Small Minnesota Town Respect

[heckler]

Even though we are not getting respect from the twin cities we are getting some respect from a great small town in Minnesota.

I am from a small town called Barnum, Minnesota which is about 36 miles south of Duluth and about 4 to 4 1/2 hours across the whole state from Fargo.

If you think NDSU doesn't have reach, think again:

http://www.barnum.k12.mn.us/?page=hsbulletin

Check out #9

[OldBison]

Way too cool! Thanks for making my day.

[NDFAN2]

Wow! Google must really be your friend!

[heckler]

Actually, my mom sent it to me. On "Spirit day," where students show their school spirit by wearing their school colors my brother wore NDSU appreal. Bison in the making? :praying:

[UTH]

Either way, that's some top notch journalism, Mr. Heckler!

[onbison09]

God Bless those children.

[tony]

Nice find! For those of you who don't know, it's not like Barnum is in the Red River Valley - it's on the I-35 as you go up to Duluth from the Twin Cities. It's the town with a big statue of a trapper.

[SlickVic]

isnt that where david erbes was from? i thought they always used to announce him at whap science as "the pride of barnum david erbes" not sure tho it was some dinky little town

[roadwarrior]

Erbes was from Barney, ND.

[roadwarrior]

No doubt that whoever made that list in barnum, he or she probably went to NDSU.

[FarSouth Bison]

Erbes is from a small town in North Dakota, just south of Fargo.

[CaBisonFan]

Even though we are not getting respect from the twin cities we are getting some respect from a great small town in Minnesota.

I am from a small town called Barnum, Minnesota which is about 36 miles south of Duluth and about 4 to 4 1/2 hours across the whole state from Fargo.

If you think NDSU doesn't have reach, think again:

http://www.barnum.k12.mn.us/?page=hsbulletin

Check out #9

I accidently punched my response in twice, so please refer to the next post.

[CaBisonFan]

Even though we are not getting respect from the twin cities we are getting some respect from a great small town in Minnesota.

I am from a small town called Barnum, Minnesota which is about 36 miles south of Duluth and about 4 to 4 1/2 hours across the whole state from Fargo.

If you think NDSU doesn't have reach, think again:

http://www.barnum.k12.mn.us/?page=hsbulletin

Check out #9


Does Barnum have a kid that's playing for the Bison?

If not, the administration there is really making a reach. It's great.

A lot of small towns in Minnesota feel VERY disconnected from the Twin Cities. I speak from experience. Minnesotans call it something like the 'Golden Triangle.' The triangle is from St. Cloud, to the Twin Cities, to Rochester. It's where the golden people live.

The people outside of the triangle have lost their political power both in the state legislature and in D.C., because laws were changed to tip the political power toward the cities. Rural areas no longer have true representation. In a form of government that our country is supposed to have (a Republic), it's not the correct way to do things...but Minnesota has done it anyway.

In the days of Hubert Humphrey and other politicians from his era, outstate Minnesota was considered just as important as the cities area. Thusly, school districts all around the state had just as much money per child as...for example...Edina...in theory. If your district was poor...you received a large amount of money per pupil unit (student population). If your district was rich, you received less...or in some cases...none.

So if you were to take a drive from, say Stephen, MN in the north, and head south on hwy. 75 down to Luverne, and you visited the small town schools...you'd see some pretty amazing facilities and a history of 'equal' funding for every child...meaning that a kid in Ada (for example) would have just as much educational opportunity as any kid in the state. Stephen, MN actually has an entire gymnasium that they didn't use for a long time. It's a nice facility that 'was' mostly for storage. That's just one example. But when the laws to create 'equal' opportunities for girls kicked in, those facilities proved to be very beneficial. I've been told that I was the first band director in the state of Minnesota to bring a pep band to a girls' basketball game. I have no way to prove it. I convinced the superintendent that it was the right thing to do. He was concerned with the number of nights that the band students would be out playing, so what was the answer? We played for half of the girls' home games and half of the boys' home games. It opened a few eyes, and my ears were red a few times. But it was worth it. I'd do it all over again. Now, that's the standard practice in most schools. Let's just say that there were some band directors around the state that wanted my head. I enjoyed it. Once a maverick...always a maverick.

Since the huge yuppy shift to the triangle, and their change in political point of view (after they got money), the formula changed. They were able to tilt the power mostly to the triangle area, and the small towns outside of the triangle have been left to whither away.

Therefore, there is a huge divide between what is called out-state communities and the triangle area. 'Resentment' might be the operational word. People in Barnum might feel more of a connection to colleges in Eastern North Dakota than they do to the U of M. Or possibly, a connection to Bemidji State, Duluth, Morris, etc.

The history of equal funding was called the Minnesota Miracle...created by forward-thinking politicians (on both sides of the aisle) that saw value in small towns and small farms. Since the era of new politics (nationally) in the 80s, by design, rural America has suffered the fate of outstate Minnesota.

The triangle residents mostly think of the outstate area as wasteland...with the exception of their lake homes. That's where a lot of the arrogance toward North and South Dakota really comes from...the mighty triangle of upper living and 'self.'

That's who we're really playing this Saturday. I suspect that Barnum residents get it...not all...but a lot.

Sorry for the rambling, but I had to vent. The arrogance that we feel is mostly from the TC area. This thread points to the topic very clearly.

Thanks for bringing this up. We have a 'lot' in common with rural Minnesotans.

