A long overdue interchange at I-35 and County Road 9
Officials have been talking about an interchange at I-35 and County Road 9 for over 10 years. I carried the bill to get the project rolling a couple of years ago, and I am authoring it again this year. Senate File 407 would appropriate $500,000 to study the feasibility of an interchange 35 and County Road 9, including estimated construction costs, traffic modeling, an environmental analysis, and a potential design layout for an interchange.
It is well past time to get this project off the ground. The north end of Faribault has seen rapid growth, with Aldi, Saint-Gobain/SageGlass, Trystar, Daikin, and Faribault Foods among the businesses that have completed expansions. Nearly all of the existing industrial park land is now in use, and the city is looking for more areas to grow. An interchange at County Road 9 will help us maximize our opportunity for economic growth.
This is just the start. The interchange will not be built overnight, but the sooner we get the ball rolling, the sooner the interchange will become a reality.
Here is what else is going on at the capitol.
Infrastructure improvements to stimulate economic growth
Minnesota has a program called Greater Minnesota BDPI, or Business Development Public Infrastructure. BDPI provides grants to Greater Minnesota cities to help growth, to create or retain jobs, or to build the tax base. It is recognized as one of the Department of Employment and Economic Development’s top programs for return on investment. I have been the chief author of several bills over the years that have provided funding for BDPI, which has helped several cities in our area:
- Faribault received $844,000 for infrastructure to help Faribault Foods double its plant size.
- Faribault received $1,057,000 for sanitary sewer and water infrastructure to allow expansion of Daikin Applied Manufacturing so they could create and retain hundreds of jobs.
- Claremont received $500,000 for Al-Corn Clean Fuel to modernize and expand.
- Owatonna received $400,000 to help Bushel Boy Farms expand its indoor growing capacity.
BDPI is high on my priority list again this year. I am carrying a bill to provide $3.56 million for this program so we can boost economic growth in even more communities.
What if you could buy your license tabs from an automated kiosk?
What if you could buy your license tabs from a fully-automated kiosk? No more standing in line at your local deputy registrar’s office or ordering them online and waiting for them to arrive at your home. Sounds good, right?
This is already an option in a number of neighboring states. I have a bill that would allow it in Minnesota. It’s a simple, common sense idea that has been proven to work. These kiosks would be administered by local deputy registrars, and should be viewed as an extension of the service they provide. It’s good for the registrars and good for the consumer.
If you have any questions about these bills or any other issue the legislature is working on, feel free to contact me any time at sen.john.jasinski@senate.mn or 651-296-0284. It is a privilege to serve you!