POLICY Minnesota’s governor moved to block copper-nickel mining in the Boundary Waters watershed. Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order today directing the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to issue no mining permits or leases across the 350 square miles of Rainy River headwaters that surround the wilderness, to halt new environmental review of nonferrous mining proposals there, and to stop cooperating with federal reviews. Because a project needs state permits and environmental approvals even on federal land, the order, if it stands, would likely end Twin Metals’ long-proposed underground mine near Ely, which sits on both federal and state leases. The order also directs the DNR to draft legislation for a permanent ban. Walz said he was using his “full executive authority to protect the waters and wildlife of the Boundary Waters.” Conservation groups backed the order, while the industry group Mining Minnesota called it “a political decision dressed up as an economic one” and noted that a state court is already reviewing the DNR’s copper-nickel rules. It lands four months after Congress voted to lift a 20-year federal mineral withdrawal near the wilderness, and for engineering and environmental firms it freezes the review and design work tied to nonferrous mining in the Duluth Complex.
Source: MPR News, Aug. 18
FUNDING A large transit project is stuck behind a federal grant queue that has not moved. The $3.58 billion METRO Blue Line Extension, 13.4 miles from downtown Minneapolis through Robbinsdale and Crystal to Brooklyn Park, is seeking $752 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants program. Hennepin County cannot submit that application until the Metropolitan Council closes a local funding gap of $200 million. The county has already committed $2.25 billion through a half-cent transit sales tax. Advocates pressed the Governor’s office and the Council on Aug. 14 to close the gap, warning that every month of delay raises the cost and puts the federal share at risk. Even a filed application would enter a stalled pipeline. The FTA has not signed a new full funding grant agreement or advanced a project into engineering under the current administration, leaving 46 projects and $28 billion in requests waiting.
Sources: Mass Transit, Aug. 7; Our Streets Minnesota, Aug. 14; HDR, Federal Transit Policy and Funding Update
WORKFORCE Minnesota’s July jobs report lands this week. DEED’s July state employment numbers are expected this week, following three straight months of growth. June added 13,200 jobs. Construction ran 5.5 percent above a year earlier in June even as it shed 1,100 jobs for the month, a read on whether the building pipeline holds into late summer. Professional and business services added 3,500 jobs in June and is the closest proxy for design demand. The state’s unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in June with labor force participation at 67 percent. The question for July is whether the rebound extends or flattens as the national labor market cools.
ENG Mankato’s Veterans Memorial Bridge hit its last major construction milestone. MnDOT poured the final deck section on Aug. 14, the second-largest single pour on the $21.3 million project at 1,000 cubic yards, completed overnight. Crews now place railing and lighting and let the deck gain strength before removing the temporary supports. The work replaces the deck of the bridge, which carries Highway 169 over the Minnesota River, a rail line, and Riverfront Drive, and rebuilds the Highway 169 and Belgrade Avenue interchange with new signals, dual left-turn lanes, ADA pedestrian upgrades, and drainage improvements. Design ran from 2023 to 2025, construction started this year under a detour that holds through late 2026, and the crossing is set to reopen in November.
ENG MnDOT flagged a statewide active-transportation planning project for consultants. On its potential-projects list, updated Aug. 17, the Transit and Active Transportation office posted “Active Transportation Planning and Implementation Assistance,” a preview ahead of a formal solicitation. The state wants a firm to deliver walking and bicycling planning to communities it selects, 10 a year over two cycles, up to 20 communities. Scope runs from kickoff and stakeholder coordination through existing-conditions analysis, engagement, plan development, and delivery, and each selected community also receives an “implementation project” from a state menu to begin acting on its plan. The work adds basic evaluation and a 50-person active-transportation event, and it is flagged for a possible targeted-group and veteran-owned business goal.
Source: MnDOT consultant services, posted potential projects
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The (Almost) Daily Brief publishes most weekdays: policy, funding, workforce, and industry news for Minnesota’s engineering firms, in a few minutes of reading.