St. Croix River Bridge Plan Is A Mistake

Proposed Bad Idea for New St. Croix River Bridge

Today the US Senate unanimously approved legislation — supported by Minnesota senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken — that would let a proposed bluff-to-bluff interstate-style bridge be constructed in violation of the Federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

Former Vice President Walter Mondale helped write the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act when he served as Minnesota’s senator.  Ironically now Klobuchar and Franken will help weaken that law.  We have come to expect simple issues and solutions from Klobuchar, but Franken has been a bit more thoughtful and determined in supporting smart policy.  The proposed St. Croix bridge is neither smart nor thoughtful.

First of all, let’s remember why the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was passed in the first place.  It exists to protect the scenic and ecological value of the America’s rivers from political and economic interests that would compromise the river’s natural value.  Precisely because people will want to build projects like the proposed bridge is the reason for the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

What we do today has a permanent impact on the river’s future and let’s face it, we don’t always make the best choices in the here and now.

But on a more practical level this bridge does not make sense.  The proposed bridge is needed, supporters claim, to replace the aging Stillwater Lift Bridge.  If this is true, then the proposed new bridge does more than replace the existing bridge, it goes well beyond the service of the current Stillwater bridge.  Designs for a bridge that would in fact replace the service of the current Stillwater bridge exist.

Designs for a smaller bridge respect the tenor of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.  The law was passed in 1968 with the intent of preserving designated rivers from further degradation.  The Stillwater Lift Bridge existed in 1968.  Replacing that bridge with a similar bridge stays within the intent of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

And the smaller bridge designs cost less.

 

A Better Idea for a New St. Croix River Bridge

In this era of austerity, it is ironic that small government people like Michele Bachmann support a bridge that will cost $700 million and more.  Investing in infrastructure is a smart move during an economic recovery, but we have many projects on existing roads and bridges that need attention and which would benefit more people and a stronger economic base.  I won’t call the multi-lane bridge proposed now a bridge to nowhere, but it does connect metropolitan Minneapolis/St. Paul with relatively undeveloped west central Wisconsin.

If the bridge does spur more growth in west central Wisconsin it will add another layer of threat to the St. Croix River.   Rivers are more than the main river channel, they are watersheds.  What happens miles from the river’s banks impacts water quality.  More development in the watershed is a quality management risk.

It isn’t too late for more thoughtful ideas to prevail.  Representative Betty McCollum (D-St. Paul) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minneapolis) and a growing list of state and local politicians oppose the plan are clear-headed voices opposing a bridge that requires circumventing Federal law.

Better ideas exist, let’s support those ideas and in turn support the river and respect the law.

Related articles

• Wrong Idea on Proposed Stillwater Bridge (alittletourinyellow.wordpress.com)
• A Better Stillwater Bridge Solution (alittletourinyellow.wordpress.com)
• St. Croix Bridge Clears Senate, but Prospects Still Uncertain (startribune.com)
• New bill calls for less costly St. Croix bridge (stillwatergazette.com)

Linden Avenue Vikings Stadium Site and the Basilica of St. Mary

Has anyone talked with the people over at the Basilica of St. Mary about the possible upside to having the Minnesota Vikings as a neighbor?   Maybe its time to ask:  WWRLD?

That, of course, is What Would Reverend Lovejoy Do…you know, the pastor providing Homer Simpson‘s spiritual guidance…

Anyway, it isn’t such a far-fetched question to ask.  I imagine Lovejoy being overjoyed with the prospect of tens of thousands of potential parishioners congregating only yards away from the Sunday service eight times a year, perhaps even more often if miracles really do happen.  So why shouldn’t the good people at the Basilica embrace the opportunity to welcome the Viking horde to Sunday service?

Of course other recruiting ideas exist, but these generally require planning and effort.  A new Vikings Stadium at the Linden Avenue site is a billion dollar freebie for the church, is it not?  Sure, there might be some traffic concerns, but churchgoers certainly can deal with that for the few Sundays when there might be a conflict in exchange for a chance to bring light and hope to thousands of hapless — and potentially debauched — Vikings fans, right?  And if future seasons look anything like this recent year, many people might opt for the pews over the bleachers anyway.

Hell…I mean heck…if I were a football fan, I might even get to Mass more often.

Alas, I don’t know much about football and I really don’t care much for doling out millions to millionaires, but if we’re going to do it, we might as well do it in a manner that benefits the public good as best as possible.  Why not add a concern for the holy good as well.  This is where I think the Basilica is looking at this situation from the wrong perspective.    Not only is the Linden Avenue site in good proximity to restaurants, hotels, and transit…it is close to a church, too!  Who can’t like that?

