Carol Molnau (born September 17, 1949) is an American politician who served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Minnesota, from 2003 to 2011. She formerly served as head of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT). She is known for her opposition to state funding of the mass transit systems of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Born in Carver County, Minnesota, she was elected as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1992 and served five terms. Molnau announced she would not run for re-election after she sold her farm to developers and would no longer be living in the area she represented. She joined the Pawlenty ticket shortly thereafter, and was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. Confirmation as Mn/DOT commissioner The Minnesota Senate Transportation Committee voted in March 2004 to remove Molnau from her position as commissioner of Mn/DOT with some lawmakers citing that she lacked vision for the transportation needs of the state. The full senate later voted to confirm her. In Summer 2005, rumors began circulating that Governor Tim Pawlenty would drop Molnau from his ticket when he sought re-election in 2006, mainly because of their differences over state funding for the planned Northstar Commuter Rail linking St. Cloud and the Twin Cities. Pawlenty denied those rumors on August 1, 2005 and Molnau remained on the ticket, winning reelection on November 7, 2006. Then, in January 2007, as part of a renewed threat to remove her, Senator Steve Murphy opined that under Molnau the state's transportation infrastructure was "crumbling." State Highway 62 In 2006, Molnau requested bids for a major highway reconstruction of Minnesota State Highway 62 and Interstate Highway 35W. Molnau's office required applicants to pay all construction projects as they did the work, with the state reimbursing the contractor over the course of the project. As a result, no contractors submitted bids and the project was shelved until new funding streams could be developed a year later. I-35W bridge collapse In 2007 the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapsed in Minneapolis. Molnau was unable to immediately assist in her capacity as Commissioner of Transportation because she was in China at the time. Molnau responded to complaints over her absence by stating she was presenting a paper on transportation. Subsequently some state legislators blamed her for her role as transportation commissioner for failing to advocate for robust funding of the state's transportation