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Author Topic: What next?!  (Read 242302 times)

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Offline mike89

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my fiber optic tree works very well for me..
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline delcecchi

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You want a fresh natural tree?   Pay the man. 

I got a fake tree with led lights.    :crazy:

Offline LPS

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my fiber optic tree works very well for me..

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :happy1: :happy1:  Ya we have a fake one too. 

Offline Rebel SS

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  • "Seems like time is here and gone".....Doobie's
Hmmm...I'v  got a plunger in the biffy....a drill..and a buncha spruce ends laying under my tree outside broke off after that wind the other day....maybe I can even find a red ball somewhere.........There!   :happy1:
« Last Edit: November 11/24/19, 09:19:27 AM by Rebel SS »

Offline mike89

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good job Rebs!!!
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline Rebel SS

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Charlie Brown, eat yer heart out!!!  :rotflmao:

Offline Rebel SS

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Got an appt with my realtor friend next week.....starting to look at properties outside of CAWchester. Enough is enough. Let the stupid sheep follow who they will here...they'll regret it. Already a large group formed here to stop this insane DMC "progress".


Our view: Increase in parking ramp rates is too stiff, poorly timed

Nov 25, 2019
Rochester Post Bulletin Staff

There have to be better ways to convince people not to drive their vehicles downtown than to jack up parking rates in city ramps by 34 percent.

That's the percentage of increase contract parkers in the city's six ramps will face in 2020 -- from $125 per month this year to $168 per month next. And the increases won't stop there. The city plans to keep increasing the cost of parking until the monthly rate is $288 in 2023.

Officials say the increased cost will encourage commuters to find other modes of transportation, will pay for upkeep of ramps, and will make sure folks driving downtown to shop or visit a restaurant will find spots available in the ramps.

We have long supported efforts to convince people to make their way downtown for work without driving -- especially not driving alone. The traffic congestion, air pollution and parking situation are all problems that can only be solved by reducing the number of vehicles on central city streets.

We support development of an extensive, comprehensive transit plan that gives commuters viable options for traveling across the city. We don't think the city is anywhere near there yet. We also understand the complaints of residents of neighborhoods who find their streets lined Monday through Friday with parked cars, a problem that will only get worse with increased ramp fees.

Clearly, if the jobs promised by the Destination Medical Center project ever do materialize, the city (and Mayo Clinic) cannot build enough parking ramps to meet the demand. And not all of downtown can be paved over for parking lots.

Having said all that, we sympathize with those commuters facing sudden and steep increases in their monthly parking bills. The city's strategy might make sense. But making sense while making enemies is not a good approach. With the sharp increase in cost, the city is creating pain without offering enough solutions.

Planned transit hubs are still only in the talking stage, and too many commuters do not have easy access to a bus stop. At this point, they have few options other than to drive and park -- and pay.

In that light, we urge officials to take a second look at the fast-track rate increases. A slower rate of increase would be a more welcome approach.

Offline LPS

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Sounds like a real rat race.  I love living in a small town.  OR in the country near a small town is even better. 

Offline mike89

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good luck Reb...
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline Rebel SS

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Thanks Mikey. Gotta slowly get my ducks in a row. I just don't understand why the sheep here (sorry Dotch) can't see how they're forcing people/certain groups out when they publicly admit it. One big developer that sucks up to Mayo and owns half the town made statements to TV and the paper a few days back he wants the homeless people OUT OF THE SKYWAYS AND DOWNTOWN....direct quote. Maybe he should build some housing for them then.....
That drew a huge backlash, as it should. But, I'm done worrying about it. The place will self-destruct like Detroit did. Hope some of the sheep wake up in time to get out.

