Shakopee, Mayor Brad Tabke make SNL tonight

Who ever writes the B 108 radio skit for SNL definitely knows what is going on in Shakopee, MN. In what I think is the skit's second appearance of the fictional radio station's morning show bit featuring Bobby Moynihan and Taran Killam as obnoxious morning DJs, they play up typical Minnesota stereotypes such as sporting a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey (nobody actually does that except Timberwolves team members) and mentioning that it's crazy cold.

Tonight, though, as I flipped back to NBC after tying with my Roku box during a commercial break and returning late, I caught a mention of Shakopee Mayor Brad Tabke on the B 108 SNL skit.

I know that the video will probably be on Hulu or YouTube tomorrow but I am damn curious about the rest of the skit because, well, it was about Minnesota and more specifically Shakopee.

UPDATE: Here is the video

Turtle’s Bar & Grill - Shakopee, MN

Turtle’s Bar & Grill - Shakopee, MN
Lunch
11:45 AM Thursday
$7.95 menu price

The burger itself was obviously something pulled from a case of frozen hamburger patties. Irregularly shaped to appear like it was hand-pattied but the straight edges were a dead giveaway. The ⅓ lb. hamburger patty was decently seasoned -- I know I detected a bit of pepper on the meat which wasn't extraordinarily juicy but also wasn't dry -- an admirable feat for a well-done burger.

Sitting in the bar area, Turtle’s was rather vacant at lunch. I would assume most of the lunch hours are similarly sparse and despite the fact that it’s a bar it would be a fine place to go with the wife and kids and a welcome alternative to someplace like Applebee’s. Turtle’s offers a full and varied menu of sandwiches, hamburgers, pizzas (a full bar, too) and more so it would be hard to strike out for people of any age.

The pub-style hamburger bun (no sesame seeds here) at Turtle’s in Shakopee was lightly toasted (probably put on the griddle for toasting) and brushed with butter. While this was a nice touch as it prevents the bun from getting soggy from whatever toppings (think lettuce, tomatoes, etc.) are ordered, it also caused the top of the bun to become somewhat dry as well which left my side of the table covered with crumbs (an embarrassment if you care about being tidy, which I don't).

Overall, the hamburger hit the spot that particular day as it got me out of the office for lunch but the $7.95 price could be adjusted down a bit (50 cents probably wouldn’t make or break Turtle’s Bar & Grill).

 ⅘ stars

If you are interested in a coupon for Turtle's Bar and Grill in Shakopee, check out the one below.

Screamtown - Chaska, MN

Last weekend I went to Screamtown, located just west of Chaska, MN, with my wife and her sisters. While I did have a previous experience at the haunted attraction, it was during its first year when it was located next to Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee. To say that it was lackluster in its first year would be far too kind.

Screamtown might now have surpassed its nearby competitor, Trail of Terror (located southwest of Shakopee, MN). Screamtown has that "new haunted attraction smell". While the $25 admission price had me doubting the drive west of Chaska, it did get us in to five different attractions -- each of which began from kind of a central courtyard where you could buy food and drinks from a couple of vendors and warm up in one of the tents.

With the rather heavy load of ads on local radio stations, I have to say that the owner of Screamtown is serious about making a top-notch Halloween-themed haunted attraction that draws from beyond just the southwest Minneapolis suburbs.

But with anything, there were pitfalls. As the clock rolled towards 10:30 a few of the attraction's workers seemed to, for lack of a better word, mail it in. I witnessed at least two costumed employees sitting down, doing nothing to even try to scare attendees as they walked by when we walked through the Circus Asylum. The  number of actors working in the corn maze was also a bit sparse (maybe a few actors had taken the evening off but it's better to have extras than not enough). With a bit more attention to weed out actors / employees who can't be bothered to scare people for even three hours and an attempt to knock down admission -- possibly to around $20 per person -- Shakopee's Trail of Terror will easily be exposed as the third-rate haunted attraction that it truly is.

While the lines were long, you definitely have to check out the Oak Blood Forest which is the largest haunted attraction at Chaska's Scream Town. At least there is a looping video depicting the lore and history of the haunted woods at Screamtown. I'd say if there was one haunted attraction you plan on checking out, Screamtown is a far better bet than either Trail of Terror or Frightmares at Buck Hill.

