Meet the cheerful boss of those neon-clad workers on the streets of downtown Saint Paul

If you've ever encountered a neon-clad Street Team member in downtown Saint Paul and wondered: "Why are they so cheerful?" — well, meet Ashley Borud, their operations manager.

With a ready smile and an easy laugh, Borud manages the workers charged with putting downtown's best foot forward. Paid for by fees charged to downtown businesses, the Downtown Improvement District seeks to clean up and cheer up downtown Saint Paul.

Eye On Saint Paul recently visited with Borud to find out just what that neon color is called, as well as other vital details. 

Read more from the Star Tribune.

Saint Paul's Landmark Towers apartment conversion needs TIF assist, developer says

Sherman Associates, which is planning a $92 million conversion of the 25-story Landmark Towers office building in downtown Saint Paul into apartments, says the project will need help from the city in the form of tax increment financing.

Finance & Commerce reports that the developer will seek $7.8 million in TIF assistance for the project, which will convert the 213,000-square-foot Landmark Towers (which despite the name is just one building) into 187 market rate apartments.

Read more from the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Business Journal.

‘The Life and Art of Charles M. Schulz’ opens Saturday at MN History Center

Schulz and his comic strip’s connections to Saint Paul go back much further than 1950 — connections that are explored in an exhibit that opens at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul on Saturday and runs through June 9, 2024.

Minnesota — Schulz’s home state, and the place where “Peanuts” got its start — is the most recent stop for the “The Life and Art of Charles M. Schulz” exhibit, and locally curated items and material also will be on display to complement the comic strips and panels from California.

Read more from the Pioneer Press.

Downtown road construction updates

Kellogg Boulevard

Construction will begin next week on a portion of the south corridor of the Capital City Bikeway along Kellogg Boulevard from St. Peter Street to Jackson Street. The project will include:

• New separated bikeway on the north side of Kellogg Boulevard
• New sidewalks on the north side of Kellogg Boulevard
• Signage, lighting and signal improvements
• New pavement, curbs and gutters
• Sewer and water improvements

Stage 1A of the project begins on Monday, July 24. Stages 1A and 1B are expected to be completed by November 2023.

• Stage 1A—July-Fall 2023: Kellogg Blvd. closed between Robert Street and Jackson Street
• Stage 1B—Summer-Fall 2023: Extended Stage 1A closure to include Kellogg Blvd. between Wabasha Street and Robert Street

Click here or on the map to read the full details of the Kellogg Blvd construction beginning Monday.

Minnesota Street

Construction along Minnesota Street continues between Kellogg Boulevard and 6th Street.

You can read the most recent project update regarding road closures and detours here.