Only a dozen people showed up at Anoka-Ramsey Community College Dec. 8 to learn about the proposed Northern Lights Express passenger rail service between Minneapolis and Duluth/Superior through Anoka County.

The weather was a likely factor. The area was in the midst of a winter storm warning at the time of the meeting with snow falling and strong northwest winds. A similar meeting the week before in Cambridge drew 75 people, according to Jill Brown, public information consultant for the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior Passenger Rail Alliance. See more in Editor Peter Bodley's ABC newspapers story.