Author Archives: bemidjimike

Proper Etiquette for Self Service Kiosks…Just Give Me a Human Employee!

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Everything these days is self service which basically means a company has eliminated a human being / employee and has substituted another human being (in other words US) to use a machine that has really replaced the employee.  And now instead of having rude employees, you now have rude customers.

Not too long ago I blogged about the new SELF SERVICE DVD/MOVIE kiosks that are now on every street corner. There is usually only 1 at each location meaning if someone is at the machine, you need to wait your turn. I am all about being patient, but when your dealing with a machine…there is virtually nothing involving something called CUSTOMER SERVICE.  I pull up in the dead of a Northern MN winter and simply want to RETURN THE DVD. Unfortunately I need to wait in the freezing cold for the customer at the machine to make their selection. Even though I go back to the car to stay warm, the couple takes 10 minutes to pick out a movie at the kiosk.  The common courtesy here would be to DO YOUR SELECTING AHEAD OF TIME!!  Pick out 3 or 4 titles at home and then go do your kiosk button punching. How I long for the days of just handing my DVD to someone and having them say something quirky like “so did you enjoy it?”

Here’s another scenario played out hundreds of times a week at your local SELF SERVICE photo kiosk. The other day I had 5 pictures I needed to print off for my job and decided to take my media card to the photo kiosk. Most stores now have a dedicated kiosk that actually immediately prints off the pictures. Having arrived at the store I found the kiosk chair occupied by an individual who was selecting pictures to print. Again waiting for what seemed like an eternity yet keeping my distance I inched up towards the screen finding out they had 128 Christmas pictures loaded and were printing 30 of them.  My 5 pics (at .29 cents a piece) took another trip to the establishment. Etiquette rule here….1) Self service print photo kiosks are not ment for 30 pics to be printed off and 2) If your selecting from hundreds of pics on a media card be smart and DO IT FROM HOME ONLINE!!  Grab a cup of coffee and take all night if you want to relive your vacation!!

I’m heading to the bathroom to take my blood pressure medication. My luck is that soon too will be delivered from a kiosk!

Here Beltrami County Board is The Business Model for Southshore Development

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Seem’s a bit strange that the county board would want to weigh in on an issue concerning the City of Bemidji. The 2 am opening has been an option for bars outside the city for years and now its a big deal. Some cities such as Funkley here in Beltrami County have had 2am bar closings for years. I haven’t heard of a big crime wave in Funkley due to their bar closings….

So  the county commissioners want to know what the business model is to support the 2am bar closing in Bemidji. Well here it is. Right or wrong…whether you agree or disagree…bottom line is the City of Bemidji has borrowed money to purchase the Southshore property. The money borrowed last year has interest of about $180,000 per year. While money borrowed was at a low interest rate…the loan needs to be “refinanced” as no lots have been sold this past year. This means another year of interest and another year of property being OFF the tax rolls. The Operations and Maintenance costs (O and M) for the Event Center is being budgeted at about $338,000 (naming rights gained $200,000 of this back). Part of building the Event Center on the South Shore was to stimulate development of the land around it. Estimated benefit to the city with events and surrounding jobs and development was to be $8 million dollars to $13 million dollars per year. This realistic gain will only be realized with the development of this land.

So we’ve paid $185,000 in interest this year. A bar/restaraunt and a $6 million dollar development could have been opened and on the city tax rolls already, but we are still deciding about the 2am OPTIONAL closing time. So this year at least another $185,000 in interest will have to be paid.

The business model seems pretty clear. Make the land SELLABLE! If your house is for sale and you do not sell it, you make it more attractive by planting shrubs or painting it. If we can make this land more sell able by giving someone an OPTION to stay open till 2 am…. we should do it. If the county is so concerned on the city’s business plan for the Southshore, maybe the county WANTS to help pay for the $185,000 in interest. Remember, with the city’s population at 13,741 that means each man/woman and child has paid $13.46 this past year for the empty land by the events center. This $185,000 paid last year and again this year is money that COULD be going towards our city police budget, or our city’s street maintenance, or even towards our parks.

