VOTE – Get out there and do it!
August 12th, 2014
Zip Rail comment period extended to 8/22
August 6th, 2014
The Comment Period for scoping for the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement has been extended until August 22, 2014. Really, here’s the quote from their site:
Comment Period Extended
In response to public interest, the comment period on the Scoping Booklet/Draft Scoping Decision Document is being extended to August 22, 2014, an additional 16 days.
And their press release:
August 6 2014 Zip Rail News Release – Public Comment Period Extension
So get to it and get your comment in:
or email:
or mail to:
MN DOT Passenger Rail Office ATTN: Zip Rail 395 John Ireland Boulevard, MS 470 St. Paul, MN 55155
For more info go to www.goziprail.org and for high speed passenger rail generally, with more technical info than you’ll find on the Zip site, try Midwest High Speed Rail Association, and make sure to look at their “Studies/White Papers” page.
IGCC Kemper plant lawsuit
August 6th, 2014
Thanks to John Blair, Valley Watch and Bruce Nilles for the heads up on this IGCC project settlement. We fought off one here, the Excelsior Energy Mesaba Project, which took a lot of people, a lot of groups, a lot of approaches and a lot of coalition, and thanks to all, we do not have a coal gasification plant in Minnesota.
What’s disturbing is that they get to run this boondoggle $5.2 billion dollar project (initially billed as $2.6 billion) at all, though they are shutting down older coal plants and converting to natural gas. It’s the most expensive power plant in history, and guess who’s paying for it?
Progress on West? Another old tree down…
August 6th, 2014
OH NOOOOOOOO… We’re losing another big beautiful tree today. Diesel fumes are particularly intense. The noise these days is unreal, industrual-strength jackhammer on a bucket breaking up rock and digging down to build the wall foundation. They’re getting down, all right!
Zip Rail – Olmsted County Regional Railroad Authority
August 1st, 2014
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For those of you interested in how we got to where we are on this, take a look at what the Olmsted County Regional Railroad Authority has been doing:
Board Packets & Minutes
Regional Railroad Authority
| Meeting Date | Packets | Minutes |
| June 23, 2009 |  Packet (117KB) |
Minutes (13KB) |
| January 19, 2010 | Packet (38KB) |
Minutes (9KB) |
| June 22, 2010 | Packet (11KB) |
Minutes (10KB) |
| December 14, 2010 | Packet (43KB) |
Minutes (8KB) |
| January 18, 2011 | Packet (49KB) |
Minutes (13KB) |
| September 27, 2011 | Packet (837KB) |
Minutes (11KB) |
| October 25, 2011 | Packet (69KB) |
Minutes (29KB) |
| November 22, 2011 | Packet (23KB) |
Minutes (14KB) |
| January 17, 2012 | Packet (65KB) |
Minutes (8KB) |
| February 21, 2012 | Packet (60KB) |
Minutes (12KB) |
| April 24, 2012 | Packet (26KB) |
Minutes (15KB) |
| September 25, 2012 | Packet (1140KB) |
Minutes (51KB) |
| January 22, 2013 | Packet (28KB) |
Minutes (9KB) |
| August 27, 2013 | Packet (161KB) |
Minutes (17KB) |
| January 21, 2014 | Packet (296KB) |
Minutes (17KB) |
| June 24, 2014 | Packet (36KB) |
Minutes |