For generations, our state was a beacon of prosperity, innovation, and opportunity. We built world-class companies, maintained excellent schools, and fostered safe communities where families could thrive. That Minnesota – the state that dazzled the nation with its quality of life and economic vitality – has been slipping away slowly for nearly 20 years.

Last week, I announced my candidacy for governor of Minnesota because I refuse to stand by as our great state continues to decline.

At the heart of my decision is the oath I gave as a 19-year-old Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army to protect our country, my Christian faith to stand up for what is right and my devotion to my family and other families to make our state a place for our children to raise their family in a state they can be proud of. I find it abhorrent that so many Minnesotans feel they were forced to flee the state they love because of high taxes, rampant crime and substandard public schools.

My journey to this moment is anything but conventional; I wasn’t born into privilege or political connections. Just the opposite. I was raised in the projects of Harlem and later in a trailer park in Oklahoma, surrounded by poverty, crime, and limited opportunities. By all statistical predictions, I should have remained trapped in that cycle. But America offered me something powerful: a pathway forward through public-school education, personal responsibility and hard work.

I rejected the message that my circumstances defined my future. Instead, I became the first in my family to graduate from college, served proudly as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army, and built a successful career leading teams in healthcare and technology companies. The American principles that guided me, discipline, independence, accountability, and belief in human potential, are exactly what Minnesota needs and what I will deliver. I’m not a politician; I’m an experienced leader just here to serve my state.

Under Tim Walz’s leadership, our great state is struggling. His focus on bureaucracy inserting the government into families’ lives is making day-to-day decisions harder for families from the gas pump and grocery stores to where they send their kids to school. The financial picture tells the whole story: an almost $6 billion deficit where once stood a surplus, burdened further by $10 billion in new taxes. Murders are rising again in Minneapolis despite falling across the nation. Educational test scores are appalling. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, there are 68 percent of fourth graders who are not proficient in reading at grade level. That’s unacceptable.

As your next governor, I’ll restore something that’s vanishing in Minnesota: hope and a sense of pride in our state that has been absent for far too long. The belief is that through your own efforts and with a fair system, you can build a better life. My story wouldn’t be possible in the Minnesota that Tim Walz is creating – where victimhood is celebrated over victory, grievance over growth, and dependency over determination. But I know a different path exists because I’ve walked it. I am grateful to have made it here today, and I want to make success achievable for every person in Minnesota, regardless of their background. In November, America demanded that we return America to her state of success and prosperity; 77 million Americans voted for President Trump to reinstall America-first policies, strong national defense and less government bloat. Under my leadership, we can create a similar mandate here in the Gopher State.

Some say Minnesota is too far gone for Republicans to win statewide. They’re wrong. The electorate is changing. Just ask folks in Carlton County, who voted Republican for president for the first time since Herbert Hoover in 1928. Working-class Minnesotans across the state are rejecting failed progressive policies. With the right candidate, someone who speaks authentically to their concerns and offers real solutions, we can win. I am that candidate.

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I understand both struggle and success. I’ve led complex organizations through challenging times and emerged stronger, and I believe in Minnesota’s potential with every fiber of my being. And, like President Trump, I’m willing to fight tooth and nail to get our state back on track. This campaign isn’t just about defeating Tim Walz; it’s about reclaiming Minnesota’s promise for every family, every worker, every student, and every entrepreneur who calls this state home.

Join me. Together, we’ll write Minnesota’s next chapter – not as a story of decline managed by politicians out of ideas, but as an American comeback story that inspires the nation.

Kendall Qualls, of Medina, is a candidate for Minnesota governor, a U.S. Army veteran, and former business leader. He is also the founder and president of TakeCharge, an organization devoted to uniting Americans of all backgrounds around a shared history and common set of beliefs.

 

“New York City needs to show it can build housing that isn’t prohibitively expensive and comes in without years of delay. EDC can help get it done at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal.”

City and state officials announcing plans to redevelop Red Hook’s Brooklyn Marine Terminal last year. (Caroline Rubinstein-Willis/Mayoral Photography Office)

New York City has a crushing housing shortage. With federal housing subsidies on the chopping block, the city needs competent organizations like the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to step in and quickly scale up affordable housing at public sites like the Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

In recent years, EDC has helped deliver 560 affordable units to the Lower East Side as part of the Essex Crossing redevelopment, 740 affordable units to the South Bronx at the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, and an impressive 2,500 affordable units are underway at Willets Point in Queens.

Now, EDC is attempting to revitalize the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, a decaying 122-acre waterfront site in Red Hook. Last year, the city agreed to take operating control of the terminal. The redevelopment vision calls for modernizing the container port and piers—half out of service or nearing the end of their useful lives—as part of a “Blue Highway” supply chain that moves freight around the city by water instead of trucks.

