By Joseph Palmersheim

While Earth Day may be one day on the calendar, MnDOT’s sustainability efforts take place year-round.

The Office of Sustainability and Public Health will release its 2018 sustainability report April 29. The annual document, the third produced since 2016, focuses on agency operations and management of various assets. These efforts aren’t limited to the Office of Sustainability and Public Health, however; the office collaborates with staff across the agency to help implement eco-friendly policies and practices.

“There are many opportunities throughout the agency to save money and reduce our environmental impacts,” said Tim Sexton, chief sustainability officer. “We’re fortunate to have so many experts throughout the agency that we work with to identify, track and implement new practices and technologies that benefit the people, economy and the environment of Minnesota.”

Highlights from this year’s report include:

• MnDOT’s goal of converting all highway lighting to LED by 2020 is 92 percent complete
• Facility energy use has continued to decline from 2008 levels
• More than 57 percent of the acreage on MnDOT project sites had native plantings

Some examples of this work are around MnDOT employees every day. For example, the agency developed a set of temperature standards to balance energy savings with employee comfort. According to the 2018 MnDOT sustainability report, these standards are similar to those in other states and could save MnDOT up to $200,000 per year and reduce building energy use by 10 percent. LED lights and automated features that control lighting, heating and cooling also reduce power use within MnDOT buildings.

New idle reduction standards are another way that MnDOT will reduce pollution and save money. Avoiding unnecessary idling could save up to 14 percent of the agency’s fuel each year, the report states.

MnDOT is also benefitting from solar energy projects. Solar panels were installed at the District 6 headquarters four years ago. The agency also finalized an agreement for a Community Solar Garden on the roof of Ramp A in downtown Minneapolis (to be covered in a future edition of Newsline) and is working on agreements to host another Community Solar Garden and purchase energy produced at others. Finally, solar panels were installed on the roof of MnDOT’s Central Office. These panels are part of an enterprise effort from an executive order calling for state government to conserve energy.

In addition to reducing environmental impacts from agency operations, there is a statutory requirement for MnDOT to reduce greenhouse gases from the transportation sector. MnDOT recently kicked off a project with other state agencies to make progress “decarbonizing” transportation, Sexton said, adding that this work should be finished by June. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s 2016 inventory showed that transportation is now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state.

According to Deputy Commissioner Sue Mulvihill, sustainability work is aligned with MnDOT’s vision is to maximize the health of the people, the environment and the state's economy.

“By doing our part to improve sustainability and to recognize our impact on the health of all those customers we serve, we can make a difference in many lives,” she said. “It’s simply the right thing to do, and we thank all of those folks who are engaged in helping us make a difference.”

By Anne Meyer

Hundreds of MnDOT employees will take time next week to observe Worker Memorial Day and honor the 35 MnDOT workers and 15 contractors who have died in work zones on Minnesota roadways since 1960.

Gov. Tim Walz has proclaimed April 28 as “Worker Memorial Day” in Minnesota. Because the day falls on a Sunday this year, three districts and Central Office will host events on Monday, April 29.

District 6: 8:30 a.m. reception, 9-10 a.m. program at Rochester MnDOT Headquarters – Maintenance garage

District 7: 8:45 a.m. at Mankato MnDOT Headquarters – Motorpool

Metro: 1-2 p.m. at Water’s Edge rooms A, B, C & Lunchroom. Speakers include Deputy Commissioner Sue Mulvihill, Metro District Engineer Mike Barnes, Minnesota State Patrol Sgt. Scott Wahl and Mike Lindhold with AFSCME. “Why I Work Safe,” a video from District 3, will also be shown.

CO: Worker Memorial Day poster will be displayed in the cafeteria, with displays of safety vests and hardhats set up on each floor.

Interstate 35W Mississippi River Bridge will be lit orange April 28-29.

By Joseph Palmersheim

There are many ways to tell the MnDOT story.

