Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Fall in St. Croix

It had starting to get cold in St. Croix Falls, but the weather is supposed to be in the 60's for the next couple of days. It is tough to get up in the morning for work when it is completely dark the whole way there. I do love the Fall, but the down side is that it is ALWAYS dark. Typically it is dark when I leave and when I come home. Weekends are my only hope.

So, what is your favorite time of the year? Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter? Mine is the Fall. Not just because it is hunting season, but because there is nothing like fresh pop-corn and a warm fire on a chilly night.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Welcome to St. Croix Falls, WI

Hi Everyone. This is the first post on this NEW blog. I wanted to start off by saying that I Love St. Croix Falls. However, there are a few things that I just don't understand...

Our location is beautiful and the people are very nice; you should come and visit us sometime. We are right on the boarder of Wisconsin and Minnesota with the St. Croix River down the middle. You can see the cliffs perfectly from either side and walk along the trails into Interstate Park. Actually, September and October are usually the best time to see the leaves change color, but this year it really happened too fast with the dry weather.

We have a small town - and yes, we have a Super-Walmart and a New Menards. These two stores seem to make us a popular destination for all the smaller communities to visit. Many people own a small business, work as an employee, or travel to the Twin Cities (MN) to work.

However, one of our best resources has been tourism. We get a lot of visitors from all over the country. Many people have cabins in or around St. Croix Falls and stop by Wal-Mart on their way up to the many lakes.

So, what confuses me about St. Croix Falls?
It is the small town government. Ever since the last election, it seems that the City government is moved farther and farther left. I don't know much about our mayor or elected officials and the City website http://www.cityofstcroixfalls.com/ doesn't give any updates on City meetings, so it is hard to know exactly what is going on until after the paper comes out.
http://www.the-leader.net/

I remember thinking in the last election that it was strange, the Mayoral Candidates were not affiliated with either party, but because the former Mayor got such a bad reputation from the City Administrator, anyone “else” could have won the race. Perhaps the City would have voted differently if they would have known how they were affiliated. I guess in small town politices they don't disclose that information.

So what is Mayor Foss' political position? Is he a Liberal Democrat that wants to socialize the city and turn it in to a Art Convention with street vendors and free socialized internet access? Have we elected City Counsel who are only concerned about being "eco-sensitve" and politically correct?

I don't know. However, I will continue to look and uncover the truth. If you know, let others know by leaving a comment or sending a factual article that I will post here for you.

Rumors are never good, but what I have heard concerns me. Where do we get the whole story in St. Croix Falls? Are we building low income housing, are we creating subsidized housing for "starving artists" on Main Street, are we pushing out businesses downtown and using “environmental impact” as an excuse for voiding private business rights?

Other things that I have noticed and would like your input on are: the new "GREEN/Sustainable" mandates for home building - raising the cost of affordable housing, rising property taxes, new "stick it to the tourist" sales tax hike - what about the rest of us that shop at Wal-mart, the Spirit Statue downtown St. Croix Falls - what is that all about?

If you would like to submit an article about St. Croix Falls, please let me know.
If you would like to comment on the blog, feel free to do so at any time.