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Colorado Conservative 
Group: Members
Posts: 170
Joined: Feb. 2006
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Posted on: Feb. 15 2006,11:35 am |
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I am glad I grew up in A.L., but have always wondered what is holdin this town back.
It is located on two major interstates, in America's heartland, with two wonderful lakes (in appearance anyway), and everyone I know who has bee THROUGH there, and doesn't live there, says what a pretty little town it is.
Tourism could be a huge boom for the economy; wonderful logistics for shipping (wharehouses, manufacturing, etc..) yet the town seems to struggle with it's economy (and don't tell me it is everywhere- the Twin Cities burbs are sprawling, Des Moines is growing, Colorado's Front range is out of control with growth)
Is it local goverment? I know personnally that the younger people in A.L. are VERY apathetic, and just don't care, at least not about anyone but themselves, is this the problem? Is it State goverment? Are local business and local goverment too tightly knitted together? (again, business owners are much more likely to be actively involved in goverment, they have more at stake as well as the ambition to DO SOMETHING, that is why they are business owners)
Give me your thoughts!!!!!!
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Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
- Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890-1969
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| Post Number: 2
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Berserker
Group: Members
Posts: 157
Joined: Aug. 2005
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Posted on: Feb. 15 2006,12:00 pm |
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Young people in Albert Lea do care. I am a young person in Albert Lea with a young family, I was born and raised here and would like to live here. However as far as job market goes, if you get a college degree you are pretty well forced to look into other towns for jobs. Albert Lea has numerous jobs that require degrees, but these are specialty types usually, or so it would seem. I do not work at a location that utilizes my degree that much, the amount it does is actually grasping at straws, it is an archive of primary documents that are reprinted because they are out of date. Could I look else where to work, I am. However I bought a house here, and have 2 children that I would like to have raised in a community that I can "trust", I know bad things can happen anywhere, the meth in this county is a prime example, however I know that my children are relatively more safe in this community then they are in Mnpls or StPaul. I also know that most locations that my family would like to go to are within driving distance, I am not going to say I only spend here and that is the way it should be, because things I want are not always for sale here.
As far as the local government goes, it seems as though if you are young or old with "new" ideas you are fighting an uphill battle. Good ideas are squashed and put on the back burner, some ideas that have been brought up would not work here, but because they seem like far flung thoughts, people start to ignore their originator. There are alot of back room deals and back scratching that happens in our local government, however it would seem that the amount may be less then anywhere else, the percentage is most likely similar by population. There are also people in town who have great ideas for growing this community but refuse to put forth ideas based on past experiences with the government. Some people, plainly don't care.
Tourist town, new industry, new commercial ventures, all these things sound good on paper. The actuality of it, is that many of these things take time, money and compromise. These are hard to reach but can and SHOULD be done. The town needs to stop living in a "curmudgeon" type stance, thinking that what is good enough or was good enough is top notch for our ever changing community. Before to long "we" will have run all the "new" blood out of town and be left with "antediluvian" ideals.
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"No iron could bite them, and when they swept into battle, no force could resist them." - Icelandic Sagas
"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."-Benjamin Franklin
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| Post Number: 3
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Colorado Conservative
Group: Members
Posts: 170
Joined: Feb. 2006
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Posted on: Feb. 15 2006,2:36 pm |
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EVERYTHING takes time, money and compromise (even in communism). But there are always more than answer to any problem. It is just a matter of finding what the problem really is.
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Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
- Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890-1969
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| Post Number: 4
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usmcr
Group: Members
Posts: 922
Joined: Sep. 2003
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Posted on: Feb. 15 2006,4:32 pm |
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i am a resident of Albert Lea for 60+ years. i am now retired & fortunately had a decent paying & secure job. from this perspective i offer these insights. when i was growing up as a teenager in the 50"s it was the mom & pop stores that was the glue that held this community together. the uptown was indeed the focus of the community. the jobs were fairly stable as were the taxes. the owners of these stores were local people who were a integral part of the community. it all began with the malls & continues today with the big box stores. the big box stores & mall have pretty well decimated the uptown. the job situation is shaky & the taxes have ballooned. i have two daughters & a son who all have college degrees. two of them like small town living but realize that the wage base or job opportunities are not available here. with the outsourcing of jobs overseas it is apparent that it is unlikely that will change in the near future. the population of freeborn county is decreasing & i believe will continue to do so. without a higher education (4 year college) cultural & entertainment choices it will be difficult to attract a major concern. i fear the jobz program will one day create a undue burden on the tax paying public. 10 to 12 years is just to long to be freeloading! when driving back from the cities it is very apparent with the traffic on I35. from the cities down to northfield it is pretty steady, from nf to fairbault it is ok, from f. to owatonna it is dropping off & from o. to a.lea it is but a trickle from what it was. the point being is that the cities have most of the action & will to continue to do so. new high school & court house with a declining tax base = higher taxes. freeborn county has a aging population, its main jobs are in the health & care sector. it would seem prudent to capitalize on this factor with the realization that the baby boomers are on the verge of retirement.
