The Twin City Model Railroad Museum is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Since its inception in 1934 as a workshop club on St. Paul’s Ashland Avenue, the museum has evolved into an institution that honors the tradition of toy trains and model railroading.

From its early days to its current residence at 668 Transfer Road in St. Paul, the museum has been a beacon for train enthusiasts and curious visitors alike. It offers a number of interactive toy train layouts, LEGO displays, historical exhibits, as well as a space for hosting birthday parties.

To mark its 90th year, the museum is hosting a Model Railroad Hobby Show and Sale at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds’ Education Building on Saturday. The event will have an array of toy train layouts and vendors selling everything from model trains to railroad memorabilia. Families also can enjoy storytelling sessions by local railroad personality “Engineer Paul.”

Jackson Grant, age 4 of Seattle, watches train cars go by at the Twin Cities Model Railroad Museum’s new location. (Pioneer Press: Liam James Doyle)

Brandon Jutz, a spokesperson for the museum, says that while “the museum started as just a gathering of model-building enthusiasts, it has grown into a testament to the railroad heritage of the Twin Cities.”

Despite its 90 years in the books, “the museum remains a hidden gem, offering a haven of innocent fun and exploration for visitors of all ages,” but as a nonprofit organization primarily run by volunteers, its survival for nine decades is a testament to its need for community support.

Museum president Peter Southard said for many people, “the annual night trains events each holiday season have become a family tradition lasting generations.” The night train events this year will run from October to February. They feature the lighted model railroads and holiday decorations.

Beyond its exhibits and events, the museum serves as a bridge between generations, fostering connections and memories around the allure of trains, organizers say.

“It’s heartwarming to see families come together, sharing stories and experiences,” Jutz said. “Our museum isn’t just about trains; it’s about the bonds they create.”

For more information about this event and other activities, visit tcmrm.org.

Related Articles

Theater review: Six Point Theater’s ‘Torch Song’ features one of the best performances of the year

‘Blended Harmony: The Kim Loo Sisters’ points spotlight on overlooked story

St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour opens Friday at seven different studios

Live Nation’s Concert Week offers $25 tickets to everyone from Janet Jackson to the Dandy Warhols

A St. Paul friend’s murder inspired his Stop the Violence event. Another death made it annual.

As Ramsey County continues to wind down a century-old government building overlooking the downtown St. Paul riverfront, the county will close its 64-bed Safe Space shelter and relocate it across the city to Luther Seminary in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood.

The arrangement, recently finalized by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, follows the decision to close the Government Center East building at 160 East Kellogg Blvd. by the end of the year and position it for sale.

The structure, comprising 375,000 square feet on the Mississippi River bluffs just off the Robert Street bridge, previously housed a variety of county offices and a service center — a one-stop-shop for county services such as financial assistance — that recently relocated to the skyway level of the county’s Metro Square building on East Seventh Place.

Constructed in 1905, the nine-story Government Center East building is no longer open to the public. It carries an estimated market value of $20 million, according to county property records.

“County services have been moved out of the building,” said Symone Hubbard, a spokesperson for Ramsey County. “We’re in between phase two and three, of three, in terms of getting the county out of the building.”

Safe Space opened in 2017

Ramsey County opened the downtown Safe Space in the lower level of the government building in 2017, but at the time only during the winter months.

The county and nonprofit partner Model Cities expanded the service to 64 beds and longer hours, year-round, beginning in 2019, just months before the pandemic created a surge in the unsheltered homeless population as shelters limited capacity and families restricted couch hoppers. Safe Space has served as a “low barrier” emergency overnight shelter for residents who might otherwise be hard to place.

Only law enforcement and other authorized community partners can refer homeless individuals to the site who are found sleeping outside, in transit vehicles, skyways or other locations. In addition to an emergency stay, Safe Space offers housing assessments and other services.

Kizzy Downie, chief executive officer of Model Cities, said she did not expect the site to grow past 64 beds at Luther Seminary.

“We want to keep the capacity that we have now,” said Downie. “We’re working together with the county to make sure we have some options for transportation, and we’re talking with other partners about how that’s going to happen.”

Community town hall

To bring residents up to speed, officials from Ramsey County, the city of St. Paul and Model Cities will host a community town hall from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on May 21 at the Luther Seminary Chapel, 1501 Fulham St.

