Tag: Metropolitan Council

New Report on Minneapolis’ Southwest Light Rail Project Will Focus on Met Council Oversight of Contractors

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The Office of the Legislative Auditor will release the second of two program evaluation reports as part of its 2023 audit of the Southwest light rail project on Wednesday morning.

The heavily scrutinized $2.76 billion extension of the Metropolitan Council’s light rail Green Line will span 14.5 miles between Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. It’s been under the microscope of legislators in both major parties since early 2022, when it was found to be more than $700 million over budget and four years behind its originally scheduled completion.

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Nashville City Council to Hold Gun Violence Hearings in the Wake of Covenant School Massacre

M.D. Kittle

More than two months after 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale shot and killed three children and three staff members at the Covenant Presbyterian School, Nashville’s Metropolitan Council is planning to hold hearings on gun violence as a “public health issue.” 

The Public Health and Safety Committee will conduct the first special meeting on gun safety, co-hosted with Education Committee Chair Zulfat Suara, on June 14, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 pm.

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Minnesota State Senator Calls for Abolishing Met Council

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Minnesota Sen. Mark Koran called for abolishing the Metropolitan Council, whose members are entirely unelected, in response to a damning new report issued Wednesday by the legislative auditor.

The report into the Met Council’s mismanagement of the Southwest light rail project found that the council was not transparent with the public, committed itself to spending more money than it had available, and knew that its initial estimates were incomplete.

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