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"Do not confuse dissent with disloyalty" Edward R Murrow
Memento homo quia pulvis es, et in pulverem veverteris
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| Post Number: 5
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Colorado Conservative
Group: Members
Posts: 170
Joined: Feb. 2006
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Posted on: Feb. 15 2006,4:50 pm |
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our society is moving towards a service based economy, we no longer make things here, we just consume, and with this consumer based economy, there are plenty of opportunities for small to medium sized service based industries. The area I live in in Colorado is booming in all aspects, but what we are seeing the fastest increase in is the health care feild, especially care of the elderly, with this comes retirement communities, construction, food services, and the company I own is a landscape maintanence company (all of these new complexes have open spaces which need taken care of), it doesn't matter where the growth comes from, but there needs to be growth, with growth comes opportunities, I would venture to say that we will see a return to more small business, the service industry is the best place for small business to survive, you don't have to compete with the big boys on price on goods, you just need to provide a needed service, at a fair price with exceptional customer service (try and get that from a national retailer, or a long established business) I think Albert Lea could be an Ideal location for an upscale retirement community, tourism around the lakes, sometimes that college degree can work against us, we need to make it work for us, in a service based economy, we need to forge are own niche, you can not rely on that big manufacturer to be there for jobs (remember Wilson's/Farmland), in a service based economy, if you can carve out a needed service, people will gladly pay for it, it is just a matter of knowing your demographics, and what they need. With growth comes prosperity for everyone, without it, well I just can't imagine that.
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Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
- Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890-1969
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| Post Number: 6
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greatlakes
Group: Members
Posts: 3
Joined: Feb. 2006
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Posted on: Feb. 15 2006,5:11 pm |
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 i am here
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| Post Number: 7
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Liberal
Group: Moderator
Posts: 11451
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Feb. 15 2006,5:24 pm |
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Things are gonna start happening now!
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Senator wants gas prices in whole cents, not 9/10ths
Updated: 02-15-2006 11:12:52 AM
ST. PAUL (AP) - Sick of paying that extra nine-tenths of a cent for a gallon of gas?
Senator Dick Day wants to force gas stations to get rid of the fraction when they set their prices.
The Republican from Owatonna says the practice comes from a time when pennies had more buying power. Today, he says the fractions are -- quote -- "just plain silly."
Day plans to push a bill in the upcoming legislative session to require gas prices to be in whole cents. He says the measure would result in more truthful advertising.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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The people are masters of both Congress and courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it!
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| Post Number: 8
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greatlakes
Group: Members
Posts: 3
Joined: Feb. 2006
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Posted on: Feb. 15 2006,5:31 pm |
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 The jobs that are brought into this town are more than likely to be something to do with pizzas or car washes or gas stations or banks.I happen to get lucky with my job or else i would have left years ago.Like my dad always said,,,,,Albert lea is a retirement town.Go back when you retire.A nice slow paced town where business owners do not want the competition cause they charge way too much for their crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!no BIG business will come here cause our local gvnt. freaks them out.
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| Post Number: 9
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Colorado Conservative
Group: Members
Posts: 170
Joined: Feb. 2006
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Posted on: Feb. 15 2006,5:38 pm |
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wow, what worthy legislation, of all the things that need attention, this guy hits the nail on the head!!!!!! and of course the press eats it up, what about welfare reform (you know, instead of paying single mothers to stay home and have more kids, providing them with daycare instead, and making them work or go to school), or healthcare reform (I'm a small business owner, healthcare is as much as wages- well, almost), I know, next on the list is a bill to let people know that driving while asleep may be hazzardous to your health...........
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Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
- Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890-1969
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| Post Number: 10
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