It is Friday, and Fridays are for fun. The Summer Solstice begins at 9:41 this evening. That means today is the longest day of the year with the most hours of daylight, and by tomorrow, the days will start getting shorter.
Wishing everyone a happy solstice.
The photo was taken at Como Park, which is a great place to enjoy summer.
I wrote this in 2007. It is hard to believe that the NSP smoke stack on the Mississippi River near the Smith Avenue Highbridge has been gone for 15+ years.
What got me thinking about this is how change is the only thing we can count on. Change is a constant in our lives.
Some may think this is a Friday fun post on Monday, but it is not. My neighbors and our City Council Rep, Dave Thune, all know that I am serious about this. I started talking about it in late 2005 when I learned about the new power plant. I sent an email to Ed Johnson of the Fort Road Federation suggesting that we keep the stack, or that we at least consider it. We don’t own it, Xcel Energy does, but our city has a great deal of influence over riverfront development.
The old coal-burning highbride plant will soon be replaced with a gas-burning power plant. As a result, the old plant will be demolished. I would like to see the stack from the plant saved. Why would I care about a smokestack? Why not? We preserve grain elevators and tiny homes that were built in the mid-1800s. Why would we demolish a landmark? The stack is 556 feet tall and can be seen for miles. It is also a home for the peregrine falcons. (See the live cam)
Peregrine falcons are most at home high in the sky, where they “skydive” for prey. By installing nest boxes at a height of 300- 600 feet above the ground, they created an environment similar to the high cliffs they prefer.
Millions of dollars were used to save, move, and preserve the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and it does not look all that different from our smokestack. With a little paint, we could achieve the same effect.
I understand why people don’t get all excited about saving a smokestack, but I think we should consider it. Once the plant is removed, the land will be green space. No one would dream of demolishing the vacant Island station plant just upstream.
As for much of the rest of the power plant, I don’t imagine anyone will miss it too much. Personally, I will be happy when the coal piles are gone. A couple of years ago, on a windy da,y the coal dust got into our house, making us wonder how much coal dust we have inhaled over the last 25 years, and why in a state where everything is illegal, no one talks about the health hazards associated with living near a coal pile.
I have a neighbor who admits that he finds the blinking red light on the top of the stack comforting. I can relate and have been known to sit on the back porch at night and watch the lights blink on and off.
This post is now a part of our history. The picture on the bottom was taken from the Smith Avenue bridge and is the best picture I have of the old coal-burning plant. The black that is dead center in the photo is coal, and you can see the old Schmidt Brewery on the horizon.
In May 2025, Minnesota home sellers were more active than home buyers, which, in a nutshell, means that there are now more houses on the market. Median home prices rose by less in the metro area than outside of it.
Listings are up and inventory is rising in 2025 while sales remain flat.
Key Updates: According to new data from the Minnesota state and Twin Cities metro REALTOR® Associations, new listings, pending sales, inventory, and prices all rose again in May.
Statewide seller activity rose 5.3% in May and is up 6.3% for the year.
The typical all-in mortgage payment in Minnesota stands at $2,637, including all counties, property types, and price ranges. That’s about $1,000 more per month than in 2021.
Statewide median home price rose 2.8% to $360,000 while the metro’s rose 2.6% to $395,000.
I publish this annually using data from the State of Minnesota. The unemployment rate in Minnesota is generally lower than the national average. Unemployment rates are the lowest in the Twin Cities Metro area.
The employment picture will change this year due to federal job cuts and tariffs. Jobs in health care are sure to remain strong.
Small businesses, cumulatively, are the largest source of jobs in Minnesota. We sometimes forget that small businesses are the backbone of our economy. If you need work and don’t want to work in health care, retail, or the government, consider starting your own business.
There is some buckthorn growing in my yard and some wild chives. Those are two invasive species. Both are hard to get rid of.
I don’t have to look far to see invasive species or noxious weeds being grown and even cultivated by well-meaning St. Paul gardeners. There are so many that it is hard to keep track. Ramsey County has a list with pictures. If you are not sure you are growing an invasive species, check the Ramsey County Cooperative Weed Management page.
By the way, St. Paul has rules regarding vegetation. I think the most important thing to know is that vegetation must be controlled and cannot encroach on sidewalks, streets, or alleys. There are rules against tall grass and vegetation that may harbor rodents.
City rules also state, “Cut and remove overgrown, uncontrolled vegetation, shrubs, trees, vines throughout the yard that may harbor rodents. (The City does not have an enforceable code for trees or vegetation hanging into neighboring private properties.) ” Find more rules at Stpaul.gov property code enforcement.
Property codes in St. Paul are enforced by a complaint-driven system, which means that if no one complains, you can grow anything you want.
Here is a screenshot of some invasive flowers. It does not include purple loosestrife, an invasive species in Minnesota that came from Eurasia and can be found in our wetlands.
Many people can’t identify invasive plants or noxious weeds, which is why they grow them in their gardens.
It is Friday, and Fridays are for fun. We no longer have to wonder when democracy will die. We are under the autocratic rule of the Trump regime.
If you participate in protests this weekend, be sure to bring an American flag. It is the American flag, not the conservative flag, or the right-wing nut job flag. Let’s take it back.
Additionally, protests must remain peaceful. We do have the right to freedom of speech and peaceful protest, at least for now.
