Transportation-oriented development or TOD is a hot topic these days among urban planners and developers in the Twin Cities region. The success of the Hiawatha LRT line has proved that rail transit in Minnesota has the potential to attract large numbers of people in sufficient numbers to pedestrian-friendly, densely populated communities within the half-mile transit corridors.

“They made up theories that rain follows the plow explaining that once farmers finally come out and start turning the earth, the rain will actually then come. In the 19th Century all kinds of nonsense was accepted as scientific fact and it was almost like a conspiracy to get people out here.”
—–Marc Reisner, Author of Cadillac Desert.

The rising price of gasoline is fueling a political debate about ethanol and bio-diesel.

Is ethanol a simple solution to Minnesota’s energy problems?

This Grist article points out that foreign producers of ethanol have the edge over Minnesota corn growers. We are more likely to be burning cheap, imported ethanol from Brazil than subsidized ethanol from Minnesota .

The New York Times reports that the Amtrak Board has fired David Gunn. David Gunn is widely credited with turning Amtak around after years of decline in service.

The move hasn’t gone down well with Congress which was set to keep Amtrak solvent. The Senate recently voted authorize 93 to 6 to authorize $11.6 billion for Amtrak over the next six years.

The fear of many Amtrak supporters is that once Amtrak shuts down, national freight railroads within three months will rip out stations, platforms and other infrastructure necessary to restart passenger rail service.