com/boxing/story...
![From the ESPN story:
ALLEN LEE JONES said he owns property along FM 159 near Medina's residence and not far from the crash site. When ESPN arrived there on July 23, he parked his pickup truck behind a closed bent and rusted gate and stood behind its No Trespassing sign.
When asked about Medina, Jones paused and said: "Police have come out a lot." Shane Muth, who Jones said lives on his property, told ESPN by phone that he interacted with Medina often. Medina and a relative "think they own this stretch of road. You can't pass them up or, if you go too slow or too fast, they try to run you off the road," Muth said. Jones and Muth said they believe Medina's behavior took a turn after a serious car crash several years ago. ESPN also spoke to Gabriel Peña, a father of four who said he was inside an area Walmart on Jan. 31, 2025. At the store exit, a man told him someone had shot his unoccupied truck. Peña shared a photo and video of the pickup truck, taken on the day of the incident. In the video, Peña said he was told a black car pulled into the parking spot next to his truck and used a shotgun. The photo shared by Peña showed a large hole in the driver's side windshield and one near the driver's side door, just to the right of a decal indicating that Peña is a veteran. He said he spent 14 months in Iraq. Peña called 911 and said that authorities better arrive quickly. I carry a 9 mil [handgun] with me," he told ESPN. "I said, 'If this guy's around, he's going to get shot. I will shoot whoever did this.' Not because I want to kill somebody, but I'm not
going home in a body bag."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2yhglxsi2owchryafic2gmr3/bafkreiahazd6aezb2i5joftbrlhhk27zeulsd6nxaa2e537r7sildqpobe)
Jacob Frey did say "bubbles" are the answer to downtown's ills.
taylr@taylordahlin.com · 5d agothe bubbler of lasalle is at it again!! filling the streets of loring park with bubbles
Both Trump AND Iran have attacked Minnesota in the last six months now... Seems perverse
Lindsay Beyerstein@beyerstein.bsky.social · 5d agoI can't stress enough what a crisis this is. Trump's own intelligence agencies concluded that Iran attacked Minnesota's critical infrastructure and Trump is saying that it's Minnesota's own fault and denying it was Iran. The federal government won't defend blue states in a literal war.