So buck up Basilica.  Get on the band wagon and stand behind the idea.  Perhaps you can negotiate a “Basilica Plaza” or some such thing in exchange for your enthusiastic support.  (The Cathedral of Saint Pauldidn’t come out so badly with that crazy ice racing thing…perhaps the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis can come figure this one out, too.)

So I vote even more enthusiastically for the Linden Avenue site.  Get on the phone and call your elected elected folks and others and see if we can’t get this Vikings stadium boondoggle done right.

Related articles

• Why Arden Hills is the Vikings’ Choice for a New Stadium… (alittletourinyellow.wordpress.com)
• Why Beggars Ought Not Be Choosers (alittletourinyellow.wordpress.com)
• New Vikings stadium could be ‘disastrous’ for Catholic basilica (catholicnewsagency.com)

Metrodome Vikings Stadium Site

View of HHH Metrodome as seen from vibrant downtown Minneapolis.

Of course I might just like to complain because…well, here I go again.  But I think it is more accurate to say that Minnesotans are good at creating complaint-worthy ideas.  So, yes…here we go again…

What is it that makes us stupid when it comes to common sense decisions?  Currently Minneapolis leaders support the current Metrodome site as the preferred choice for a new Vikings stadium in Minneapolis.  An interesting choice, and if you think about this, you might wonder whether Minneapolis’s leaders spend any time in Minneapolis.

Look at the Metrodome site.  Is it surrounded by thousands of parking spaces?  No.  Is it located at the nexus of regional transit systems leading into the city?  No.  Did it stimulate urban development?  No.  Is it within the core of the city’s growing entertainment, loding, and business district?  No.

Look at the Twins stadium.  Is it surrounding by thousands of parking spaces?  Yes.  Is it located at the nexus of regional transit systems leading into the city?  Yes.  Did it stimulate urban development?  Yes.  Is it within the core of the city’s growing entertainment, lodging, and business district?  Yes.

So by all means, let’s repeat the mistakes of the Metrodome, dilute the value of the city’s success, and build another stadium in the relatively depressed Metrodome district.

Look, if we’re going to squander taxes to subsidize a profitable industry like the NFL, let’s do something that makes the most sense for the tax payers forced to subsidize the millionaires and billionaires.  If you can find some benefit from being fleeced, why not take it?

The Twins received taxpayer support, but in exchange the city and businesses in the city got the benefit of a substantial economic development in the city’s business district.  Downtown Minneapolis is more vibrant as a result.  Moreover the costs of existing assets like parking and transportation are distributed across more activity in the area; we didn’t have to rebuild 394 or thousands of parking spaces.

Here’s an idea:  Let’s build a stadium where it belongs, in a district that will benefit by a major entertainment asset, and then GIVE Zygi Wilf the Metrodome site.  Yes, why not?  Zygi clearly wants land to develop — he is is leveraging the Vikings for land assets in Arden Hills and supposed to be a talented developer– so why not let him take a shot at the valuable, but under-utilized, space around the Dome?  I would think that space has at least as much potential as an abandon patch of suburban land.  Let him get at it.

But for crying out loud…let’s not waste squandered, extorted tax dollars on a development that doesn’t fit the proven success of what’s already working in Minneapolis!

Related articles

• Governor sets deadline for Vikes stadium plans (espn.go.com)
• Why Arden Hills is the Vikings’ Choice for a New Stadium… (alittletourinyellow.wordpress.com)
• L.A. Still Wants An NFL Team, But It Looks Like It Won’t Be The Vikings (businessinsider.com)

Shoot…Blog Etiquette Tip, Please…

Nuts.  I am noticing now that I didn’t change the title on a recent post before publishing it.  So I am wondering…is it bad form to change the title and leave the rest as is? I am trying — trying — to be less of a boor and more interesting this year.  It would be a shame to start muddling that up before week one is done.

Please advise.  Then scroll down through this blog and find something interesting to read.  Tell your friends and family to do the same.

 

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It is a Topsy Turvy World

Walker Percy

Old Bucklaw isn’t in much of a mood to write tonight, but seeing that last night was a missed post and tonight is dangerously close to becoming one, I thought I should write something.   The point of this blog, after all, is to write something and this year I planned big things for myself.  But perhaps that’s the issue…sometimes everything feels like big things are happening, all is going so beautifully well, and then you have reason to wonder…

I am feeling a little Binx Bolling, perhaps.  Of course you know Binx, the protagonist of Walker Percy‘s excellent book, The Moviegoer (1961).  If you don’t know Binx Bolling, you have an assignment:  Read The Moviegoer and report back to me.  But for now, back again to my post.

