The debate over the Southwest Light Rail Transit project has been a bitter one, but it’s one that video gamers may be able to investigate from the comfort of their living rooms and home offices this week. That’s the promise offered by the quarter-century-old video game series SimCity—the latest version of which comes out Tuesday. The game offers a variety of transportation options and a development model that centers on how well a virtual community’s transportation corridors are operating. There’s just one problem, though. Just as critics and supporters in the Southwest LRT debate have their …

Apartments often get a bad rap in Hopkins, but Mayor Gene Maxwell is fighting back against that. While apartments have long been seen as a problem to solve, Maxwell told residents at last week’s State of the City that apartments are here to stay—and that they can even be a part of smart development. “You have people have saying, ‘We have too many apartments,’” Maxwell said. “Well, gentlemen, ladies, we’re not going to be able to build single-family homes. We don’t have any room for them. … The only thing we can do is build quality apartments.” There’s no denying that Hopkins is in a unique …

The metro’s conaminated sites got a little more attention than usual last week when first the Metropolitan Council and then the Department of Employment and Economic Development announced grant packages, including grants for the Gallery Flats project in downtown Hopkins. That followed a grant announced in June for the same project. The Park Nicollet and Lutheran Digest sites that make up the Gallery Flats project aren’t unusually contaminated, though—at least not in the smoke-belching-factory way that way most people think of. The sites are just two properties among hundreds that have health …

  It’s not exactly hard to tell how someone feels about the Southwest Light Rail Transit project. “I would rather use those dollars for improving the highway system we already have in place,” Shakopee Rep. Michael Beard told the Minnesota Daily in January. “It’s not about getting from A to B. It’s about what happens at A and what happens at B and how do you transform the area,” Will Fleissig—the president and managing director of TransAct, a San Francisco-based urban development firm—told a group of Southwest corridor officials Wednesday. While those two statements are about the same project…

  The end times were once again on the radio this morning. The two DJs were, of course, joking that the Mayan calendar predicted the world would end Dec. 21, 2012. With less than three weeks until that date, it seems like everyone is talking about it. Even NASA is getting in on the action. The agency created a page on its website devoted to debunking the myth—not least because the Mayans never predicted any such thing. The date is simply the end of one time period that simply starts over. “Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists …

I’m not a hugger. But Santa is. I’m not someone who can make small talk with dozens of strangers. I’m not comfortable being the center of attention. But Santa is. So when Hopkins Activity Center Receptionist Sharon Nelson waved me into the gym, I chimed my bell and gave the crowd a hearty, “Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas!” I’d been invited to be Santa for the Activity Center’s annual Thanksgiving Celebration on Tuesday. Apparently, it’s not that easy to find someone willing to play the part. Still, I was thrilled—if a little nervous. I even practiced my “ho-ho-ho” while my wife was at work. There …

Residents who sit through enough School Board and City Council meetings will eventually see the connections between the issues before each body. Yet school districts and cities have very different responsibilities. They don’t always have in-depth understanding of what the other is doing and an intuitive appreciation for the other body’s goals and challenges. At a joint meeting Tuesday, for example, School Board directors queried City Council members about the number of housing units that would soon come on the market. Council members at least mention development projects like Marketplace & …

The topic on the agenda was student nutrition, but food wasn’t what launched Tuesday's discussion. School Board Director Kris Newcomer questioned why a proposed board policy covering “Student Nutrition Operations” mentioned the need to “develop and sustain healthy relationships.” Is that really an appropriate focus for a nutrition policy? “I think it either promises something we can’t deliver or shouldn’t deliver under our nutrition services,” Newcomer said. “My concern is this opens up a door to a place I don’t think we should be going as a district.” At its heart, Newcomer’s concern is …

Southwest Light Rail Transit supporters haven’t been shy about trying to sell residents on the project. Local chambers have taken an active role in encouraging legislators to back the project, and they recently launched a “More Jobs Less Traffic” campaign to boost support among the general public. What hasn’t happened as frequently is candidates using Southwest LRT as the major selling point for their own campaigns. Yet that’s exactly what Senate District 49 candidate Melisa Franzen’s campaign did in an advertisement last week. Residents in her district received a mailer that featured a Metro…

  At Patch, we sift through the various crime reports to focus on the biggest cases—typically felonies or misdemeanors that somehow reflect on larger trends. Then again, sometimes we run across an incident that’s just too humorous to pass up. That was the case when I got the latest batch of charging documents Wednesday. Amid the collection of misdemeanors was a charge that stood out for the graphic detail with which the officer recorded the verbal abuse a 28-year-old Hopkins woman hurled upon him. The officer, who was “familiar with (the woman) from a prior offense,” ticketed her brother for …