In addition to Downie, among the expected attendees is Ramsey County Board Chair Trista Martinson, St. Paul Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher, St. Paul City Council President Mitra Jalali and Ramsey County Director of Housing Stability Keith Lattimore.

A website with answers to frequently asked questions is online at tinyurl.com/RamCOSafeSpace2024.

Related Articles

Charges: St. Paul mother asked for Narcan before her baby’s December fentanyl death

Final defendant in deadly St. Paul funeral home gunfight sentenced to six months

Woodbury grad party shooting: Gunman who fired shot that killed Maplewood boy sentenced to 20 years in prison

3M to return nearly $1M in back wages to employees after unauthorized paycheck deductions

Man acquitted of shooting at Target workers outside St. Paul store

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case where prosecutors allege he stole $16 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

The scandal surrounding Ippei Mizuhara shocked baseball fans from the U.S. to Japan when the news broke in March.

Mizuhara will plead guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, the U.S. Justice Department announced. The bank fraud charge carries a maximum of 30 years in federal prison, and the false tax return charge carries a sentence of up to three years in federal prison.

Mizuhara will enter his guilty plea in the coming weeks and is set to be arraigned May 14, prosecutors said.

“The extent of this defendant’s deception and theft is massive,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “He took advantage of his position of trust to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani and fuel a dangerous gambling habit.”

Mizuhara exploited his personal and professional relationship with Ohtani to plunder millions from the two-way player’s account for years, at times impersonating Ohtani to bankers, prosecutors said. Mizuhara’s winning bets totaled over $142 million, which he deposited in his own bank account and not Ohtani’s. But his losing bets were around $183 million, a net loss of nearly $41 million. He did not wager on baseball.

There was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling, and the player is cooperating with investigators, authorities said.

The Los Angeles Times and ESPN broke the news of the prosecution in late March, prompting the Dodgers to fire the interpreter and MLB to open its own investigation.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering on baseball, even legally. MLB also bans betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

Mizuhara has been free on an unsecured $25,000 bond, colloquially known as a signature bond, meaning he did not have to put up any cash or collateral to be freed. If he violates the bond conditions — which include a requirement to undergo gambling addiction treatment — he will be on the hook for $25,000.

Ohtani has sought to focus on the field as the case winds through the courts. Hours after his ex-interpreter first appeared in court in April, he hit his 175th home run in MLB, tying Hideki Matsui for the most by a Japan-born player, during the Dodgers’ 8-7 loss to the San Diego Padres in 11 innings.

Councilmember Crystal Hudson’s development framework details criteria that projects in her district should meet if they need city approval for zoning changes. “We can all contribute to the housing crisis that we’re in and build more housing, but do so in a way that’s really responsive to the needs of our local communities,” the lawmaker said. 

Frustrated with the piecemeal approach to development in her district, a city councilmember introduced a comprehensive framework for developers that she hopes could guide projects across the city and set a precedent for her peers.

On a rainy Friday afternoon in mid-April, Councilmember Crystal Hudson convened a press conference at the Brooklyn Public Library to unveil her framework for projects that require a zoning change in Council District 35, which spans Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and part of Bed-Stuy.

Designed to complement the traditional Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), it offers developers two tracks of criteria that residential projects should meet if they need city approval for increased density, height or other zoning changes. 

“It’s really about engaging as many people as possible, and more people that aren’t traditionally included in the formal processes that we have to ensure true representation and that everybody’s voices are heard,” said Hudson, who sees potential for other councilmembers to adopt a similar framework for their districts. “So that we can all contribute to the housing crisis that we’re in and build more housing, but do so in a way that’s really responsive to the needs of our local communities.”

The framework is separate, according to Hudson, from the aim of the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan (AAMUP), an ongoing city-led effort to rezone 13 predominantly industrial blocks near the thoroughfare to facilitate more development. Hudson and other lawmakers had pressed for that initiative, citing the need for a more comprehensive plan in the face of several spot upzonings proposed by developers in the area recently.

In February, the Council followed Hudson’s lead in voting against a 150-unit project planned for Pacific Street that sought approval for a zoning change, urging the applicant to wait until the wider AAMUP plan is in place. “The whole purpose of doing the rezoning was not to continue approving projects one by one without the full context of the area,” she told City Limits of that decision.