Offline glenn57

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good luck bud.........maybe dotch has a sheep stall for ya!!!!!!!!!!! :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline Rebel SS

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I told ya I'm opening a church in yer area.....St. Mark's the Pretty Good Shepherd!!   :rotflmao:
« Last Edit: November 11/26/19, 10:36:38 AM by Rebel SS »

Offline glenn57

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I told ya I'm opening that church in yer area.....St. Mark's the Pretty Good Shepherd!!   :rotflmao:
oh no.........dis area aintz big enough for da both of us!!!!!!! :tut: :tut: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline Rebel SS

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I'll put you in charge of the collection plates, then you can waggle that finger at the penny pinchers...... :angel:   
« Last Edit: November 11/26/19, 10:36:15 AM by Rebel SS »

Online Gunner55

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You'll be lucky to get a penny out every $ ;), Reb, after he takes out enough for his expensive lunches.  :tut: :rolleyes:  :smiley:
Life............. what happens while your making other plans. John Lennon

Offline glenn57

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You'll be lucky to get a penny out every $ ;), Reb, after he takes out enough for his expensive lunches.  :tut: :rolleyes:  :smiley:
:pouty: :pouty: :pouty: :pouty: :tut: :tut: :tut: :tut: i'll have you know my 2 meals yesterday didnt hit 30 bucks...........and that was with the generous tip. :happy1:
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline Dotch

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You mean you actually left 50 cents and not a quarter like usual????  :confused:  :rotflmao:
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline glenn57

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You mean you actually left 50 cents and not a quarter like usual????  :confused:  :rotflmao:
:tut: :tut: :tut: maybe!!!!!!!!!!!!! :nerd: :nerd: :nerd:
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline Rebel SS

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You mean you actually left 50 cents and not a quarter like usual????  :confused:  :rotflmao:
:tut: :tut: :tut: maybe!!!!!!!!!!!!! :nerd: :nerd: :nerd:

                            :rotflmao:

Offline glenn57

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jesus H crimminy………. :angry2: :angry2: :angry2: what the hell is going on in this world.  :pouty: :doofus: :doofus: :pouty: :pouty: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

every day there's a frickin shooting somewhere. now tonight its reported an active shooter out in Hawaii on the pearl harbor base.
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline mike89

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that's not good at all.............. 
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline Rebel SS

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Offline Rebel SS

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Just wondering....what do most of you do for groceries? Long drive to "big city" to stock up, or local markets? Or both? Always wondered that.

An article about the small towns and groceries in my area...


PINE ISLAND — When it comes to feeding her family of five, Stephanie Pocklington leans heavily on Island Market in Pine Island.

"Cereals, pizzas, beverages, snacks," Pocklington said. "Generally things we'll cook for dinner, like pastas and sauces" are purchased at the lone full-service grocer in the town of roughly 3,400 people.

Not that Island Market is her only stop. Fruits, vegetables and meats often come from Hy-Vee in Rochester. While the Sam's Club in Rochester is where she'll buy bulk items such as toilet paper, paper towels or dog food. She buys her milk at Kwik Trip and toiletries and over-the-counter medicines at Dollar General.
'We have to go there for more than milk or bread': How cities can keep small grocers in business
In 2018, Byron's lone grocery store, Byron Marketplace, was sold to Kwik Trip and downsized from a full-service grocery store — complete with gas station — to a convenience store and liquor store. In short, Pocklington said, she's got options.
Still, she admits, if her family needed to rely only on the stores in Pine Island, "You are definitely limited."

Limited Options

Grocery limitations are a common problem for shoppers in small towns. Cities ranging in size from Dover to Wanamingo to Lewiston to Byron do not have full-service grocery stores. And convenience stores like Kwik Trip or limited-service grocery options such as Dollar General only fill part of the need.

If Mazeppa's 842 residents need groceries to put dinner on the table, it's a minimum of an 8-mile drive to Nilssen's Hub Food Center in Zumbrota. Island Market in Pine Island is about the same distance, at 9.1 miles from Mazeppa's city center.

Mazeppa City Administrator Karl Nahrgang said people who live in communities without a grocery store have to use better planning and preparation.

"They may not go to the store as often as if they had a grocery right in the community, but they stock up when they buy, or they plan their grocery around trips to these other communities," Nahrgang said.

Things aren't much better in Wanamingo. The western Goodhue County city has more than 1,000 residents (1,086 in 2010) but no grocery store. Like the folks in Mazeppa, Wanamingo's residents find Nilssen's to be their closest store. The city's other option is to drive a little more than 10 miles to Kenyon Market in Kenyon or more than 13 miles to the store in Pine Island.

