Star Tribune
Rochester’s Ear of Corn water tower on path to become historic landmark
ROCHESTER — Corn is about to become historic as local officials propose recognizing the city’s longstanding landmark water tower with a special designation.
Rochester’s historic preservation commission on Tuesday cleared the way for the city to designate the Ear of Corn water tower as a historic structure. The commission recommendation was unanimous, though the Rochester City Council will get the final say.
The tower has been a memorable marker in south Rochester. It had a resurgence in popularity last year after a novelty remix of a child’s interview about his love for corn went viral.
Reid, Murdoch and Co. built the 151-foot-tall tower in 1931, two years after the company opened a food canning plant near old Hwy. 14, on land that used to be part of Graham Park.
“Right away, they’re talking about it as a landmark-type feature even before it was constructed just because of its size,” said Molly Patterson-Lundgren, the city’s historic preservation coordinator.
Patterson-Lundgren said the water tower’s novelty design and recognition as a local waypoint and roadside attraction meets state historic preservation guidelines similar to the fishing bobber tower in Pequot Lakes or the Big Fish in Cass County.
The Ear of Corn tower and nearby property changed hands several times over the years until Olmsted County bought it in 2019 for $5.6 million. The tower was placed on a city list of potential historic landmarks around the same time.
County officials demolished the plant, most recently managed by Seneca Foods, the following year and began restoring the tower.
City officials say the tower’s designation as a historic structure won’t interfere with county plans to sell off the 11-acre property the tower sits on. Olmsted County has worked on redeveloping the land for the past few years, even entering into negotiations with a local firm in 2022 to sell the property.
Those negotiations hit a snag in a closed meeting last December when county commissioners reached an impasse on whether to move forward with Titan Development’s proposal, a mixed-use housing and commercial project that could have included a grocery store and pharmacy.
Olmsted County Administrator Heidi Welsch said officials have yet to find another offer for the property, but the county values the tower and plans to maintain it.
The county will take the tower and the Seneca site into consideration as it develops Graham Park over the next few years. The County Board updated its master plan last month to transform part of the park into a community event space.
“Graham Park has been sitting there since it’s begun with very few changes,” County Board Chair Gregg Wright said. “Of course the community and the way the community views that space has changed, so it’s time to transform it into a community space that we can use year-round.”
The Legislature allocated $8 million in a bonding bill this year for a new exhibition center at the park, but county officials are seeking another $12.5 million to renovate and expand a former highway department building as another venue for events from farmers markets and community celebrations to athletics and agricultural shows. More mixed-use development could take place once county officials choose what to do with the Seneca site.
The water tower will likely stay where it is regardless, officials said.
“It’s sort of Rochester’s Eiffel Tower of Corn,” said Thomas Meilander, a member of the city’s historic preservation commission. “We’d like to see it stay that way.”
After splitting their two-game West Coast trip to begin the season, the Wolves improved to 2-1 with a 112-101 win over Toronto in their home opener. It was a wire-to-wire win that featured some strong bursts of play from the Wolves and other times when their decision-making was suspect. But those moments when they were on, specifically the start of the game and most of the third quarter, were enough to carry them against a shorthanded Raptors team that was without RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown and Immanuel Quickley.
Julius Randle had 24 points while Anthony Edwards had 24 on 21 shot attempts. Donte DiVincenzo had 16 off the bench. Nickeil Alexander-Walker left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return, though he was in the bench area for the final minutes after going to the locker room briefly.
The Wolves’ starting lineup had its best stretch of basketball on the season after that unit started off sluggish in the first two games. Mike Conley, who was 3-for-16 to open the year, hit two early threes to set the tone, though Conley would finish 2-for-8.
Donte DiVincenzo replaced him at point guard halfway through the quarter and continued the hot shooting from the point guard slot with three threes of his own. The Wolves forced five Toronto turnovers and had a 32-18 lead after one.
Coach Chris Finch toyed with some different lineup combinations in the first half as he had Conley and DiVincenzo begin the quarter together while having Joe Ingles run the point later in the quarter. It led to an uneven second, and the Wolves led 56-44 at halftime.
But the Wolves played inspired coming out of the break. Jaden McDaniels, who didn’t take a shot in the first half, had nine points in the opening minutes of the third. Edwards hit a pair of threes as they pushed their lead to 22. The Wolves weren’t sharp closing the night, and the Raptors had the game within right inside of two minutes, but the Wolves had built enough of a cushion.
Rudy Gobert. Gobert had 15 points and 13 rebounds and was the beneficiary of some lobs from his teammates like Edwards, Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Joe Ingles. Gobert also finished with four blocks.
Gobert had two blocks on one possession in the fourth quarter that got the crowd off its feet and Gobert pounding his chest. Gobert blocked D.J. Carton and Jamison Battle.
Star Tribune
Trump denigrates Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of Michigan’s largest city
NOVI, Mich. — Donald Trump further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes Saturday in a suburb of the largest city in swing state Michigan.
”I think Detroit and some of our areas makes us a developing nation,” the former president told supporters in Novi. He said people want him to say Detroit is ”great,” but he thinks it ”needs help.”
The Republican nominee for the White House had told an economic group in Detroit earlier this month that the ”whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Democrat Kamala Harris wins the presidency. That comment drew harsh criticism from Democrats who praised the city for its recent drop in crime and growing population.
Trump’s stop in Novi, after an event Friday night in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan’s importance in the tight race. Harris is scheduled for a rally in Kalamazoo later Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama on the first day that early in-person voting becomes available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20% of registered voters. Trump won the state in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden carried it four years later.
Michigan is home to major car companies and the nation’s largest concentration of members of the United Auto Workers. It also has a significant Arab American population, and many have been frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
During his rally, Trump spotlighted local Muslim and Arab American leaders who joined him on stage. These voters ”could turn the election one way or the other,” Trump said, adding that he was banking on ”overwhelming support” from those voters in Michigan.
“When President Trump was president, it was peace,” said one of those leaders, Mayor Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights. ”We didn’t have any issues. There was no wars.”
While Trump is trying to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, he has a history of policies hostile to this group, including a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and a pledge to expand it to include refugees from Gaza if he wins on Nov. 5.
Star Tribune
‘Take our lives seriously,’ Michelle Obama pleads as she rallies for Kamala Harris in Michigan
”We are looking at a health care crisis in America that is affecting people of every background and gender,” Harris told reporters before visiting the doctor’s office.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden went to a union hall in Pittsburgh to promote Harris’ support for organized labor, telling the audience to ”follow your gut” and ”do what’s right.”
Harris appeared with Beyoncé on Friday in Houston, and she campaigned with former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen on Thursday in Atlanta.
It’s a level of celebrity clout that surpasses anything that Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has been able to marshal this year. But there’s no guarantee that will help Harris in the close race for the White House. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost to Trump despite firing up her crowds with musical performances and Democratic allies.
Trump brushed off Harris’ attempt to harness star power for her campaign.
”Kamala is at a dance party with Beyoncé,” the former president said Friday in Traverse City, Michigan. Trump, the Republican nominee for president, is scheduled to hold a rally in Novi, a suburb of Detroit, on Saturday before a later event in State College, Pennsylvania.
