Oh Happy Day!!!

Thank you Federal Gov't - THANK YOU!

Today, the citizens of Rochester received the best news ever. The Federal Gov't turned down a loan request from the DM&E railroad. For the past ten years, the DM&E has been trying to get the largest tax payer funded loan ever to improve railroad tracks through Rochester to run 37 high speed trains per day. These trains would carry coal and other hazardous materials. The DM&E railroad has the worst safety record in the industry and the tracks run right through the center of town - and run about a 1/4 mile from my house on the western edge of Rochester. The few trains that we get each day now tie up traffic and are very noisy. Increasing to 37 trains at a high speed each day would be disasterous. You could spit on the Mayo Clinic from the tracks...15,000 sick patients each day and a high speed train from a company with a bad safety record do not mix. We would never be able to evacuate patients if there was an accident. As a homeowner inRochester and employee of Mayo clinic - I am happy to see this project stopped. Now I don't have to worry about my property value decreasing because of the noise from the trains - and my morning commute won't be longer because of the traffic the trains stop. Mayo clinic patients will be able to continue enjoying the best medical facilities in the world and our largest economy in Rochester was saved.

Read the headlines from the Rochester Post Bulletin: http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=285765 and at the Minneapolis Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1026957.html

Thank you to all the concerned citizens in Rochester who called and emailed our representatives in Washington. Thank you to those that signed petitions. Thank you to the Mayo clinic for leading this battle and thank you to our representatives who brought the concerns of Rochester to Washington!