Passenger rail line, with a stop in Cambridge, may be up and running by 2012
A decade ago it was obvious that a passenger rail line between the Twin Cities and Duluth would never work. There was nothing on the south end for it to connect to. There was little on the north end for people to want to travel that way for. Congestion on Interstate 35 was unheard of. No one had a lap top, and what were cell phones?
A lot has changed, noted Ken Buehler of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum.
Today, the Hiawatha Light Rail line runs between downtown Minneapolis and the airport. The Northstar Commuter Line will be operating this year between Big Lake and Minneapolis. Both will converge at the new Twin stadium. And riders can connect to the larger world by hopping aboard an Amtrak train bound for either the west or east coast.
People have spread out of the Twin Cities area and moved into the suburbs with some commuting as much as one and one-half hours a day. Others have built expansive vacation homes along the North Shore. Today there is a casino smack in the middle of the Twin Cities to Duluth journey that operates as though it were a city of one million people. And after paying $4 a gallon for gasoline last summer, folks are looking for ways to avoid pouring their entire paychecks into their gas tanks.
AN EXCITING INITIATIVE
Congressman James Oberstar (Minnesota District 8), chair of the House Transportation Committee, has been watching the conditions change. Under his leadership in the house, a national transportation policy is being developed, one that includes rail in addition to highways. Various rail projects across the nation have been prioritized. Number two on the list is the Minneapolis to Duluth line.
“That is an exciting initiative,” said Oberstar.
“We need to give consumers as many options and alternatives as possible,” he added. “If we can take just 10 percent of the trips that are currently being made by automobile, and convert them to some other mode of transportation, we will save the equivalent of all the oil that we import from Saudi Arabia each year – 550 million barrels.
“I will do all I can to support this visionary project.”
SERVICE TO START IN 2012
The Passenger Rail Alliance, a group with members from affected counties and cities, has completed the necessary feasibility study for the project. Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad done modeling to show how freight trains and passenger trains could operate concurrently. The alliance is now starting its negotiations with BNSF. An environmental impact statement will be completed in a year, and will then be followed by an engineering study.
Most of the necessary funding for the rail line is expected to come through the Federal Rail Administration, which provides up to 80 percent for projects. Oberstar’s Amtrak bill, which passed in October with overwhelming bipartisan support, authorized $14 billion in funding for the national passenger railroad over the next five years. The alliance continues to seek funding to pay for needed groundwork, as well as the actual construction.
The intent is to start service in 2012.
As with most projects, the price tag for the Northern Lights Express (NLX) line has increased and is now at between $45 to $55 million. The reason for most of the increase is that to begin with, passenger rail representatives believed they could use the existing Burlington Northern Sante Fe rail line. While NLX trains will travel part of the time on the tracks that already exist, in many places dual and even triple tracks will need to be added, possibly all the way from Minneapolis to Sandstone. Another major cost is installing quad gates at each crossing along the 150-mile line; these are the type of gates drivers can’t snake through. “This will be a very safe operation,” Buehler promised.
Stops on the passenger rail line will be limited to six locations: the Twin stadium in Minneapolis, Foley Boulevard in Coon Rapids, Cambridge, Hinckley, Superior and Duluth. A maintenance facility will be built in Sandstone. Eight trains a day will travel at 110 miles per hour and carry an estimated 1 million people. Within 18 months, planners predict the line will become profitable.
Each city with a stop is responsible for providing its own depot. In Cambridge, a task force is investigating where the best place for a depot is. Among the options are locating it at the mall, which sits along the tracks.
Passengers on the train will travel between Duluth and Minneapolis faster than if they were driving. The cost will be comparable, noted Buehler. According to the AARP, it costs 55¢ to operate a car, which totals $80 between Duluth and Minneapolis. The cost for a one-way train ticket will be about $36. For those traveling from Cambridge to Minneapolis it will cost about $9 one way. Those who travel more frequently, such as every day or once a week, will be able to buy tickets at a discount; this may save them up to half.