Bottom line, while its commendable that our new mayor Mr. Larson is willing to talk to the county board about the 2am option, its really none of their business. I’m fine if someone is against a plan as long as they have an ALTERNATIVE. If our mayor is against the 2am closing, what is Plan B? The business plan adopted by the city was to build an multipurpose event center AND to develop the Southshore of Lake Bemidji. We cannot build lumberyards and hardware stores on the property, it is zoned and suited for hotels and restaraunts. If we’re worried about drinking, maybe we should shut the city liquor stores down at 8pm…I am sure we can find crime statistics to support more crime after 8pm…must be the liquor stores!

 We’ve done only half the job mr. mayor.  All we want is to give the project every opportunity to be SUCCESSFUL. Don’t hinder the Southshore’s development. And let Beltrami County take care of the things it does best…. like parks, land, roads, bridges and timber. Lets not have multimillion dollar projects being held up for moral reasons from the 30′s. This is too important and is costing us both time and money.

Seeing a Robin on New Year’s Day; What Kind of Year is 2011 Going to Be??

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I am a little scared of the New Year 2011 already. And we’re only a day or two into it.

New Years morning at 9:30 am I am out snowblowing the 6 inches of freshly fallen snow in my driveway. The sun was beaming brightly with the temp a balmy 3 degrees and the wind chill running around -11. After  doing  my driveway I shut off my Craftsman and soaked up the solitude of a new snow and a new year. You can imagine my surprise to hear what I could swear was a Robin chirp. I knew I had a couple of cocktails the night before, but was in bed by 11:30 pm  and fully functioning New Years Day. 

I took several steps down my driveway to focus on which tree the chirping was coming from. Sure enough from the top of our crab apple tree in our front yard perched a fluffed up orange breasted robin.

I have lived in Minnesota almost all of my 50+ years and have never seen a robin in the winter, yet much in Bemidji, Minnesota on a freezing January morning. I looked up on line and did find some stories of robins “overwintering” in the North, but most go to Mexico, Florida and along the Pacific coast.

A person starts wondering if this is some sort of sign, like “global warming”, or is it an indication of just how screwed up this year is going to be? I guess about 60% of a robins diet is from berries and seeds with the other 40% coming from bugs, worms and insects. (I can tell you for sure there are no worms out and about now). How does a robin decide to “overwinter”? (Sounds like a term used in the hospitality industry). Did it get “tricked” into staying by some other deceitful birds telling it how great the winters are in Minnesota?

At first I felt sorry for the bird and was tempted to go to TABERS BAIT and buy some maggots, or grubs for the bird. Then I decided to just yell at the bird (which the neighbors probably thought I was drunk from the night before) telling the robin to “Get Out of Here…go to Minneapolis”. The thing just stared back and chirped. I think it was asking to borrow my stocking cap.

Buying a New Vacuum Really Sucks

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Maybe I am getting old, but this is a story based upon the old saying “They Don’t Make Them Like They Use To Anymore”. 

 When I think of vacuum cleaners, I always think of my dear 92 year old mother who lives in St. Paul. In 1964 at the St. Paul Armory her and my dad won a new KIRBY vacuum cleaner at a home show.  46 years later, it is still the vacuum used to clean her small patio senior housing unit.  Oh certainly its gone through some belts, cords, brushes and bags, but it is still basically the same loud, ugly red machine that just does a great job of working.

Fast forward now to 2010. This year we are on our 2nd vacuum obtained in the last two years. And I have only one person to blame this all on….not my wife but the evil JAMES DYSON and his cyclonic whirlwind Dyson cleaner.  You see its no longer fashionable to have just a vacuum that is loud, ugly and works.

In 2010 a vacuum has to be bag – less and it has you have to see the dust you’ve picked up swirling around like a tornado. My mom’s old Kirby has none of that. Its an upright with a big canvas bag that collects the dirt. You simply TRUST that the thing is working. You squeeze the bag and see how full it is and empty it when its about 1/2 way. The vacuum of today must have the VISUAL element to it. It may clean poorly, but if you see fuzzy dustballs swirling around in a clear plastic container…it MUST be a great cleaner.

The vacuum of today must also have some sort of filter. Nobody is sure what this filter does and I cannot imagine how our old dog survived chasing our old KIRBY around the house breathing all that dust without the benefit of a filter.

So why is Mr. James Dyson to blame? He started all this phenomenon with his research and 20 years of investigating vacuums. And now every other manufacturer in the world wants to create a similar tornadic whirlwind spinning cleaning contraption. The only problem is….no one is satisfied with it!