To find Screamtown, head west of Chaska, MN on U.S. Highway 212 a few miles after the four lane portion ends. Find out the specifics at Screamtown.com

The Minnesota Marriage amendment debate - Vote No

With the election season getting extra dirty and divisive now that we are a mere month away form election day, I felt the need after seeing one too many divisive political ads and obnoxious lawn signs to share with you my one long-winded stance on politics this year - let's see what my thoughts are on the "One Man, One Woman" Minnesota Marriage Amendment.

I am so grateful that our City Council voted, overwhelmingly, not to publicize our mayor's (and others) opposition to the marriage amendment! I happen to agree with the marriage amendment wholeheartedly and will vote a resounding "yes". My city does not speak for me, nor should they put the entire Shakopee community under only one political umbrella.

So by the logic of commenter "mary" it's not right for a city government to make a basically non-binding vote resulting in a statement that its council members agree or disagree with a proposed constitutional amendment but it is right for a slim majority of already biased voters whose own preconceived notions about what the "One Man, One Woman" type marriage amendment means to slam the door shut for future generations to (wisely) repeal a bigoted constitutional amendment that strips away the rights of a few out of fear, misunderstanding and a lack of willingness to accept that which you don't understand or approve of (never mind that Minnesota already has a law on the books banning same sex marriage, this constitutional amendment would simply show future generations that their ancestors were flat out hateful bigots incapable of understanding something they are unfamiliar with).

I have seen hundreds of opinions spread across just as many online venues in the comments of how the "Vote No" side of this proposed Minnesota marriage amendment would lead to people marrying children, incestual relationships and people marrying dogs. Those are some of the most uninformed people whose only purpose on this Earth in the area of political discourse is to fear monger. A dog cannot consent to any sort of sexual relationship with a human, it is still illegal to have sexual relationships with a minor and incest is legally and morally wrong as well so those arguments are entirely null and void and only serve as a distraction from the real issue - same sex marriage.

While I doubt I will see same sex marriage (especially using the term "marriage") fully legalized in Minnesota within the next twenty years because money talks and with the strong backing of the Catholic church as they ask their parishioners to fund huge ad buys supporting the Minnesota marriage amendment, the voice of acceptance (Vote No) has a much harder time being heard.

Shakopee city councilor Jay Whiting seems to have the best statement on the Minnesota Marriage Amendment which was discussed at a recent Shakopee City Council meeting (read it here)

But the real debate here (to me, at least) is whether or not a state should ever get to decide who can or cannot do something which is already legal for a majority simply because they are a supposed minority. Are gay and lesbian Minnesotans any different in any areas of their lives outside of their sexual preference? Would it be acceptable to deny marriage rights to your African-American neighbor simply because they are African-American? Should your neighbors who secretly enjoy the fun they have in using their sex swing not be allowed to marry because of how they live their lives in their bedroom?

Maybe if you're one of those people who are uncomfortable with the behavior of a gay or lesbian couple you should examine how you or your straight friends behaved as teenagers. I bet you at least knew of that couple that was always making out in public. There are people who were offended or made uncomfortable by that behavior but it didn't end in a constitutional amendment barring public neckers from getting married. Why should gay and lesbian couples be treated any differently?

If it boils down to marriage being for couples who love each other, thing about that fact that just over half of all marriages end in divorce. Is there any sanctity left in marriage after looking at that statistic alone? Is it wrong that gay marriage, were it to ever be legalized instead of potentially banned twice as it would be if this amendment passes, could be seen as a huge economic stimulus? Marriages cost money. There's a cake to buy and decorate, flowers, a photographer, suits, tuxes, dresses, gifts, doves to release, a horse-drawn carriage, a reception with a dinner and a dance and either a band or a DJ. The money spent at a wedding alone makes the attempt to doubly ban same sex marriage in Minnesota seem un-capitalistic. Just remember that if you vote yes on the Minnesota marriage amendment that you are keeping people apart who truly love each other. You are keeping loving couples from property rights in the event of death. You are keeping loving couples in a supposedly accepting state (Minnesota) from being able to easily make important life and death medical decisions in times of crisis. And if you're thinking that marriage leads to paying fewer taxes, you need to go back and look at your income tax returns because there's no such thing as a tax break for being a married couple.

In the end, all that both the Minnesota Marriage Amendment proposal and the Voted I.D. proposal have done is to drive a deeper wedge between political parties in Minnesota. Two votes no just make sense this November.