Editor’s Note: The protests and riots occurring around the world are seemingly unfathomable. How can an amateurish film spark so much outrage? Why doesn’t anyone appreciate our good intentions? Why are they so mad? “They” is a word I’ve been hearing a lot recently. In one sense, its connotations are much too narrow. For many, it conjures images of Arab Islamists—ignoring disparate groups in places such as Afghanistan, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Yet in the most important ways it is much too broad. It overlooks denomination, nationality, ethnicity and, just as in America, party. They is not…

In less than four days, the world’s greatest athletes will parade through London’s Olympic Stadium. Dignitaries and heads of state will watch the pageantry. A torchbearer will carry the Olympic flame into London’s Olympic Stadium. And I couldn’t care less. Don’t get me wrong. While I’m not a sports fan, I’m not immune to its appeal. I catch a boxing match or UFC fight whenever I get a chance. Covering this year’s girls basketball championship was among my most enjoyable experiences at Patch. I love a thrilling, come-from-behind victory as much as the next guy. But the Olympics just tries too …

It’s no secret that standardized testing has become a lighting rod in discussions about school accountability. Dissatisfaction with the No Child Left Behind Act led several states to seek waivers from the requirements—with Minnesota just releasing results of its new accountability system last month. But results from a pending study of Hopkins’ secondary education system shows that teachers are more split on how well state testing can be used to make instructional decisions, according to preliminary findings discussed at Thursday’s School Board meeting. In a survey conducted at the end of …

I take my work seriously, but I still get a kick out of the occasional cringe-inducing juxtaposition seen throughout the Internet. So I could definitely see the humor Tuesday night when City Manager Mike Mornson pointed out an unfortunate pairing of headline and ad that a sharp-eyed city staffer caught on Hopkins Patch. The paper he handed me showed the offending items helpfully circled in red. “Hearing Planned for Two Massage Parlors Suspected in Prostitution Case,” read a headline about two Asian-themed businesses targeted in an undercover sting. “Beautiful Chinese Women” read a dating …

    It wasn't long after my wife learned that Whitney Houston had died before she downloaded Houston's 1992 smash hit, I Will Always Love You. There's no doubt numerous fans across the world are doing the same—remembering Houston's legacy by reconnecting with her incredibly moving music. I Will Always Love You currently sits at No. 1 on iTunes, and  I Wanna Dance With Somebody is at No. 9. One of the world's best-selling artists, Houston's career and strong voice suffered during a tumultuous marriage to R&B singer Bobby Brown that lasted from 1992-2007. The couple reportedly battled drug and …

Ideology is a recurring theme in the political news cycle. The start of the Legislature means weeks of coverage about Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and progressives. Just so you’re sure where someone stands, we journalists will even put an R or DFL next to the names of legislators. But politics isn’t about ideology—at least not exclusively. It’s about goals. It’s about action. It’s about results. Hopkins Patch is kicking off this year’s legislative session by asking various stakeholders what they want lawmakers to accomplish before they adjourn. We talked with Hopkins’ legislators …

The proposals Metropolitan Council Chairwoman Susan Haigh detailed at Wednesday’s State of the Region event may cover the entire swathe of the council’s seven-county territory, but a remarkable number of the issues she emphasized echo those that planners have already identified within Hopkins’ four square miles. (Click here to read Haigh’s full remarks.) Consider affordable housing. Haigh, noting a trend toward smaller households and more seniors, said the region must work to ensure people can find affordable places to live. “Virtually all communities in our region need more affordable …

The Santa cap was the last straw. My wife and I had hauled our cat, Tux, to the Mall of America. He’d been remarkably forbearing up to that point. He only hissed when curious dogs and a laid-back feline named Kevin nosed the door of his carrier. He even endured the green-and-red, jingle bell wreath we placed around his neck. But Tux snapped the moment we pulled the Santa cap onto his head. He thrashed about. He swiped at the hat with his paw. He clawed at the air with his hind legs. He wanted that hat off now! The three of us were at the Mall of America, along with other crazy pet owners, to …

On Thursday, Hopkins School Board directors adopted state and federal legislative platforms presented by the Legislative Action Coalition. The proposals can seem at first glance to be just a lengthy list of wants and needs. But the reality is each one’s a carefully considered plank that sits in the context of larger discussions. Here’s a look at the stories behind the proposals. *** “The State of Minnesota Must …”   “1. Meet its constitutional obligation to fully fund E-12 education.” The state has a constitutional obligation to fund education—specifically to "make such provisions by taxation…

On Tuesday, Hopkins officials will stand before the public and explain the intricacies of the upcoming year’s budget and levy. Two days later, school district leaders will do the same for the Hopkins Public Schools budget and levy. These public hearings have become a statewide ritual that mark the end of the year every bit as much as the Minnesota snow or gaudy holiday decorations in stores. They offer residents a chance to grill their elected officials and officials a chance to justify their decisions to constituents. And yet these hearings, and the tax notices that precede them, can by …