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John N. Finn

John N. Finn's picture
Winona, Minnesota
Commenter for
5 years 28 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 09/23/11 at 01:20 pm in response to Gov. Mark Dayton, Republican legislators at odds -- again

Dayton might be at odds with Republicans over this union hearing, but give him bi-partisan credit for inviting freshman Republican Senator Jeremy Miller along as the only representative of our legislature. Participating in this trade/jobs mission is sure to be golden for young Miller's re-election campaign.

Posted on 09/12/11 at 09:21 am in response to Help wanted. But only if you have a job.

"....a bill was introduced in Congress that would make it illegal to discriminate in hiring based on unemployment or history of unemployment."

This, along with all other anti-discrimination laws, could be circumvented by hiring though a temp agency.

Posted on 09/08/11 at 10:42 am in response to Michele Bachmann not a big factor in GOP debate

Frac sand loading into rail cars is underway now in Winona. I believe it's a relatively small scale facility prior to a planned larger operation. I'm not aware of any new sand mining yet. The trucks are hauling from an existing pit at the edge of town.

BTW: Would frac sand be included in the mineral rights that land owners usually don't own?

Posted on 08/19/11 at 01:28 pm in response to Political ads are already popping up in Minnesota

Not likely to happen, but what if one candidate, a hypothetical democrat for instance, declined to play the costly ad game? He or she along with the DFL declare that in an effort to end the influence of big money on campaigns, no funds will be spent other than a web site featuring policy positions, modest print media ads directing voters to the site, and maybe direct mail. And somehow outside groups could refrain from getting involved. (I'm assuming that TV/cable accounts for the vast...

Posted on 07/09/11 at 10:47 am in response to Grover Norquist looms over Minnesota's budget impasse

One Democrat on the pledge list, my representative Gene Pelowski. Other Dems?

Posted on 06/27/11 at 08:36 am in response to The tale of what Bachmann says she heard Obama mutter

I don't see how this would lessen her chances of getting the Republican nomination.

Posted on 06/15/11 at 06:06 am in response to GOP debate consensus: Bachmann, yea; T-Paw, nay

Never mind whether they were wearing helmets. Did they have loud pipes on their Harleys? Those are supposed to save lives, you know.

Posted on 05/22/11 at 10:15 am in response to Northern Cheapskate: Is it time to trade in the gas guzzler?

If you didn't need to have a dependable and high mpg daily car, you could get one just for occasional enjoyment. I'd opt for something from the 1930's or a '50s sports car.

Way back when, I helped a friend fix up a two door '37 Hudson Terraplane. It was a lot of fun what with it's custom sound system. Sad to say that when he took a job requiring long commutes, he sold it and got a Chevi Vega.

Posted on 04/11/11 at 09:57 am in response to Republican budget roadmap is from 'fantasyland'

Ryan must assume that, under his plan, GDP will grow so much that a smaller percentage of it will be more than sufficient to maintain government programs as we know them now. I'd think that ours and the world's economies would bump up against ecological and energy constraints long before then. But maybe not in fantasyland.

Posted on 03/04/11 at 01:40 pm in response to Stillwater bridge: Bachmann's version fails to match new market realities

Winona's new bridge is scheduled to begin construction in 2014. We're currently waiting to find out if the existing one can be rehabed in which case a companion span would be added.

If a total replacement is done, MnDOT thinks that six lanes will be needed in the future (four traffic, two shoulders wide enough for emergency, maintenance or stalled vehicles to not impede the traffic.) As of now, the only congestion on the bridge happens during rush hours if one of the two lanes is...