[lakesbison]

its amazing how many towns in the LAKES AREA, brainerd area, heck Walker, bemidji & Duluth are just WAITING to be PRO-NDSU!!

i meet people all the time out there that have a connection to NDSU or just like the way we play football!!

[CaBisonFan]

its amazing how many towns in the LAKES AREA, brainerd area, heck Walker, bemidji & Duluth are just WAITING to be PRO-NDSU!!

i meet people all the time out there that have a connection to NDSU or just like the way we play football!!

Yes...they like the way the Bison play...and they have some real respect for the Dakotas and the people.

Like I said, they have more in common with us, than with most TC people. They feel the connection.

[Jdubs21]

thats awesome

[extremerouge]

i love how they throw that in there between the no school announcement and what will be for lunch!

[99Bison]

its amazing how many towns in the LAKES AREA, brainerd area, heck Walker, bemidji & Duluth are just WAITING to be PRO-NDSU!!

i meet people all the time out there that have a connection to NDSU or just like the way we play football!!

Have to agree with that one. Fosston seems to be growing fans out of wood work.

[SlickVic]

Erbes was from Barney, ND.

yeah barney yeah thats it...used to just love that announcer at whap science he has come up with some slick nick names...used to introduce andre as andre "the giant" smith...and kevin "the incredible" hanks..."the pride of barney" david erbes or it might have been "the big man from barney" david erbes...pretty neat program and a real nice pipeline for the bison...just think hahn, erbes, and andre...hope theres more to come...anybody ever go to whap to whatch a football game? it looks like they got another big time prospect this year

[onbison09]

Does Barnum have a kid that's playing for the Bison?

If not, the administration there is really making a reach. It's great.

A lot of small towns in Minnesota feel VERY disconnected from the Twin Cities. I speak from experience. Minnesotans call it something like the 'Golden Triangle.' The triangle is from St. Cloud, to the Twin Cities, to Rochester. It's where the golden people live.

The people outside of the triangle have lost their political power both in the state legislature and in D.C., because laws were changed to tip the political power toward the cities. Rural areas no longer have true representation. In a form of government that our country is supposed to have (a Republic), it's not the correct way to do things...but Minnesota has done it anyway.

In the days of Hubert Humphrey and other politicians from his era, outstate Minnesota was considered just as important as the cities area. Thusly, school districts all around the state had just as much money per child as...for example...Edina...in theory. If your district was poor...you received a large amount of money per pupil unit (student population). If your district was rich, you received less...or in some cases...none.

So if you were to take a drive from, say Stephen, MN in the north, and head south on hwy. 75 down to Luverne, and you visited the small town schools...you'd see some pretty amazing facilities and a history of 'equal' funding for every child...meaning that a kid in Ada (for example) would have just as much educational opportunity as any kid in the state. Stephen, MN actually has an entire gymnasium that they didn't use for a long time. It's a nice facility that 'was' mostly for storage. That's just one example. But when the laws to create 'equal' opportunities for girls kicked in, those facilities proved to be very beneficial. I've been told that I was the first band director in the state of Minnesota to bring a pep band to a girls' basketball game. I have no way to prove it. I convinced the superintendent that it was the right thing to do. He was concerned with the number of nights that the band students would be out playing, so what was the answer? We played for half of the girls' home games and half of the boys' home games. It opened a few eyes, and my ears were red a few times. But it was worth it. I'd do it all over again. Now, that's the standard practice in most schools. Let's just say that there were some band directors around the state that wanted my head. I enjoyed it. Once a maverick...always a maverick.

Since the huge yuppy shift to the triangle, and their change in political point of view (after they got money), the formula changed. They were able to tilt the power mostly to the triangle area, and the small towns outside of the triangle have been left to whither away.

Therefore, there is a huge divide between what is called out-state communities and the triangle area. 'Resentment' might be the operational word. People in Barnum might feel more of a connection to colleges in Eastern North Dakota than they do to the U of M. Or possibly, a connection to Bemidji State, Duluth, Morris, etc.

The history of equal funding was called the Minnesota Miracle...created by forward-thinking politicians (on both sides of the aisle) that saw value in small towns and small farms. Since the era of new politics (nationally) in the 80s, by design, rural America has suffered the fate of outstate Minnesota.

The triangle residents mostly think of the outstate area as wasteland...with the exception of their lake homes. That's where a lot of the arrogance toward North and South Dakota really comes from...the mighty triangle of upper living and 'self.'

That's who we're really playing this Saturday. I suspect that Barnum residents get it...not all...but a lot.

Sorry for the rambling, but I had to vent. The arrogance that we feel is mostly from the TC area. This thread points to the topic very clearly.

Thanks for bringing this up. We have a 'lot' in common with rural Minnesotans.
That was REALLY well written. Lot's of good points. Get the same attitude sometimes in TX (not from everyone) that if it doesn't have pro sports teams, if the people don't drive Lexus or Hummer, mainly if it's not Texas, it sucks.

[SDbison]

Rep points for you CABisonFan. :)

[wilson]

If not for Minneapolis, Minnesota and North Dakota would be almost one in the same....Its like a whole other state once you get past St Cloud into MSP.

[THEsocalledfan]

Since I live in Duluth, I think I must comment on this:

He is absolutely right. Case in point:

Duluth has been trying to get a hockey arena approved for the Bulldogs for at least 4-5 years. All the politicians say they are for it, but guess what? They never get it donw as Duluth is not in the Metro. So, what do they do instead? Approve stadiums for the Twins in Gophers and just SH&t on Duluth.

Boy do I want to smoke those smug a-holes.