We have been the recipients of 2 “hand me down” vacuums that people are not satisfied with. They are quiet, they have filters, they are bagless, they have retractable cords, they have swirling dust particles. They just don’t suck.

Lucky for us my wife has our ELECTROLUX 1980 canister vaccum as a back up. She regularly tries the others, but the next day I see the old canister vac back out of the closet.  This years New Years Resolution is not to buy a vacuum in 2011.

2 AM Bar Closing Option…is Government SUPPORTING Free Enterprise or Working Against Competition?

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The world loves options. Doesn’t everyone like options? Fishing today…should I go to Lake Bemidji or to Lake Irving?  15 feet of water or 30 feet of water? I’m at Arby’s ordering off their value menu….9 options…should I have a Jamocha shake or a chocolate turnover?  Remember the days before cable tv when your only options were two or three channels?  Now you have 150 options. Everybody likes options.

Business and the Free Enterprise system in AMERICA is based on offering options.   Government is suppose to SUPPORT AND UPHOLD this free enterprise system.  Businesses thrive on COMPETITION making everyone better. Some are successful because they tinker with the business model, do things better than their competitor, or offer more wanted options. Ford offers the SYNC system in their automobiles while GM offers ON STAR. Each vying for the public acceptance. Sometimes these options are successful….sometimes they are not.

Sometimes government does not support options. For example, the medical facts have proven that SMOKING is unhealthy and being exposed to SMOKE can be dangerous. The FACTS are clear and obvious and in this case for the good of society the government has eliminated some options with SMOKING.

So let’s look at proposal giving the OPTION of a 2am bar closing to bars within the city limits of Bemidji.  We can argue that its not necessary, but why not let a business have the OPTION to do it? Maybe its not necessary but is it our place to dictate this? So if its not necessary…it will be a huge failure and nobody will use this option. So it will be a non issue. Why are a few local bars against it if its such a miserable policy?  (One has to wonder if they are doing their best to stifle competion and other ideas that may challenge their own operations). But the free enterprise system supported by government will allow the consumer to vote by choosing to partaking or not after 1 am. This system has worked for decades and needs to be allowed to function.  Any business person thinking of doing business in Bemidji (and creating jobs and creating new tax base) would after to wonder what type of city we are if our goal is to stifle the free enterprise system.

There are those who have tossed out  unsubstaniated statements on why the option of adding an hour to closing time is BAD for the city. Their facts: “Minnesota Public Radio reports when it comes to alcohol, Bemidji State University students are notorious for risky behaviors like binge drinking and driving under the influence”.  Was this a report that was done by MPR or just a story about college students in general? When did it run? What facts back this statement up that BSU is worse than St.Cloud State or University of Minnesota Duluth? (I am sure the administration and students are proud of this quote). 

And don’t continue to bring up a bar (Git R Done) that happened to be open till 2am and all of the trouble they had with that establishment. Bottom line people who knew the bar operations (which is closed which tells you something about the way it was run) will tell you it had NOTHING to do with the 2am closing and EVERYTHING to do with the management. We could discuss the old BADA BING bar in Bemidji that had a ton of problems and police calls to it AND IT CLOSED AT 1 AM so that must be a problem too.

Everyone I hope has the best interests in the city in mind. I like others do not want to promote a crime filled Las Vegas type atmosphere in Bemidji. Look…show me FACTS that tells me that there will be more drinking, more accidents, more costs, more crime. With the MAJORITY OF LARGER cities in Minnesota at 2 am…SHOW ME THE FACTS. If someone is drunk at 2 am they were probably over the limit at 1am. If you believe this arguement, then wouldn’t it make sense to shut the bars down at midnight? Same FLAWED LOGIC.  Bottom line….let the Free enterprise system work.

Thursday’s Reason Why Bemidji Should Allow the OPTION of a 2am bar closing.

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A public hearing will be held at Bemidji City Hall this Monday Evening at 7 pm to discuss changing the city ordinance to allow the OPTION of bars closing at 2 am. Hopefully it will be well attended. In a daily series I will list reasons why Bemidji should allow this OPTION.

REASON #2: NO STATISTICAL EVIDENCE ANYWHERE IN THE STATE THAT IT SUBSTANIALLY EFFECTS POLICE DUTIES or INCREASES CRIME.

