The city of Arden Hills and Ramsey County remain at odds over a massive redevelopment project that's already been delayed for years.

What's happening: Ramsey County commissioners aren't showing up for meetings of a joint development authority for Rice Creek Commons, a 427-acre project to turn a portion of the the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant into housing and commercial space.

Why it matters: Ramsey County spent $40 million buying and cleaning the site in hopes of spurring a major redevelopment that would add to the tax base and provide more affordable housing.

• But eight years later, the county has nothing to show for it.

Details: The project is stymied because the two sides disagree over housing density.

Ramsey County wants up to 2,500 homes, with at least 20% of them affordable. Arden Hills wants to stick with the number both sides had previously agreed to: 1,460 homes, with 10% of them affordable. The county wants more to better address a worsening housing crunch.

The two sides wound up in court over the dispute, with Ramsey County trying to dissolve its joint authority with Arden Hills.

• A judge ruled in June that the authority would stand, but said county officials can continue to not attend meetings while they work out a deal with Minneapolis-based master developer Alatus LLC.

What's new: County commissioners Rafael Ortega and Victoria Reinhardt skipped two meetings following the ruling, including one on Aug. 2 that was cancelled after the quorum wasn't met.

"They must not be interested in developing TCAAP, or they'd get their butts here," Arden Hills City Council Member Brenda Holden said at the Aug. 2 non-meeting. "You know, they sue us, they lose the suit, and yet we still don't have any cooperation from them."

What else: Ramsey County manager Ryan O'Connor sent Arden Hills city administrator Dave Perrault a letter after the ruling, telling him county commissioners would continue to sit out meetings until there's a "substantive development agreement to discuss." He encouraged Arden Hills officials to meet with Alatus.

• The county said it never got a response to that letter. Perrault and Holden couldn't be reached for comment.
• Alatus principal Bob Lux said his firm has been in talks with city and county officials, but didn't directly say what's being discussed.

The bottom line: Arden Hills will have to approve land use applications for the project to proceed. The lack of communication between the two is a bad sign.

Hate crimes in Minnesota rose in 2020 to their highest levels in more than 15 years, new data released by the FBI shows.

By the numbers: The FBI logged 194 incidents in the state last year. That's up from 140 in 2019. The vast majority were tied to race or ethnicity.

The big picture: National figures show hate crimes up 6%, marking a 12-year high, as Axios' Noah Garfinkel reports.

Details: Similar to the national trend, attacks on Black and Asian people are driving the spike.

• Anti-Black hate crimes in Minnesota rose 63% year over year, from 47 in 2019 to 77 in 2020.
• Reports of anti-Asian incidents, meanwhile, jumped ninefold, from 1 to 9.

🗳️ Former state Sen. David Hann announced he's running for Minnesota Republican Party chair. GOP delegates will meet in October to choose a successor to former leader Jennifer Carnahan.

🦠 The return to school has sparked a rush for COVID-19 testing. (MPR News)

🍽️ Shiloh, a new restaurant set to replace Prime Deli in St. Louis Park, aims to be a "great restaurant that happens to be kosher," per the chef. (Star Tribune)

🖊️ U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is again urging President Biden to step in and stop the Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project, in a letter signed by dozens of other Minnesota lawmakers. (Star Tribune)

Are the stereotypes true? Is it actually harder to make friends in the Twin Cities?

Zoom out: New research shows Americans have fewer friends than in the past. Only 13% of U.S. adults reported having 10 or more close friends in 2021, versus 33% in 1990, Axios' Mike Allen writes.

We want to hear from you. We're asking:

• If you're from Minnesota, are most of your friends also from here?
• How do you meet new people?
• What advice would you give to transplants looking to form new friendships?

Our survey is short, simple and will only take a minute or two. It's open through Thursday night, and we'll share the results next week.

Take the survey.

After a 46% attendance drop the first three days of the Minnesota State Fair, pleasant weather has helped draw larger crowds.

• Attendance was down just 22% on Sunday from the same period in 2019.

Between the lines: The dip is due to a mix of severe weather and COVID-19 concerns.

• But considering the bad weather that spanned Thursday through Saturday, it appears Sunday is the best measurement of the COVID effect, with about a quarter of people staying away.
• That's close to matching up with the Wisconsin State Fair's overall 25% attendance decline.

The Foshay Tower's grand opening was held Aug. 3o-Sept. 1, 1929, an event that celebrated what would for decades be the tallest building between Chicago and the West Coast.

Context: Minneapolis businessman Wilbur B. Foshay built the 447-foot, 32-story office tower, inspired by the Washington Monument, for his utility companies and held a lavish ceremony that included "fireworks, dancing girls, and religious services," according to the Minnesota Historical Society.

• The 1929 stock market crash two months later wiped Foshay out professionally and personally, and the building was auctioned.

Today: The Foshay is home to the 229-room W Minneapolis hotel and Manny's Steakhouse. It's now among the 20 tallest buildings in the city.