The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has decided not to press charges against a man arrested in Minneapolis last week in connection with the vandalism of several Tesla vehicles.

According to the arrest report, on March 29 Dylan Bryan Adams, 33, was apprehended on suspicion of vandalizing six Tesla vehicles.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services said that Adams is a state employee and released a statement about his arrest.

“We are reviewing the matter at this time. State employees are expected to follow our code of conduct and hold themselves to the highest ethical standards through their words and actions,” the statement reads.

The vandalisms occurred to vehicles owned by residents of Edina, Minneapolis, Bloomington, and Nebraska.

During a press conference last week, Minneapolis police said they arrested Adams after allegedly catching him on camera keying six Teslas and causing thousands of dollars in damage in each case — felony level damage.

The department turned the case over the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for possible prosecution. The Minneapolis police chief released a statement to the Pioneer Press Tuesday saying that any frustration about the suspect not being charged should be directed at the county attorney’s office.

“The Minneapolis Police Department did its job,” said Chief Brian O’Hara said in a written statement. “It identified and investigated a crime trend, identified, and arrested a suspect, and presented a case file to the Hennepin County Attorney Office for consideration of charges. This case impacted at least six different victims and totaled over $20,000 in damages. Any frustration related to the charging decision of the Hennepin County Attorney should be directed solely at her office. Our investigators are always frustrated when the cases they poured their hearts into are declined. In my experience, the victims in these cases often feel the same.”

An official with the Hennepin County Attorney’s office said they are holding Adams responsible despite not pressing charges.

“We want to make sure we are very clear. What Mr. Adams did was wrong and we are holding him accountable for keying the cars. The HCAO did not reject or decline this case. We offered diversion as we often do with property damage cases when the person has no record. Mr. Adams will have to complete the requirements of the program. He will also have to pay every penny in restitution to the victims. If he does not meet those requirements, we will proceed through the criminal legal system process.” said Daniel Borgertpoepping, spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

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The Gold Line from downtown St. Paul to Woodbury recently rolled into place, launching a new phase for Metro Transit’s growing Bus Rapid Transit network.

What comes next?

A survey that closes Friday asks riders to help the transit authority pick the future J, K and L lines from among 17 potential Arterial Bus Rapid Transit corridors that may someday crisscross the metro. The three corridors, all of them future upgrades to existing high-ridership bus routes, will be chosen by next winter for construction and implementation between 2030 and 2035.

That would bring the overall bus rapid transit network to a total of at least 15 BRT lines, including the planned 2027 expansion of the Gold Line from downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis. While a number of routes service the two downtowns, the goal is to enhance crosstown corridors, allowing passengers to get across the cities efficiently, without necessarily heading downtown first.

“We are at the beginning of this work and will continue over the course of this year,” said Kyle O’Donnell-Burrows, Metro Transit’s planning manager for Arterial BRT.

In addition, Metro Transit is studying a potential 16th corridor — the possibility of adding a BRT route along West Seventh Street in St. Paul, along the general path of what was once dubbed the Riverview Corridor. The new bus routes are in addition to future extensions of the Blue Line and Green Line light rail, micro-transit “last mile” feeder bus projects around key stops, and the likely closure of the Northstar Commuter Rail.

Less-frequent stops

BRT is not without its critics. Some passengers have complained of losing local bus routes to new BRT corridors that make less-frequent stops.

That’s a concern “we take very seriously as we do corridor planning and identify where to locate stations,” O’Donnell-Burrows said. “We really try to minimize that impact, while also adding the speed and reliability benefit.”

Meanwhile, time gains vary, given that Metro Transit has largely focused on “arterial” BRT, or buses that operate in mixed traffic as opposed to their own dedicated bus lanes. In essence, most of the Metro Transit projects under consideration are not BRT in its purest form.

The exceptions are the color-coded Orange, Red and Gold Lines, which use dedicated infrastructure to varying degrees.

Still, ABRT is a lot cheaper and faster to roll out than BRT. The G Line, which will connect Little Canada to downtown St. Paul and West St. Paul along Rice and Robert streets, is moving through project planning with an estimated capital cost of $75 million to $80 million. By contrast, the new Gold Line, which maintains its own park-and-ride stations and accesses an exclusive guideway and bridge over Interstate 94, totaled $505.3 million in capital costs.

Most future BRT projects will be “definitely a smaller scope than those larger, dedicated guideway projects,” O’Donnell-Burrows said.

Ridership

Public transit ridership plummeted nationally during the pandemic and has never fully recovered, but transit organizers note that bus rapid transit projects have regained ridership fastest, in some cases heavily eclipsing the slower local routes they’ve replaced.

In fact, Metro Transit’s BRT ridership more than doubled from 2022 to 2024, thanks in large part to 3.8 million rides on the new D Line between Brooklyn Center and Bloomington. To see how ridership has performed over time on particular routes, visit metrotransit.org/performance.

