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The history of St. Cloud, like so many towns across the Midwest, is tied to the river and the railroad. It's a living history, with the later of these two features at the heart of current conversations around what the future holds for St. Cloud's East Side. St. Cloud is the 10th largest city in the state of Minnesota. It sits at the intersection of two rivers, four major roadways, and a rail line that's part of the Amtrak Empire Builder route. The bulk of St. Cloud sits on the sunset side of the Mississippi, though the rail depot is on the East Side, and was responsible for much of the early prosperity on that side of the river. The East Side is home to many places that once were. This is not unique to St. Cloud, either. Having lived in several small towns myself, I know that many places that once were are no more, and for-sale signs in commercial buildings are a familiar part of the “old downtown” landscape. I also know that many towns, large and small, have decided to dedicate the time and effort into reimagining what once was into what will be. Today's episode is going to touch on two inextricably linked topics: Revitalization and public transportation. Guests: Steve Laraway, St. Cloud City Council Member, Ward 2 Anne Buckvold, Social Worker, Mental Health Provider, Artist, St. Cloud Times Columnist, Transportation Advocate Show Notes: Benton Co. History: The Story of The Once Thriving Benton City East St. Cloud: From boom town to 'ghost town' East End Redevelopment Opportunities St. Cloud East End Small Area Plan (PDF) What Greater Minnesota Got Out Of 2015 Legislative Session BNSF Rail Improvements Department of Transportation Greater Minnesota Transit Plan Episode Managers: Scott Wells Theresa Meis Produced by Riverside Productions LLC Music by Epidemic Sound Twitter @MinnCentral Facebook YouTube (for closed captioning) Featured Songs: Building Blocks - Josef Falkenskold Northbound Train - Marc Torch Time Will Fix You - Alex Ora Winter Solstice - Gavin Luke So True - Hysics Vagabond Train - Dez Moran
KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — Amtrak's Empire Builder train has resumed daily service from Chicago to Seattle and Portland, including a dozen stops along Montana's Hi-Line, after cutbacks made due to the pandemic.
In 1913, New York publicist John Duval Gluck founded an association to answer Santa's mail. For 15 years its volunteers fulfilled children's Christmas wishes, until Gluck's motivation began to shift. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the rise and fall of "Santa's Secretary" in New York City. We'll also survey some splitting trains and puzzle over a difference between twins. Intro: Edward Lear once had to prove his own existence. Paul Dirac proposed that a math problem could be solved with -2 fish. Sources for our feature on John Duval Gluck and the Santa Claus Association: Alex Palmer, The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York, 2015. Harry Pelle Hartkemeier, John Duvall Gluck, and Emma Croft Germond, "Social Science and Belief," Social Science 9:2 (April 1934), 202-208. Eve M. Kahn, "'Mama Says That Santa Claus Does Not Come to Poor People,'" New York Times, Nov. 26, 2015. Alex Palmer, "Meet the Con Artist Who Popularized Writing to Santa Claus," New York Post, Sept. 20, 2015. Kathleen Read, "What Becomes of Santa Claus Letters?", [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Dec. 21, 1930, 3. "'Santa Claus' Gluck Ignores His Critics," New York Times, Dec. 11, 1928. "Submits Accounting on Santa Claus Fund," New York Times, Jan. 11, 1928. "Santa Claus Group Again Balks Inquiry," New York Times, Dec. 31, 1927. "Santa Claus, Inc., Now Offers Books," New York Times, Dec. 25, 1927. "Santa Claus Group in Postal Inquiry," New York Times, Dec. 24, 1927. "Santa Claus Group Under Coler's Fire," New York Times, Dec. 23, 1927. "Now the Santa Claus Letters Are Falling Into the Mail," New York Times, Dec. 4, 1927. "Santa Claus Association Will Send Gifts To 12,000 Poor Children Who Wrote Letters," New York Times, Dec. 20, 1925. "Thousands Write Santa," Richmond [Va.] Times-Dispatch, Dec. 21, 1919, 4. "Probe Upholds Contentions of the Boy Scout Leaders," Harrisburg [Pa.] Telegraph, Aug. 24, 1917. John Duval Gluck, "Boy Scouts: Suggestion That the Rival Bodies End Their Quarrel and Get to Work," New York Times, Aug. 19, 1917. Max Abelman and John Duval Gluck, "Methods Proposed to Control Charity; Plans for a Charity Service League," New York Times, Aug. 5, 1917. "Making Santa Real to Poor Children," New York Times, Nov. 22, 1914. "Santa Claus Association Incorporated," New York Times, March 26, 1914. "Played Santa Claus and Solved an Economic Problem," New York Times, Jan. 18, 1914. "Letters to Santa Really Answered," New York Times, Dec. 25, 1913. "Plays Santa Claus to Poor," New York Times, Dec. 12, 1913. "Santa Claus Will Answer His Mail," New York Times, Dec. 7, 1913. "Form Santa Claus Body," New York Times, Dec. 6, 1913. USPS Operation Santa. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "S1 (Munich)" (accessed Aug. 22, 2020). S1 (Munich) schedule. Wikipedia, "Dividing Train" (accessed Sept. 17, 2020). "France in Detail: Getting Around," Lonely Planet, accessed Aug. 22, 2020. "'Where the Train Will Divide...' - Portion Working," Southern Electric Group (accessed Aug. 22, 2020). Wikitravel, "Wakayama" (accessed Aug. 22, 2020). Amtrak Empire Builder schedule, March 16, 2020. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Sharon. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!