Binx suffers from what he calls the malaise, an uncertainty about his place and purpose.  Outwardly it would seem that things come together well for Binx.  He comes from an established New Orleans family, has a decent job, gets out and about, and so on.  Why should Binx be caught up in an existential “search” to sort out his malaise?

Walker Percy might give us an overly-simple reading of existential doubt, but in essence Binx ponders his own place and purpose by mulling over the lives of family, friends, and girlfriends; he sees himself by reflecting upon others.

This in itself might make for a rather dull story, but if I recall correctly, Binx makes a point of comparing real experience with the fake experience of film.  When you see your city — New Orleans, for example — in a film, you can enjoy it as if you were there, in that film experience, rather than wandering the real thing in lived experience.  But of course one is real and the other really real.  Crossing this divide of authenticity is something Binx is struggling to achieve, at least I believe so.

(Perhaps I shouldn’t write about a book I haven’t read in a few years, but be relieved, I was going to critique a play I haven’t yet seen.)

The Moviegoer is a brilliant book because it tells the story of a young man with a strong foundation who is still somehow adrift.  He has roots, but still wanders.  In this way, I think the story also tells the story of the American South very well.  The foundations of the South, especially after World War II, still have substantial depth, but at the same time those foundations are being uprooted.  Binx’s wanderings to find himself as a young man in an adult world isn’t unlike the new South struggling with a modern American identity.  As if to emphasize this point, Binx takes a trip to Chicago and upon his return is confronted by his aunt, who stands for an even more traditional link to the past.

So why am I feeling all Binxy?

Perhaps there is something happening that tells me I am surrounded by very good things coming into my life, but like Binx, when they seem to feel sure and right, it is hard to discern fact from fiction, it is hard to make them true.  There is a struggle to make it all happen.  It eludes me, confronts me, and even doubts me.

A convincing analogy in the form of a relationship explains this quite well in The Moviegoer.  Binx relies a lot on his complicated — perhaps unstable — cousin Kate to help him sort things out.  She isn’t properly a foil — both Binx and Kate are unsure and restless — but she is more properly a compliment.

We all need our compliments, and even though they are hard to find, one should not try too hard.  A real compliment will settle in as naturally as a peaceful sleep in a lover’s embrace.  I want to believe it is that simple and that easy.   Why shouldn’t it be?  Sometimes all it takes is a leap of faith more so than trust to let good things happen…

So what would Binx do?  He would find a beautiful young secretary and go for a drive along the gulf coast, I suppose…

Or was that Ignatius Reilly?  No, no…we don’t want Ignatius’s end.  We want Binx.  It was Binx.  Good old Binx.  He figured it out.

 

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• Thanksgiving Eve (alittletourinyellow.wordpress.com)

Iowa Caucus = Tea Party = Who Cares…

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...

I haven’t an editor, an agent, or a future so I might as well say it:  Who gives a flying rip what a bunch of hayseeds from Iowa think about who will be the best choice for a GOP candidate for president of the United States?  Hallelujah and so on…thank god  that overall we are smarter than poorly informed Tea Party patriots living amongst the corn in Iowa.   (Sorry Iowa.)

The Iowa caucus is an embarrassing fraud.  Perhaps I was a little mean-spirited and snobbish to refer to GOP Iowa caucus goers as hayseeds (but they are GOPers, after all…cut me some slack), however it is hard to see how one of the nation’s most politically, economically, and ethnically homogeneous states represents the interests and opinions of country’s conservative citizens.  Seriously…isn’t anyone shrugging this off?  Who cares?

When you look at the GOP options in Iowa, you have the politically right competing with ever more extreme layers of the conservative right.  It is a shameful mess.  Some candidates, like Iowa’s Michele Bachmann, are simply side shows if not freak shows, but even the mainline conservatives vie with one another for the right to kiss the creamy lumpy ass of a Tea Party misanthrope.  Tell me why we should care about that?

Anyway, once the campaign for a GOP candidate gets away from this pathetic charade, a real and more diverse segment of American society will decide who the real players will be.  This is why guys like Mitt Romney have little to celebrate or fear from an Iowa farce, win or lose.  Conservatives will select a guy who literally looks Republican, sounds convincingly conservative, and doesn’t piss off more people than he — yes, he — pleases.  That’s Romney.