Those ridership gains are based in part on benefits and amenities like more frequent departures, cloth seats, traffic signal priority, off-board fare payments, all-door boarding and modern stations with lights, on-demand heat, emergency telephones, security cameras and NexTrip digital signs showing arrival times in real-time.

To access Metro Transit’s BRT survey and see a map of 17 potential corridors, visit metrotransit.org/arterial-brt-plan.

Here’s a quick look at how the BRT network has shaped up to date, and what could be on the horizon:

2030-2035

Metro Transit staff have identified 17 potential BRT corridors and will whittle the list down to three by late 2025 or early 2026.

Construction on all three is expected to move forward between 2030 and 2035. A public survey on the potential routes closes Friday. Staff will screen options this summer using ridership and cost estimates, as well as considerations such as the mobility needs of the population served. About 8-10 potential corridors will be ranked for a more technical evaluation, and three — the future J, K and L lines — will be recommended to the full Metropolitan Council sometime next winter.

Among the corridors under consideration:

• 38th Street/Excelsior, 46th Street, 63rd Avenue/Zane, 66th Street, Bloomington/Lyndale, Broadway, Century, County Road C, Dale/George, Franklin/Grand/3rd Street, Johnson/Lyndale, Hennepin/Larpenteur, Lowry, Nicollet, North Snelling/Lexington, Payne/Westminster, Randolph/East 7th Street.

In service

• Red Line: Travels Cedar Avenue between Apple Valley and the Mall of America in Bloomington. Launched in 2013.

• A Line: Travels Snelling Avenue and Ford Parkway with stops in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Roseville. Launched in 2016.

• C Line: Mainly runs along Penn Avenue, between downtown Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center. Launched in 2019.

• Orange Line: Runs on Interstate 35W between downtown Minneapolis and Burnsville. Launched in 2021.

• D Line: Travels along Emerson, Fremont and Chicago avenues between Brooklyn Center and Bloomington. Launched in 2022.

• Gold Line: Generally travels within a dedicated lane parallel to Interstate 94, serving downtown St. Paul, Maplewood, Landfall, Oakdale and Woodbury. Launched in March. The Gold Line will be extended from downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis in 2027.

Under construction

• B Line: Will travel along Lake Street in Uptown, Minneapolis, as well as Marshall and Selby avenues in St. Paul to the downtown Union Depot. Currently served by Route 21. Opens June 14.

• E Line: Will mostly travel along France, Hennepin and University avenues from the Southdale Transit Center in Edina to Westgate Station in St. Paul. Currently served by Route 6. Opens Dec. 6.

In development

• F Line: Will travel Central and University avenues from downtown Minneapolis to the Northtown Mall in Blaine, the corridor currently served by Route 10. In project engineering.

• G Line: Will travel Rice and Robert streets from Little Canada to downtown St. Paul and West St. Paul, the corridor currently served by Route 62 and Route 68. In project planning.

• H Line: Will travel Como and Maryland avenues from downtown Minneapolis to the SunRay Transit Center, the corridor currently served by Route 3. In project planning.

• Purple Line: The line was once envisioned to connect St. Paul, Maplewood, Vadnais Heights, Gem Lake, White Bear Township and White Bear Lake, though opposition in White Bear Lake and Maplewood has forced project planners to consider a redesign.

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By Jennifer Allen

Saturday, April 19, 2025, was the first day of National Park Week, an annual celebration of America’s 433 national parks. Admission to all parks was free that day, and many of the parks have special activities planned for visitors through April 27.

If you’re unsure where to go during the nine-day celebration, EXP Journeys, the leaders in luxury travel experience curation, picked their top national park destinations. Their selections combine exclusivity, exploration and conservation, highlighting the most pristine and lesser-known corners of the country’s truly breathtaking landscapes.

Capitol Reef National Park

First on their list is Capitol Reef National Park. Often the most overlooked of the five national parks in Utah, it offers unimaginable natural wonders – and it feels like you have them all to yourself. It’s not impossible to go hiking and rarely see another person on the trail.

Capitol Reef National Park was established to protect the striking Waterpocket Fold – a 90-mile-long geologic wrinkle. The Fold extends 70 miles from Thousand Lake Mountain across a spectacular eroded jumble of cliffs, domes, monoliths, twisting canyons and graceful arches, all the way to the Lake Powell Reservoir on the Colorado River.

No reservations are needed to enter, whether you want to hike the nearly 40 miles of trails or pack a lunch and leisurely drive the unpaved roads into the scenic backcountry. Afterwards, check in to one of the local hotels in Torrey, Utah, the state’s first International Dark Sky Community. See thousands of stars in the night sky with your naked eye. While the park is worth visiting year-round, the best time of year to visit Capitol Reef National Park is often considered March to June or September to October.

Denali National Park

Spanning more than 6 million acres, Denali National Park epitomizes Alaska’s raw and untamed beauty. Home to North America’s tallest peak, Denali offers an extraordinary wilderness experience where vast glaciers, snow-capped mountains and roaming wildlife create an adventurer’s paradise.