While trains will reach a peak of 110 miles per hour, they will not be going that fast through towns. Stops at depots will be quick, and the train will pass through a crossing in seconds causing little disruption to traffic, said Buehler. These trains are also much smaller and lighter than the freight trains Cambridge residents are used to.
Each NLX train set will have five to six cars. There will be a quiet car, where no cellular phones, computers or MP3 players are allowed. At the lunch car, riders can purchase snacks. In another car, there will be a bar for those looking to relax. In the business car, a mini-Kinkos will be set up so that telecommuters can print their work, have copies made during the trip and have reports collated and bound.
“This is going to revolutionize where people live and how they do work,” predicted Buehler. Instead of windshield time, travel time will be billable hours. Relays will be set up allowing passengers access to wireless internet (for a fee) and ensuring they never drop a cell call.
TRAIN TO SPUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Supporters of the project note that rail projects are about more than transporting people from place to place.
“It’s more than transportation,” said Buehler. “It’s economic development.” The Hiawatha corridor has seen $2.5 billion in privately funded development. When a similar train was installed in Texas with a stop in the North Dallas area, a blighted area was completed turned around. “Now North Dallas is one of the trendiest metropolises – all because of a train stop nobody wanted,” noted Buehler. The Amtrak Downeaster, running between Boston and Portland, is Amtrak’s fastest growing route in the country right now.
“Wherever we have seen high speed rail initiatives, economic development has accompanied it,”Oberstar noted. “You will see businesses that previously did not want to locate outside the metro area choosing to do so because there will be easy access for their personnel to the metro area.”
Monday, May 11, 2009
Isanti does its part to solve world energy crisis
Renewable fuel plant to open this spring in the city’s industrial park
Isanti will soon be home to a renewable fuel plant.
EverCat Fuels, LLC. will open this spring in the city’s industrial park. It will transform what was waste into fuel.
“It truly is a tremendous project,” Isanti Mayor George Wimmer observed.
NO LONGER FOOD VERSUS FUEL
This new procedure eliminates the food or fuel debate. “The Mcgyan process can use many alternatives to produce diesel such as waste oils and algae. This gives us a secure fuel source without raising the cost of food,” Wimmer observed.
Unlike other biodiesel systems that require expensive ingredients, the Mcgyan Process® can used items, such as algae, that are farmed on low-quality land. These raw materials that are needed can be locally produced, Wimmer remarked. He is particularly excited about the potential for the use of algae, which can easily be produced in the swamplands of Isanti County. The use of algae is about two to four years out; it is currently be studied at the Ever Cat research and development facility, noted Dave Wendorf of Ever Cat.
Developed by three inventors, the Mcgyan Process combines alcohol and oil or tallow and converts it into biodiesel.
Thus far, the process has been tested using a variety of ingredients, both liquids and solids, including refined lard, walnut oil, refined algae oil, olive oil, corn oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, acidulated soapstock, and yellow grease as feedstock and methanol, ethanol and propanol as the needed alcohols.
The plant is energy-efficient. The reactor is heated to about 300ยบ Celsius, but because it is so small the outgoing hot products can be used to heat the incoming cold reactants. Excess alcohol is separated out and added to the mix again. Any feedstock (i.e. oil) that is not used is sent back through the reactor.
The entire process is also environmentally-friendly. There are no strong acids or bases used, and thus there is no waste produced that needs to be disposed of elsewhere. The process does not add any carbon into the atmosphere. Additionally, no water is used. “Our city infrastructure will not be impacted from the biodiesel plant,” Wimmer said.
It takes other biodiesel plants hours to produce what EverCat can do in seconds.
BIODIESEL WILL LESSEN DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL
The 10,000-square-foot plant in Isanti will produce about 3 million gallons of biodiesel this year to begin with. The plant can easily be modified to produce 10 million gallons by adding another reactor, and long-term plans are to ramp that up to 30 million gallons once rail access is established.
Biodiesel is in demand right now, thanks to a state law requiring that two percent of the fuel in the state be biodiesel. That requirement increases to five percent by the end of this month, and must be 20 percent by 2015.
“It’s going to lessen our dependence on foreign oil sources,” Wendorf said.
