News Cut: June 3, 2008 Archive

From Rogers with love

Posted at 12:03 AM on June 3, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

This is the second of several posts. The first is here.

Dustin Sims grew up in Oklahoma and remembers a tornado hitting his grandparents' home -- twice. But when the sound of your own home coming apart at the seams serenades you as you huddle with your pregnant wife and two-year-old daughter, that's a unique experience, even for tornado veterans.

Dustin wrote me last week saying there were things he and his wife, Kelly, learned from the September 2006 tornado that struck Rogers, Minn., that can help the residents of Hugo, who are just now clearing the debris and beginning the reconstruction from last week's tornado.

Only seconds to get to safety, "You kind of sit there in the dark and the glass breaking, and you can hear this huge noise. It lasted about 45 seconds. You could hear the wind starting to creep up under the foundation. We sat there in the dark and we said, 'we're alive and breathing,'" Dustin told me Monday evening.

Then they got to work.

Their house was full of glass and pieces of somebody else's roof. A Frisbee embedded itself in a wall. Kelly found later that even pieces of debris had worked their way into the plastic sleeves of their photograph albums. The garage was gone. Putting on a jacket was useless; they were riveted with shards of glass. (Listen)

They grabbed pictures, financial records, and whatever clothes they could and escaped their now uninhabitable house.

READY FOR THE NEXT TIME

They've learned the lessons they want to share with the residents of Hugo. Here's one, though, for everybody: Don't wait to come up with a plan. (Listen)

"Downstairs now we keep flashlights, a hammer, shoes, and cellphones," Dustin said. "Whenever a storm is coming through, we make sure that stuff is down in the basement where we're going to hide. We keep credit cards we'd need and when we go and hide, we've got everything we need to communicate with the outside world and at least fund ourselves to get to a hotel room so someone can help us."

In a small room downstairs (see picture) , the Sims have created a small bedroom, and selected its location as the least likely to collapse. When a tornado hit Parkersburg, Iowa 10 days ago, 7 people were killed; all were in their basements.

"The day after, we stopped by Menard's and picked up some brooms and plastic bags and we said, 'oh, well, we'll just clean it up,'" Kelly Sims said. "I think we were in a state of shock."

Another lesson: It takes more than brooms and plastic bags. That's when the insurance people showed up and gave them directions -- and money -- on how to clean up. Get a good insurance company, they told me. Theirs, American Family, got high marks from the Sims. "They were always here to give us help on what to do next," Kelly said.

UNDERSTANDING CONTRACTORS

What don't the people of Hugo know yet? "When we started out, we didn't understand the concept of the contractors, of who you're going to have to hire to rebuild your life. And that choice is very, very important," said Dustin. "You can make a bad choice right off the bat and make this whole recovery very miserable. The people who came to our house the first days were very shady people."

"They would show up and say, 'Here's a tarp and the only thing you have to do is sign this so we can get reimbursed by the insurance company," he said. The city of Hugo, at first, decided to require contractors be registered with the city, ostensibly to avoid a similar situation, but the credentialing requirement has since been rescinded, according to the city's Web site. (Listen)

The Sims recommend establishing a system to track finances and paperwork from all of the work that needs to be done. "Foster that relationship with them (insurance companies) right off the bat," Dustin said. "We established that trust with them and documented extensively. The ability to pass them the receipts in some sort of organized manner made everybody's life easier."

When it came to selecting a contractor, "we probably should've gone with a larger company that's used to building houses," Kelly said.

"We overtaxed our local builder," said Dustin. "He brought in quality people to rebuild our house. It was a struggle for him and he suffered because of that. We would probably go with a larger company that we're sure is going to be in business for the next 10 years."

Some residents in Rogers have been paralyzed by legal problems since the tornado. Subcontractors weren't paid by contractors and liens were placed on the homes. "We researched extensively about how to do this, and we put in the contract to rebuild our house that before he (the contractor) received any money, we had to have the mechanics lien in our possession, so that anybody that he hired, they had to sign off that they had been paid before he got paid."

