Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • B2

The first residents will move in later this sum- mer when a 230-unit luxury apartment building opens in August. An adjoining Lunds Byerlys is slated to open in early fall. Unci Makha Park, second of four public parks planned for the development, is also scheduled to open later this summer, city officials said. On Tuesday, kids and young adults whizzed on skateboards through Gate- way new concrete bowl. Officials credited teens Theo Miller and Luke Hanno, residents of the High- land Park neighborhood, with raising the possibility of a skatepark two years ago.

After growing tired of ask- ing their parents for rides to the Merriam Park skate park, the longtime friends sent an e-mail to the city with their proposal for Highland Bridge. They presented ideas to the Parks and Recre- ation Commission and a year later received an e-mail that a skatepark would soon be built within skating distance of their homes. kind of almost a dream come said Miller, now 13. exciting to see how people will use He and Hanno, 14, planned to do a few tricks after they snipped the ceremonial red ribbon Tuesday. believe that the most important aspect of the skate- park is that it builds commu- nities by offering a place for families and people of all ages and backgrounds to come Hanno said, before joking: would be more than happy to offer some pointers to any council mem- bers or mayors who would like to join us out Katie Galioto 612-673-4478 St.

Highland Bridge development opens Gateway Park PARK from B1 redevelop it into a community- owned urban farm replete with aquaponics, affordable housing and small shops. They have spent more than eight years trying to repel Public plans and are suing the city for a more comprehensive envi- ronmental assessment than it has done to date. Split by the merits of both sides and daunted by the $14 million that the city has already spent trying to bring the Public Works facility to fruition, the City Council has waffled on how to proceed. Frey and Council Mem- bers Jason Chavez and Emily Koski have been negotiating with EPNI in search of a final compromise. Urban farm pro- ponents have in turn held a series of public meetings at the East Phillips Community Cen- ter and knocked on more than 400 doors to gather feedback.

like the compromise deal. It is a positive step in the right said com- munity organizer Joe Vital, who stopped short of calling the deal done. As of Monday evening, EPNI had not received the reme- diation plans. It is a sticking point for residents concerned that demolition could rupture an arsenic plume believed to be related to historical pesticide manufacturing nearby that is buried beneath Roof Depot. Residents also want to know how many jobs the training center would create and how soon the city could electrify its vehicles, Vital said.

acting in good faith that the city will come through on these he said. A 2020 demolition plan cre- ated by the geotechnical firm Braun Intertec identified the primary contamination risk for construction workers as inhala- tion of arsenic dust, which the Roof Depot warehouse struc- ture keeps contained. When the earth is moved, the plan calls for constant air monitoring and dust con- trol, which includes covering debris stockpiles with plastic or foam, and spraying water on excavations with elevated contaminant concentrations. Public Works Director Mar- garet Anderson Kelliher said the city aims to avoid disturb- ing the arsenic plume during reconstruction, and to replace its compact cars, pickup trucks and light-delivery vans with electric models as soon as sup- ply-chain bottlenecks loosen. have lots of purchase agreements right now and so far we are yet to receive anything this year.

The goal is to move the light- and medium-duty fleet as quickly as possible to 100 percent she said. Chavez, who represents East Phillips on the council, said the majority of residents he heard from favored compromise in order to get an urban farm deliv- ered for the neighborhood. committed to getting the best possible outcome for my community Chavez said. A two-week public com- ment period opened Tuesday and will lead to a City Coun- cil vote on June 30. If the com- promised plan is approved, the city will issue a request for proposals for demolition of the Roof Depot warehouse.

In return, EPNI must to agree to end all litigation against the city. Koski had said it would be huge for constituents, city staff and their unions to have a workforce training cen- ter on site an element of the plans that, previously scrapped, now has a chance of being restored. want to make abundantly clear that the council action on June 30 will not be the end of our conversations, our collabo- ration with EPNI and the Ward Nine community, but rather just the she said. Susan Du 612-673-4028 City, activists reach deal on ex-Roof Depot site ROOF DEPOT from B1 ANTRANIK TAVITIAN anto.tavitian@startribune.com Karen Clark left, showed veggies to Avea Myslajek Marks, cen- ter, and Kestrel Fen at an urban farm rally in E. Phillips last year.

