In Expanding the highway: No funding secured for next portion of U.S. 14 project, the Owatonna People's Press reports:
Members of the Highway 14 Partnership were hoping the package proposed by President-elect Barack Obama would free up federal funding for remaining portions of what has been dubbed Minnesota’s most dangerous highway.
The stimulus package is reportedly focused on allocating money for road and bridge projects across the country — repairing or improving infrastructure while creating jobs. . . .
. . .The stimulus package would have two criteria for projects to qualify: Projects must have the ability to begin in 90 days and they must not already have allocated funding.
“We understand that they are trying to get us money for the district, but right now we don’t have a 14 project that fits their criteria,” Hernandez said. . . .
. . .District Engineer Nelrae Succio and Assistant District Engineer Greg Paulson explained that although Highway 14 would most likely not meet the requirements to receive funding under this package, if the federal government grants funds to smaller projects here and across the state, that may free other money to allow MnDOT to focus on Highway 14 sooner.
“Something like this doesn’t happen very often — having a stimulus package,” Succio said. “Even if it doesn’t go directly to the Highway 14 project, it gets rid of the ones that are a higher priority. No matter what, I think it’s going to be a benefit.”
Another part of the stimulus discussion is about renewable energy and green jobs. The Mankato Free Press reports in Madelia leads by example that Senator Klobuchar is looking at rural renewable energy projects:
On a swing through southern Minnesota Monday, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar got an earful about something called the Madelia Model and updated communities about the plan to infuse life into the national economy via infrastructure upgrades.
The Madelia Model is still one of those “in theory” ideas. But with a little luck and a little more funding, the project could come together quickly. . . .
. . . Between Sunday and
Thursday, Klobuchar plans to get to communities in 17 counties in a
tour she calls the Main Street Jobs Tour. Her goal is to meet with
business leaders, especially those in infrastructure- or energy-related
businesses. President-elect Barack Obama has said he
intends to find an answer to the ailing economy immediately after
taking office. One idea is a plan to infuse the economy with enough of
infrastructure projects to put thousands of Americans back to work. Klobuchar’s tour focused on that and on
hearing ideas that offer new ways at creating or saving energy. Her
tour included stops in Rochester, where she visited with a group that
is retrofitting buses for cleaner operation, a group in Pine River that
installs solar water heaters for residential use, and a telephone co-op
in Sebeka that works on solar/wind hybrid renewable energy systems. “We have the possibility of creating energy in different ways,” Klobuchar said.
Read all of both articles at the OPP and MFP.
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