Mr. Pig Stuff BBQ Restaurant - Shakopee, MN

The BBQ pulled pork sandwich from Mr. Pig Stuff restaurant in Shakopee, MN

The potato chips from Mr. Pig Stuff restaurant in Shakopee, MN

Mr. Pig Stuff, a Shakopee BBQ restaurant which recently re-opened in a larger location on Highway 101 / 1st Avenue on Shakopee's eastern side next to Dangerfield's Restaurant (approximately 1 block east of Marschall Rd.) has put itself in an excellent position for growth. Having established themselves at their former location in western Shakopee and offering only walk-up and drive-thru orders, the new location is, in one word, huge.

The former Panzanella Restaurant (now home to Mr. Pig Stuff), nestled between Taco Loco and Dangerfield's Restaurant doesn't look large from the outside but on the inside now offers a salad bar, full line of Coke products with complimentary refills and seating, at my best estimate, for approximately 75 or more patrons.

Building on Mr. Pig Stuff's always delicious BBQ offerings (the pulled pork sandwich is my favorite -- they also offer half and whole beer can chickens, beef brisket, ribs, etc.) the Shakopee restaurant has expanded on their side dish offerings. I have always opted for french fries but when my basket arrived at our table this evening I was greeted with a dish of cole slaw as well. My daughter, being hard to please sometimes, had chicken strips, mac and cheese and a few other offerings to choose form but opted for the grown-up size cheeseburger. Weighing in at what had to be 1/3 lb. or more, this hand-pattied beauty was nicely seasoned with something I couldn't quite nail down. Maybe it was a bit of a spicier rub they made up specially for their new hamburgers and cheeseburgers but my nearly four year-old daughter did mention that it was really spicy. She instead shared in some of the succulent pork from her mom and dad's sandwiches but she did love the "potato chips" that came with the order.

The potato chips, a new side to go with the new location, were amazing. Seasoned with the same spice mixture Mr. Pig Stuff uses as a dry rub on their smoked meats, these potato chips were -- as explained to me -- something they experimented with by simply slicing potatoes the long way (approximately 1/8" thick), frying them and sprinkling them with their amazing dry rub which had a hint of brown sugar as a nice surprise.

All told, in the BBQ community, Mr. Pig Stuff has an excellent handle on their recipes. The service is fast with items prepared to order. The core of the staff is still all family members and the welcome addition of the much-needed inside seating should keep a steady stream of lunch-time workers coming through the doors with families keeping the place busy during other hours. The decor features plenty of Iowa Hawkeye memorabilia, two (or three) large televisions which tonight were tuned to the Green Bay Packers game and with the coming addition of beer Mr. Pig Stuff will have a leg up on their cross-town BBQ restaurant competition (Dickey's BBQ Pit in Shakopee's Southbridge area).

All told, I will definitely be back either during the workweek for a hearty lunch or on the weekend with the family. The best touch, though, was the cashier not only asking my daughter her name as we ordered but remembering it as we left the restaurant. Very nice.

Mr. Pig Stuff BBQ Restaurant
1561 1st Ave E
Shakopee MN 55379
952-233-7306
Mon - Sat 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sun 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Dickey's BBQ Pit - Shakopee, MN

Finding the best BBQ in our stomping grounds is a bit of a quest. There are a few chains, a few restaurants who offer some sorry excuse for pulled pork alongside their typical midwest fare and a couple of locally-owned BBQ joints but after seeing the Mr. Pig Stuff in Shakopee hadn't yet changed to their summertime hours, we ended up in strip mall hell deciding between Panera and Dickey's BBQ Pit. We debated as we waited at the nearby stoplight. On one hand we know exactly what Panera will be like. However, I can make myself a damn sandwich with cold cuts any time I want. But we had never been to Dickey's BBQ Pit and we both love and were craving BBQ on that day. Once parked we decided on BBQ.

I immediately liked the fact that there were people basking in the sun on the restaurant's "patio" and loved the array of side dishes offered as they build your BBQ sandwich using your choice of meat before your eyes.

That, however, was the end of the fascination for us.

I kept trying to find high points. There were two coolers of freshly brewed iced tea but it wasn't as cold as it should have been and even the sweetened iced tea could have used just a bit more sweetening added. The waffle-cut fries were nicely seasoned using a mix of salt and pepper but the quantity for the two dollar price (this is, after all, a quick service restaurant) was lacking.

But we were here for the BBQ. Having both ordered pulled pork sandwiches, we could at least compare notes about our experience. The beverage island was home to three warm vats of BBQ sauce -- original, sweet and spicy. I ladeled some of the original on my sandwich and grabbed a sauce cup full of spicy for my fries.