The Novemeber 10th article in the Alexandria Echo Press said it all.  It contacted police and city administrators from around outstate MN in regards to going to a 2 am closing. Their comments:

“Montevideo reported that there are “probably” additional law enforcement costs but that it was hard to quantify them. The city manager there said the late night problems just peak one hour later with the 2 a.m. closing.

 

Moorhead reported some problems initially when nearby Fargo still had its 1 a.m. closing. A police lieutenant said there was a “mad rush” of people coming from Fargo to Moorhead late at night, which led to bar problems and increased the Moorhead Police Department’s calls for service.

 

Once Fargo switched to the 2 a.m. closing, the bar crowd stayed in Fargo. The change still had an impact, however. Moorhead police officers now work a 10-hour evening shift, going off duty at 3 a.m., instead of 2 a.m.

 

St. Cloud officials didn’t report any additional law enforcement costs. It just moved the period where police were needed downtown back one hour.

 

The Osakis Police Department changes its shift to accommodate the 2 a.m. closing, when needed, and it has incurred extra hours. The city is considering implementing an additional fee in 2011.

 

Detroit Lakes didn’t report any additional costs for law enforcement but it has received some band noise complaints from residents near bars that are open until 2 a.m.

 

East Grand Forks didn’t report any additional costs or problems because Grand Forks also has a 2 a.m. closing time.

 

Farmington has only two on-sale businesses with the extended hour and it didn’t report any additional problems or cost.”

After reading these comments, why would Bemidji be any different than the above cities going to a 2 am closing time? If anything it spreads the rush hour out making it less of a peak! Our police chief’s only problem would be to extend his officers an extra hour on their shifts by starting them an extra hour later. And lets not bring up a bar (Git ‘ R Done Saloon in Wilton) that had all sorts of mismangement issues as the example of a bar that was open till 2 am.  In fact Beltrami County already allows bar owners the option to stay open till 2 am and we have had NO reprocussions from that. Why should Bemidji be different than the county?

Wednesday’s Reason Why Bemidji Should Allow OPTION of 2 AM Bar Closing

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A public hearing will be held at Bemidji City Hall  Monday Evening Dec 6th to discuss changing the city ordinance to allow the OPTION of bars closing at 2 am. Hopefully it will be well attended. In a daily series I will list reasons why Bemidji should allow this OPTION.

REASON #1: IT IS IN THE BEST ECONOMIC INTEREST FOR THE CITY TO BEGIN TO SELL AND DEVELOP THE SOUTHSHORE PROPERTY.

 In case you’ve missed it in the paper…the bonds used to finance the Southshore are going to be refinanced. The city is currently paying interest on these bonds and will continue to do so until developers (restaraunts/bars/hotels/retail) buy the land to develop it from the city. Several developers have expressed serious interest. Whether it is the new Holiday Inn Lodge proposal, or the Zorbaz proposal, or the hope of getting Buffalo Wild Wings/Famous Daves or whoever, THE 2 AM BAR CLOSING TIME HAS BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE AN ISSUE. In the current economic environment, we as a city need to do everything possible to not only relieve us of the interest payments, but to stimulate new job growth during construction and permenant jobs once these facilities are open. Once open, they start paying back to the city through sales tax and property taxes. I think everyone has admired the new BREC facility and sees its potential. The ability to attract state conventions will contribute to the city’s economy. Whether you agree with it or not…partaking of food and  alcoholic beverages at conferences and conventions is simply part of the draw.  I am not one to be staying up till 2am, but a lot of people attending functions like this will…especially if they’re from the Twin Cities. Bottom line: GIVING THE OPTION OF A 2AM BAR CLOSING TIME IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY TO GET A LARGE ECONOMIC GAIN.

The Answer to all Our Economic Problems; run the Country Like WALMART

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 This email has circulated around and I thought it had some interesting points to it. Enjoy!

1.  Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart every hour of every day.

 2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!

3.  Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St.  Patrick’s Day
(March
17th) than Target sells all year.

4. Wal-Mart is  bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target +Sears  +
Costco +
K-Mart  combined.

5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people, is the world’s largest private
employer.

6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the world.

7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger and Safeway combined, and
keep
in mind they did this in only fifteen years.

8. During this same period, 31 big supermarket chains sought
bankruptcy.

9.  Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.

10.  Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are
Super
Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had five years  ago.