It didn't hurt that Kelly, who, like Dustin, is an engineer at BAE Systems, has worked in law firms. She found pro bono legal advice on the Web, and also found trade associations for the building industry here were able to provide assistance. "That's why they say you pay the builder up to 80 percent done. We've heard some stories about people paying all the money up front and then they ask, 'Why isn't it getting done?'" (Listen)

PEOPLE WANT YOUR INSURANCE MONEY

When the Sims were looking for a place to live during the rebuilding of their home, they found property owners tried to increase the rent and deposits. "When they found out there's insurance involved, they tried to triple the prices on us, and sign a year lease," Dustin said. He said insurance companies will help with that, but you have to ask. "They (landlords) have you at an emotionally vulnerable time. After the first time it happened, we got mad about it. If they steal from my insurance company, they're stealing from me." (Listen)

By now, you know it's a good time to take a look at your insurance policy and home inventory, right?

The Sims also advise not to forget the kids. "Our little girl had a hard time with it. She still tells the story of the night her house got broke. And she'll line her stuffed animals up and tell them the story of the night her house got broke," said Dustin. "On the anniversary of the tornado, we took her to DisneyWorld, and we're trying to establish memories other than this. These people (in Hugo) are going to have to try to establish memories other than this tornado as soon as possible." (Listen)

And one final message from Rogers for Hugo: It'll get better.

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Diddley dead

Posted at 9:00 AM on June 3, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)

Bo Diddley is dead. He was the author of the "shave and a haircut... two bits" beat.

"That beat came almost from children's nursery rhymes and it came from outside barber shops in America," Singer-songwriter Richard Hawley told the BBC. " Outside the barber shops, they'd have a kid with a little wooden plank with tap shoes playing that kind of rhythm. "

The rock world is bestowing tributes on him today, of course. Many are coming from the institutions that ripped him off, according to a 2005 interview he gave to Rolling Stone, referenced in the Boston Globe today.

"Elvis was not first; I was the first son of a gun out here, me and Chuck Berry. And I'm very sick of the lie," Mr. Diddley said in a 2005 interview with Rolling Stone magazine. "You know, we are over that black-and-white crap, and that was all the reason Elvis got the appreciation that he did. I'm the dude that he copied, and I'm not even mentioned. . . . I've been out here for 50 years, man, and I haven't ever seen a royalty check."

Mitch Berg, author of the Shot in the Dark blog, pens a tribute (by the way, to see why Berg is, perhaps, the best blog writer in Minnesota when it comes to music, see his post on Bruce Springsteen.), invoking some long-forgotten images of when rock married politics, as in the 1989 George Bush inaugural.

Diddley, Sam and Dave, and Lee Atwater (the architect of Bush's win) jammed on stage. It also gave us one of the goofiest pictures of a U.S. president... ever, when President George H.W. Bush jumped on stage, picked up a guitar and pretended to jam, both Atwater and Bush making "air guitar"-like faces at each other. (Unfortunately, the only copy of the picture I can find on the Internet is a small thumbnail. But trust me on this.)

Courtesy of KARE 11, a Coon Rapids man -- Ar Stevens -- tells the story of playing with Diddley in the '80s. Watch the accompanying video only if you're prepared to withstand the gratuitous -- and overworked -- "you don't know Diddley" references.

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The Obama rally

Posted at 5:14 PM on June 3, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

If Marion Gaborik could've remembered how to score goals, tonight's Obama rally might be held in Rockford, Illinois instead of St. Paul. It's unlikely, perhaps, that the Xcel Energy Center would be transformed from last night's game (or what would have been last night's game into a stage for tonight's rally, even though, I suppose, it could have.

At 5 p.m., three helicopters were hovering near the arena, each taking turns for the prime airspace to deliver the money shot of crowds forming in time for the TV newscasts.

Laura Yuen's story about the number of street peddlers outside the Xcel reminds us, again, that there's money to be made in politics. And tonight, the big winners are, the telecommunications companies. An hour or so of wireless Internet access, for those who are live blogging, is going for $175, $400 for hard wired. With so many local TV and radio stations providing coverage tonight, and with so many telephone line and computer lines required, the media is spending thousands of dollars.

MPR's Public Insight Network has set up a Twitter feed. I love Twitter, but I'm not convinced -- yet -- that there's great insight to be had when covering, let's face it, a pretty staged event.

