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Board signs onto legislative priorities, asks MnDOT and Met Council to explore successor bus service for Northstar
Summary
The county included several items in its 2026 legislative package and authorized staff to send letters to MnDOT and the Met Council to study extending bus service to Elk River and Big Lake as a successor to Northstar commuter service.
Sherburne County staff presented proposed 2026 legislative priorities that include a request to reconsider state mandates (such as the African American disproportionality act), re-examination of the nuclear moratorium, property-tax reform, data-center bill modifications and assessor-safety changes. The board discussed and agreed to include these items in an AMC-driven package.
A main near-term operational focus was contingency planning for the Northstar commuter-service transition. Staff reported the Northstar Link may end December 31 and that commuter train service could cease on January 3; the county asked MnDOT to authorize the Met Council to study and possibly extend bus service to Elk River and Big Lake as a successor option. Commissioners discussed potential funding and the need for cost estimates before committing county funds.
The board approved a motion authorizing staff to send a letter to MnDOT and to the Met Council to register county interest and to ask the Met Council to consider extending bus service to the county as a short-term alternative while longer-term options are worked out.
