BOB GREEN

Over the last few weeks, the single most common topic mentioned by homeowners at their front doors was the proposed Super Target for the intersection of Normandale and Old Shakopee Roads.

People have asked what my position is on this.

This is a local topic, not a state topic. It is not something that I probably would deal with as a State Representative. I will, however, take a stand on this as a Bloomington resident. I live in the town homes that are immediately south of the site where the proposed store would go. I was opposed to the store being built.

I saw the presentation of the traffic studies on July 24. I don’t want that volume of traffic in my neighborhood. This is not a matter of just changing the timing on some stop lights. This store would have created major traffic problems near my home.

I don’t buy Target’s claim that that store would not increase “trips” on Normandale and Old Shakopee Roads. If Target builds it, the traffic will come.

I consider myself to be a pro-business candidate but I think we can find other business uses for that land that will generate tax revenue for the city without the traffic a Super Target would generate.

Despite the volume of traffic at this intersection, this is still a largely residential area. I believe the people in this area want it kept mostly residential. Every homeowner who brought up the Super Target to me was opposed to it.

My guess is that this indicates that a groundswell of local homeowners do not want this store. Our community leaders should listen when there is that much opposition to something.

Knocking on doors is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.

Tonight I came across yet another Bloomington resident who thought it took an act of courage on the part of Democrats to raise our taxes because our bridges (yes, he said “bridges,” as in more than one) are falling down and our roads need repair. He is happy that we all are paying more because more money equals better bridges and roads. Right?

Wrong. Money does not keep our bridges from falling down. Money does not keep our roads in good condition. Good engineering, quality construction practices and materials, and prudent maintenance practices will keep bridges from falling down and roads maintained.

Money does not solve problems. People solve problems. Money may be a tool to get a job done. Money is not the first and only solution as many Democrats seem to believe. We should first try managing our State’s existing resources effectively before we blindly follow the Democrat’s cry and just throw money at a problem.

At the other end of the spectrum, tonight I met a husband and wife who were good enough to invite me into their air conditioned home for a few minutes and give a me cool drink. This was much welcome. It was 90 degrees and humid and they offered me some comfort. Their kindness was much appreciated. There really are a lot of nice people out there.

You never do what you are going to get.

Most of us have activities that we like to do to relax. Those activities may be golf, gardening, reading, entertaining friends or family, or just maintaining your home.

I like to ride motorcycle. With the demands of running a business and a political campaign, my time is limited and, so then, are my motorcycle tours.

This afternoon I took a little ride to some of the historic areas of St. Paul along the Mississippi River.

Shepard Road passes the Upper and Lower Steamboat Landings where steamboats would beach to unload and load passengers and goods when St. Paul was a frontier city.

Across the river is South St. Paul and West St. Paul. Does anyone know why West St. Paul is actually south of St. Paul and not west of St. Paul?

Farther down Shepard Road is an area known as Pig’s Eye. This area is apparently named after Pierre “Pig’s Eye” Parrant, a colorful individual who opened the first business in St. Paul. Now, some 170 years later, the name “Pig’s Eye” brings to mind a beer that was named after him or the sewage processing plant that now is in the Pig’s Eye area. What a way to be remembered, huh?

Doubling back along the limestone cliffs that jut over the river, we come to the Indian Mounds. These mounds are burial spots for Native American peoples.

Native Americans of this area and the era before European settlers buried their dead on cliffs overlooking rivers. These mounds may date back to the time of the birth of Christ.

The site of Carver’s cave is just a ways north of the mounds. Here, early British explorer Jonathan Carver met with some 300 Sioux in about 1766 to warn them against alliances with the French. The cave has long since been destroyed by railroad construction and cave ins.

The site of the chapel built by Father Lucien Galtier is on Kellogg Boulevard overlooking the river. Father Galtier built his log chapel in 1841 and named it after the apostle Paul- St. Paul. Later, the city that developed around this chapel would take the name St. Paul.

A bit farther west is Irving Park. This small plot of land was donated to St. Paul by a developer (by the name of Mr. Irving) and meant to be used as a park. On the streets around Irving Park are some of the oldest houses in St. Paul. Continuing westward again along Shepard Road, we pass the limestone cliffs where soldiers took the stones to build Fort Snelling. The site for Fort Snelling was first identified in about 1805 by either Lt. Zebulon Pike (yup, the same guy Pike’s Peak is named after) or a military engineer in Pike’s exploration party.

And crossing the river again to get back to Bloomington, we pass what used to be known as Wold-Chamberlain Field, now known as Mpls-St. Paul International Airport. This area started out as an automobile race course. Since it was flat and easy for airplanes to take off and land, it eventually grew into an airport. I remember when part of this area was a farm. (No, I am not THAT old).

Hope you enjoyed the tour too!

It’s 10:20 PM on July 4, 2008.

I have spent a day with family and friends, celebrating the 232nd birthday of our republic. Fireworks are booming and popping outside as others celebrate this festive occasion.

Thoughts come to mind about the blessings heaped on this country by a Creator that loves us so much that He sent his Son to redeem us and all of mankind. We here have been blessed to live in the one of the safest and most prosperous parts of this planet.

People still stand in line and yearn to come to this country for the freedoms we have, the opportunities we enjoy, and the rights our government preserves for us. We are free from fear. We are free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. The potential of this country is almost unlimited.

We have no long history of kings or emperors making subjects of us or enslaving us. We have no caste system that makes royalty out of a few and serfs out of many others. Our freedoms have allowed us to become a world power in the short time of 232 years. Our people have the opportunity to better their lives through their own industriousness and initiative. Our labor force is the mightiest on this planet.

Yet there are those who see nothing but problems in our country. They seek to curb our freedoms and our opportunities in the name of making things equal for all. They seek to put us under a heavy tax load in the name of having an all powerful government that provides everything for its subjects (excuse me, citizens). They seek to instill an attitude of entitlement that destroys the individual initiative that built this country.

They seek to make us slaves to the planet that we have been made stewards of. They seek to coddle those who would destroy this country. Some of these people are well meaning. Many of them are only seeking to elevate themselves to positions of power over others.

This group constitutes the enemy within that will be this nation’s greatest challenge for the next several generations. If this nation can conquer this group, the United States of America truly will be the mightiest nation on this planet. We will be the shining light on a hill for the rest of the planet.

Our chief exports will be freedom and prosperity that we generate and share with the rest of the planet. If we base our society on Judeo-Christian principles and faith in the Triune God, no nation or extremist religious movement will be able to stand against us.

If we fail to defeat this enemy from within, the United States will be relegated to the scrap heap of history, having been only one more democracy that lasted only slightly longer than the average lifespan of democracies - 200 years.

I am most thankful for what we have. I owe a debt of gratitude that I cannot repay to those who have fought to defend this country so that we can celebrate this 4th of July. And I continue to pray for the future of this country so that we may be a shining light to the nations and give future generations in this country the same that has been given to me.