As usual, I'm leaving the nuts-and-bolts of Obama's speech to others. I'll be talking to a few of the "regular folks" inside and outside of the arena. At the moment, I'm simply more interested in what they have to say. And you of course.

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Just get in line

Posted at 7:49 PM on June 3, 2008 by Bob Collins (32 Comments)

(Updated with additions to the route and a final map)

So you want to get into the Xcel Center to see Barack Obama? Fine. Just get in line.

Start at the Xcel Center, of course.

(Picture courtesy of Julie Sandberg)

Cross St. Peter and head east on 5th Street. Note that everyone seems in a decent mood. Nobody's trying to cut in line. And lots of people are making money selling T-shirts and buttons.

Then, search for the end of the line by walking down 6th Street a couple of blocks toward the Landmark Center...

Cross Washington Street at Landmark Center...

Turn right on Market. Remember: No cutting in line.

Turn right on 5th to the front of Landmark Center. I'm sure the end of the line is here somewhere.

Turn right again, down Washington...

It's the end of the line. But it's not. Because there's a graduation at the Ordway RiverCentre... the line ends here.....but forms again back up the street at Rice Park.

Go diagonally across Rice Park to Market & 4th Streets...

Keep going. Don't stop to chat with the 10 or 11 people you know who you've seen in line so far. And don't say, "what are you doing here?"

Head up Market St...

It's the end of the line! Nope. It just takes a break at the intersection. It goes down 4th.

Go on down 4th. Keep moving: These people think you're going to cut in...

Take a left on St. Peter, heading toward the St. Paul Hotel...

You're starting to wonder whether you're going to get in, aren't you?

Organizers must've gotten their ideas from Disney World. You always think you're at the end of the line, like here at 5th and Wabasha.

Nope. The line goes south on Wabasha, heading for the riverfront.

It crosses 4th Street...

... and ends at Wabasha and Kellogg...

...and begins across the street in front of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, home of the Texas delegation this summer for the Republican National Convention.

Down Kellogg. At this point if you're down and confused, hug the one you're with.

Turn north on Minnesota Street...

Turn back west...heading toward the Xcel again.... on 5th.

And almost a full block up the street, not quite 1 1/2 miles from where you started, you will find.... the end of the line.

Update 8:04 p.m. - I understand the line has zigzagged back toward Lowertown. Off to take more pictures.

They kept coming. The line snaked up 5th Street toward Cedar....

It crossed 5th down to Cedar, in front of the Pioneer Press headquarters.

You're noting the diversity of the crowd, right? As it wound down Cedar, there were Somali women on cellphones walking with men in yarmulkes. A man showed his Vietnam draft card to a group of people, none of whom was over 30.

Continuing on. The line is moving. The line crosses 6th and Cedar...

"Do you think we'll get in?" a woman asks me as she walks along the two-block stretch. "No," I tell her. "There are about 50,000 people ahead of you." She doesn't look dejected. She marches on, still smiling.

Turn right on 7th, across from the News Cut World Headquarters. Darkness has fallen on St. Paul. And the end of the line is crossing Robert Street.

Meet the end of the line, and Adam Sinkowski of Minneapolis and Kevin Harrington of St. Paul. They are the last two people in line, and they still think they can get into the Xcel.

Here, then, is the route we've taken to the end of the line (thanks to Than Tibbetts).

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Bridges or Barack?

Posted at 7:47 PM on June 3, 2008 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)

This is the sort of stuff that can the conspiracy theorists' cranked up.

1. Barack Obama grabs the headlines with an amazing turnout in St. Paul.

2. Tim Pawlenty, the Republican governor, is said to be in the running to be John McCain's running mate. McCain is running against Obama.

3. Shortly before Obama's appearance at the Xcel Center, Pawlenty's Department of Transportation schedules a news conference in Winona for 8 p.m. to announce yet another bridge closing over the Mississippi River.

Engineers will spend the week inspecting gusset plates on the bridge. Says a MnDOT news release, "Although the Highway 43 Mississippi River bridge in Winona was inspected last year, Mn/DOT is performing additional inspections on all state bridges with gusset plates similar to the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed last August."

