Did anyone else note the irony of the recent front page of the Winona Daily News, featuring stories about the plans to try to get Garrison Keillor to perform in Winona and next to it, a story about a city councilman backing Wal Mart? And next to those two articles, a third about the loss of Winona's extension office?
We really need to think about what we lose when we lose local decision making and representation. And I must point out that there is a tie between the loss of local governmental control over decisions that affect our community (city, county, school district, etc) and the source of the funding. The same concerns hold when we talk about corporations. Which do we, as a community prefer? Decisions based on what is good for our community or decisions that are good for some corporate headquarters hundreds of miles away? We must keep in mind that if our community prospers, local enterprises of all types will also prosper. If our community goes through hard times, how likely are big box retailers to try to stick it out in Winona, much less find a way to help our community? More likely, they will simply pull up stakes, go somewhere else they can pour acres of asphalt and erect other big boxes.
Terri Hyle
From: "Vicki Englich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: online democracy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Winona] Walmart Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 08:47:19 -0500
[Winona Online Democracy]
This is puzzling: some Walmart enthusiasts drive to LaCrosse just to shop at
Walmart, but also complain that there is no grocery store on the East side?
Perhaps it's just my perspective, but Winona is a small town--is driving to
Country Market, Midtown, HyVee, or Econo really a hardship?
Again, I agree with Terri Hyle: we desperately need some long range vision here. Lack of it brought down our old post office, the block on Main St. ( Morgan?), destroyed Central Park, the Opera House, the Water Tower, and almost razed our historic County Courthouse. Some one told me it was in the name of "progress."
At the Food for Thought Book Chat (during which we discussed the Sinclair
Lewis classic, Main Street) at the Historical Society, several of us
discussed the "vision problem." Do we really want our town to lose its
unique identity as well as its generous local retailers in order to
temporarily save a few bucks? Are we really that cheap as a community? There
was a very thought provoking letter to the editor in yesterday's Post from a
visitor who happened to read about the Walmart controversy. I recommend it
to all.
Winona has changed considerably since I moved here 17 years ago: the
franchises are increasing; we have more and more big stores with huge
parking lots. I wonder about the environmental effects. I wonder about the
lack of well paying jobs. People who earn $6-$7 dollars an hour do not earn
a living wage--even in Winona. These jobs are great for students, but adults
need to support themselves and their families. Are we a community that
provides those opportunities? We will provide those opportunities 10 years
from now, or will we be a community in which the divide between the well off
and the poor grows even wider? What will Winona be like if that happens? We
we have increased crime, drug use, etc.?
To claim that the Walmart way is progress and that Winona must join that path is such a cop-out.
Vicki Englich
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