Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Americana
October 2026 series: Transportation & the Comprehensive Plan You know the moment. You’ve been driving a state highway for twenty minutes through open farmland—center pivots, a grain elevator on the horizon, a pickup or two coming the other way—when a green sign tells you you’ve arrived: Welcome to …, followed by a population figure, maybe […]
Planning enthusiasts, architects, engineers, and community leaders, take note! The year 2024 has brought a wealth of thought-provoking urban planning books exploring development, architecture, and community resilience. Whether you’re passionate about economic development, city development, sustainable cities, urban design, zoning regulations, creative placemaking, or historical perspectives on city building, these dozen standout titles offer interesting […]
It used to be that at the very least you could count on the trains running on time. Not anymore. The Red River Farm Network out of Grand Forks, ND, has great coverage of agricultural issues across the northern Great Plains of Minnesota, the Dakotas and somewhat into Montana. In this week’s news digest, they […]
NPR this morning followed-up on my blog yesterday on the boom in rail freight, especially in the Bakken. Amtrak’s Empire Builder follow’s James J Hill’s pioneering Great Northern Railway route, from Chicago & the Twin Cities to Fargo, then parallel to US 2 (the “Hi-Line”) across North Dakota and Montana to points Northwest. Oil business […]
The Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) seems to be the “next big thing” coming in traffic engineering, and it’s coming to Wyoming. I’m a confirmed skeptic. The idea of the DDI is to reduce left-turn conflicts and increase traffic through-put by crossing traffic lanes (diverging) across an interchange. If you’re traveling east-bound, for example, you “diverge” […]
When I’m motoring along I-90 I try to stop over at Spearfish, on the north side of South Dakota’s Black Hills. It’s a nice small town where the modern motorist’s amenities haven’t managed to cannibalize the historic downtown Main Street. Recently Main Street got a rebuild and the community got streetscaping to go along with […]
Lest you think I’m getting all political on you here, let’s poke a stick in the eye of my Conservative friends today. Many folks who think of themselves as fiscal conservatives (perhaps even social conservatives) like to poke fun at fixed rail transportation. “It’s a boondogle!” they tweet. Well, I think they bite off their […]
[v=tqD557QiLec] FEMA’s Enviornmental and Historical Preservation team supports recovery and mitigation in places of historic or envionmental significance. This video highlights the restoration of an historic 72-year old bridge in Redwood Falls, MN damaged by the floods of 2010. I have been working with Redwood County to update their All-Hazards Mitigation Plan. One thing we […]
[v=5C53KHF8A4I] Governor Signs Bill To Make Minnesota Roads Safer, More Accessible Joint statement from members of the Minnesota Statewide Complete Streets Coalition including AARP, Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Fresh Energy, Minnesota Environmental Partnership, and Transit for Livable Communities MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 15, 2010 – Today, a wide variety […]
AASHTO Report: The Road to Livability
