I just finished the morning paper, and while concerned about the new library, I was more struck by the piece on the problems of the Target Center. I knew that it was hurting because of competition from the Xcel Center in St. Paul, but did not recall the extent to which the state of Minnesota helped in the construction of the Xcel ($65 million) until I read the story. On the other hand, the Target was built privately and then bailed out by the City of Minneapolis when problems arose.
It does seem that at the present time Minneapolis is hurt by people (read legislators) who think the City is a) rich, b) bad, c) capable of doing everything on its own), and d) needs to be punished for who knows what. I obviously don't think the City is any of those things and would like to know why others do and then take harmful action because of those misconceptions.
And even more troubling, I see an analogy here (sorry David - it seems local to me) between what has happened to the City and what appears to be happening to the United States. In the case of the United States, it is apparent that actions by our leader are causing this friction with our allies. I read recently about the concept of "encirclement" whereby the United States could find itself alone and encircled by people who do not like the country for whatever reason - acting unilaterally, being a bully, etc. Somehow I think that has already happened with Minneapolis.
And now the dilemma - how do we get the City out of it?
Jan Del Calzo
Lynnhurst
