Oh, the Beauty of Snow

Once again, it's snowing. There's value in them there flakes (no, I'm not talking about Donny Ness and Mayor Bergson). Many industries in Duluth depend partly or entirely on the white stuff. Some businesses suffer some when it snows but by and large, the community as a whole benefits from snow.

There are the obvious ones such as the ski areas, both downhill and cross-country, the snowmobile dealers and service people, the sporting goods stores, etc. It is interesting , however, that Duluth is one of those places that spurns the lion's share of potential Weather related Winter Business in that there is no way to traverse the City on an ATV or Snowmobile. In-fact, Duluth has goneone further, banning all use of ATV's except for utilitarian use in and around one's pivate residence. Any hint of advocacy for relaxing our anti-motor laws in Duluth would likely be met with fierce resistance even though, many of Duluth residents enjoy and participate in these activities.

If only we could embrace outdoor, Winter motor sports in Duluth and allow these folks into the interior of the City. There are trails all around and some within the City. There are numerous bars and restaurants who struggle to get through the Winter months yet we keep the huge river of potential revenue at bay. True tourist towns welcome these and other forms of transportation in and around their Cities benefitting from thousands of motor-sports enthusiasts and hundreds of thousands in revenue. Duluth seems to have departed from it's fun side, turning instead, to a paranoid, fearful, anti-future, killjoy, anti-technology, primitive promoting lifestyle.

Progress is bad according to some, but without it, imagine how hard it would be to go back country skiing. You'd have to go back to cutting down all those trees. Restraint of one's own political agenda and recognizing the validity of others, lends credence to your own and strengthens it with a more sound foundation. Pursuing it without restraint is, by definition, what makes one an extremist. Do we want to be extremists or do we truly want to pursue the strengths of all political viewpoints? Examine the weaknesses of your own political convictions and pursue balance.

We have been seduced to a large degree, by some extremists who believe anything motorized is bad. This has cost us potential jobs, tourist revenue and damaged our reputation as a "Tourist Friendly" destination. Tourism comes in all forms, let's try to embrace as many of them as possible. Motorsports and eco-tourists can enjoy the same areas. I look forward to the day when we capitalize, as a City, on all forms of tourism, including Winter motor sports. Enjoy the snow.