More than 5,200 people visited the Minnesota Science Museum’s second-annual Civil Engineering Day on March 30, and eight MnDOT employees staffed the agency’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math booth to share their career stories with them. Visitors to the table were also able to try Stack’em Up, where participants created a tool using a string and a rubber band to stack a group of cups into a pyramid. It’s one of many examples of the MnDOT story being told to a diverse younger audience who may not know much more about the organization aside from seeing the big orange trucks when it snows.

“With significant job growth predicted for the next 20 years in STEM fields, an unprecedented labor shortage and 31 percent of MnDOT’s workforce becoming eligible for retirement throughout the next five years, recruitment of our future workforce is crucial for MnDOT to remain competitive in this tight labor market,” said Marcia Lochner, STEM education and outreach program liaison. “These types of hands-on activities give MnDOT staff the opportunity to connect with students to show them the many different STEM and non-STEM career fields they can pursue at MnDOT before they’ve determined their career path.”

MnDOT’s STEM Education and Outreach program began in 2017. The program's genesis can be traced to the St. Croix Crossing project, which involved working with the Stillwater Area School District and other partners to create the Bridge UP! Curriculum as part of outreach efforts. A dedicated staff position for STEM outreach was created in 2018 in the wake of this successful engagement.

An essential component of STEM engagement is MnDOT staff. Staff ambassadors (formerly known as volunteers) can get involved in many ways. These include career presentations, classroom activities such as Bridge-in-a-Bag, science fair judging, offering project or facility field trips and open houses. Ambassadors can also participate in conferences and offer other interactive activities to bring awareness to the different careers at MnDOT, she said.

“Employees are rewarded from engaging with the students and sharing their knowledge and passion for their careers while also making an impact in securing our future workforce,” Lochner said. “Introducing a new world of possibilities to a child is beneficial to all.”

While participation is voluntary, MnDOT employees are compensated for their time and travel. All MnDOT staff can participate in these outreach activities and are encouraged to share STEM resources with their school districts, community youth organizations and any others who may be interested, Lochner said.

Current outreach opportunities and the resources needed to participate in these activities, including presentation templates, training videos, activity instructions and timesheet coding, can be found on the STEM program iHub page. Additional resources are also available on the public STEM website.

For more information and to participate in future STEM Education and Outreach efforts, visit ihub/stem/ or contact Marcia Lochner.

By Mary McFarland Brooks

Marni Karnowski started as the new director of the Office of Environmental Stewardship on April 17. In this role, she oversees a 65-person office made up of the following seven units:

• Cultural Resources
• Environmental Assessment
• Environmental Modeling and Testing
• Environmental Planning and Design
• Environmental Investigation
• Roadside Vegetation
• Erosion Control and Stormwater Management
• Scenic Byways

“Marni is particularly well suited for this role,” said Nancy Daubenberger, assistant commissioner for Engineering Services. “She not only has the strong environmental and technical background we depend on this office to provide, but perhaps more importantly, she demonstrates the leadership qualities needed for the agency’s environmental stewardship efforts to thrive.”

Before coming to MnDOT after 24 years at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Karnowski spent the last five years managing the MPCA’s stormwater program. She also has led multiple cross-agency management teams, working with local, state and federal agencies. 

Karnowski earned a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies from the University of Minnesota, and participated in the senior leadership institute in 2017. She lives in Farmington with her family. When not at work, she enjoys attending her daughter’s sporting events, traveling, volunteering, reading, and has a love-hate relationship with Orange Theory Fitness.

Learn more about OES.

By Anne Meyer

Every agenda for the Toward Zero Deaths workshops across the state will have one common topic this year: setting the direction for the Strategic Highway Safety Plan.

The plan, updated every five years, provides insight and direction to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Minnesota roadways.

“Through interactive activities and discussions, the TZD workshops are a great arena to share ideas, identify and rank strategies, and suggest local champions to continue our mission,” said Kristine Hernandez, statewide TZD coordinator. “The input will be key to developing a Strategic Highway Safety Plan that works for Minnesota.”

Employees can help by completing this short online survey before June 1.

