Here’s what MNDOT spends your tax dollars on; the state telling cities what kinds of signs they can plant along the road:
Two new signs along Highway 57 on either end of town say it all: “Welcome to Historic Mantorville.” The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) “outdoor advertising control agent” who recently conducted a drive-by state sign inspection may have worn out his welcome, however, after notifying city hall that three older signs along the state highway in this small, southeastern Minnesota town violate state regulations and must go, including one for the community’s annual Marigold Days celebration.
“It’s like his job to go around and look at signs,” said Camille Reger, Mantorville city clerk. “I’m just surprised that after how long [the sign] it’s been there that they’re cracking down now. What’s the reason behind it? “
Possible reasons:
a) The state’s roads are in such fantastic shape that MNDOT finally worked its way down to “The Mantorville Signs” crisis.
b) Someone finally got around to it.
c) MNDOT needs to gin up more work for itself, to justify more spending. To justify more budget. To justify taxing your sorry ass back to the 1970’s.
State regulations allow cities to post identification signs on state highways at each entrance to town. For years the Marigold Days signs informally served that purpose for Mantorville—until the new welcome signs were erected in 2010. According to a city employee, a MnDOT road sign inspector recently reclassified one of the Marigold Days signs as an advertisement that he believes is also in the right of way. This, despite the fact that the offending sign has been in place for at least 20 years. MnDOT ordered city employees to remove the sign.
Isn’t this a sign that Minnesota has just too damn much government?
Happy to Obey for a Better Minnesota!!
I hope the Mantorville leadership tells the State to pound sand and shove the sign up there, too!
By the way, if anyone thinks that dealing with the IRS is scary, try dealing with the revenooers in this state! As most of our government entities are, it is a draconian cluster f&*%!
Next up: MnDOT inspections of residential driveways. To protect the environment, of course.
If I was a city worker, I’d tell MnDOT to pound road salt. What can they do – fire you? Yeah, right, fire a civil employee.
Are you familiar with the steet sign controversy? The Soviet style gov’t in the Fed’l DOT said no town or city can have any street name signs (the ones on the corners that give the street name) with all caps. You must have the first letter in upper case, the rest in lower case letters. Other wise there will be chaos in the streets.
Example…New York City is being forced to spend $27,000,000 this winter on replacing all their street signs.
Your tax dollars at work.
Hey, Kerm, be glad you don’t live in Vermont. In Vermont you can be arrested for drunk driving sitting in your own car on concrete blocks in your own driveway since the driveway is connected to the road. I kid you not, they’re that insane there.
nerdbert;
I’ll back you up on that one, but you forgot to highlight the most absurd part – even if the engine is out of the car!
I had a friend that lived there for awhile and he shared some of the same Vermont moonbattery with me.
I guess that they are all juiced up on maple sugar!
Nerdbert – What do they do if you are sitting in your own car on concrete blocks in your own driveway doing bong hits or consuming ‘shrooms? I’m guessing they just settle in next to you for a hit.
That and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.