September 5, 2012

Mankato, North Mankato, Blue Earth County, and Nicollet County are involved in talks about how to put together a new Metropolitan Planning Organization… also called an MPO… required by the federal government because of our area’s growth.

Alan Forsberg, Blue Earth County Engineer, is heavily involved in the planning of the MPO.  He says the smaller cities of Eagle Lake and Skyline, as well as many townships will also be invited to join.  Our area has a bit of a head start, with its MATAPS study, which Forsberg says can be rolled into the MPO.

Forsberg reports the most practical location for the MPO office would be the Intergovernmental Center in Mankato, and the MPO could use Mankato’s existing structure to streamline the process of operating the MPO and meeting financial reporting requirements.

80 percent of the funding for forming the MPO will come from the federal government, which Forsberg says is required because of the growing size of our region, if we want to continue getting federal dollars. 

Copyright © 2012 KTOE Radio Mankato News, Minnesota Valley Broadcasting Co.
All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Send information to the News Room: Email or call 507-387-NEWS