The pulled pork, upon first bite, was obviously fresh but was short in the flavor department. At home I typically apply a dry rub spice mix on top of a slathering of yellow mustard for adhesion after soaking the pork shoulder in a reduced apple juice bath overnight and then let the smoke do its thing while the meat slowly cooks. While the pork at Dickey's BBQ Pit was tender and had an acceptable thickness of bark, it wasn't the typical explosion of flavor or juiciness that I've grown to expect from a BBQ restaurant.

I'm aware that taste is subjective but a bit of flavor isn't going to scare off your customers and expecting your choice of three proprietary sauces to do the heavy lifting is a cop out. Your meat shouldn't require sauce to provide the flavor.

Kudos, though, to Dickey's BBQ Pit for providing customers with a complimentary bucket of mighty tasty pickle spears to accompany their sandwich.

Overall, Dickey's BBQ Pit is a serviceable choice for barbecue. It's obvious that they have made compromises to attract a wide audience and that's smart business decision for a franchise but never shoud taste be compromised in an attempt to appeal to the masses. Again, a bit of flavor in your meat isn't going to send people running for the hills.

The free vanilla ice cream is a nice touch as well but it tastes like a generic store bought square reconstituted for use of a soft serve dispenser. It's a nice perk if you don't have high expectations.

Mr. Pig Stuff - the best BBQ

I've been a semi-regular customer of Mr. Pig Stuff in Shakopee, MN for about a year. It's an amazing little hole-in-the-wall joint on the former U.S. Highway 169 across form Rahr Malting in a former walk-up Dairy Queen building. To say that this area of Shakopee is overlooked would be an understatement but it shouldn't be overlooked any longer as Mr. Pig Stuff consistently churns out some of the best BBQ not just in the Twin Cities but in all of Minnesota.

Having lived here nearly ten years now, I've had many quests to find restaurants that measured up to those I became accustomed to frequenting in my teens and twenties. With pizza and Mexican food crossed off the list, it was on to BBQ and having heard of Mr. Pig Stuff through my wife who works a couple towns down the road, I made a run to the hidden gem of the BBQ world on my lunch one day and was instantly hooked. While I took my lunch back to my office there are also a scattering of picnic tables and a BBQ bar on the building's east side to belly up to and pig out.

The pulled pork sandwiches should be considered a drug because they are addictive. Warm, juicy, flavorful and just smoky enough to remind you that it's legitimate BBQ heaped up on a toasted bun and served with a mound of which ever side you choose.

I might stop by to grab a couple sandwiches to take home for supper tonight because it's been months since having their amazing BBQ and months without Mr. Pig Stuff is longer than a lifetime. Check out the family-run operation on Scott County 69 just a few blocks west of the Highway 101 bridge. It's practically in downtown Shakopee and it's heads and tails above the likes of Famous Dave's and Dickey's BBQ Pit which are chains and do little more than occupy cookie-cutter spaces in strip malls and send their profits out of state.

Vikings football stadium in Shakopee - sounds good to me!

Go-getter Mayor Brad Tabke of Shakopee -- after just a week or so on the job -- today heads to the Minnesota state capitol in St. Paul to make a pitch to legislators for a Minnesota Vikings football stadium in the southwest Twin Cities suburb of Shakopee. To me it fits well with Tabke's assertion in a newspaper column last week that Shakopee should embrace and expand upon its title of an entertainment capitol of sorts. For many years the city has hung its hat on seasonal venues such as Valleyfair, Canterbury Park and the Renaissance Festival as well as nearby Mystic Lake Casino but, as I hear a morning radio personality say today, a Vikings stadium in Shakopee makes the southwest suburb a weekend-long entertainment destination.

I like the idea of it but for plenty it's going to be a hard to pill to swallow. The area would need little in the way of infrastructure improvements and it might even serve to hasten improvements such as an elevated Minnesota River crossing at Highway 101. It could also serve to speed up the construction of a new Highway 41 in/around nearby Chaska. Extending the third southbound lane on U.S. Highway 169 for a few miles has to be a cheaper traffic solution than fixing the mess in and around Arden Hills. The best part of a Shakopee VIkings stadium is that it supposedly requires no taxpayer funding. All of the necessary funding (outside of the Wilfs contributions) would come from gaming revenue which is a logical fit with Canterbury Park virtually next door.

