Minnesota
What are the fastest growing suburbs in the Twin Cities?
The outer edges of the Twin Cities are booming with new places to live.
So far this decade, the Twin Cities metro has, on average, added about 17,000 housing units per year, according to data from the Metropolitan Council. That includes homes, condos and apartments.
If you go by total housing units added, at the top of the list is Lakeville, a city growing so fast it put a pause on accepting new building permits. It has added 4,861 units from 2020 to 2025.
It’s followed in order by Woodbury (4,271 units), Maple Grove (3,599 units), Rosemount (3,186 units), Cottage Grove (2,279 units) and Blaine (2,677).
“Those suburban edge communities have the land supply, and they have the infrastructure, and the connection to the metro,” Todd Graham, the Metropolitan Council’s principal forecaster, explained.
Space to add homes and infrastructure to handle the growth, all while staying within the metro bubble, is why developers are targeting those communities.
Cottage Grove has been adding about 287 homes a year this decade, but the mayor tells us of a new trend.
“What’s changing is we are seeing additional multifamily apartments, higher density,” said Myron Bailey. “And then we’re putting a little bit more focus on some affordability options, especially around our business park.”
Which suburbs will grow the most in the future?
If you go by population, Blaine and Maple Grove are forecasted to add about 20,000 people each from 2020 to 2050.
But if you go by percentage, two communities stand out. Corcoran in Hennepin County is expected to more than triple its population from 6,185 in 2020 to 19,600 in 2050. Carver in Carver County will see its population nearly triple from 5,241 in 2020 to 14,900 in 2050.
“We’re planning for it in the City of Carver. We have a long-term financial plan, we have a strategic plan, we have a comprehensive plan,” said Carver Mayor Courtney Johnson.
For example, new builds will push the limits of Carver’s current water treatment plant sometime in the next decade.
“We are already thinking about where and how we’re going to build a new one to expand our capacity to bring fresh water into homes,” she said.
Cottage Grove is building a second water tower right now on the west side of Highway 61, with plans for a third in the future. The city also has ample space to add homes and businesses.
Carver, meanwhile, has a smaller footprint, but it has an agreement in place with the neighboring Dahlgren township.
“When the landowners in that community are approached by developers for homes or commercial, they would then become part of the City of Carver, and then our boundary area would expand,” said Johnson.
Corcoran’s boundaries are the opposite of Carver’s. The town covers just under 36 square miles, making its land size similar to Maple Grove and Plymouth. Most of it still consists of farmland, prairies and wooded areas with home developments spread throughout.
A spokesperson for Corcoran told WCCO that new developments will be focused on the eastern third of the city, where growth can be best supported. That includes a new water tower and water treatment plant in the city’s northeast district.
With more neighborhoods and people come a need for more entertainment, dining and shopping. Bailey said that’s becoming apparent in his community.
“The biggest complaint that I get is we don’t have enough restaurants or retail in our community. So, that’s been frankly one of the things that I’ve been trying to work on,” said Bailey.
One element of growth that is particularly challenging for smaller towns is maintaining their small-town image. Johnson said much of Carver’s development is happening on their western edge, where farmland is plentiful. The downtown area near the Minnesota River, however, will keep its historic charm.
“We have one of the largest contiguous areas on the National Register of Historic Places. That’s never going to change, and we’re working really hard to maintain that area and promote our historic downtown,” she said.
Corcoran is taking a similar approach, balancing the need for growth while preserving the city’s existing character. Being a rural community is part of the city’s identity, meaning growth will have to happen in a “thoughtful and intentional way.”
Closer to the heart of the metro, cities like Edina and Bloomington are projected to add thousands of households over the next several decades. There’s very little space to build new subdivisions and homes, but that’s not where the growth is expected to happen.
“They identify that they have land supply available for transition to either high-density apartments or mixed-use neighborhoods,” said Graham.
That includes rezoning land initially developed for commercial property to allow for apartments and condos.
“In the Southdale area, you’ve seen that there are apartment buildings going up and there are plans for more of that,” Graham said.
To see how your community in the Twin Cities is projected to grow by the year 2050, click here.
Eagan, MN – Minnesota Aurora FC clinched a fifth straight Heartland Division title and a spot in the USL W League playoffs with a 4-1 win over River Light FC on Saturday at TCO Stadium.