11. This year 7.2  billion different purchasing experiences will
occur at
Wal-Mart stores. (Earth’s population is approximately 6.5  Billion.)

12. 90% of all Americans live within fifteen miles of a Wal-Mart.

You may think  that I am complaining, but I am really laying the
ground work
for suggesting that MAYBE we should hire the guys who run Wal-Mart to
fix
the economy. Seems like government doesn’t have a very good track record.

a. The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775. You have had 234
years
to get it right and it is broke.

 

b. Social Security was established in 1935. You have had 74 years to
get it
right and it is broke.

c. Fannie Mae was established in 1938. You have had 71 years to get
it right
and it is  broke.

                                 

d. War on Poverty started in 1964. You have had 45 years to get it
right and its not fixed.

                                 

e.  Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965.  You have had 44
years
to get it right and they are broke.

                                 

f.  Freddie Mac was established in 1970. You have had 39 years to get
it
right and it is broke.

                                 

g. The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our
dependence on
foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24
billion a year and we import more oil than ever before. You had 32
years to
get it right and it is an abysmal failure.

MAYBE WE OUGHT TO
HIRE
WAL-MART TO RUN THE GOVERNMENT???

 

WAL-MART SEEMS TO KNOW HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS…….WHY CAN’T THEY BE HIRED TO JUST TAKE OVER THE GOVERNMENT FOR A FEW YEARS?

 

2AM Closing Time, Round Two

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It looks like the Bemidji City Council is going to take another run at allowing bars to remain open until 2 am. The initial go around was in February of this year when Tom Hanson, owner of Zorbaz, addressed the council with the proposal that he would build on the Southshore of Lake Bemidji near the Event Center contigent on the city changing their current 1 am closing time. Everyone from a group of bar owners to the police chief to the city public works director spoke against the idea. Below is a blog dated from Feb 19th that I wrote regarding the idea.

Tom Hanson, the owner of Zorbaz is playing tough with our Bemidji City Council. Zorbaz, a very successful Mexican Food and Bar wants to build its 11th Minnesota location in the South shore development next to the new Regional Event center. The 8000 square foot establishment would anchor the ground floor of a 5 story 24 to 30 unit condominium complex. He only had one request…that the city changes its current ordinance for closing time for liquor from 1am to 2pm.

I guess my initial thought was “I already thought we were open till 2 am?” Shows how often I stay out that late! In 2003 the State of Minnesota law changed given the cities an option to extend their closing times till 2am. If a city changes its ordinance, it is up to the individual on sale liquor establishments to change to 2am, or remain at 1am. If they opt for the 2am closing, an extra “fee” is added on by the state to supposedly cover some of the “expenses” such as later hours for law enforcement. Many “border” cities next to Wisconsin were loosing customers at 1am at the time. Also, both Minneapolis and St. Paul contended they needed the extra hour to compete against other major cities for tourist and convention business (remember during the Republican National Convention the debate was to allow St. Paul bars to stay open until 4am!!)

Online a person can find many arguments that were used in 2003 for the extension 1 hour. Then Senator Mark Ourada from Buffalo stated “I got news for you folks. If somebody’s going to abuse alcohol now , they’re going to figure out a way to do it by 1 a.m. And 2 a.m. isn’t going to make it that much more likely.” Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan (who was 4th precinct inspector in 2003) stated “there is the chance that a good portion of the crowd will tire-out before 2 a.m. and “water down” the 1 a.m. problem. I have no doubt that my “problem children will stay downtown longer.” The then 5th precinct inspector stated “Instead of everyone leaving the bar at 1am, they will trickle out over a 90 minute period of time starting at 1 a.m., creating lower intensity bar rush but a longer duration.

Mr. Hanson presented some talking points using similar logic. He stated he cannot make the “considerable investment required of a new location” and that without him the condo project “will not go forward”. Obviously with his locations on lake fronts, the extra hour during June/July and August means a lot of money for him. I can’t imagine it would be bad either those weekends that the Beavers are playing say…Minnesota, St. Cloud, North Dakota or Duluth in the dead of winter. He did state that “every community I’m involved in has the 2 a.m. closing time”. According to their website (www.zorbaz.com) some of their sites (such as Big Sandy Lake) are only open till 1 am, and some are open only till 2 a.m. certain nights and times of the year.

