School districts are organizations that have a large potential for reducing the carbon emissions of our local communities. Let's explore some of the work that is being done in this sector and see where we can push farther!

Episode index 00:00:00 | Intro 00:02:26 | SPPS students riding public transit 00:05:34 | Erica Wacker, SPPS Director of Communications 00:26:05 | Staff Transportation Demand Management 00:29:28 | Bike bus! 00:33:34 | Jody Volk, Health Teacher at Seward Montessori 00:38:26 | Student drop-off and parking 00:41:10 | Land use 00:43:30 | Divestment: Uriah Ward, SPPS board member 00:58:01 | Solar on schools 00:59:03 | Waste reduction 01:01:25 | Outro Further resources

• Solving the bus driver shortage: Streets.mn Podcast
• Electrifying Minnesota school bus fleet will pay big dividends
• How to start a bike bus
• Seward Bike Sharks
• SPPS divests from fossil fuels and private prisons
  • Text of fossil fuel resolution
  • Text of private prison resolution
• Ian on Twitter

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by Mike Allen, first of his name. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by the super professional Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.

Going all-in on urbanism doesn't mean you have to give up on spending time in the outdoors; in fact, many urbanists love going camping! We'll talk to a city planner about creating car-free camping opportunities, and then follow a group on a hare-brained winter bike trip to ski and camp at Afton.

Episode summary 00:00:00 | Intro 00:00:59 | Park amenities encourage different types of camping 00:09:51 | Comprehensive plans 00:18:13 | Ian's ideal urbanism 00:23:15 | TransitLink 00:27:36 | Winter ski and campout at Afton 00:33:29 | What drew you to this trip? 00:36:32 | Brief summary of the trip 00:41:11 | What was your favorite part? 00:44:20 | What was the biggest challenge? 00:50:12 | What changes to the system could have helped? 00:57:54 | Would you do it again? 01:01:06 | Outro Photos from the Afton Trip

Further reading

• How to ride TransitLink to Afton State Park
• Ian's original bike-to-ski trip

Connect with us!

• Christina on Twitter
• Brian on Twitter
• James on Twitter
• Melissa on Twitter
• Ian on Twitter

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

Unless otherwise noted, photos are by Ian R Buck.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by Mike Allen, first of his name. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by the super professional Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.

In our very first book club episode, Elissa Schufman and Carolyn Szczpanski discuss How to Walk by Thich Nhat Hanh. It's a short, approachable book about the practice of mindful walking.

Connect with us!

• Other articles by Elissa
• January's Book Club: The City & the City by China Miéville

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

This episode was hosted by Elissa Schufman and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by Mike Allen, first of his name. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by the super professional Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.

Evie is the first municipally-owned electric car share program in the country! To find out what it's like to use the service and how it might fit into your life, we're riding along with Madi Johnson on her first Evie trip. We're also joined in the studio by James Vierling from HOURCAR to give more background about Evie.

Episode summary 00:00 | Intro 01:01 | Ian's car share story 04:16 | Madi's transportation story 10:07 | Differences between Evie and HOURCAR 14:37 | Starting our journey 17:59 | "There's nothing super futuristic about it" 18:59 | Driving to Fleet Farm 22:07 | The municipal ownership model 27:16 | The home area 33:20 | Making fewer, consolidated trips 36:52 | Strategically placing charging stations 38:15 | The car's handling 43:43 | Long distance trips 47:55 | Unloading 50:08 | Plugging in 52:26 | The invoice 54:47 | Outro Photos from the journey

Connect with us!

• Madi on Twitter
• Ian on Twitter
• Evie's website

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by the indominable Mike Allen. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by the super professional Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.

Metro Transit is having trouble hiring and retaining enough bus drivers for their fleet, which has led to service cuts. In this episode, we hear what Metro Transit and the bus drivers union think needs to be done to address the shortage. We're joined in the studio by transit justice advocate Adri Jereb to discuss their takes.

Episode summary 00:00:00 | Intro 00:01:37 | Why drivers are leaving 00:05:38 | Driver safety concerns 00:14:01 | Transit ambassadors 00:21:26 | Shift schedules 00:31:12 | Employment requirements 00:41:41 | New hire conditions 00:47:03 | Wages 00:52:45 | Metro Transit's most powerful recruitment tool 00:57:24 | A more robust system is more resilient 01:01:17 | Outro Further reading

• Metro Transit ridership up this year, but continues to lag behind pre-pandemic numbers
• Four Factors Driving the Bus Operator Shortage (And What to Do About Them)
• America's Bus Driver Shortage Has Left Transit Systems in Crisis

Connect with us!