Aurora improved to 10-0-0 on the season and finished its home schedule unbeaten.
Ai Kitagawa scored twice and added an assist, increasing her season total to 11 goals. Flavie Dubé had a goal and an assist, and Amelia Brown scored her first goal of the season.
***Click video box at the top of the page for postgame interviews***
Kitagawa opened the scoring in the 14th minute off a through ball from Dubé. River Light tied it in the 27th on a header from Victoria Adams — the first goal allowed by Aurora this season.
Minnesota regained the lead in first-half stoppage time on Dubé’s breakaway finish and extended it in the 51st minute when Kitagawa scored again on a cross from Gracie Dunaway. Brown added a late goal in the 81st minute.
Aurora will play its final two regular-season games on the road before the playoffs begin the weekend of July 3-5.
Minnesota
Minnesota man arrested in WI for ‘numerous’ criminal sexual conduct charges against a child
A Minnesota man was arrested in Wisconsin on allegations of multiple criminal sexual conduct charges against a child.
Nathan Brase, 33, of Minnesota, was arrested in Medford, Wisconsin, on Thursday after an arrest warrant was issued. According to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, the warrant was issued following an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation by the Two Rivers Police Department
That investigation reportedly led to Brase facing what authorities say are “numerous” felony charges, including exposing his genitals to a child and grooming a child for sexual activity.
Brase is currently being housed in the Taylor County Jail, awaiting extradition.
Minnesota’s defense was huge in the fourth quarter Friday. And on a rare offensively challenging night, Olivia Miles came up big late in other ways.
The Lynx limited Golden State to just 13 points in the final frame and beat the Valkyries 81-75 in San Francisco.
Minnesota has won 11 of its past 12 games.
Golden State finished 4 of 22 from the field in the final 10 minutes, including an abysmal 2 of 13 from deep. Golden State went 12 for 40 from distance overall, a significant departure from its 36.9% mark entering the game, which was good for second-best in the association.
The Valkyries led by 12 late in the first half, but were outscored 16-3 by the Lynx around halftime and 40-29 in the final 20 minutes.
“You don’t get better when it comes easy. This was definitely a challenge for us. It just helps us to understand how to play as a team, how to handle those different moments, how to stay together,” said Nia Coffey, who led the Lynx with a season-high 22 points. “Things aren’t always going to go our way, so I think we made some good strides.”
Courtney Williams added 21 points, a season-high 12 rebounds and five assists. Playing with much enjoyment, she also blew some kisses to the crowd and made heart gestures with her hands.
“The got an amazing fan base, and they fan base not that nice,” she said smiling. “But I love it, because who don’t want to play in this type of environment?”
Kayla McBride added 17 points.
“We needed Courtney Williams and Mac to compete, compete, compete,” coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Courtney’s first five minutes were forgettable and then she played the remainder of the game exactly as we needed her to do. She provided the compete for us. The rookie needed her.”
That first-year player would be Miles, who scored just seven points on 1 of 10 shooting, the first time in her young career not reaching double digits. But Miles recorded a three-point play early in the fourth quarter and drained a pair of free throws with 15.4 seconds left for a 79-75 lead.
The star point guard then blocked a 3-point try by Cecilia Zandalasini at the other end before Ola Kosu iced the game with two free throws.
“Us and them are the two best defensive teams in the league, so what she saw was actual defense,” Reeve said. “She saw physicality, she saw aggressive trapping. … Liv needed a game like this. This was a tremendous growth point for her when things don’t go your way, how do you show up? What she showed is that she’ll show up on the defensive end with kind of a game-sealing block, rebounding the basketball, closing out with free throws. She didn’t quit. … Maybe her numbers weren’t gaudy, but the impact she had on the game still was tremendous.”
The Lynx (13-3), who open a home-and-home series with Washington Sunday at Target Center, made 21 of 23 free throws, including eight of nine in the fourth quarter. The Valkyries (10-6) made just three of eight in the fourth quarter and 11 of 17 overall.
Down by 12 with under a minute to play before the half, McBride scored on a cutting layup, and after a Golden State miss, made two free throws. She then forced a Golden State turnover that led to Coffey getting fouled on a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left. With all three free throws falling, the Lynx were only down 46-41 after two quarters.
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