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Well, the people have spoken, the city has listened, and a decision has been made to pursue the split pair plan through Lindstrom. The city council voted last Thursday to move ahead to the conceptual design stage. After listening to each of the four councilmen, I thought the vote would for sure be tied 2-2. Councilman Flug gave a lengthy speech about the pros and cons of the split plan and the median plan. To me, it seemed like his negatives outweighed the positives causing me to think his vote was leaning towards no. But, I was wrong (like usual) and it passed 3-1 with Mayor Carlson abstaining, citing conflict of interest. The lone opposition came from councilman Rew, who from the beginning, has been against the plan. I really hope the council voted with best intentions for the city and not because there is money available from MnDOT.

The council keeps telling us that at any given time they have the power to cease and desist any and all facets of the process. Taking that into account, we will now just have to wait and see if their forecast for a better downtown Lindstrom will come to fruition. Being somewhat of an optimist, I am forcing myself not to think about it (split-pairs) failing. Let's just hope the good people at City Hall really do know what they are doing and have led us down the correct path.

It is my opinion (for what it's worth) that Flug was dead on when he said that the council in years past has failed the businesses in Lindstrom. Bullseye. I applaud Flug for stating what business owners have been saying for years. In fact, if the council had been more proactive toward Lindstrom businesses in the past and worked towards building a strong downtown, it is quite possible the choice for split-pairs would have been more warmly received.

Hard to believe that we have been in Iraq for four years. What a sad anniversary. In the beginning, I was behind Bush and his decision to liberate Iraq. But, as time goes by, all I hear every night when I turn on the news is this was the deadliest day ever for U.S. troops. Every single day. The death toll for U.S. soldiers is now over 3,200 and still rising. To say that I am opposed to what we are trying to do over there is wrong. We were promised that it would happen much more swiftly and far more safely than it has. My heart is heavy for the soldiers whom were told that their stay would be brief and now are on their fourth tour of duty. And for those families who have lost a loved one due to the war, I am so sorry for your loss. What is the solution? I wish I knew, for the soldiers and their families, I wish I knew.

Please, please be careful when around one of our local lakes. On Tuesday, I saw a grouping of full-sized trucks parked pretty close together on South Center Lake. Is it worth risking your life or a ticket from the DNR to pull your vehicle out of the water for a fish?

Now that we are in March, as we do every year, we are in our annual subscription renewal campaign. On page 2 of each edition of the Press during March there will be a special offer and a clip-out coupon that will allow you to renew your subscription and save $1.50. All of our subscriptions are due on May 1 of each year and the March promotion is our effort to get some of those done early and to help smooth out the volume we receive, and for helping us out you get the savings. We truly appreciate the support of our loyal subscribers and hope you will take advantage of the March offer.

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