Many of the workshops are also showing a film produced by the Minnesota State Patrol titled “Lasting Impact: Life Without Logan.” It profiles the death of Logan Maas, an 18-year-old from Dodge Center who was the passenger in a vehicle that left the roadway and rolled into a ditch in December 2015. Logan was unbelted, ejected from the vehicle and later died from his injuries. Troopers are showing the video at schools statewide hoping it will encourage students to buckle up every time they are in a vehicle.

Since its 2003 beginning as a pilot project in District 6, TZD has grown into a statewide program that has helped reduce fatal crashes, increase seat belt usage and encourage everyone not to travel distracted or impaired. Workshops are held annually in each district.

Other topics at the Southwest TZD workshop include “Stop the Bleed,” which teaches basic techniques on how to handle bleeding during life-threatening emergencies. Metro TZD will discuss “Pedestrian Safety 101” to look at what MnDOT and other state agencies are doing to protect pedestrians, and the Southeast TZD workshop will address effective emergency response to people on the autism spectrum.

One TZD workshop was cancelled for the first time in 15 years due to the recent April snowstorm. Plans are still being developed to host a make-up event in the West Central region. While some workshops have already occurred, others will take place throughout the month of May. If you would like to attend, please refer to the list of workshops below:

• Southeast TZD workshop: May 1 in Rochester
• Metro TZD workshop: May 21 in Oakdale
• Northeast TZD workshop: May 22 in Grand Rapids
• Northwest TZD workshop: May 29 in Thief River Falls
• Statewide TZD Conference: Oct. 23-24 in St. Cloud

By Charles Stech, assistant records manager

MnDOT is asking employees to clean up their office shared drives from April 29 to May 31. As part of the program, employees are encouraged to look at the new retention schedule and see what records are needed. If they aren’t needed, they can be deleted.

The office or district that reduces its shared drive storage by the highest percentage will win the MnDOT Golden Hard Drive. The first data storage clean-up week was held in spring 2016. The Office of Civil Rights won the last shared drive reduction contest. 

“Excessive amounts of redundant, obsolete or trivial information in MnDOT electronic files continues to be an issue, which is why we’ve set aside the entire month of May to combat the problem,” said Jennifer Witt, management analyst supervisor in the Office of Chief Counsel. “We want MnDOT to look at its electronic information and delete anything that we don’t need to keep. As always, we use the retention schedule to see how long we need to store files, based on their content.”

Problems created by excess files include increased storage and backup costs, increased search time and time wasted wading through outdated and superseded information. In legal hold situations, this can result in thousands of dollars of discovery costs.

“By paying attention to our information, we know what we have and we show that we are good stewards of our business information,” Witt said.

Employees will be asked to dedicate four hours during May to review their office’s shared drive and delete outdated electronic files that have reached the end of their retention period.

Fill out a records destruction report for all records that are deleted. State law requires all agencies to permanently retain a list of destroyed records.

Storage levels will be posted weekly on the Records Management webpage. The reduction will be measured by percentage, so that larger districts or offices do not have an unfair advantage. The district or office with highest percentage in decrease to its email storage footprint will be announced during the first full week in June.

By Judy Jacobs, Office of Organizational Planning and Management

Mark Welling, a transportation specialist in the District 4 Morris Construction Office, died unexpectedly at age 54 on April 16.

Welling started his career with MnDOT in 2002 as a temporary snow plow operator in Districts 4 and 8 before being hired full time by District 8 in 2006. He transferred to District 4 in 2008 where he worked for maintenance in the winter and as a construction inspector in the summer. His promotion to full-time construction came in 2016.

“Mark was very much a part of the MnDOT family in District 4,” said Shiloh Wahl, District 4 transportation engineer. “He brought a positive attitude to work and he gave his best effort each day. You couldn’t help but smile when you talked with Mark. He made everyone around him feel welcome on all of the projects he worked on.”

