The Minnesota Department of Transportation is asking the public to participate in a study of Interstate 694 to improve travel between Brooklyn Boulevard in Brooklyn Center and Lexington Avenue in Arden Hills.

MnDOT said the study will “evaluate current transportation conditions, identify future needs and develop recommendations for both near-term and long-term improvements along one of the Twin Cities metro area’s busiest freeway corridors.”

Residents, drivers, businesses and community members are asked to give input on the study. People can access it at talk.dot.state.mn.us/i694-brooklyncenter-ardenhills and find information on future public meetings, including a virtual session at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 5.

The study area includes portions of Brooklyn Park, Fridley, Columbia Heights, New Brighton and Arden Hills.

Look out for the I-694 study team at the following community events to learn more and share your experiences:

Fridley Community Concert: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Fridley Civic Campus Amphitheater.

New Brighton Park Discovery Days: 3 to 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at Innsbruck Park in New Brighton.

— Kristi Miller

Oakdale

Road, playground to close during work

A segment of Hadley Avenue North in Oakdale will be closed Tuesday through Friday for utility work. The playground at Walton Park will also be closed for several days during this time due to digging for a sanitary sewer connection.

The purpose of the closure is utility work related to the police expansion and City Hall remodel project. There will be detour routes posted for drivers to follow.

Construction on the project began on June 1 and is anticipated to be completed in early 2028. The project will modernize the aging infrastructure of Oakdale’s City Hall and police department to accommodate an increase in staff and the city’s population.

More information on the project can be found at oakdalemn.gov.

— Hannah Brueske

Wisconsin

Suit: Late mail ballots should be counted

Voters in swing state Wisconsin whose absentee ballots don’t arrive by Election Day should be allowed to cast provisional ballots at the polls to ensure their votes are counted, a lawsuit filed Friday argues.

The lawsuit comes amid growing concerns about how quickly the United States Postal Service will be able to deliver ballots ahead of the November midterms. Control of Congress is at stake, and Wisconsin voters will be electing a new governor as well as determining control of the Legislature.

The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission warned the U.S. postmaster general in May that any delay could deprive citizens of their fundamental right to vote. In January, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators also wrote the postal service, raising concerns that a change in how it postmarks mail could invalidate many mail-in ballots.

— Associated Press