Letter: We should join Minnesota

Dear Editor,

We Hudson-area people have to listen to radio broadcasts and watch television programs exclusively from the Twin Cities. We’re bombarded with commercials from businesses west of the St. Croix River. We follow the Franken/Coleman debates morning, noon and night.

When we go to vote for the governor, vice governor and other government entities, we’re surprised to see names on the ballot we don’t even recognize. I’ve heard rumors that some Hudson voters question whether they received correct ballots because they’ve decided to vote for Pawlenty and he’s not on the list.

Since many of us travel to the big cities to work and play, I propose that the western third of St. Croix County secede from Wisconsin and become a new county in Minnesota, with all the privileges and duties thereto appertaining. I suggest we name the county “Hudson” since Minnesota has no Hudson City or County.

On a completely different subject, I’d like to present the facts that prices of scrap metal for recycling have hit an apparent bottom. Ordinary iron is down to $0.01 a pound from $0.035 last summer. Pure aluminum is $0.27 as opposed to the former $0.65, and mixed iron and aluminum is $0.02 down from $0.05. These prices make it impossible to justify recycling metal, driving to St. Paul to unload, and return to Hudson.

The past two summers I have recycled over 3,000 pounds of metals from junk mowers, but when I factor in the two hours it takes to recycle a simple walk-behind mower by taking it apart and separating the iron from the aluminum, it’s hard to justify the time spent and labor lost.

Tags: opinion, hudson, letter, minnesota, recycling, prices