He anticipates that the fuel being produced at EverCat will be sold to “blenders,” companies that blend biodiesel with diesel fuel and sell it to users like Metro Transit.
The cost of the biodiesel that will be produced will be less than ethanol or other forms. This is because the Mcgyan Process is so efficient and because it uses the materials others consider waste, explained Wendorf.
PLANT TO ADD 16 JOBS
Sixteen new jobs will be added at the Isanti facility. “The jobs produced are ones that you can raise a family on and afford to buy one of our many homes for sale in the city,” noted Mayor Wimmer. “This is a benefit any year, but especially in one where Isanti County has seen a near doubling in the unemployment rate.”
Jobs will pay between $15 to $20 an hour. They will not require more than a high school diploma and on-the-job training.
PUTTING ISANTI ON THE MAP
The EverCat facility in Isanti will not only be a production plant, but also a demonstration plant. To date Ever Cat has been contacted by 40 countries that are interested in the Mcgyan Process. Part of this is because mini-reactors can be set up anywhere, lessening the distance fuel travels between where it is produced and where it is consumed, noted Wimmer.
“We anticipate thousands of visitors coming to Isanti to learn the technology and be trained in plant operations as the Mcgyan Process is duplicated throughout the world,” Wimmer noted.
“This project puts Isanti on the high technology/green technology map.”
EverCat representatives are also working with the community college in Cambridge to train students on the new technology.
Recognizing the value of this effort, the Economic Development Association of Minnesota recently presented Isanti with its Business Recruitment Award.
SPIN-OFF BUSINESS ENCOURAGED
The city hopes to build off of the entrepreneurial spirit of EverCat by encouraging spin-off businesses to locate nearby.
Not only will they then provide more jobs and increase the tax base, but “this will add more revenue potential to our existing businesses as they serve the flow of visitors and newly created companies,” Wimmer noted.
He added, “The expansion of EverCat also helps the city of Isanti in the development of a rail industrial park which will lead to further economic development. This helps to reduce the roughly 80% of our working population’s need to commute to the Twin Cities for work.”
Learn more at evercatfuels.com
Isanti will soon be home to a renewable fuel plant.
EverCat Fuels, LLC. will open this spring in the city’s industrial park. It will transform what was waste into fuel.
“It truly is a tremendous project,” Isanti Mayor George Wimmer observed.
NO LONGER FOOD VERSUS FUEL
This new procedure eliminates the food or fuel debate. “The Mcgyan process can use many alternatives to produce diesel such as waste oils and algae. This gives us a secure fuel source without raising the cost of food,” Wimmer observed.
Unlike other biodiesel systems that require expensive ingredients, the Mcgyan Process® can used items, such as algae, that are farmed on low-quality land. These raw materials that are needed can be locally produced, Wimmer remarked. He is particularly excited about the potential for the use of algae, which can easily be produced in the swamplands of Isanti County. The use of algae is about two to four years out; it is currently be studied at the Ever Cat research and development facility, noted Dave Wendorf of Ever Cat.
Developed by three inventors, the Mcgyan Process combines alcohol and oil or tallow and converts it into biodiesel.
Thus far, the process has been tested using a variety of ingredients, both liquids and solids, including refined lard, walnut oil, refined algae oil, olive oil, corn oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, acidulated soapstock, and yellow grease as feedstock and methanol, ethanol and propanol as the needed alcohols.
The plant is energy-efficient. The reactor is heated to about 300ยบ Celsius, but because it is so small the outgoing hot products can be used to heat the incoming cold reactants. Excess alcohol is separated out and added to the mix again. Any feedstock (i.e. oil) that is not used is sent back through the reactor.
The entire process is also environmentally-friendly. There are no strong acids or bases used, and thus there is no waste produced that needs to be disposed of elsewhere. The process does not add any carbon into the atmosphere. Additionally, no water is used. “Our city infrastructure will not be impacted from the biodiesel plant,” Wimmer said.
It takes other biodiesel plants hours to produce what EverCat can do in seconds.
BIODIESEL WILL LESSEN DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL
The 10,000-square-foot plant in Isanti will produce about 3 million gallons of biodiesel this year to begin with. The plant can easily be modified to produce 10 million gallons by adding another reactor, and long-term plans are to ramp that up to 30 million gallons once rail access is established.
