The Metropolitan Council voted to authorize staff to proceed with a settlement agreement for the METRO Green Line Extension project to establish construction milestones, expend project contingency funds, and create a dispute resolution process for construction issues. Find out how three key construction elements have led to a longer construction timeline and increased costs.

Met Council grant awards totaling nearly $14 million will contribute to development that improves connections between where people live, work, shop, recreate, and can catch a bus or hop on a train. The Livable Communities grants will support development and redevelopment projects in Brooklyn Park, Chaska, Columbia Heights, Edina, Hopkins, Oakdale, Richfield and Minneapolis.

Cities and townships served by a municipal water supply can receive up to $50,000 to help residents reduce purchase costs to replace  water-efficient toilets, washing machines, dishwashers, irrigation systems, and more. The growing program — now in its third cycle with an unprecedented $1 million to be allocated — has saved municipalities an estimated 450 million gallons of water since 2015. Met Council will begin taking applications on January 31.

The Met Council responded to a pandemic-induced ridership downturn with a renewed sense of purpose to serve the needs of its Metro Mobility customers in 2021. The Council developed and introduced new customer-facing technologies, updated and enforced protracted safety measures, and implemented innovative hiring and retention strategies to try to curb a labor shortage. Ridership in 2021 was about 80% of pre-pandemic levels.

Nearly $3.2 million in Met Council brownfield cleanup grants will result in redevelopment, jobs, and more housing in the region, including housing affordable to families with low and moderate incomes. On January 12, the Met Council awarded 11 grants to three cities that will help clean up 22 acres of land, produce and preserve nearly 543 affordable homes, and add or retain nearly 400 jobs. Learn about the latest brownfield cleanup projects.

The Met Council, acting on advice from local government officials on the Transportation Advisory Board, will distribute $20 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds directly to cities and counties in the seven-county metro area to address transportation problems caused by the pandemic. The funding will be distributed with the state-aid formula used to divide up gas tax revenues.