Her new framework for the district as a whole makes a similar case. “Current land use decisions are made piecemeal,” it reads. “Many of these decisions don’t consider the surrounding area or incorporate resident input; instead, these isolated decisions can hurt communities and displace long-standing residents.”

To craft the framework criteria, Hudson’s office partnered with Hester Street, an urban planning nonprofit, to conduct a district-wide survey, garnering over 1,000 responses from community members.

The findings revealed a significant financial strain: more than three-quarters of respondents said they pay 30 percent or more of their monthly earnings on housing, irrespective of income level. Even among those earning above $100,000 a year (36 percent of respondents), affordable and supportive housing still emerged as their top choice for what their district needs more of.

The need for affordable grocery stores was another primary concern, as were commercial rent prices, which 44 percent of those surveyed said were the biggest challenge for small businesses in the area.

Using this input, Hudson’s office formulated a list of priorities for developers to include when pitching new projects. To gain Hudson’s approval, they need to fulfill one of two tracks: The first would prioritize deeply affordable housing and/or access to homeownership, while the second sets standards for mixed-income rentals.

The councilmember won’t support rental projects unless they include some portion of income-restricted apartments. The first track under the framework calls for at least 80 percent of units to be affordable to households earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI)—about $111,840 for a family of three—portions of which must be set aside for earners in “extremely low income” and “very low income” bands. It also includes affordability requirements specific to supportive and senior housing projects, as well as a breakdown of household incomes in the district by neighborhood, as well as race and ethnicity. 

“So instead of relying on the area median income determined for the New York City region, the development framework includes the actual median income for District 35 neighborhoods and parses it further by race to identify which AMI brackets to prioritize in each neighborhood,” said Hudson. 

The other option in the first track is for projects that include subsidized homeownership opportunities, such as those under the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development’s Open Door program. At least half those units would have to be available to households earning 80 percent AMI or lower, or alternatively, 75 percent be made available to households earning up to 100 percent AMI.

Under the second track, developers seeking to build mixed-income projects with market-rate units would have to “meaningfully” surpass the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) requirements—in which at least 20-30 percent of apartments in projects that benefit from an upzoning must be income-restricted.

Alongside those prerequisites, developers must meet a series of other baseline criteria: incorporating universal design principles for accessibility, proactive pest management practices, and a commitment to sustainability. Moreover, they must pay workers a living wage and prioritize the employment of local residents from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds.

Projects in both tracks must fulfill additional criteria across three categories: providing open space amenities like a dog run or plaza area, “housing upgrades” such as senior and supportive apartments or the inclusion of four-bedroom units, and “nonresidential uses” like an affordable grocery store or health clinic. 

But District 35 is one of many parts of the city Hudson believes could benefit from the planning model, noting some of her colleagues are creating their own versions, like Councilmember Julie Won of District 26, which encompasses several neighborhoods in western Queens.

“Since taking office, I have advocated for comprehensive planning over piecemeal zonings parcel by parcel and created my own land-use principles to holistically address our community’s needs for affordable housing, schools, parks, transportation, sewage infrastructure, and climate resiliency,” said the councilmember in a statement to City Limits. 

She noted that her district also has “vastly different” income levels and unique needs.

“Therefore, following CM Hudson’s land use planning process, I advocated to fund two separate comprehensive plans/neighborhood studies to gather targeted findings to inform decisions about how we use our land,” continued Won. Those studies include the “Heart of the District” (also with Hester Street), which focused on parts of Astoria, Woodside, and Sunnyside, and “One LIC” with the Department of City Planning (DCP) and WX around Long Island City.

Gib Veconi, chair of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council and longtime member of Brooklyn Community Board 8 in Hudson’s district, said he was impressed by the councilmember’s new framework. But he also questioned its long-term viability and the role of community boards “that may or may not see things the same as the city councilmember ordinance.”

“After there’s another election, what happens? What if the incoming city councilmember has a different view of things than the outgoing one?” he asked. “What happens to developers who’ve already tailored their plans around the existing plan that the existing city councilmember put in place?”

Despite these questions, Veconi thinks Hudson is being “proactive” by laying out her district’s objectives and priorities. “Developers will read this, and they will be responsive to it,” he said.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Chris@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org