Look, these people are sheep…and being a disciplined herd of sheep has served Republicans well.  They literally have marched this country lock-step off the cliff of prosperity into despair.  Why shouldn’t we expect them to march on behind another milquetoast guy like Romney (maybe with exciting Pawlenty panting at his side)?  The bottom line is the Iowa caucus is a flim flam shim sham…anyone who cares, cares too much about political theater.

Let’s get to the convention and watch these puppets punch it out.  Until then, I am supporting the Ron Paul independent ticket.  Go Ron!

Related articles

• Maddow: What The Undecided Iowa Caucus Really Means (huffingtonpost.com)
• Does the Iowa Caucus Matter? (myfoxphoenix.com)
• Is Iowa Caucus Relevant Without Minority Participants? (bigthink.com)

Why Arden Hills is the Vikings’ Choice for a New Stadium…

A real NFL Game Day experience is fast becoming the key reason people support the proposed Arden Hills site for a new Vikings stadium over other more practical and economically feasible stadium sites in Minneapolis.  Lester Bagley, the Vikings vice president of Public Affairs and Stadium Development, explained today on Michelle Tafoya‘s local radio show on WCCO that tailgating is part of this experience.  Really?

Let’s go with this idea for a moment.

Is partying in a parking lot eight times a year really a good reason to build a stadium in the middle of an urban nowhere?  (Yes, Arden Hills, you are off the economic and entertainment beaten path.)

Of course tailgating isn’t the real reason the Vikings want the Arden Hills site, but when that argument becomes a plausible justification for squandering millions, you get a sense for how reckless this stadium “debate” has become.

At any rate, this is less a debate and more extortion anyway.  Zygi Wilf, a multimillionaire, and the National Football League, a multi-billion dollar industry, aren’t happy enough with a handout, these beggars want things on their terms and whine if the donors push a little for a better bargain.  So talking about practical matters doesn’t square when you can tap fans’ emotions.

Does This Qualify as an "Inappropriate" Relationship?

Look…I am not opposed to having a good time in a parking lot from time to time; in fact, I’m not opposed to a little reckless misbehavior, just ask my ex-wife or any of the near-exes that followed.  But I don’t see how providing party space for a few thousand fans to roast hot dogs and drink beer before a football game adds value to one site over another.  Personally, I prefer to “tail gate” in a downtown bar.  Help me and my NFL Game Day experience.

Wilf wants the Arden Hills site because he is a commercial property developer.  And don’t forget the parking revenues.  Primarily, however, Wilf is a developer, and if he can get financially strapped Minnesotans to kick in a few million dollars to help cover his risk developing a prime parcel of vacant land in a major metropolitan area…well, great!

Wilf’s football team will play just as well in a billion dollar stadium in Minneapolis as it will if it is built somewhere else, even after he sells the team.  Wilf is leveraging the Vikings to gain additional business advantages.  It is bad enough we are being squeezed to subsidize the profits and growth of the NFL.

All the sports action today is in Minneapolis and St. Paul.  It is supported by a broader hospitality and entertainment industry that involved years of investment and development.  Plus Minneapolis already enjoys transportation infrastructure that currently serves major events very well.  In this era of public austerity, does it make sense to spend public money duplicating existing public infrastructure and services?

We should also look at the wisdom of investing tax dollars in this private project.  Consider that we have a surplus office and retail space in the Twin Cities metro now.  Is building more away from our existing economic core a smart idea?  If it is a smart idea, why can’t Wilf get other private job creators to invest with him?

Unfortunately, rather than consider the real economic interests of developing (or not developing) the Arden Hills site, we hear more and more talk about silly intangibles like “Game Day Experience.”  I’m sorry, but this simply doesn’t cut it.

 

Related articles

• Vikings Stadium: If We’re Going to Do it… (alittletourinyellow.wordpress.com)
• Senator: Vikes should talk Minneapolis stadium (espn.go.com)
• Vikings considering Minneapolis site for stadium (espn.go.com)
• Wilf: Vikings’ contribution less if stadium in city (espn.go.com)
• Wilfs: Beggars Ought Not Be Choosers (alittletourinyellow.wordpress.com)
• Why Arden Hills is a Bad Idea for a Vikings Stadium (alittletourinyellow.wordpress.com)

Blogging Resolutions

I thought I would kick-start 2012 with a really awesome, trend-setting post…something like “Blogging Resolutions.”  But this guy has done that already and he actually hits on the things I should do so I’ll let my idea — if not my enthusiasm — die.

Plus nothing is quite as dull as meta-blogging, writing about writing, writing about should of, could of.   So let me start the new year with some advice and forgive me if I plagiarise Plato:

Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something.

With that in mind, I will check in again later when — I hope — I will have something to say.