A friend of mine has just started a blog, and begins with a great analysis of the DM&E Story. Check it out here, and here's an excerpt.
While the project has been met with wide support, that wide support has been
overshadowed by the opposition of the richest community the train is and
will travel through. Rochester, MN opposes this plan because they believe it
will disrupt their crown jewel: Mayo Clinic. Presidents, dignitaries, and
various other famous people have been treated to the worlds-best care at
Mayo Clinic, and this train project will disrupt that, according to Mayo
Clinic. Where do the politics come into this? Former-Senator from SD, Tom
Daschle, was appointed to the Mayo Board of Directors in early 2006, and has
voiced opposition to the plan. Former-governor of SD, William Janklow, was
hired as a consultant by Mayo. Ironically, Janklow has shown wide support
for this project when he was in elected office. So, it seems these two are
opposing something that could clearly benefit the economy of South Dakota
immensely. Kevin Schieffer, CEO of DM&E, used to be Former-Senator from SD,
Larry Pressler's chief of staff. The politics in this fight even run deeper
and wider than that though. It is quite unfortunate that this amazing level
of politics and anger can get in the way of something that could truly push
the SD economy to the next level.
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