ST. CLOUD — Granite City voters will head to the polls for Tuesday's primary election, deciding which mayoral candidates will advance to the general election, a decision that could impact passenger rail expansion and economic development in St. Cloud.
State legislators are working to bolster passenger rail service in St. Cloud and beyond, a goal Minnesota Rep. Dan Wolgamott, DFL-St. Cloud, said would benefit greatly from the mayor’s collaboration when representatives are rallying votes in St. Paul.
“If we have a mayor who's going to come out and…make sure that the city is doing its part to cooperate, (they’ll) be a strong advocate for this project,” Wolgamott said. “On the other hand, if we have a mayor who doesn't support it, who talks negatively about it, who isn't going to help you partner in this, that's just going to be another obstacle in getting passenger rail to St Cloud.”
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Wolgamott said Mayor Dave Kleis has been excellent in providing support, which led to the legislature allocating funds to study expanding rail service to St. Cloud. These studies were, or are expected to be, completed in 2019, 2024 and 2025.
The 2024 study explicitly explored expanding the Northstar service from Minneapolis to St. Cloud. Currently, passengers take the rail to Big Lake followed by the Northstar Link bus to St. Cloud.
After the studies are complete, and the project gets approved, expanding the Northstar would wrap up in 2040, according to the 2024 study. If it would choose to go with expanding the Northstar versus other rail options, such as Amtrak, the planning period would begin in 2025 and last roughly 2 1/2 years. Several steps are needed before beginning construction in either 2035 or 2037, depending on the logistics the state would decide on.
The 2025 study will focus on other rail options beyond Northstar, such as Amtrak, Wolgamott said.
After speaking with St. Cloud-area business owners, Wolgamott said he realized the rail service would also impact the local economy, explaining it would not only help bring new customers to the area, but the service would also add to St. Cloud’s available workforce and increase job options for St. Cloud residents.
“It's about the workforce. It's about getting customers coming into St. Cloud,” Wolgamott said. “It could help the airport. Rather than having to park at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, folks can just take the train to St. Cloud and be able to use the airport here.”
St. Cloud State University could also reap the benefits, Wolgamott said, which could bolster the university’s recruiting efforts and make it easier for students to visit home or attend career advancement opportunities.
The university’s Interim President Larry Dietz backed Wolgamott up on his claim, citing Amtrak’s positive impact on student experience at Illinois State University, where he worked prior to joining SCSU this July.
“Anytime that you have something that enhances physical access to places, it's always a really welcome addition,” Dietz said. “I know it's expensive, but we had a situation at my previous institution at Illinois State where Amtrak ran from Chicago right through...the stop (near ISU) in Bloomington where students could come from Chicago, get off the train, and literally walk to their residence halls from the station. That was a terrific enhancement for the university and a great service to the students.”
The funding for the project is to be determined, with officials hoping state and federal dollars will offset the local cost. Anticipated costs for expanding Northstar service range from $554.5 million to $690.9 million, according to the 2024 assessment. Other alternatives, such as Amtrak, and its costs will be included in the 2025 report due this coming February.
Where the mayoral candidates stand on rail service
Wolgamott said Kleis has been instrumental in gathering support for bringing increased passenger or commuter rail service to St. Cloud. Kleis went as far as welcoming state legislators to St. Cloud to discuss transportation-related concerns and what rail service could bring to the city.
The St. Cloud Times asked St. Cloud’s six mayoral candidates where they stand on the issue. Candidate James Trantina III did not respond to the Times’ email inquiry.
Although each had diverse thoughts with regard to service, the five candidates who responded to the Times thought some form of rail service to St. Cloud would be beneficial.
City council member and mayoral candidate Jake Anderson said he supports bringing enhanced rail service, but he says these assessments are key in deciding how the city will play a role. Anderson said passenger service ridership has been down since the pandemic, and assessing these numbers is needed before committing to a hefty bill. Daily Northstar ridership numbers were at roughly 2,700 in 2019 compared to post-pandemic numbers of roughly 300 in 2022, according to a 2022 study, in part due to a change in service offerings and the impact of remote work.
Mayor’s office hopeful Anne Buckvold has been vocal about her support toward bringing rail service to St. Cloud. She told the Times she’d prefer to see Amtrak come to provide options and the network to get to more destinations across the state and region. Buckvold said she wants to take a hands-on approach by bringing local officials together to lobby state and federal officials to gain funding, saying increasing passenger rail service in St. Cloud is among her top priorities. Buckvold was a transportation advocate prior to putting herself in the political arena.
“(Local) leaders need to be clear, and they need to be putting pressure on state and federal officials to make sure we get the money we need to be able to build that rail, and that will help expand local public transportation,” Buckvold said. “People want to be able to travel, not just for (daily work commutes and Twins games), but for leisure, medical, family and all sorts of other reasons.”
Candidate Mike Conway said he supports bringing expanded rail service to St. Cloud as long as the bill doesn’t land in taxpayers’ pockets. He said if the rail would come to the Granite City, he would like a stop at the St. Cloud Regional Airport.
Carol Lewis said she is all-in for bringing rail service to St. Cloud. The sitting city council member said she’d like to see both the Northstar and Amtrak expand their service to the area.
“It would help alleviate traffic on 94, but not to the degree it would have pre-pandemic,” Lewis said. “Regionally and locally, people prefer to board Amtrak in St. Cloud versus driving to the TwinCities.”
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Steven Schiller said the state should consider expanding the rail service through St. Cloud and beyond the state. He said this will help alleviate the traffic situation back and forth to the Twin Cities, saying it gives people the chance to live outside the metro area and commute not only for entertainment but also work.
“It opens up a huge door for jobs, a greater opportunity for high paying jobs in the cities and the ability to commute on a regular basis without worrying about parking, gas and traffic,” he said. “Would it generate more spending in St. Cloud? Absolutely, people are commuting to higher paid jobs in the Twin Cities, bringing a higher income base to be spent in the St. Cloud area.”
St. Cloud's six mayoral candidates go head-to-head in Tuesday's primary election. The two candidates with the highest voter turnout will square off in the Nov. 5 general election.
Corey Schmidt covers local government for the St. Cloud Times. He can be reached at cschmidt@gannett.com.
