The state would spend 850-thousand dollars for a study on extending the Northstar commuter rail line from Big Lake to Saint Cloud, under a measure the Minnesota Senate approved Thursday night over objections of Big Lake Republican Mary Kiffmeyer. “The entire route, just a one-way ticket, is subsidized 22 dollars — round trip, 44 — and that’s at four-years-ago prices or so,” Kiffmeyer says. Minneapolis Democrat Scott Dibble, a strong backer of mass transit, fired back, “The most heavily-subsidized form of transportation we have are cars and roadways, bar none.” Backers argue extending Northstar to Saint Cloud will improve ridership on the commuter rail line which has been plagued by low numbers.