Brent Bosch, general manager for Sunshine Foods, which operates 17 locally owned stores, including three in Southeast Minnesota, said it's getting to the point where any town with fewer than 2,500 people can't support a full-service grocery store.
"E-commerce is ruining rural America," Bosch said, pointing to one of the main sources of competition grocers are finding in small towns.
The other players in the market that are taking a bite out of grocers' business are stores like Dollar General. Bosch said Dollar General, which does not have butcher counters, produce, full dairy sections or bakeries — the four store sections that separate full-service grocers from Dollar General stores — runs off a different business model, avoiding the high labor costs of delis and produce aisles.

Instead, it brings cheaper costs on canned goods, paper products, cleaning products and other items that don't require heavily refrigerated sections and specially trained labor.

"Dollar General comes in and takes 25 percent out of the center of the store," Bosch said.
At least once a month, he said, he fields calls from towns where a Dollar General has come in and driven a full-service grocer out of business, and now the city's economic leaders are looking for someone to save their grocery store.

Towns Going Hungry

Not that Dollar General doesn't have a place in rural America, Bosch said. Those towns too small for a grocery store are a perfect place for Dollar General or convenience stores like Kwik Trip.

Some towns, however, don't even have that much. A BP gas station and convenience store is the lone shopping option in Mazeppa, which has gone decades without a grocery store.
Nahrgang said that about eight or 10 years ago, the city made contact with a regional convenience store that said the town was too small, especially with that BP store as competition.
Not having a grocery store does affect economic development in town. Without a store, it becomes harder to draw other businesses to Mazeppa. But that's the niche Mazeppa fills for its residents.
"Small communities attract people looking for a quieter lifestyle and more value for their housing dollar," Nahrgang said. "To accommodate that, potential residents are willing to give up some of the amenities of a larger community. People moving to a community the size of Mazeppa would not expect a full line grocery store."





Offline Rebel SS

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Offline Dotch

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I try to support Wagner's, our local small grocery store as much as I can. Since I'm in town during the week, it's handy. Watch the sales along with buying their store brands when possible and it works. Next closest places are Waseca and Owatonna, both about 18 miles from where we live. Albert Lea is about 25 miles. We get their circulars as well or can look at the stuff online if we want. I rarely go to those grocery stores unless it's to get something we simply can't find locally. Otherwise, if I'm just going to one of the bigger towns to buy groceries, I typically can't justify it for what it costs to drive there. Plus, odds are I'll bump into somebody I know at the local grocery store and share a laugh or two.

Dollar General moved to town a couple years ago. They may have hurt the grocery store some although their selection is limited and many times it's no cheaper than the grocery store. I buy stuff there a lot of times that I would've bought at Wally World or Target, things like soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. There again, I rarely went to those places anyway unless I was going to FF. Which reminds me I need to go to Walgreens in Owatonna to get my prescription filled. Our local drug store recently closed so it was a sad day for the community. I always used their pharmacy and frequently went there to buy cards or gifts. More tearing around or going online and getting the wrong chit.  :sad:       
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline roony

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I have had occasion to go to Wagner's since I drive to New Richland to visit my mother quite often. I have found it to be a very friendly store. Sure, any local business has to charge a bit more just to stay afloat but who gives a rip.

Offline Rebel SS

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Offline Dotch

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Just talked to a friend of mine over the weekend in our local grocery store, a vet, who is starting cancer treatments. He's going to Mason City to Mercy Healthcare System because the Vets won't pay for the extra $'s for the same treatments at Mayo. Mercy has a clinic opening up in Albert Lea too. All I can say is bring it on. The rest of us schmucks in business have to deal with competition, why shouldn't Mayo?  :angry:
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline mike89

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hey Dotch I have heard that before about veteran treatment at the Mayo..   very rude and wrong!!!
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Online Gunner55

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Those extra $ Mayo gets is the main reason why the cost of health insurance in this region is some of the highest in the US too.  :sad:
Life............. what happens while your making other plans. John Lennon