To this guy, 4 PM today can't come soon enough because Shakopee's Mayor Tabke is definitely a visionary and securing a Vikings stadium and building out the infrastructure improvements properly would keep Shakopee as a destination on a year-round basis. The city is well-situated from a location standpoint as a majority of Viking season ticketholders reside in the southwest metro making the drive to games far shorter than even to a downtown Minneapolis stadium. Throw in the city's rather progressive stance (for an outer ring suburb) on transit with the BlueXpress line and two sizeable transit stations and the pieces start to come together. Let's face it, a statium overlooking the Minnesota River along Highway 101 in Shakopee would be much nicer than the lack of scenery on the barren Army munitions plant grounds in Arden Hills.

So yeah, I'm all for a Vikings stadium in Shakopee.

Let's get rid of the casino monopoly

Everyone is entitled to an opinion and when it comes to the topic of gambling and whether casinos in Minnesota should be a tribal-only affair or if private or state ownership should be allowed it seems that everyone does have an opinion on the matter.

When I saw that a "Staff Council" (spokesperson) from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community had written a response to a story appearing in some southwest metro newspapers, I kind of knew what to expect. I figured that the stance would be "Where's the SMSC side of the argument?" "That story was very anti-tribal." "We don't have a monopoly in the casino business." Blah, blah, blah.

Of course the SMSC spokesperson is going to be against any additional casinos in the state. They are, by a long shot, the richest tribe in the country. Chalk it up to proximity to the 16th largest metro area in the country and you can see why. With a population base of nearly 3 million within a hour's drive, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has built a damn empire on Scott County Highway 83. With their original convenience store, another purchased from Kwik Trip, their organic foods market (Mazopiya) a health clinic for their tribal residents, a fire department that serves their community as well as surrounding areas their high-rise hotel and two casinos (Mystic Lake & Little Six); their reservation -- to me at least -- qualifies as an empire, at least when compared to the businesses and wealth held by other Native American tribes around the country. But it seems that the SMSC is still not happy with the Native American monopoly on casino gambling in Minnesota and remains staunchly opposed to any expansions by other businesses.

The story is full of the same misleading messages used for many years now by the Canterbury shill machine. First, the addition of slot machines at Canterbury is a qualitative expansion of gambling. It would dramatically alter the make-up of who provides what types of games. Simply ask the question: how would Canterbury feel if the SMSC commenced operations of numerous poker rooms and pari-mutuel horse racing at Mystic Lake Casino?

I'm guessing that Canterbury Park would find a way to co-exist. They have managed to carve out their own niche even just two miles away from the state's largest casino. Yes, they added their card room to become a true year-around destination and while I'm sure they wouldn't be overly joyous if Mystic Lake Casino opened a card room of their own, they probably wouldn't cry foul like SMSC spokespersons who feel that their gambling monopoly is justified.

Second, the tribal governments do not have a “monopoly” on gaming in Minnesota. The gaming market is already divided in a way that brings revenue to the various operators. Canterbury has horse racing and a multitude of card games. The state government operates a diverse array of lottery games. The charities and bars sell pull tabs and can offer poker. Bingo halls are easy to locate throughout the state. And the tribal governments operate video slots and blackjack pursuant to the tribal-state compacts. There are plenty of gambling options in Minnesota today. No one has a monopoly on gaming.

Correct. To a point. Nobody has a monopoly on "gaming" in Minnesota. Gaming is a rather broad term. However, Native American tribes do have a monopoly on Casino-style gambling in Minnesota. None of the state's dozen or so casinos are owned by any other group than Native American tribes. While casino ownership lifted many tribes out of deep poverty and they have repaid their neighbors by funding infrastructure improvements, donated funds to worthy causes and improved their own fortunes (no pun intended) they have also done so due to their monopoly on Casino-style gambling. Nowhere else, outside of tribal-owned casinos will you find slot machines, keno, roulette or high stakes bingo. WHen something isn't available elsewhere, that comes off as a monopoly to me.

The tribal spokesperson also goes on to tout job loss at the casino that keeps him employed.

For every job created at a racino, there will be at least four or five jobs killed at a tribal facility.

