I spent yesterday inspecting our Soo Line properties in Wisconsin with our Vice President for Passenger Trains, L.F. Dow. Hey, we can all use a little fantasy... and it's fun to imagine what could be done with Minneapolis' other railroad. We noted that the wise Chamber of Commerce of Ladysmith has quickly repaired the tornado damage to their depot, an authentic reproduction built to the original Soo Line plans. The depot functions as a museum, tourist information center, and offices for the chamber, and stands ready to cater to passengers needs should the Soo Line's "civilized route east" across the U.P. and Canada be reopened. Unfortunately the classic streamlined F7 diesel locomotive waiting on the tracks was stripped of it's engine by the Soo Line before they donated it to Ladysmith. Of course, for a hot rodder this is merely an excuse to replace it with a newer V-16 with over twice as much horsepower!
The rain (and snow) didn't catch us until we hit Minnesota at dark, so we had a lovely view of increasingly exurbanized western Wisconsin. The development follows a familiar pattern, with a 10 acre or so lot and modular home. The results are quite pleasing amidst the hills and woods of Wisconsin. And quite affordable too- the going price for a 3 bedroom modular home built to UBC with foundation is about 60 thou. Even with land, water, sewer, and utilities the cost for a new home in "God's Country" is less than 100 grand. No wonder most every Wisconsin city within 50 miles of the cities looks like a boomtown.
Meanwhile my little block on the Northside becomes more empty. Many of the hard working immigrants that were chased out by the gangs have yet to be replaced. Of course, no one is complaining about Mr. Porter and his homies abode being empty, but the landlord can't carry these properties forever. Neither can the owners of the two homes that have been on the market for $130,000 all summer. I suspect that at this rate Sluyter's Corner could grow into Sluyter's Farm, with plenty of vacant lots awaiting cultivation or grazing. Not sure where I'll find a bulletproof tractor cab though. Plenty of fences going up though, and good to see the public housing building fencing off their yard and deny it's sanctuary to the gangbangers.
Today's North News has a lengthy article on a new city revitalization plan for the Northside. It mentions help for small businesses, etc.. That's just the talk though- as Doug Grow's story today shows, this city can't walk the walk.
held hostage in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
On Thursday, October 30, 2003, at 08:05 AM, Susan Maricle wrote:
Today's column by Doug Grow:
www.startribune.com/stories/465/4183019.html
Susan Maricle formerly of Folwell Bruno MN
REMINDERS:
1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.
For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
