Timothy James Pawlenty is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 39th governor of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003, and as House Majority Leader from 1999 to 2003. He unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2012 presidential election. As of 2023, he is the most recent Republican to serve as governor of Minnesota, and his 2006 reelection is the last time a Republican was elected to statewide office in Minnesota.
U.S. Route 53, or U.S. Highway 53 (U.S. 53), is a north–south U.S. highway that runs for 404 miles (650 km) from La Crosse, Wisconsin to International Falls, Minnesota. It is the primary north–south route in northwestern Wisconsin, serving as a vital link between I-94 at Eau Claire, Wisconsin and the Twin Ports of Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota. The entire route from Eau Claire to the city limits of Superior is a four lane divided highway. The highway's northern terminus is at the Fort Frances–International Falls International Bridge in International Falls, Minnesota, at the Canada–US border. Its southern terminus is in La Crosse, Wisconsin, at U.S. Highway 14.
Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At 343.723 miles (553.169 km) in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation oversees transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state's trunk highway system, funding municipal airports and maintaining radio navigation aids, and other activities.
The 2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Tim Pawlenty was endorsed by the state Republican convention on June 2, 2006, while the state Democratic–Farmer–Labor convention endorsed Mike Hatch on June 10, 2006. The party primaries took place on September 12, 2006, with Hatch defeating DFL challengers Becky Lourey and Ole Savior and incumbent Pawlenty defeating Sue Jeffers. In the November 7 general election, Pawlenty received a plurality of the votes, defeating Hatch by a margin of 1%. As a result, this election was the closest race of the 2006 gubernatorial election cycle.
The Stillwater Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge crossing the St. Croix River between Stillwater, Minnesota, and Houlton, Wisconsin. It formerly connected Minnesota State Highway 36 and Wisconsin Highway 64. Around 18,000 vehicles crossed the bridge daily. The new St. Croix Crossing bridge crossing the St. Croix river valley to the south of Stillwater replaced its purpose, having opened to highway traffic on August 2, 2017, leaving the Stillwater Lift Bridge to be preserved and to be converted to bicycle/pedestrian use.
The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, United States, with Gravina Island, an island that contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. The bridge was projected to cost $398 million. Members of the Alaskan congressional delegation, particularly Representative Don Young and Senator Ted Stevens, were the bridge's biggest advocates in Congress, and helped push for federal funding. The project encountered fierce opposition outside Alaska as a symbol of pork barrel spending and is labeled as one of the more prominent "bridges to nowhere". As a result, Congress removed the federal earmark for the bridge in 2005. Funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere" was continued as of March 2, 2011, in the passing of H.R. 662: Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011 by the House of Representatives, and finally cancelled in 2015.
Interstate 35W (I-35W) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Minnesota, passing through downtown Minneapolis. It is one of two through routes for I-35 through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the other being I-35E through downtown Saint Paul.
The I-35W Mississippi River bridge was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River one-half mile downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The bridge opened in 1967 and was Minnesota's third busiest, carrying 140,000 vehicles daily. It experienced a catastrophic failure during the evening rush hour on August 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145. The NTSB cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, noting that an excessively thin gusset plate ripped along a line of rivets, and that additional weight on the bridge at the time contributed to the catastrophic failure.
DeSoto Bridge was a trussed deck-arch bridge that spanned the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota. It was built in 1958 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The bridge was painted black, which is typical for railroad bridges but unusual for a highway bridge. The river banks on either side are relatively high, so the bridge required deep trusses which arched over the river.
Margaret Anderson Kelliher is an American politician, Director of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works, former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, she represented District 60A, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. First elected in 1999, she served until 2011, also serving as the Speaker from 2007 to 2011. She is the second woman to hold the position of House speaker. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the DFL nomination for Governor of Minnesota in the 2010 gubernatorial election, losing to former Senator Mark Dayton. Anderson left the Minnesota House of Representatives at the conclusion of her term in 2011 and re-entered politics when she ran for the DFL nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota's 5th congressional district in 2018, losing to Ilhan Omar. Since 2019 Kelliher, has worked in transportation management roles for the government, first as Commissioner of MnDOT, and later as Director of Public Works for the city of Minneapolis.
Minnesota State Highway 62 (MN 62) is a highway in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota. The route was part of County Road 62 (CR 62) until 1988, when a portion of the route was inherited by the state. The western terminus of the highway is at Interstate 494 (I-494) in Eden Prairie, where the roadway continues west as CR 62 to CR 101. The eastern terminus of the route is at the junction with I-494 in Inver Grove Heights. Locally, the original portion of the route in Hennepin County is known as "the Crosstown Highway" or simply "the Crosstown," though signage with this name does not appear on the highway itself, but only on local streets adjacent to the road. It is also used as an alternate name, even by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). The route is 18.6 miles (29.9 km) in length.
The I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge crosses the Mississippi River one-half mile downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the U.S., carrying north–south traffic on Interstate Highway 35W. The ten-lane bridge replaced the I-35W Mississippi River bridge, which collapsed on August 1, 2007. It was planned and is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT). The planning, design, and construction processes were completed more quickly than normal because Interstate 35W is a critical artery for commuters and truck freight. The bridge opened September 18, 2008, well ahead of the original goal of December 24.
Ron Erhardt is a politician from the U.S. state of Minnesota and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He represented District 49A, which included most of Edina in Hennepin County.
Elwyn "El" Tinklenberg has been an American government official and candidate for public office. He was Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, a city council member and mayor, and a two-time candidate for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination for U.S. Congress from Minnesota's 6th District.
Gen Olson is a retired teacher and Republican politician who is a former member of the Minnesota Senate representing portions of Hennepin and Wright counties in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area. She was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota in the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election and also unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in he 1994 United States Senate election in Minnesota.
Michelle Louise Helene Fischbach is an American attorney and politician who is the U.S. representative from Minnesota's 7th congressional district. The district, which is very rural, is Minnesota's largest congressional district and includes most of the western area of the state. A Republican, Fischbach served as the 49th lieutenant governor of Minnesota under Governor Mark Dayton.
The 2014 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Minnesota concurrently with the election to Minnesota's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Minnesota, concurrently with the election of the Governor of Minnesota, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 6, to elect the 41st Governor of Minnesota as incumbent Democratic governor Mark Dayton chose not to run for re-election for a third term. The Democratic nominee was congressman Tim Walz from Minnesota's 1st congressional district while the Republicans nominated Hennepin County commissioner Jeff Johnson. The Independence Party of Minnesota didn't field a candidate for the first time since 1994. Going into the election the polls showed Walz ahead and the race was characterized as lean or likely DFL.