One scenario under consideration includes around 8,000 housing units, roughly 35 percent permanently affordable, new public parks around the waterfront, retail and commercial options, and expanded bus and ferry service to transit-starved Red Hook.

There is an opportunity to advance the Brooklyn Marine Terminal project at a pace New Yorkers wouldn’t have been able to fathom a few years ago. That’s in part thanks to the leadership of a Task Force, chaired by U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, that has guided the development of the plan.

EDC has held numerous meetings with community groups, reaching over 3,000 neighborhood residents. Red Hook West Tenant Association President Karen Blondel, a longtime advocate for NYCHA residents, has endorsed the project, saying, “We have an opportunity to create a more equitable Red Hook and I hope we seize the moment.”

Nevertheless, the Brooklyn Marine Terminal project has generated significant opposition from some community residents, lawmakers and others concerned about the reduced port area, waterfront job losses, gentrification and other impacts of dense housing. A local coalition, “Voices of the Waterfront,” has called for a pause to the general project plan process, and for it to undergo the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) to allow for more community engagement.

This risks making it more expensive to build and could derail the affordable housing component.

Separating housing from the broader redevelopment project would be a missed opportunity, as a port built a century ago can more efficiently handle today’s cargo on a much smaller land area.

Delaying the project for ULURP would also raise costs, just as Donald Trump’s tariffs kick in and push construction prices even higher, and is not guaranteed to produce better projects—just look at Hudson Yards. Scuttling the project would be another blow to addressing the city’s housing crisis.

Community leaders should continue negotiating directly with EDC for a limited, defined period and push for specific public benefits, such as more frequent bus and ferry service to Red Hook and protections against flooding and rising sea levels. However, keeping EDC at the helm is worth the squeeze. EDC answers to city control, builds fast and well, and has earned trust through projects like Willets Point and Spofford.

EDC-led projects have relied on private sector capital and efficiencies to create projects with public benefits, including permanent affordable housing, parks, job training, ferry service, and community centers. EDC’s mixed-use approach is distinct from many affordable housing projects of the past, which often isolated residents in large towers.

New York City needs to show it can build housing that isn’t prohibitively expensive and comes in without years of delay. EDC can help get it done at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

Nicholas Bloom is a professor of urban policy and planning at Hunter College. He is the author of “Public Housing That Worked: New York in the Twentieth Century” and co-editor of “Affordable Housing in New York.“

The post Opinion: The Brooklyn Marine Terminal Can Help Solve NYC’s Housing Shortage appeared first on City Limits.

Imagine if nearly every resident of Sunfish Lake went out and bought a new bicycle in the same four-hour window. That’s the magic of Rick’s Bike Sale.

Rick’s Bike Sale, which wrapped up its 17th year in Apple Valley on May 10, saw more than 470 donated bikes cleaned up, put back together and rolled off to new homes to the tune of more than $60,000 this year for two Dakota County nonprofit organizations.

Since its inception, Rick’s Bike Sale has donated nearly $628,000 to DARTS, a West St. Paul organization that helps seniors live more independent lives, and Kids ‘n Kinship, a program that matches youth with adult volunteers.

“One of my favorite aspects of the sale is that it really is a win-win-win-win,” said Rick Anderson, namesake of the sale, in a news release.

“Folks gladly donate the bikes and appreciate having more room in their garages. Our crew has fun getting the bikes ready for sale. Someone gets a nice, well-tuned clean bike at a great price. DARTS and Kids ’n Kinship get the money,” Anderson said. “Having a fundraiser that benefits people from start to finish is pretty remarkable.”

Of the 590 bikes donated this year, the slim inventory that did not sell were given to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Bikes for Africa, according to the release.

Anderson and his team will soon begin accepting donations  — and volunteer bike mechanics — for the 18th annual sale.

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By JAMIE STENGLE, Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — People began loading up their cars and jumping on planes across the U.S. on Thursday as the long Memorial Day weekend kicked off. Even as politics and the nation’s aging air traffic infrastructure rattle the U.S. travel industry, Americans were expected to get away in record numbers.

Auto club organization AAA predicted that over 45 million people — 1.4 million more than last year — would venture at least 50 miles from their homes between Thursday and Monday, with the vast majority going by car. The holiday’s previous domestic travel record was set 20 years ago.

The analysts who prepared the forecast weren’t sure when they started their research if concerns about the economy would cause fewer U.S. residents to plan getaways for the unofficial start of summer, but it doesn’t seem to be the case, AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said.