• Adri on Twitter
• Ian on Twitter
• Car-free MSP

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by the indominable Mike Allen. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by the super professional Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.

This week we are joined by Crystal Sursely of Lowertown Bike Shop to talk about the essential things that everyone should know about bike maintenance.

Episode summary 00:00 | Intro 01:04 | Weekly: pump tires, lube chain 05:34 | Change a flat 11:24 | Reseat a chain 13:01 | Fenders 14:32 | Barrel adjustor 17:39 | Toolkit Video: what's in Ian's toolkit 19:49 | Winter maintenance 26:21 | Seat height 28:20 | Brakes 32:09 | When to bring a bike in 39:51 | Worn down tires 43:55 | Services a shop provides Every good bike shop should have a good dog! 55:55 | Outro Connect with us!

• Lowertown Bike Shop
• Crystal Sursely on Twitter
• Ian R Buck on Twitter
• Car-Free MSP

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

This episode originally appeared on The Extra Dimension, a show Ian actively produced from 2015 to 2020 about the social and ethical implications of technology.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by the indominable Mike Allen. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by the super professional Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.

Getting started with biking on a daily basis can be an intimidating experience! This week Ian and fellow bike commuter Melody Hoffmann talk about the solutions they have developed for the challenges of utilitarian cycling. Check out part 1 for even more tips!

Episode summary 00:00 | Intro 01:20 | Looking presentable 09:37 | The weather 10:22 | Heat 12:00 | Cold 15:13 | Snow and ice 16:37 | Rain 20:33 | Far-flung destinations 25:51 | Bike touring Routes & Maps- Bicycling - MnDOTWisconsin Department of Transportation County bicycle maps 41:01 | Unsolved challenges 46:39 | Outro Connect with us!

• Melody's website
• Melody Hoffmann on Twitter
• Ian R Buck on Twitter

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

This episode originally appeared on The Extra Dimension, a show Ian actively produced from 2015 to 2020 about the social and ethical implications of technology.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by the indominable Mike Allen. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by the super professional Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.

Getting started with biking on a daily basis can be an intimidating experience! This week Ian and fellow bike commuter Melody Hoffmann talk about the solutions they have developed for the challenges of utilitarian cycling. Stay tuned for part 2 with even more tips!

Episode Summary 00:00 | Intro 04:21 | Feeling safe on your bike 18:09 | Biking within budget 27:24 | Mechanical trouble 33:20 | Security 36:14 | Hauling cargo 42:25 | Outro Connect with us!

• Melody's website
• Melody Hoffmann on Twitter
• Ian R Buck on Twitter

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

This episode originally appeared on The Extra Dimension, a show Ian actively produced from 2015 to 2020 about the social and ethical implications of technology.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by the indominable Mike Allen. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by the super professional Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.

Today we're joined by Adrianna Jereb, Transit Justice organizer at MN350, to talk about their campaign to influence the Metropolitan Council's budget to reflect the needs of transit users.

Episode summary 00:00 | Intro 04:21 | The three needs 25:51 | Levers of power 34:11 | Connections to other transportation campaigns Urban highway removal 38:44 | Organizer role 46:19 | Outro Connect with us!

• Bus Rider's Budget Website
• MN350 Transit Justice Team
• Adrianna Jereb on Twitter
• Ian R Buck on Twitter

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by the indominable Mike Allen. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by the super professional Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.

This week we're joined by Brian Nelson, President of All Aboard Minnesota, to chat about the current status of passenger rail projects in Minnesota.

Episode Summary 00:00 | Intro 00:53 | Legislative update 33:25 | Rail termini in the Twin Cities 50:10 | Outro Connect with us!

• All Aboard Minnesota website
• Video: Why Passenger Rail is Good for Minnesota
• Ian R Buck on Twitter

Attributions

Our theme song is Tanz den Dobberstein, and our interstitial song is Puck's Blues. Both tracks used by permission of their creator, Erik Brandt. Find out more about his band The Urban Hillbilly Quartet on their website.

This episode was hosted and edited by Ian R Buck, with transcript by Mike Allen. Christy Marsden is our awesome guest booker, and technical assistance is provided by Brian Mitchell. If you're able to help make sure this team gets paid for the hard work they do, please consider donating. We really appreciate it!

Copyright

The Streets.mn Podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Feel free to republish the episode as long as you don't alter it and you aren't profiting from it.