That tells me that, unlike privately run businesses, tribal casinos are vastly overstaffed. I understand why, too. Mystic Lake Casino is practically overflowing with cash. To not be overstaffed would put the profits they make front and center. It all boils down to competition. Would Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake close its doors if Canterbury Park in Shakopee installed a few dozen slot machines? No. Would they have to try harder to pull potential customers a couple miles further down the road? Maybe. But Mystic Lake Casino has them beat hands down with the fact that they have a plush concert hall, bingo halls, huge prizes and giveaways, an attached hotel, three or four restaurants of different styles and a world-class golf course as well. If SMSC is so overly concerned about their future, why don't they do a show of good will and get in on the stadium game because even though William J. Hardacker mentions how little gambling revenues will do to balance the state's vast budget deficit, the big push for additional casinos in the state boils down to getting a Vikings stadium built.

Just think what kind of good will that the SMSC could display if they partially funded a Vikings stadium? Think how well they'd make out if they built, owned and operated a stadium? If they want to protect their slot machine (really, that's what their argument boils down to) monopoly then they need to play ball with the needs of the Twin Cities and Minnesota in general.

Project Runway sends the Minnesotan home

I won't say that I've watched the entire season of "Project Runway" on Lifetime because I haven't. I have, however, watched the final fifteen minutes or so of each episode because it always amazes me who gets "aufed" by Heidi Klum and her band of fashionistas.

Chris Straub, or Shakopee as I call him (because he's from Shakopee, MN - represent!) did amazingly well early in the competition. He actually won the first competition and I was excited to see that someone from Minnesota - especially the suburbs - was recognized for their creative skills. Then, as the series went on, Straub seemed to be strung along. His work wasn't terrible but the judges consistently billed it as such but kept him in the competition. It seemed almost mean for Heidi Klum and her band of fashion divas to keep Shakopee's Chris Straub on the show as they kept berating his designs. He was a near-permanent fixture in the show's bottom two or three designers.

I hoped that Straub was being strung along for a good reason. Hopefully they realized that he had immense potential. I rarely saw huge negatives in Straub's designs but maybe I'm just a homer who hates seeing the home team lose.

Then last night, on the final episode before "Project Runway's" big Bryant Park Fashion Week finale, Chris Straub was eliminated. The judges sent two designers packing leaving three young women to duke it out in New York City on next week's episode. So for many months now Shakopee's home town deisgner has been working away in the basement of his townhome - which us graphic designers in my office have determined the general location of - creating new fashion trends on his own. The difference is that he now has a significant amount of national television exposure to help his career. Something tells me that he'll be alright.

If you are fond of Minnesotans and all things Minnesota, check out MinnPics to tour Minnesota via photographs.

Cougars in the suburbs?

By now we all know that the suburban cougar is alive and well. The suburban cougar is pursued by young males everywhere. If I weren't married, I'd probably be pursuing a cougar for myself because she'd probably have a few tricks up her sleeve. But today I'm not talking about that suburban cougar that hangs out at bars and wears seductive clothing. Today I'm talking about real cougars in the giant feline form.

A local thoroughbred who was supposed to be a spokeshorse of sorts for other retired ponies was attacked by what many think to be a cougar on a farm in Prior Lake near a Shakopee elementary school. I've always had my doubts about the tales I've heard since moving here about cougars and coyotes roaming the valleys along the Minnesota River. My wife is particularly adamant about the existence of coyotes. She recounts memories of hearing them on the farm she grew up on just above the Minnesota River. Her brothers had seen coyotes in the woods near the farm and her dad had shot at them to scare them away on numerous occasions.

Again, I had my doubts. I never believe something until I've seen it with my own eyes. Then one night while driving in the Belle Plaine area along Highway 169 I actually saw a small dog-like animal standing on the shoulder of the road. I knew it wasn't a fox - I have seen plenty of those while growing up in far southern Minnesota. My wife immediately told me that it was a coyote.

And that is exactly what the Minnesota DNR thinks attacked My Friend Deke, the horse that was stabling in Prior Lake. If I lived in that immediate area or had kids who attended that particular elementary school, I'd be alreat but not concerned. After all, we are the ones who encroached on the area which these wild animals call home. Six years ago when I moved here, that particular area was still corn fields and woods. Now it is leveled and full of half-million dollar homes and strip malls. When humans and animals try to co-exist, it's usually the animals who end up losing the battle in the end but a cougar or a coyote attacking a farm animal should serve as a wake-up call that we are all pissing nature off.

If you like nature and want to embrace it, check out MinnPics which often times showcases fabulous photos of Minnesota's natural beauty.