Brad Cegla, a District 4 project supervisor who supervised Welling for more than 10 years, said, “Mark was not only a great coworker, but also a great friend. He really cared about the people he worked with and the projects he worked on. This is a tremendous loss for everyone who knew Mark. I will never forget him.”

Welling was a devoted family man who took great pride in watching his children participate in all their activities and greatly enjoyed their accomplishments. He was involved in both his church and community, serving on his church council, the Swenoda Township Board, the Boondock First Responders and the Milan EMS. In his free time, Welling enjoyed hunting, pontoon rides, Mexico vacations and ice fishing with his close friends from MnDOT.

Dan Kuhn, a District 4 resident engineer, worked closely with Welling in the Morris office. “Mark truly was a great person who enjoyed family, friends and work. He would always go the extra mile to ensure others around him were prepared and included. A true mentor in life as well as work. He has left a big hole in our hearts,” Kuhn said.

Mark is survived by his wife, Brenda; two sons, Jordan (who works full time in Construction in Morris) and Justin; and a daughter, Breanna.

Funeral services were held at Kviteseid Lutheran Church in Milan on April 22. MnDOT coworkers in safety vests served as honorary pallbearers, and MnDOT snowplow trucks participated in the funeral procession.

By Sue Roe

Editor’s Note: MnDOT employees face many risks in their daily jobs. In observance of Worker Memorial Day on Monday, April 29, Danial Backsen’s story highlights one of the most dangerous jobs maintenance workers face in working with cable median barriers.

An eyelet on a workboot is what saved Danial Backsen’s life that night. Backsen, who is the night supervisor at the Anoka Truck Station, will remember Jan. 4, 2018, as the night when everything changed.

He and his crew had finished a repairing a cable median barrier at Interstate 694 and Brooklyn Boulevard in Brooklyn Center at about 10 p.m. It was 10 degrees below zero. Backsen was putting away tools on the truck, 40 feet away from the barrier, when the end treatment on the barrier unexpectedly released.

“The cable snaked back and whipped through the posts and destroyed my right leg,” Backsen said. “I was only standing in the spot for 14 seconds. Then I was on the ground.”

He only knows that because of the footage from the traffic camera that recorded it. He doesn’t remember everything that happened, but he does remember the sound of his bones breaking and lying on the pavement.

“I landed on my face and I remember rolling over and asking if I was OK,” he said. “My shin hurt and then it became unbearable and shock set in.”

Kyle Lundberg, Maple Grove transportation generalist, was among the crew members at the worksite that night.

“I knew he was hurt bad enough that he couldn’t move,” Lundberg said. “We didn’t know where he was hurt so I helped keep him still until the ambulance came.”

During the ride to a nearby hospital, Backsen was told not to look down at his leg. Most of the break was inside his boot but he didn’t know how bad it was until the pre-op meeting with the doctor.

Backsen underwent a five-and-a-half hour surgery to reset his shattered tibia and fibula bones.

“They told me in the ER that if the cable hadn’t hit my boot, I would have lost my leg. It caught the top eyelet because of the rigidity of my boot,” he said.

Long road ahead
Backsen was out of the hospital in four days, but faced a long recovery. He wasn’t allowed to place weight on his right leg and was on crutches for four months, but was back to work on light duty within three weeks. His only physical therapy to build his muscles back up was to walk.

“I remember my first walk I took from the sidewalk of my house down the driveway,” he said. “It was the best walk I ever took. I had my two kids on one side of me and my wife on the other. She had my crutches in her one hand and held on to my arm with the other.”

Backsen, an 11-year MnDOT veteran, worked on cable median barriers for 10 years.

“It’s one of the most dangerous jobs we do,” he said. “There’s a lot of moving parts that can go wrong.”

High-tension cable median barriers are made of three or four three-fourth inch steel cables strung on posts. When a vehicle hits the barrier, the posts break and the cables flex, absorbing the crash’s kinetic energy. This redirects the vehicle along the median, preventing a cross-median crash. Cable median barriers can reduce fatal crashes by 95 percent.

At 10 degrees below zero, there’s 8,000 pounds of pressure per square inch in the cables.

