We may be cold but we're not Omaha

I had no reason to feel down Friday due to the cold. I attended a social gathering of UMM-oriented people in the morning at Common Cup, right on Morris' main street. And I'm delighted to share the photo you see here of yours truly with the new chancellor of UMN-Morris, Michael Rodriguez. Very nice coffee cake and two types of coffee, really hitting the spot. Kind of a "pep rally" for UMN-Morris. That would be apt to say. Oh, Dr. Rodriguez is at left in photo, your blog host at right. Looking at the photo makes me think maybe I should stop cutting my own hair. I began that during covid, just like I stopped seeing the dentist. Recently I had a tooth pulled. The photo is by Sue Dieter of the UMM staff.

 

Sid Hartman used to warn us that we in Minnesota could become a "cold Omaha." It was a scare tactic to try to make sure our state made the proper commitment to support big league sports. Too bad we could not have hung on to the Minneapolis Lakers. By now they'd be "Minnesota" instead of "Minneapolis" to be sure. But it's sad that the "Lakers" moniker could not have stuck with Minnesota. 

We once had a men's pro basketball team called the "Muskies." I loved that name too. And then there were the "Pipers." Teams flamed out here until we finally got the Timberwolves under Bill Musselman in 1989. I attended the first regular season home opener of the Wolves. We played Chicago with Michael Jordan at the height of his powers. 

So Minnesota never fell into the depths of being a "cold Omaha." Right now it is cold quite literally in our western Minnesota home of Morris. We are a "cold Morris." Maybe we'd rather be here than in the Twin Cities with all the unrest there due to ICE. 

Maybe the fundamental cause of the distress is that Minnesota is a "blue state." The Feds in charge now answer to the other side. In normal times we would assume that our leaders in government would want the best for all of us. I mean, to put partisan aims aside and just govern to try to make life better. But our current times are quite to the contrary of that ideal. 

All I can do is comment. Otherwise "Mongo just pawn in game of life." 

Has our congressperson ever disagreed with anything that our presidential administration has said and done? Any one little thing? I'm not aware of any. 

Collin Peterson

How different are our current times? So different that we can look back on years and years of having Democrat Collin Peterson represent us. His election opponents usually came off seeming off the beaten path, maybe a little dim-witted or eccentric. Yes ol' Collin called himself a "Blue Dog" which meant he was on the right-leaning edge of his party. In the end that was not good enough for him to pass muster here. 

I remember the years when Peterson seemed rather popular. A mainstream type of guy, engaging. 

In his final campaign he was thrown on the defensive. The "red" groundswell from within this district became like a tsunami. Poor Collin was attacked by having a photo of himself shown in campaign ads. The problem with the photo? He was standing next to Nancy Pelosi. The ad narrator pronounced Pelosi's name in a demeaning way. Nancy Pelosi! Oh the disgust. 

The tsunami has overwhelmed us. So now we get dispatches from our new congressperson that have a cheerleading tone all the way for the presidential administration. Has the administration been so great for farmers? Are you a fan of the tariffs? And you should be aware that tariffs are a regressive tax? Know what that means? It hits the rank-in-file Americans hard. But you don't want to listen to reason, do you.

 

"Cold Omaha"

Well, what's so bad about Omaha, Nebraska? Sid Hartman came up with the barb when Omaha sort of represented the "backwater" cities across America, whereas the really big cities were the "cool" cities. And heaven help the "small towns" where reportedly the young people were so eager to leave. I can illustrate from the movie "First Blood" where the colonel character described the small community as "Jerkwater USA." Such a putdown is at the very least dated but mostly offensive. 

Small towns just like the big cities have Internet. Small towns are a haven for feeling safe and secure, relatively speaking. And the big cities, once considered cool, refined and culturally stimulating, my they have fallen on hard times. Crime-ridden and dirty? Well to an extent they are. 

 

(B.W. photo)

Guarding UMM's future 

We needn't make any apologies living in Morris MN. We can feel relieved. And we still have our U of M-Morris although perhaps we should knock on wood some. Watch our backs some? And by next year colleges everywhere will have to deal with the "demographic cliff." My friend Michael Lackey says college employees everywhere know all about the "demographic cliff." Maybe it's the strongest headwind for our UMM and many other colleges. An irresistible force maybe? 

And so UMM has undergone a sudden and drastic administrative change. We're changing horses in midstream? A change at the chancellor's position in mid-school year? What does it all mean? That some immediate actions are needed to stanch some bleeding? 

We know all about the bleeding because of the work of the Star Tribune newspaper. A huge headline that included the word "nosedive." A part of me almost wanted to laugh. Ah, a joy felt in the pursuit of truth. No need to watch anyone's back, just call a spade a spade. So UMM has experienced an "enrollment nosedive." And here we are trying to sell ourselves out in the barren reaches of western Minnesota, the MAGA world of our congressional representative Michelle Fischbach. Her orange god hovers over us. 

And I assume UMM competes with the U of M operation in Rochester - is it a true "campus" there? I know it was the brainchild of Governor Tim Pawlenty. Perhaps a political plum in his eyes? Winning favor in that part of the state? Some sort of U of M operation is in Rochester and it has a tremendous advantage over our Morris. That is because Rochester is foreseen as heading into economic boom times - no overstatement. We're looking at the expansion of the Mayo Clinic. A couple decades of burgeoning growth lies ahead there, at least. 

And UMN-Morris, what about the prospects for our Morris and western Minnesota? Where the coyotes howl at night? Collin Peterson wasn't good enough for us. He simply smiled for a photo next to Nancy Pelosi and poof! His career is ended. I don't see anything so terrible about Nancy Pelosi. 

Wait until the president gets in full command of the Federal Reserve - it's coming - and forces interest rates down against the better judgment of economists. Just wait, catastrophe lies ahead. But yours truly would just be described as a "Trump hater." Or, with "TDS," "Trump Derangement Syndrome," which I prefer spelling out as "Trump Devotion Syndrome." 

I am in quite the minority. I cannot compete with God and Jesus. The Trump supporters proclaim that they are with God and Jesus in all this. Which leaves me destined for hell I guess.

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com