Minnesota briefs: Hwy. 14 from New Ulm to Nicollet getting a $98 million redo

The U.S. Department of Transportation this week announced a low-interest loan of up to $48.2 million to reconstruct 12 miles of Highway 14 to a four-lane divided highway from New Ulm to Nicollet, passing through Courtland.

The loan — for a project that will improve safety on a critical rural highway — goes to the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minnesota Management and Budget and is the first Minnesota loan under the program. The loan, part of the Rural Projects Initiative, is for half the treasury rate and will cover nearly half the $98.38 million project cost.

The project, which is expected to be completed in 2024, will include a new interchange, safer intersections in New Ulm, new turn lanes, replacement of three bridges and construction of two new bridges. Safety improvements and modernization will include improved lighting, intelligent transportation systems and a snow fence.

"These improvements will both provide a higher quality of life for rural Minnesotans and save lives." said Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has closed $38.6 billion in these financings under the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Highway safety is seen as especially vital in rural areas, where a disproportionate number of traffic injuries and fatalities occur.

REID FORGRAVE

ST. CLOUD

National experts will meet with city and business leaders in St. Cloud on Monday to explore how downtown areas across the country have weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and reinvented themselves to stay relevant as increasing numbers of employees work from home.

The summit begins at 6 p.m. Monday at River's Edge Convention Center in downtown St. Cloud. Speakers include Chris Leinberger, known as one of the top 100 influential urbanists, as well as a downtown strategist and researcher; and Tobias Peter, assistant director of the American Enterprise Institute's Housing Center, which focuses on housing market trends and policy.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis and CentraCare President Ken Holmen will also speak about the city's "unique opportunity to create an active walkable downtown through strategic investment in housing and workforce amenities," states a release from Kleis, who has called downtown revitalization the city's top economic development priority.

Earlier this year, Kleis authorized the city's Economic Development Authority to issue grants for exterior improvements on downtown businesses. In August, he announced a goal to have 1,000 downtown housing units in the next five years, which would hopefully spur other redevelopment by way of grocery stores, pharmacies and additional retail stores. Right now the downtown has about 300 housing units, which includes subsidized and market rate housing.

Like many cities, since the start of the pandemic, St. Cloud has lost daytime workers as people work remotely. And while more people have returned to the downtown's bar and restaurant scene, there are fewer options after a couple businesses closed during the pandemic.