Business & Economy

Since the Canadian Pacific announced, last fall, that they had reached an agreement with the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern railroad to buy them out for $1.48 billion, there has been a great deal of speculation about its impact across Wyoming, South Dakota and Minnesota.

The Eastside Pioneers Neighborhood Association (ESPNA) is bisected by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern (DME) railroad corridor. We have been closely monitoring developments regarding the DME railroad over the years and continue to do so today, especially in light of the Canadian Pacific railroad’s (CPR) proposed acquisition of the DME. We are especially concerned, given the recent behavior of the DME, about the seeming air of inevitability and subsequent atmosphere of concession and mitigation regarding the CPR-DME railroad and the Powder River Basin project.

With all the news coverage about the housing crisis have you wondered about the impact of foreclosed homes in our community? Several other questions also come to mind when considering home foreclosures such as: Are the number of foreclosed homes in our community still continuing to rise? What impact is this having on our tax roles? Will this impact the property taxes of those that own homes and property? What proportion of foreclosed homes are in SE Rochester? How many of these foreclosed homes continue to sit empty in our neighborhoods? Do you think they present any kind of security risk to neighborhoods? Have you noticed there's alot of homes for sale and have been for sale for quite some time in our neighborhood?

According to the latest (October 26) Track the Truth on-line information, the Mayo Clinic has asked the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to revise its proposed ‘fast-track’ timetable for reviewing the Canadian Pacific Railroad’s (CPR) recent acquisition of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (DM&E).
The Mayo Clinic is calling for thorough review of Canadian Pacific's acquisition of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad . According to Chris Gade, a spokesperson for the Mayo Clinic, “Mayo is simply asking for a complete and thoughtful review of a transaction that may have a tremendous impact on our community and for the opportunity to have a constructive dialogue with the railroad's new owners before the purchase is approved."

Rochester, Minnesota is not the only city, along the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern (DM&E) railroad corridor, that has concerns regarding the proposed $2.5 billion dollar federally subsidized loan to the DM&E . There are other cities and towns that have reservations about the loan but lack the resources to respond accordingly. There are other coalitions, alliances, and organizations, spanning three states, such as the Cowboy and Indian Alliance, Mid States Coalition for Progress and neighborhood organizations, all expressing dismay and concern about the magnitude of the proposed loan on such a risky project.

Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) recently announced an 8.5% rate increase effective April 4, 2006. Many of you may have already heard about this because it was reported by KAAL, KTTC, and the Post-Bulletin (pay subscription to be able to read the P-B article).

I thought all these stories covered the facts accurately, but not in as much detail as I would have liked. What does KTTC mean when it reports that RPU is “responding to a nearly 17 percent increase by its wholesale power provider”? Bob Freund of the Post-Bulletin provides a nice, short answer. “The city-owned utility is reacting to a jump in its own electric bill.”

But for the RPU customer who just wants to make sense of this—who wants to understand the causes and effects leading up to the rate increase—I have yet to read anything that ties it all together.

That’s what I intend to do. I encourage you to leave comments at the bottom of this post—let me know how I did.