That night, Backsen wasn’t even the closest person to the barrier’s end treatment.

“I was actually the furthest away from it. To think that I was standing 40 feet away and that stretch of cable whipped around with that force, it could have been a lot worse,” he said.

Lundberg said the crew was visibly upset about the accident and Backsen’s condition.

“Everyone was in shock. Things start rolling around in your head,” he said. “We work on cable medians all the time and you never think it’s going to happen to you.”

Truck station visit to crew
The week following the accident, Backsen went to the truck station to talk to his crew.

“It was a freak thing and there was nothing we could have done that night to prevent it. We did everything we were supposed to do and I wanted the crew to know that,” he said. “Cable median barriers are a safety feature that’s proven to work.”

Lundberg said the crew was glad to see him, get their questions answered and see how he was doing.

“It takes a lot to think about your workers when you have suffered such a traumatic injury. But this is the type of person Dan is. He thinks of others before himself,” said DeWayne Jones, Backsen’s supervisor.

These days, Backsen is back to work with four screws and a rod in his leg, and still repairing and installing cable median barriers.

“It’s still part of the job,” he said. “Everything is different now. Some days I feel like I’m 80 and some days I feel like I’m 32. I thank the Lord it wasn’t any worse. My recovery would have been a lot harder and longer without the love and support of my wife, family and friends. If the cable hit me two inches higher, it would have taken my thigh. Somebody was watching out for me that night.”

Since the accident, MnDOT purchased a piece of equipment to help make it safer for crews repairing cable.

“Everything we do is considered to be dangerous. We try to give our folks the best safety training they can get when working around the cable,” Jones said. “When one of us gets hurt, it has an effect on all of us. We will take what happened and learn from it and work to make sure it never happens again.”

By Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher       

Last week marked the first 100 days of the Walz-Flanagan Administration. It’s been a busy, but energizing, three-plus months for both new cabinet members like myself as well as for career agency staff who have helped ensure a smooth transition from one administration to another. Thank you for your role in making that happen, and for making me feel welcome in our big MnDOT family.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of you during these first weeks, sometimes in person and sometimes, like the District 4 employee days event April 16, via Skype. I even experienced the view from a snowplow when I rode with Leonard Jacquez (from the Maryland Truck Station) as he plowed his way down Interstate 94 during one of the many snow events we’ve had this winter. I hope to catch up with many more of you, too, once the legislative session winds down.

As you know, securing long-term, dedicated funding for transportation has been a priority for MnDOT for several years now, and 2019 is no exception. The need is great, with half of our roads and 35 percent of our bridges more than 50 years old. We have the fifth-largest road system in the country, yet our current transportation spending is 15 percent less than the national average. Our staff experts project that over the next 20 years the state will need $18 billion above current revenues just to operate and maintain our current roads and bridges. We’ve tried to “do more with less,” and it isn’t working.

The Walz-Flanagan administration proposes a transportation funding package that:

• Initiates a phased-in 20 cent gas tax increase and indexes the gas tax to inflation (beginning in FY 2023) to raise approximately $6.5 billion over 10 years
• Increases the registration tax to raise approximately $4 billion over 10 years
• Increases the motor vehicle sales tax from 6.5 percent to 6.875 percent to raise approximately $300 million for roads and bridges over 10 years, with additional funds raised for transit purposes
• Authorizes $2 billion in trunk highway bonds over eight years starting in 2022
• Increases the Working Family Credit of $100 for each single or head of household recipient and $200 for each married filing jointly recipient to help lower- and middle-income Minnesotans offset additional costs

As I noted in my opinion column published last week in the Star Tribune, I am committed, along with Gov. Walz, to working with our state Legislature to find a solution that dedicates more funding to our roads and bridges. Asking Minnesotans to pay more for their transportation system is not something we do lightly. However, the longer we wait to invest in our transportation infrastructure, the more expensive the projects will get.

If you haven’t already had the chance to look at the transportation funding proposal, visit MnDOT’s website for more information.