[Speed Gibson,
Monday September 13, 2004 at 10:16am]
Greater Minnesota in the 21st Century
For this post, Greater Minnesota means the large area of Minnesota outside the Twin Cities. Its share of the state population has been declining for decades, making it ever difficult to find jobs.
The State has been redistributing the wealth of the Twin Cities into Greater Minnesota, increasingly so it seems to me, but it hasn't really addressed the problem, if there is one.
The Taxpayers League may disagree, but the Twin Cities should help out with Greater Minnesota. When we travel or go on vacation in Minnesota, we need good roads, police, fire, and emergency health care facilities. We can do without the "interpretive centers" and other pork projects, however.
Greater Minnesota, in turn, must come to grips with its own realities. There are many towns, once vibrant when Agriculture employed 20 percent of the population or more, that are now just a few hundred people. It's time to consider unincorporating them. The town and buildings can remain, but be run by the county. Police would be provided by the county sheriff's office, which may need to expand (see my post regarding Counties - Aug 31).
That is, there should be a minimum population required, say 5,000, to remain incorporated as a distinct government within the county. Also, a minimum density should be required to keep cities from merely drawing expanded boundaries.
People my age think of these cities and towns as they were, not as they are. We have fond memories of a vacation, a fishing trip, the family farm, hunting, and so on, but those days and places are generally gone.
Indeed, we would strengthen what's truly alive in Greater Minnesota by not trying to keep all of these entities afloat.
The State has been redistributing the wealth of the Twin Cities into Greater Minnesota, increasingly so it seems to me, but it hasn't really addressed the problem, if there is one.
The Taxpayers League may disagree, but the Twin Cities should help out with Greater Minnesota. When we travel or go on vacation in Minnesota, we need good roads, police, fire, and emergency health care facilities. We can do without the "interpretive centers" and other pork projects, however.
Greater Minnesota, in turn, must come to grips with its own realities. There are many towns, once vibrant when Agriculture employed 20 percent of the population or more, that are now just a few hundred people. It's time to consider unincorporating them. The town and buildings can remain, but be run by the county. Police would be provided by the county sheriff's office, which may need to expand (see my post regarding Counties - Aug 31).
That is, there should be a minimum population required, say 5,000, to remain incorporated as a distinct government within the county. Also, a minimum density should be required to keep cities from merely drawing expanded boundaries.
People my age think of these cities and towns as they were, not as they are. We have fond memories of a vacation, a fishing trip, the family farm, hunting, and so on, but those days and places are generally gone.
Indeed, we would strengthen what's truly alive in Greater Minnesota by not trying to keep all of these entities afloat.