Once again Ms. Heller demonstrates an inability to tell the whole story. To wit:
"Minnesota's once-commanding lead in growth rates over all its neighbors also is dwindling. Iowa and both Dakotas are all seeing a steady revival in their populations at a time when, collectively, they are plowing hundreds of millions of dollars into campaigns to keep and attract people." "To reinforce its appeal, Iowa is building museums and water parks and riverfront pathways everywhere. Sioux Falls just finished a big riverfront renovation project. Fargo, N.D., the Los Angeles Times declared this year, is succeeding in reinventing itself from "grim, frozen wasteland" to "a stylish, worldly place." In other words, these other states are drawing people using the same approach that Ms. Heller chastises Minneapolis for: spending money. Also worth keeping in mind when considering this trend: "South Dakota is now home to 771,000 people, while Minnesota's population on July 1, 2004, was 5,100,958, an increase of 36,786, or .7 percent, in one year. The year before, it increased by 39,091, or .8 percent, a decline from the previous decade, when it averaged more than 1 percent." Wow. Minnesota's continued GROWTH in population has slowed down a whole tenth of a percent. The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Also worth noting below is the population of the entire state of North Dakota is less than that of Minneapolis and St. Paul combined. Please pardon me if I'm not shaking in my boots... "Other July 2004, population estimates for the Upper Midwest are: North Dakota (634,000), Iowa (3 million) and Wisconsin (5.5 million). Scott concedes, as do his counterparts in other neighboring states, that one of the benefits of being where they are is what they can drive to in Minnesota." "Truth of the matter is," he said, "I have a guy who works for me who I would bet sees more Twins games than 80 percent of the people in Minneapolis. I don't know how many times he goes, probably 10 times." So despite some folks choosing to move to one of the Dakotas or Iowa, they're still coming back to Minneapolis for attractions such as the Twins that neither Iowa nor the Dakotas can or will be able to boast anytime soon. I, for one, favor the practice of folks who prefer living in a Dakota to simply move there rather than try to turn my state into East Dakota or my city into East Fargo. Regardless, this article says nothing about people leaving Minneapolis, so I'm not sure what Ms. Heller's point is other than perhaps to continue her pattern of irrelevant and misleading arguments. Mark Snyder Windom Park On 12/22/04 8:17 AM, "Victoria Heller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here's a prime example of desperate government in action! > > Minneapolis has SPENT itself into a corner. Not only will property taxes > TRIPLE over the next few years, but now the politicians want to increase > sales taxes! Nice job Minneapolis DFL. > > A lesson in free markets from today's Strib: > > ".....abandon the Land of 10,000 Lakes and make your way to the tax paradise > known as South Dakota. > > .....'You wouldn't have to be writin' that check if you lived in > [income-tax-free] Sioux Falls.' > > South Dakota, the Census Bureau will announce today, has replaced Minnesota > as the fastest-growing state in the Upper Midwest." > > http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5149466.html 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