The Highway 43 bridge closing means the nearest alterantives are the Highway 25 bridge to the north at Wabasha; and the Interstate 90 bridge to the south between La Crescent, Minnesota, and La Crosse, Wisconsin. That's a one-hour detour to cross the river.

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Live-blogging Obama

Posted at 9:08 PM on June 3, 2008 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

My assignment tonight is to "live blog" Barack Obama's speech. After covering "the line," I think that for all of his oratorial skills, he cannot possibly deliver a message anywhere near as eloquently as the tens of thousands of people who lined up on the streets of St. Paul.

9:10 p.m. - Obama says "thank you." On the radio, the music in the background sounds like Springsteen's Girls in their Summer Clothes, though I presume I'm hearing it incorrectly.

9:12 p.m. "After 54 hard fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end." (Big cheer)

9:14 p.m. -- "Because of you I can stand here tonight and say to you that I will be the Democratic nominee for president."

9:16 p.m. Here comes the Hillary reference. Says party has put together one of the most talented fields in history. I don't think he's talking about Mike Gravel.

9:17 "Sen. Hillary Clinton has made history not just because she's a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she's a leader who inspires millions of Americans through her strength and courage.

9:19 - Meet someone I met in line. Asked who should be Obama's VP candidate, they were unanimous that it should be someone named Not Hillary. I heard that from a lot of people. These people are (right-left): John Whitehead, Suzanne Garfield, Henry Bushnell, Anne Bushnell, John Schepers of the Twin Cities.

Mr. Whitehead he'd be a lot more concerned about the threat by some women to stay home in November if it "was a month from now," but thinks the comments are the result of hurt feelings in a tough campaign.

9:21 p.m. Calls for uniting. Over the weekend, some influential women said they're going to stay home.

9:22 p.m. "I honor the contributions of John McCain, even if he refuses to honor mine." Says AP of McCain's speech in New Orleans today:

McCain...accused his younger rival of voting "to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job" in Iraq. It was a reference to 2007 legislation to pay for the Iraq war, a measure Obama opposed citing the lack of a timetable for withdrawing troops.

9:23 p.m. Serve returned by Obama, " it's not change when he promises to continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave young men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians."

OK, there's your general campaign in a bottle. Is it time to vote now?

9:26 p.m. -- Wondering if Obama will somehow acknowledge the tens of thousands of people outside the Xcel Center who didn't make it in?

9:28 p.m. -- Obama is into the stump portion of the speech. "John McCain has spent time in Iraq, but maybe if he spent some time in the cities of America, he'd understand the kind of change people were looking for. Which reminds me, on my personal blog, I wrote about my hometown when I was back East a couple of weeks ago. It's non-political.

Question: How can a president fix the disaster that is Detroit?

9:32 p.m. Crowd chants "yes, we can."

9:33 p.m. -- Says Republicans see opponents as "enemies," not people with which to disagree. "We call ourselves Republicans and Democrats, but we are Americans."

9:36 p.m. -- Best part of the speech so far? The silence between Obama's words, when a woman shouts "We believe in you."

9:37 p.m. -- The money quote for the TVs and headline writers (you watch!), "America, this is our time."

9:38 p.m. - Trivia time: Have their been more presidential candidate rallies at the Xcel Center? Or Wild 7th game playoff wins? Easy answer. The Wild have never won -- or even played -- a 7th game at the Xcel.

9:39 p.m. "Thank you, Minnesota. God Bless America."

OK, that's done. Let's go back out to the line and meet....

(Left to right) Marsha Mose of Hudson, Wisc., Steve Govert of Minneapolis, Kris LaFaver, Dane Lafavor and Anna Lavafavor of Minneapolis. At one point -- and for about 4 seconds -- they were last in line. Kris Lafavor was a John Edwards supporter (as was Mr. Govert). Mose supported Hillary Clinton. Who should be vice president? Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas, was mentioned. Bill Richardson was mentioned. "Not Hillary" was mentioned.

"Why didn't any of you mention John Edwards," I asked.

"We want him for attorney general," they responded.

This crowd is already thinking about the cabinet.

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