Feds fund bridge

President Joe Biden was expected to visit Superior Thursday to tout the $1.06 in federal funding marked for the replacement of the Blatnik Bridge, a major connector between Duluth and Superior.

Officials announced Monday that the U.S. Department of Transportation had awarded the funding.

The federal funding prompted a flurry of celebratory messages from other elected officials, including Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, whose district includes Duluth. In a statement issued Monday morning, Stauber said he “long fought for these funds.”

Democrats pounced on that, noting Stauber had voted against the federal infrastructure bill in 2021. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Stauber “voted against every screw, steel beam, and concrete pier in this bridge.”

“Certainly I had some major problems with what was in the bill,” Stauber later said.

“But the fact of the matter is, it’s law now. And I am going to fight for every dollar, to bring every dollar back to Minnesota.”