Join World Footprints as we take you on a journey through a national treasure—the State of Montana. We covered just a small section of this wonderful state—Glacier Country--but as you’ll discover from Part I of this series, there’s a reason why many celebrities (Ted Turner, David Letterman, among others) call Montana a “home away from home.” Our first stop through Glacier country begins in the town of Whitefish, an enchanting art and cultural center, and you’ll meet the proprietors of the Good Medicine Lodge. (One of the most extraordinary places we have ever stayed.) Whitefish is also the gateway to our second stop—Glacier National Park. We will take you deep inside Glacier National Park to share some of its charm with the help of Mike Davies of Glacier Guides. Then we’ll travel by rail on the Amtrak Empire Builder to Havre, Montana, where we’ll experience the Havre Underground, a town beneath the town. Finally, we’ll end the first part of this journey with a stop that takes us on safari (yes, a safari) on the Great Plains with Jacob Dusek of Sage Safaris.
Join World Footprints as we take you on a journey through a national treasure—the State of Montana. We covered just a small section of this wonderful state—Glacier Country--but as you’ll discover from Part I of this series, there’s a reason why many celebrities (Ted Turner, David Letterman, among others) call Montana a “home away from home.” Our first stop through Glacier country begins in the town of Whitefish, an enchanting art and cultural center, and you’ll meet the proprietors of the Good Medicine Lodge. (One of the most extraordinary places we have ever stayed.) Whitefish is also the gateway to our second stop—Glacier National Park. We will take you deep inside Glacier National Park to share some of its charm with the help of Mike Davies of Glacier Guides. Then we’ll travel by rail on the Amtrak Empire Builder to Havre, Montana, where we’ll experience the Havre Underground, a town beneath the town. Finally, we’ll end the first part of this journey with a stop that takes us on safari (yes, a safari) on the Great Plains with Jacob Dusek of Sage Safaris.
Join World Footprints as we take you on a journey through a national treasure—the State of Montana. We covered just a small section of this wonderful state—Glacier Country--but as you’ll discover from Part I of this series, there’s a reason why many celebrities (Ted Turner, David Letterman, among others) call Montana a “home away from home.” Our first stop through Glacier country begins in the town of Whitefish, an enchanting art and cultural center, and you’ll meet the proprietors of the Good Medicine Lodge. (One of the most extraordinary places we have ever stayed.) Whitefish is also the gateway to our second stop—Glacier National Park. We will take you deep inside Glacier National Park to share some of its charm with the help of Mike Davies of Glacier Guides. Then we’ll travel by rail on the Amtrak Empire Builder to Havre, Montana, where we’ll experience the Havre Underground, a town beneath the town. Finally, we’ll end the first part of this journey with a stop that takes us on safari (yes, a safari) on the Great Plains with Jacob Dusek of Sage Safaris.
Zines on a train! In this issue, Alex Wrekk and Derek Neuland are on the Amtrak Empire Builder train on their way to Chicago for the Chicago Zine Fest. With the train running two hours late, they talk about their new zines that will debut at the zine fest, what they're excited to do in Chicago, and how bad train food is. Chicago Zine Fest Empire Builder