From people watching to making yard a parking lot, neighbors of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds adjust to the ordeal of hundreds of thousands of people descending on the Como area. MPR’s Kate Moos talks with a few of the local residents.
From people watching to making yard a parking lot, neighbors of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds adjust to the ordeal of hundreds of thousands of people descending on the Como area. MPR’s Kate Moos talks with a few of the local residents.
SPEAKER 1: You know, you got some of the best people watching you ever want in your whole life right now, this next 10 days. It's great. I love it. And sit in the backyard, and drink my coffee, and people watch.
KATE MOOS: [? Donna ?] Berens lives a few blocks away from the Fair Gate on Arlington. She also has a chance to fair watch in her job as a clerk at a convenience store, just a block or two from the main gate. With the traffic jams, the noise, the crowds, and the mess, you'd think area residents might grow weary of the great Minnesota get together.
For example, [? Baron's ?] boss at the Tom Thum where she works, Joe Dorsett, reports that while crowds increase, total sales tend to decline during the fair because regular customers avoid the crunch. Other businesses near the Fairgrounds report similar problems, but everyone in the neighborhood seems pretty complacent about the 12 day ordeal, even if they don't share the enthusiasm of Jack [? Logans, ?] who lives a few blocks down Como from the grounds.
JACK LOGANS: We enjoy it. I take vacation during the fair, and so I can be out here and watch all the people. Sure, that doesn't make any difference to us. It pleases the people, and it's not bad around here. Yes we do have more crime around here during this time, but they don't bother us up right here.
SPEAKER 2: No rowdiness or litter or stuff?
JACK LOGANS: Oh, yeah, you always have litter and that stuff. But this is the first year they haven't put baskets out in front of the house and that stuff for it. So the people could throw away their trash. My kids just go out in the morning and then pick up the yard.
KATE MOOS: Neighbors here seem to find ways to join in the hoopla. And while some businesses may suffer somewhat from the inconvenience, a six-year-old named [? Shatina, ?] is expecting to make a killing.
SPEAKER 2: What are you doing?
SHATINA: I'm fair parking.
SPEAKER 2: Where are you sending people down to park?
SHATINA: Over by in the back of our yard down there.
SPEAKER 2: I see. How much does it cost?
SHATINA: $3.
SPEAKER 2: You do a pretty good business?
SHATINA: Yeah. And my brother's down there working, too.
SPEAKER 2: I see. How many cars can you take down there?
SHATINA: I think about I can fill a whole yard up. And I can get little cars and big cars.
KATE MOOS: For some in the neighborhood, parking is a boon, for others, a bane. At the International Institute on Como Avenue, [? Micheline ?] Raymond says, business comes close to a halt.
MICHELINE RAYMOND: Well, we not only can learn classes, but we just cannot function because we don't have a parking lot. Our parking lot is taken away by the State Fair. As far as business goes, we're practically closed.
KATE MOOS: Nonetheless, Raymond, like others in the area, seem to take the inconvenience in stride. Those who don't, they indicate, either move elsewhere or leave town for the duration. This is Kate Moos reporting.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
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