Biodiesel is in demand right now, thanks to a state law requiring that two percent of the fuel in the state be biodiesel. That requirement increases to five percent by the end of this month, and must be 20 percent by 2015.
“It’s going to lessen our dependence on foreign oil sources,” Wendorf said.
He anticipates that the fuel being produced at EverCat will be sold to “blenders,” companies that blend biodiesel with diesel fuel and sell it to users like Metro Transit.
The cost of the biodiesel that will be produced will be less than ethanol or other forms. This is because the Mcgyan Process is so efficient and because it uses the materials others consider waste, explained Wendorf.
PLANT TO ADD 16 JOBS
Sixteen new jobs will be added at the Isanti facility. “The jobs produced are ones that you can raise a family on and afford to buy one of our many homes for sale in the city,” noted Mayor Wimmer. “This is a benefit any year, but especially in one where Isanti County has seen a near doubling in the unemployment rate.”
Jobs will pay between $15 to $20 an hour. They will not require more than a high school diploma and on-the-job training.
PUTTING ISANTI ON THE MAP
The EverCat facility in Isanti will not only be a production plant, but also a demonstration plant. To date Ever Cat has been contacted by 40 countries that are interested in the Mcgyan Process. Part of this is because mini-reactors can be set up anywhere, lessening the distance fuel travels between where it is produced and where it is consumed, noted Wimmer.
“We anticipate thousands of visitors coming to Isanti to learn the technology and be trained in plant operations as the Mcgyan Process is duplicated throughout the world,” Wimmer noted.
“This project puts Isanti on the high technology/green technology map.”
EverCat representatives are also working with the community college in Cambridge to train students on the new technology.
Recognizing the value of this effort, the Economic Development Association of Minnesota recently presented Isanti with its Business Recruitment Award.
SPIN-OFF BUSINESS ENCOURAGED
The city hopes to build off of the entrepreneurial spirit of EverCat by encouraging spin-off businesses to locate nearby.
Not only will they then provide more jobs and increase the tax base, but “this will add more revenue potential to our existing businesses as they serve the flow of visitors and newly created companies,” Wimmer noted.
He added, “The expansion of EverCat also helps the city of Isanti in the development of a rail industrial park which will lead to further economic development. This helps to reduce the roughly 80% of our working population’s need to commute to the Twin Cities for work.”
Learn more at evercatfuels.com
Lowe’s first to locate in Spirit River Crossings
New retail area will add shopping opportunities for region
This fall, the well-known store with a blue roof will open in Cambridge.
Site work on the new Lowe’s started last fall just west of the Isanti County Fairgrounds. The store will sit on property that was formerly the Cambridge athletic complex. Next year, a Kohl’s will be added alongside Lowe’s.
“The new stores will offer more shopping opportunities and create a market for attracting more residents to the county,” said Cambridge Development Director Dave Carlberg.
He believes that the expansion of the Cambridge retail community benefits the region as a whole. “It’s going to bring more people in the area, not just to shop at these stores, but at existing stores, as well,” Carlberg said.
Once both Kohl’s and Lowe’s have opened, Carlberg expects the developers of Spirit River Crossings, Opus Northwest, to announce additional smaller stores and restaurants. Opening on the south side of Highway 95 this year will be Sonic Restaurant. The company has already submitted building plans and paid for a permit. The new restaurant will be located at the corner of Opportunity Boulevard and Second Avenue behind where Eastgate Mall used to be.
“I think 2009 might be a little quieter as far as smaller retailers developing in that area,” noted Carlberg. But he predicts that 2010 will be a big year for the city.
ABOUT THE CAMBRIDGE LOWE’S
The Cambridge Lowe’s store will be the 13th in the state. Other locations include: Hibbing, Mankato, Rochester, Blaine, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Oak Park Heights, Rogers, Plymouth, Owatonna, Shakopee, and West St. Paul. Each week, about 14 million shoppers walk through the doors of 1,650 stores in the United States and Canada. This year, Lowe’s will expand to Mexico while adding 60 to 75 stores.