Things learned about the PGA Championship

Monday afternoon, on the first day of the PGA Chanpionship in Chaska, MN, I made the mistake of driving from my south of the river office to Excelsior on the south side of Lake Minnetonka. I remembered the fact that the PGA Championship was in Chaska as I sat among a line of yellow FIrst Student school busses navigating my way through the Hwy. 101/Old 212 snarl along the Minnesota River. I quickly decided to avoid Chaska entirely and chose the travesty known as Hwy. 101.


Coming back home to the south was another story. After my photographic journey to Lake Minnetonka and my large cup of soda in hand, I headed down Hwy. 41 through Chaska. I looked ahead at one of the stoplights and saw little to no traffic. I was pleasantly surprised and still reminded that the PGA Championship was almost across the highway from where I currently was. A hotel/conference center even had a courtesy lemonade stand set up at their entrance for golf fans using their parking lot.


I saw the almost desserted Kohl's store (which seems entirely unnecessary in its location - I give it two years before it's closed) and as I approached the stoplight near the Target store that's when my worst fears were realized.


I despise stopped traffic and when cars turning couldn't even get in to the line of stopped cars, I got a bit mad. The Minnesota Highway Patrol cars parked on the side of the highway may have been in a primo spot to manage traffic earlier in the day but now they were about a mile too far north. Using my laser eyes, I tried to communicate with them (via intense staring) that they needed to take their maroon and golds on down the road a mile and direct traffic there - closer to Highway 212). The few folks crossing the highway at this particular intersection could manage just fine and the mostly respectable Minnesota drivers would rarely, if ever, run down a pedestrian (although bikers are apparently a different story).


However, I dialed back my anger and realized that these people were spending buckets of coin in Chaska - the 20th most livable community in America. Or were they?


So tens of thousands of golf fans park 15 miles away at the paved oasis known as Canterbury Park only to ride a school bus to a golf course where they can't even leave the labels on their water bottles. I'm all for tourism but maybe the host town of a huge event like this could become a little more involved than just hanging some banners on their street lights.


Will there be PGA photos on MinnPics? You'll have to check it out to know...

Why Black Friday sucks

It doesn't suck because I had to work. It sucks because I loathe everything that the day after Thanksgiving stands for.

Think about it for a moment. People line up in the bone-chilling cold with little to no sleep as they seek out bargains on items that they could very likely do without. Do you really need that $12 set of pans? Sure, it's cool to have that 55" LCD HDTV hanging on the wall in your living room but this year you may instead want to focus on your mortgage payment so you actually have a wall you can drill a hole in.

My other problem with Black Friday isn't so much about the wild, uncontrollable spending as it is about the people who choose to shop that day. As I found out, it seems that the true professional shoppers who have a goal in mind hit the stores before the sun is even seen. The rookies or looky-loos as my mom would call them seem to occupy the hours from noon onward. Unfortunately for me, it was after 4 PM when I arrived at Target in search of the much-advertised $299 LCD HDTV which would have been the replacement for our beleagured upstairs hoopty.

Sure, I struck out not just at the Shakopee Target but also the Savage location but it didn't bother me so much that this phenomenal deal was sold out. What did bother me was that people seemed intent on browsing on Black Friday. That's like going to a Minnesota Timberwolves game because you love professional basketball. Chances are that you'll piss people off on Black Friday with your casual, slow-paced, feet-shuffling window shopping and your choice of a Timberwolves game for some pro hoops action will leave you sorely disappointed.

Hey, everyone has the choice of when and where to shop but much like driving 40 miles per hour on the freeway, keep to the right.

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A South Dakota view of the southwest metro

Apparently South Dakotans are jealous of the beauty and bounty that surrounds us lucky Minnesotans. It's the kind of crap we take for granted because we see it every day. Hills covered with trees (never mind the endless raking of leaves) because they have no leaves or hills in eastern South Dakota. They also have no humans but that's for another day. (Yes, I finally offended all 17 people in South Dakota, next stop, IOWA!)

The recap reads like a very condensed version of a grown-up roadtrip from Sioux Falls to Shakopee complete with a truckload of golf carts on their way to hibernate. The cargo, not so exciting, the pics, fairly decent.

In all seriousness, it was cool to see a photo of an actual sugarbeet. I hear that they used to be grown back in my homeland but I've never seen a real one or a photo of one until I read this story. Hey, the writer/reporter even offers up the video below but be warned, it's not much and it probably should have been left on the cutting room floor.