What’s your opinion?? My opinion tends to agree with Mr. Hanson who stated people with a 2 a.m. closing time tend to “flow out in less of a hurry and tend to leave in a more comfortable manner.” I also agree that if someone wants to get drunk they can and will get drunk no matter what time closing is. For us to be competitive with cities like Park Rapids, Grand Rapids and Detroit Lakes that stay open till 2 am now, we should adopt this measure. Plus I am sure it will add to the success of booking conventions and meetings to the new Regional Event center. Its just the truth that beverage consumption (not necessarily over consumption) is a part of the social “convention experience”.

I am not sure of the legalities, but maybe the city can counter with some offers of its own. 1) Make 2 am establishments have some sort of food service up to 2 am allowing patrons to eat before leaving. 2) Limit the 2am only to Friday’s and Saturday nights and certain holidays (Halloween/St. Patrick’s Day). 3) If the State can charge a “fee” for staying open late, can our money starved city also charge a reasonable “fee” for added costs of police services? Zorbaz comes as a 40 year old quality fun establishment which would be an absolutely GREAT ADDITION to the Southshore and to our city. It would mean added jobs and added tax revenue and be a spark plug for Lake Bemidji. I hope our city is willing to work positively to make this happen

The arguements against this proposal are based on keeping competition out of town. The City of Bemidji needs to market and move 147 acres it now owns next to the Event Center. They were not asking for tax increment financing, not asking for stoplights (like Menards), simply asking for the option to stay open later. Whether Zorbaz, or Buffalo Wild Wings, or Famous Dave’s or a new Holiday Inn Hotel/Sportsbar attached to the Event Center, we need to make this happen now to get this project (and the interest we’re paying on the loan to buy the land) going forward. Alexandria has recently voted down a proposal for 2 am closing. I applaude the forward thinking of our council and hope this issue can quickly be used as a big advantage to help our city and our economy.

bemidji pioneer article this week:

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/event/article/id/100023432/

alexanadria echo newspaper article:

http://www.echopress.com/event/article/id/79635/group/homepage/

(in Wednesday’s paper barowners talk about “if my business counted on it from midnight to 1 am I wouldn’t want to be in business. Nothing good comes from midnight to 1am  let alone 1am to 2am”. If that’s the case…why the big fuss by them? You will have the option! That quote alone tells me this is more ANTI COMPETITION than ANTI 2 am. I too have talked to an owner of a bar/restaraunt on Paul Bunyan Drive who is not opposed to the 2am. I am not sure if Mr. Waldenhausen had identified himself to the barowner that he would have gotten the same response. I am sure a lot of businesses would have like to voted to keep Menards out of town too. Wouldn’t life be great if all business owners in town could band together, do a poll and majority rules what can come to town and what can’t?)

Trains/Fire Engines: Be a Kid Again Thanks to YouTube

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Maybe I am just getting old and trying to relive my childhood growing up in St. Paul, but I have always had a love of things that kids in a city grow up with. Things that MAKE NOISE. Living off of University Avenue near the State Capital in the 60′s, noise was an everyday occurance. Summer in a house without air conditioning dictated windows were wide open. With train tracks about a  mile away, buses running till 1am outside your house, planes in the flight path of Mpls/St. Paul airport  and with one of the busiest fire stations in the city up the street, we accepted noise as part of our life.  Maybe that’s why even today I have trouble sitting in silence…a television is usually always on whether I’m watching it or not.

I often use to ride my bike to the train tracks. There was a bridge that went over the 2 main lines between Minneapolis and St. Paul. The best viewing was on Saturday mornings with one after another flying under me. I loved the roar of their engines, the smell of the diesel fuel and the shriek of their horn.  Thanks to youtube we can relive some of that excitement. Being a “railfan” as it is called is a popular hobby and videotaping and selling it to companies who produce DVD’s of railroading is big business.  Below is a great link of a few trains around Cass Lake and Wilton here in Bemidji. Turn up your volume for the horn!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BJu3atLtkk

Engine 18 and Chief 2 was just up the street from our house. I would often hear the first hint of their sirens and race to the corner to see them go flying by. Again thanks to youtube many fire trucks have dashcams in the cab. Attached is one of my favorite that really gives you the feel of what its like driving a fire truck. Turn up the volume, call the kids and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNV627hEpq8&feature=related