Lowe’s began small. It started in North Carolina when H. Carl Buchan, part owner of the North Wilkesboro Hardware Company, envisioned creating a chain of hardware stores. At the time, Lowe’s was a typical, small town hardware store selling everything from overalls and snuff to wash tubs, work boots and even horse collars. Buchan began concentrating on hardware, appliances and hard-to-find building materials in the post-World War II building boom. Sales grew as Lowe’s established a reputation for low prices. Stores were added in neighboring towns throughout western North Carolina.
The company went public in 1961. In 1982, Lowe’s had its first billion-dollar sales year, earning a record profit of $25 million. Its customer base began changing from professional builders to do-it-yourself homeowners. By 1994, the modern Lowe’s was established and the only stores being built were large. In metro markets, Lowe’s builds stores that are 117,000 square feet. The Cambridge store will be the same size as those built in small to mid-sized markets at 94,000 square feet.
The Cambridge store will employ about ?? people. Approximately ?? percent of the jobs will be full-time.
Lowe’s stores stock 40,000 products and have hundreds of thousands more available by special order. On the shelves find Kichler lighting, Hitachi tools, John Deere lawn tractors, Samsung and Whirlpool appliances and Valspar paint. The Cambridge store will feature an adjacent garden center. A store of this size represents an average investment in the community of approximately $12 million.
This fall, the well-known store with a blue roof will open in Cambridge.
Site work on the new Lowe’s started last fall just west of the Isanti County Fairgrounds. The store will sit on property that was formerly the Cambridge athletic complex. Next year, a Kohl’s will be added alongside Lowe’s.
“The new stores will offer more shopping opportunities and create a market for attracting more residents to the county,” said Cambridge Development Director Dave Carlberg.
He believes that the expansion of the Cambridge retail community benefits the region as a whole. “It’s going to bring more people in the area, not just to shop at these stores, but at existing stores, as well,” Carlberg said.
Once both Kohl’s and Lowe’s have opened, Carlberg expects the developers of Spirit River Crossings, Opus Northwest, to announce additional smaller stores and restaurants. Opening on the south side of Highway 95 this year will be Sonic Restaurant. The company has already submitted building plans and paid for a permit. The new restaurant will be located at the corner of Opportunity Boulevard and Second Avenue behind where Eastgate Mall used to be.
“I think 2009 might be a little quieter as far as smaller retailers developing in that area,” noted Carlberg. But he predicts that 2010 will be a big year for the city.
ABOUT THE CAMBRIDGE LOWE’S
The Cambridge Lowe’s store will be the 13th in the state. Other locations include: Hibbing, Mankato, Rochester, Blaine, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Oak Park Heights, Rogers, Plymouth, Owatonna, Shakopee, and West St. Paul. Each week, about 14 million shoppers walk through the doors of 1,650 stores in the United States and Canada. This year, Lowe’s will expand to Mexico while adding 60 to 75 stores.
Lowe’s began small. It started in North Carolina when H. Carl Buchan, part owner of the North Wilkesboro Hardware Company, envisioned creating a chain of hardware stores. At the time, Lowe’s was a typical, small town hardware store selling everything from overalls and snuff to wash tubs, work boots and even horse collars. Buchan began concentrating on hardware, appliances and hard-to-find building materials in the post-World War II building boom. Sales grew as Lowe’s established a reputation for low prices. Stores were added in neighboring towns throughout western North Carolina.
The company went public in 1961. In 1982, Lowe’s had its first billion-dollar sales year, earning a record profit of $25 million. Its customer base began changing from professional builders to do-it-yourself homeowners. By 1994, the modern Lowe’s was established and the only stores being built were large. In metro markets, Lowe’s builds stores that are 117,000 square feet. The Cambridge store will be the same size as those built in small to mid-sized markets at 94,000 square feet.
The Cambridge store will employ about ?? people. Approximately ?? percent of the jobs will be full-time.
Lowe’s stores stock 40,000 products and have hundreds of thousands more available by special order. On the shelves find Kichler lighting, Hitachi tools, John Deere lawn tractors, Samsung and Whirlpool appliances and Valspar paint. The Cambridge store will feature an adjacent garden center. A store of this size represents an average investment in the community of approximately $12 million.
Expect great things in Cambridge
Kohl’s to open in 2010
Although Kohl’s won’t be opening this year as planned, the department store is still coming to Cambridge.
The current plan is to begin construction this fall. The store will then open in the spring of 2010. It will be located next to Lowe’s in Spirit River Crossings.
Cambridge Community Development Director Dave Carlberg has been closely monitoring the progress of both Kohl’s and Lowe’s, which will also be constructed in Spirit River Crossings.
Some have asked him if Kohl’s will be backing out due to the current economic situation. “To me it’s a question of timing,” said Carlberg. “There’s too much of an investment here for them not to come, but timing is what we’re always monitoring.”
The site work for the new store has already been done, and the parking lot is in. In addition, Lowe’s realligned Second Avenue Northeast last fall.
Carlberg noted that he gets frequent calls from people wondering when Kohl’s will be opening. “I’m amazed at how many people are waiting for that retailer to come to town,” he remarked.
ABOUT KOHL’S
Kohl’s has grown from one store in Wisconsin to 1,004 in 48 states since opening in 1962. The company plans to open 50 new stores in 2009 and remodel 60 locations.
Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee, Kohl’s strives to be family-focused and value-oriented. Find national brands like KitchenAid®, Dockers® and Dyson™, as well as Chaps, daisy fuentes®, apt. 9®, Croft & Barrow®, Sonoma LIFE+style™, Candie’s® and Tony Hawk®. Kohl’s also has exclusive agreements with the Food Network™ and fashion designer Vera Wang.
Last year, Kohl’s added several more lines: Jumping Beans®, a new children’s private brand; Gold Toe, a national hosiery brand; the Bobby Flay™ line, an expansion of its Food Network™ relationship; the Abbey Dawn line, a juniors' lifestyle brand that blends authentic rock with a feminine edge, inspired by rock sensation Avril Lavigne; and FILA SPORT®, an elite sportswear brand that includes a full line of active apparel for women, men and children as well as accessories including sport bags and footwear.
Although Kohl’s won’t be opening this year as planned, the department store is still coming to Cambridge.
The current plan is to begin construction this fall. The store will then open in the spring of 2010. It will be located next to Lowe’s in Spirit River Crossings.
Cambridge Community Development Director Dave Carlberg has been closely monitoring the progress of both Kohl’s and Lowe’s, which will also be constructed in Spirit River Crossings.
Some have asked him if Kohl’s will be backing out due to the current economic situation. “To me it’s a question of timing,” said Carlberg. “There’s too much of an investment here for them not to come, but timing is what we’re always monitoring.”
The site work for the new store has already been done, and the parking lot is in. In addition, Lowe’s realligned Second Avenue Northeast last fall.
Carlberg noted that he gets frequent calls from people wondering when Kohl’s will be opening. “I’m amazed at how many people are waiting for that retailer to come to town,” he remarked.
ABOUT KOHL’S
Kohl’s has grown from one store in Wisconsin to 1,004 in 48 states since opening in 1962. The company plans to open 50 new stores in 2009 and remodel 60 locations.
Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee, Kohl’s strives to be family-focused and value-oriented. Find national brands like KitchenAid®, Dockers® and Dyson™, as well as Chaps, daisy fuentes®, apt. 9®, Croft & Barrow®, Sonoma LIFE+style™, Candie’s® and Tony Hawk®. Kohl’s also has exclusive agreements with the Food Network™ and fashion designer Vera Wang.
Last year, Kohl’s added several more lines: Jumping Beans®, a new children’s private brand; Gold Toe, a national hosiery brand; the Bobby Flay™ line, an expansion of its Food Network™ relationship; the Abbey Dawn line, a juniors' lifestyle brand that blends authentic rock with a feminine edge, inspired by rock sensation Avril Lavigne; and FILA SPORT®, an elite sportswear brand that includes a full line of active apparel for women, men and children as well as accessories including sport bags and footwear.
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