Counterpoint: When a hyperloop is more than a hyperloop

Opinion editor’s note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. This article was written by Edina Mayor James B. Hovland, Rochester Mayor Kim Norton and Plymouth Mayor Jeff Wosje.

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The news that a nonprofit composed of a group of civic-minded Minnesotans is seeking a grant of federal funds to study a new transportation system between Rochester and the Twin Cities (“Hyperloop a pipe dream? Answer may cost $2M,” Feb. 4) buried the true story lead. The biggest story and takeaway for all Minnesotans is that we have the opportunity for the state to build on its many assets to become to wellness what Silicon Valley is to technology.

The hyperloop — a carbon-neutral transportation system of the future — is only one piece of a broader, far-reaching strategy Global Wellness Connections (GWC) believes we should employ to leverage Minnesota’s many assets, in all of the areas of health and wellness, into a position of global economic strength.

One key to this exciting vision is the ability to quickly connect the people, ideas and products that create the innovations and the breakthroughs that define world leadership. It is in this environment that we are pursuing a feasibility study of a hyperloop. This transportation technology of the future could link the Twin Cities and Rochester in 15 minutes or less. The system operates with magnetic propulsion in a pressurized tube, a technology that has existed for many years. Unlike trains, a hyperloop system does not impose on the farms, cities and businesses in the Twin Cities-to-Rochester corridor. It would be a safe, well-regulated, quiet and unobtrusive, ideally underground system.

Hyperloop technology is being studied around the world for deployment, with promising results. It will be operable in Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Whether it’s right for Minnesota is something the feasibility study could determine. We do know this: Linking two of the great health centers not just in the U.S., but in the world — the Twin Cities and Rochester — is an essential cornerstone for the future of all Minnesota. In a marketplace of ideas and innovation, connecting on Zoom or brainstorming an idea hours after it hits just won’t be enough.

The potential for Minnesota to be the world’s wellness hub is rooted in the far-reaching concept of the collaboration of academia, industry, philanthropic and service nonprofits, and government. It builds on the state’s concentration of assets in health care, biosciences, food, agriculture, medical devices and academia to create an innovative, sustainable wellness concentration that benefits our residents and is exportable around the country and the globe.

A bold vision, to be sure. But think about this: Before Silicon Valley was what we know today, it was a bucolic region of orchards. The transformation started when two entrepreneurs moved from New York to Santa Clara with their memory chip. The technology, funding and innovation became self-seeding, and today Silicon Valley stands alone in its field as the technology center of the world.

Minnesota today is farther along than was Silicon Valley in the 1960s and ‘70s. The state already is home to some of the world’s leaders in diverse health and wellness fields.

Minnesota has one of the leading research universities in the University of Minnesota. And, we have strong and robust med tech and financial sectors as well.

Look at what already is in place to make Minnesota the world’s wellness hub:

What has held us back is not opportunity, but collective vision. Too often, Minnesota has been content to play at the edges of policy, investment and cooperation. In today’s marketplaces, the only place on the edges are for those just hanging on.

Minnesota can’t afford to be complacent any longer. When the future could shine brightly on every community and every person in the state, we cannot afford to rest on our past success. Minnesota lacks cohesive, cross-sector and cross-industry strategies of public policy and for-profit and nonprofit private leadership to best leverage our strengths and assets; we support Global Wellness Connections in the mission to facilitate this cross-sector public work.

Realizing the Minnesota wellness hub’s potential won’t be easy, but the immense opportunity for sustainable prosperity, arising from unprecedented collaboration across this diverse ecosystem, makes it profoundly worth doing. This isn’t a zero-sum prospect, but a rising tide that lifts all ships — incentives for partners across sectors to engage in value-creating alignments that make everyone stronger.

The hyperloop, if a feasibility study determines it is viable, would be an important infrastructure investment in this exciting future. The success of Minnesota becoming a global wellness hub does not depend on the hyperloop, but investments in infrastructure and technologies of tomorrow will be critical.

In the 1950s and ’60s, Minnesota stood at a similar crossroads. Civic and business leaders created public policies that strengthened K-12 education, postsecondary options, retail, technology and health care. Attracting sports and cultural amenities made Minnesota “The State that Works,” an economic powerhouse positioning us to create a new vision for the next generation. It is up to us to meet that challenge for generations coming of age in the 21st century. Global Wellness Connections is working to nudge us in that direction.

James B. Hovland is mayor of Edina. Kim Norton is mayor of Rochester. Jeff Wosje is mayor of Plymouth.