Ryan Cos. A rendering of Highland Bridge, the development at the for- mer Ford Motor Co. site in St. Paul, shows multifamily units. Along with electricity gen- eration, transportation needs to be a main focus because already have the technol- said Peter Wagenius, leg- islative director for the North Star Chapter of Sierra Club.

in electric vehi- cle charging, investing in bus rapid transit, those should be the Wagenius said. The main effort so far by Gov. Tim admin- istration to reduce vehicle pollution has been contro- versial. Last year, Walz suc- ceeded in passing clean car rules, though they go into effect until 2024 and the political fight over them led to the resignation of his top pollution regulator. The rules mandate that more electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are delivered to the state, but auto dealers have pushed back, filing a legal challenge in the state Court of Appeals last week.

Also included in the framework is an intention to the use of clean fuels, including lower-car- bon Brian Kletscher, the pres- ident of the industry group Minnesota Bio-Fuels Asso- ciation, said fuels like corn- based ethanol have to be included in future energy plans. He argued that new technology will reduce the carbon footprint of these fuels in the future. we think we can get by without an all-of-the-above solution, fooling our- Kletscher said. On this point, sig- nificant disagreement. The group reviewing the trans- portation section of the plan suggested that biofuels should be used only where electrification is less feasible, like for heavy-duty vehicles.

They also noted that some members felt these fuels could be used in existing vehicles and that tion should not be the only Wagenius, who is part of the transportation work group for the plan, said rely- ing on these fuels was a mis- guided solution. the Walz admin- istration is out of date, and the climate plan should be an opportunity to let go of old Wagenius said, includ- ing a reliance on ethanol. He also criticized the emissions reduction goal for 2050 and said the state should aim to eliminate emissions entirely by then. Darin Broton, a spokes- man for the MPCA, acknowl- edged in a statement that the state on track for the reduction. He also wrote that is less carbon- intensive than gasoline and biofuels production technol- ogy continues to At the same time, the state also has very little time to meet its 2025 goals.

Broton acknowl- edged that Minnesota is not on track to hit that target, either. Jessica Hellmann, a profes- sor and director of the Insti- tute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, said that lofty goals are meant to inspire change. Any action to reduce carbon pollution is a good one, she said, even if not meeting targets. But Hellmann added that the framework needs more specificity on what the state will actually do to get there, and what needs to hap- pen first. cannot take action without plans, but a point at which planning is insufficient to leading to the change we need to see at the pace we need to see she said.

might not send a strong enough signal to the businesses and the The climate framework is planned to be completed by this summer. Chloe Johnson covers climate and other environmental issues for the Star Tribune. She is a corps member with Report for America, a program that places journalists into local newsrooms. 612-673-4312 Twitter: Minn. vehicle emission reductions have stalled CLIMATE from B1 Minnesota will get $300M for treatment, prevention.

By STEPHEN MONTEMAYOR State leaders and advocates on Tuesday hailed a new law that will help speed Minneso- access to $300 million from a recent massive nationwide settlement aimed at counter- ing the opioid epidemic. Joined by a large cast of legislators and state workers whose families were hit hard by opioids, Gov. Tim Walz ceremoniously signed the legislation passed last month to reinforce the importance of the settlement money. heroes standing behind us that turned tragedy into action; there are families that are Walz said. the opioid epidemic, only a matter of time before every single one of our families is touched by The state expects to start receiving its share of a $26 billion agreement with opi- oid manufacturer Johnson Johnson and three major phar- maceutical distributors by July.

The $300 million coming Min- way will be received across the next 18 years. Of the money Minnesota will get, will go to local governments and will go to the state. That money must be used for treatment or pre- vention under an initial law passed in 2019 that created a state advisory council dedi- cated to determining how the money would be used. Attorney General Keith Ellison said 230 local units of government agreed to sign on to the allocation for- mula. Ellison said the num- ber of local governments that signed on helped determine how much money Minnesota would receive under the multi- state settlement.

we get is resources sooner rather than later; what and got was Ellison said. Of the requirement that the money go back to coun- tering a crisis that has claimed roughly 5,500 Minnesota lives, Ellison added that the state was sure these dollars go where the pain Minnesota could also receive as much as $50 mil- lion through a separate lawsuit involving Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family that con- trolled the opioid giant. The state is expected to follow a similar state-local allocation formula with the Purdue set- tlement money. Efforts to allocate settle- ment money to respond to the opioid crisis have been largely bipartisan at the Capitol, with lawmakers on Tuesday hold- ing it up as an example of what can still get done under divided government. can do this in a biparti- san manner; absolutely this is not a partisan said Sen.

Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont. me, it is all about the children, all about the children, and tak- ing care of Two legislators working on the issue, Rep. Dave Baker, R-Willmar, and Sen. Chris Eaton, DFL-Brooklyn Center, have lost children to opioids. certainly feels like I accomplished something and made a said Eaton.

Stephen Montemayor 612-673-1755 With bill signing, opioid settlement is official ELIZABETH FLORES liz.flores@startribune.com At the signing ceremony at the State Capitol on Tuesday, Sen. Chris Eaton described losing her daughter to a drug overdose. Ford Pkwy. lev ela A v. S.

St. Pau A v. Gateway Park iss. iss. iver lvd Highland Bridge development St.

Paul mile Source: City of St. Paul; OpenStreetMap contributors By JON BREAM jon.bream@startribune.com The Boston Celtics are struggling in the NBA Finals. Maybe they could use some tips from their most enduring boy band, New Kids on the Block, who are conquer- ing basketball (and hockey) arenas once again. On Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center, New Kids superstar Donnie Wahlberg was in sync (sorry for the pun) with his other four bandmates. Their moves and voices blended like a green- tea smoothie.

They scored with hit after oldie hit after oldie hit. Despite some flaws, it added up to another winning perfor- mance by New Kids, who, like the Celtics, had an unstoppable run back in the day. Each of the NKOTB start- ing five (they came together in 1985, took a hiatus from till 2008) took a turn in the spotlight on Tuesday. Joey McIntyre was by the far the best lead singer and a slick dancer. The reaction, though, was the most vociferous for Wahlberg, whose popularity has grown manifold thanks to his starring role as an iconoclastic detective on The 10,500 shrieks got even louder when Wahlberg pulled up his shirt to show off six-pack abs on his 52-year-old body.

This the Chippendales, this was New Kids on the Block, and grown women were going wild, reliving their youth or enjoying their midlife fantasies. Like an accomplished bas- ketball team, NKOTB under- stands how to use role players. For their Mixtape Tour 2022, enlisted fellow late MTV favorites En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa and Rick Astley to help out. a brilliant strategy, especially since these secondary players are not open- ing acts but rather subs through- out the game, er, concert. NKOTB took the stage from the jump, charging through Favorite and Got It (The Right among oth- ers.

Boosted by special effects like confetti and lasers as well as an undeniable camaraderie and joie de vivre, the New Kids were overwhelmingly enter- taining. The Celtics could use such a potent opening quarter. For the next quarter, the terrific vocal group En Vogue took the stage. With lead singer Cindy right leg in a boot, they oozed attitude on the soulful Never Gonna Get and the ferocious, liberating Your a good philosophy for life or basketball. Then Astley, the 56-year-old Brit with a strong voice, came off the bench for and Would Take a Strong Strong Inspired by their role play- ers, NKOTB Danny Wood, Jordan and Jonathan Knight, McIntyre and Wahlberg, ages 49 to 53 returned in flashy new outfits for a medley of old favorites, including a disco-y rendition of (I Like one of the highlights.

Next up was Salt- N-Pepa cruising through Talk About and with the help of En Vogue. Without pausing for half- time, er, intermission, NKOTB were back, full of energy and fun for more oldies before Ast- ley returned for the money shot, Gonna Give You his 1987 smash. Salt-N- Pepa topped that on a satellite stage with with an assist from Wahlberg. Lineup changes came fast and furious, with New Kids committing some turnovers. It seemed crass to start the con- cert with cheesy commercials for the NKOTB cruise (for real) and Jonathan HGTV show and cooking pro- gram.

And the lead vocals, save for and Jordan falsetto, were far from championship caliber, though their rhinestone Celt- jerseys made for a winning late-in-the-show look. Jon Bream 612-673-1719 Twitter: New Kids on the Block show off the right stuff with Salt-N-Pepa I St. Paul concert had a seamless approach to MTV-era nostalgia. can do this in a bipartisan manner; absolutely this is not a partisan issue. For me, it is all about the children, all about the children, and taking care of Sen.

Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont ZSW B2 Wednesday, Jun. 15, 2022 B2 TA I I TA DAY, 1 5 2 0 2 2.