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“People are still feeling pretty good about travel,” Diaz said, adding that some households and individuals may just opt to spend less money on their trips.

Temperatures over the holiday weekend will be a study in contrasts — from warm across much of the South and West to cool across much of the Midwest and Northeast, said Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist at the federal Weather Prediction Center.

“For those who are going to the beaches in the Mid-Atlantic — places like Ocean City or the Jersey Shore — it’s going to feel far from the unofficial kickoff of summer,” Mullinax said. “Meanwhile, you can go to the South and there’s places in Texas that are 90s, 100.”

Travelers should remember to keep any eye out for severe weather warnings. Weather, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, is the leading cause of flight delays. Thunderstorms, tornadoes and other extreme conditions also can make driving and outdoor pursuits more dangerous.

In New England, an unusual May nor’easter brought rain, wind and dark skies on Thursday and threatened to bring snow to higher elevations. Rain was expected over the weekend across parts of the Midwest and South.

Hitting the (hopefully) open road

Like last year, about 87% of travelers will drive to their Memorial Day destinations, AAA said. About 39 million people are expected to take road trips, which Diaz noted many families find easier and cheaper than flying.

“You leave whenever you want,” she said. “You can pack as much as you want in the car, make stops along the way.”

AAA’s fuel tracker shows motorists can expect to pay less for gasoline this year; the U.S. average price on Thursday was about $3.20 for a gallon of regular gas compared to $3.61 a year ago. Renting a vehicle and staying in a hotel also may cost less, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index.

Transportation-data firm INRIX anticipates the worst holiday traffic will be in the afternoons and evenings. It said drivers hitting the road on Thursday should have left before 12 p.m., and those planning Friday departures should leave before 11 a.m.

On Memorial Day itself, the firm predicts the most congested time on roads will be 4 p.m.-7 p.m.

What’s up with air travel?

The Transportation Security Administration said it expected to screen about 18 million passengers and crew at airports across the U.S. from Thursday through Wednesday. Flights were expected to peak on Thursday with almost 54,000 scheduled, although airports should also be Friday, according to the FAA.

Air safety has become a factor for many travelers after the deadly midair collision in January of a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter above Washington, D.C. In recent weeks, flight delays and cancellations stemming from an air traffic controller shortage and equipment failures at a facility that directs aircraft in and out of the Newark, New Jersey, airport have also made some people wonder whether to get on a plane.

Gary Anderson thought twice before he and his wife booked flights to fly from their home in Washington D.C. to Dallas on Thursday to attend a relative’s high school graduation. While the safety of flying has been “on the back of our mind,” the couple, who are both truck drivers, decided they didn’t want to spend so much of their time off driving, Anderson said.

“We’re going to try to eat some good food down here and we’re going to try to chill and just enjoy the graduation,” he said.

Most major U.S. airlines said they planned to reduce their scheduled domestic flights this summer, citing an ebb in economy passengers booking leisure trips. Bank of America reported this month that its credit card customers were spending less on flights and lodging.

In 2024, the Friday before Memorial Day was among the record-setting days for the number of airline passengers screened at U.S. airports. AAA did not expect any records to get set during this holiday weekend.

But an analysis by aviation data provider Cirium of tickets bought through online travel sites for Memorial Day weekend found 6% more booking across almost two dozen U.S. airports compared to last year.

Danielle Clinton, 28, arrived at Love Field in Dallas on Thursday morning from Chicago. She was coming into town to celebrate her birthday with her mother and twin sister, who live in Dallas, and friends who were also flying in. She said the flight marked her first trip of the year and she was pleased to get a round-trip airfare for about $200.

The U.S. travel and tourism industry will watching during the weekend and the weeks ahead to see what might be in store for the summer travel season. Tourism industry experts have warned that anger about the Trump administration’s tariffs and rhetoric, and concern about tourist detentions at the U.S. border, have made citizens of some other countries less interested in traveling to the U.S.

The national statistics agency of Canada reported last week that the number of residents making return trips by air from the U.S. fell 20% in April compared to the same month a year earlier, while return trips by car were down 35%.

From big city lights to starry nights

Across Texas, reservations for day passes and camping spots were filling up at state parks ahead of the weekend, said Tara Humphreys, director of interpretation with Texas State Parks. Stargazing parties were among events planned at parks across the state.

Bolstered by its theme parks and nearby cruise port, Orlando, Florida, topped AAA’s list of most popular domestic destinations for the weekend. The city’s newest theme park, Universal’s Epic Universe, opened Thursday.

Long weekends are a good time to hop on a short flight to a big city, said Hayley Berg, lead economist at the travel site Hopper. She said top searches for the weekend included New York, Miami and Las Vegas.