Beyond its legendary hiking trails, visitors can embark on aerial tours, witness the Northern Lights and paddle through pristine waters in a kayak, on a SUP board or raft out on the water. Pro and amateur anglers will want to check out Chelatna Lake. A premier fishing destination, the waterway harbors all five species of Pacific salmon, rainbow trout, grayling, northern pike and lake trout. The best time to explore Denali is from June to August when the days are long, and wildlife is most active.

Glacier National Park

Spanning over a million acres in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, Glacier National Park stands apart. Ancient glaciers shaped this pristine wilderness. As these mountains of ice travelled, they carved out a dramatic landscape of rugged peaks, alpine lakes and sweeping valleys. Wildlife sightings abound, from mountain goats and grizzly bears to elusive wolverines and lynx.

EXP Journeys founder Kevin Jackson says, “Glacier National Park inspires families to explore, learn and connect, creating memories that last a lifetime. Exploring this 1,583-square-mile wilderness area in Montana’s Rocky Mountains with an EXP guide provides knowledgeable access to a tremendous amount of hiking trails, alpine lakes, cycling opportunities and wildlife watching. One amazingly scenic trek is to Avalanche Lake, where massive mountains surround the lake.”

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Very few paved roads exist in the park’s miles of primitive and unspoiled landscape. The exception is the Going-To-The-Sun Road, a 50-mile paved two-lane highway which winds along almost every type of terrain in the park.

April 19 is National Junior Ranger Day, and it’s hard to beat the program at Glacier National Park as it engages young adventurers in the park’s rich natural history. Families can also enjoy a leisurely hike along the Trail of the Cedars. And from mid-May through September, you can explore Lake McDonald by boat. The prime season for visiting Glacier National Park is mid-June through mid-September.

Other chart toppers

The theme for the 2025 National Park Week is National Park Playlist, and it celebrates musical connections to national parks and the American story. Some of the other events at United States national parks include National Volunteer Week. Celebrate the existing volunteers and consider signing up yourself. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment – even a few hours of your time are appreciated.

Earth Day also falls during National Park Week. Celebrated for 55 years, one billion people in 193 countries host events and celebrations of the planet, its resources and our commitment to protect it. Many of our national parks will have special Earth Day demonstrations of earth science or discussions of the latest environmental concerns.

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area straddles Kentucky and Tennessee, protecting the Cumberland River. They are offering 50% off backcountry camping permits on Saturday, April 19, for National Park Week. Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota is doing a special 4-mile National Park Week guided hike to the park’s only sandstone arch, Sunday, April 20. Several of the national parks are hosting clean-up days during National Park Week. Check the National Park Service website for details.

Jennifer Allen, retired chef turned traveler, cookbook author and writer, shares her adventures and travel tips at All The Best Spots. Living at home with her family – and the cats that rule them all – her work has been featured in The Washington Post, Seattle Times, MSN and more.

By JEFF ROWE

Alan Weisman has found an all-world cast of scientists, engineers and environmentalists who have dreamed big and worked passionately to repair some of the world’s wrecked ecosystems and also to develop processes that, for example, use far less energy than we get from oil

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Take Azzam Alwash, for example. An engineer, he lamented destruction of thousands of square miles of marshes in Iraq that date to Biblical times and were his birthplace. Birds, fish and other animals flourished in the wetlands until Saddam Hussein drained them to flush out enemies to his regime.

The wetlands in the world’s hottest region were thought beyond resurrection.

Weisman writes that to Alwash, however, “impossible often masks a lack of imagination.” He marshaled the resources to restore much of the wetlands and a miracle followed: wildlife returned..

Some of Weisman’s chapters will make readers wish they had paid more attention in high school science and chemistry classes.

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have made astonishing progress in developing commercial-scale fusion energy that could produce great quantities of clean energy. Such breakthroughs are critical on a planet now dependent on fossil fuels, which produce carbon dioxide that traps heat in the atmosphere.

To those who scoff at mentions of human-caused environmental catastrophe as a hoax or fake news, consider this: Weisman’s bibliography runs 74 pages. And the type is small. He spent several years researching and reporting on this book and visited a dozen countries.

“As long as we let them keep on, there is hope,” writes Weisman, referring to the people he writes about in this book.

News also has overtaken the publication of this book. President Trump’s threats to withhold money from Harvard and other universities would have a drastic effect because so many of the world’s brightest students come to study at American research universities, contributing to the steady stream of American scientific breakthroughs.

Weisman set out to find inspirational people doing extraordinary work to save the planet.

He found them and their work can save us from writing a catastrophic next chapter for our earth.

Global warming skeptics often assert that some of the people Weisman calls visionaries are misguided nature enthusiasts, but what could we lose in making the planet cleaner and greener?

Nothing, and our children and grandchildren will be grateful.

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews