I’d like to see a popcorn stand in Huber Park in the summer when they have concerts and movies. That’s a little thing - but draws folks in nonetheless. I started this discussion and never intended to say that there’s anything wrong with Pablos, Wampachs or any business currently here. I’m just saying that we have a long way to go in the retail section of town when it comes to curb appeal. And, we have a complete lack of any upscale restaurants and stores. Other communitiies court developers to build the Shops at Arbor Lakes or Southwest Crossing in EP, etc. Shakopee does not seem to do that. Again, will the park n’ ride they want to put at 169 & Marschall look like the park n’ ride in EP with all it’s restaurants and landscaping? Or, will it look like a concrete ramp or lot? Will the revamped 101 have a median with landscaping and trees - or just more concrete walls? When you come into town via 101 - it should be a lovely entrance - but it is very drab and uninviting.

Yeah, I should have put a disclaimer on the link, mea culpa.

I stand corrected Philip. …but couldn’t you have warned me about the page you were linking to? That dude’s neck tattoo really scared the crap out of me. :)

Normally I’d be the last one to come to created equal’s defense, but I know of one time when she apologized for being wrong. Here is the link…
created equal’s mea culpa

arthur……I will make popcorn while
we wait.

Equal says…“Why is it so hard for you to admit that people know things that you don’t” Equal pi$$ off!! Last week I admitted that Frog made a valid point that I never thought much about. My original comment was that Mystic Lake doesn’t contribute to the state coffers at all. Frog then reminded me about the payroll taxes they pay to the government on their employees. I then admitted to Frog that I hadn’t thought of that when I made that blanket statement. Frog was right and I wasn’t. I also admitted to you that the first I heard of the Blockbuster bankruptcy was when Ryan stated it. Let’s hear some examples of where you admitted that you were wrong on anything? You still owe OldMan an apology from the illegal immigrant stabbing story from the summer where you called him a racist for hoping that the cops checked the immigration status of the alleged perps. As it turned out Old Man WAS correct in that 2 of the 3 perps WERE illegal. I noticed you never apologized.
http://shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/update_man_stabbed_death_four_others_wounded_20_year_old_expected_be_charged-106

Mayor Schmitt…..Tear down this wall.
(this sounds hauntingly familiar)

Good idea with the pipes, problem is you are coming in well after the fact. Now it is in place we are going to have to wait till it needs replacement which given its strength will not be real soon.
Hold onto the idea and help out with current projects so that another example of the mistake is not committed. I doubt very much we will get the money allocated to tear down what is perfectly good (albeit ugly) to replace it with some prettier, especially now in these times when the only thing we have in surplus is deficit.

I don’t think it is hard for Arthur to admit anything, but when you attack people the way you do, and question the credibility of anything a handfull of us say… Like the guy in Cool Hand Luke said, “If ya wants it that way you gets it that way”.
It’s a product of what do… right or wrong!!!

You can use the Pipes filed with concrete, just not the Shakopee Wall. The Pipes at least are open. If you paint a wall and chain link fence… it will still be a wall and chain link fence. We need to look at a little more form, but we still need function. It’s like they had the maintenance crew a Rahr Milling put it in. They will make sure that nothing will get through it, but more then likely, it will not be the prettiest thing.

Stuff it, Arthur.
Why is it so hard for you to admit that people know things you don’t, and for reasons that have nothing to do with search engines?
I know about Blockbuster from relatives who started with the company in Florida and relocated with them when they moved to Dallas. They’re now unemployed, their home is in foreclosure, and their company stock is worthless.
And if that’s not good enough for you, google this: %#$@!

I agree with the hopeful comments. I disagree with the comparison to Watts and Harlem. I have seen both those cities.
I think the City can do a much better job at planning for the future. Shakopee needs a council with vision. It seems sometimes they only worry about saving every dollar. I don’t think you can, for example, tear down the downtown and just start all over from scratch. I do think a long term plan is way overdue though. There are things the council needs to afford doing (like police & fire protection). There are times when the council can’t afford to do something. But, there are also times when the council needs to look out for the future, and can’t afford not to do something.
There are ordinances that could be put in place. There are code enforcements that could be done. But in the end, I think things can get better. Growing up I never lived anywhere long enough to build a bond to any one place, but when I moved to Shakopee, I made it my hometown and put down roots here. It’s my beleif that if enough people come together and want to make Shakopee a better place, it can happen.
Busineses are either going to thrive or their not. But some sort of plan and vision can help make them attractive and accesible to customers. If businesses are doing well then jobs are created, and the whole area thrives.
We can complain all we want, but I suggest we roll up our sleeves and work to make this a better place for everyone.

I thought Shakopee was the butt of jokes for NOT having a wall around the prison, but more seriously - consider the intersection. If we were to reduce the limit to 25-30 mph on the river cossing starting at 212 then a lower impact barrier could be considered but a T intersection with housing opposite at the end of a 50 mph stretch dictates something with some serious stopping power.
This is not to say that something could be done to pretty it up some, murals, even a simple solid shade in a color not concrete.

Shakopee made a huge mistake when they put the big retail/Senior living building in behind the Prison Wall. We need to remove that wall, it looks like a NASCAR turn barrier.
All of first avenue looks like crap. I think they just need to maintain the area and slap up some paint. They have no standards for businesses facing first street. You have to set standards and expectations!!!

Equal…the first I heard of the blockbuster bankruptsy was from Ryans post the other day. As for you…..I bet you didn’t know anything about it either until Ryan’s post. It’s amazing how you sound like you googled it for further information after you read ryans post.
Why do you feel this need to be superior to others? ….because you’re not. Also…for all the times you’ve been wrong I’ve NEVER heard you admit it. Hmmm.
Also, from your post I’ve seen that you once again have resorted to name-calling. If that’s how you need to play then I really think you should go pound sand.

Yes, Ryan, that’s exactly why Blockbuster went under - they couldn’t compete with Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, etc. or Redbox and cable video-on-demand.
By the time they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2010, Blockbuster was over $1 billion in debt and had already closed a thousand stores. The plan was to use bankruptcy protection to break leases on the rest.
Arthur aka the Great Bulloney: You can’t “predict” something that already happened. You need a new crystal ball or a new gig.

Last fall there was a very successful Art Crawl in downtown Shakopee. It will be held at the end of Sept this year and it is gaining a lot of popularity. Keep your eyes open for that, that will be a big deal, I promise you. The Shakopee Downtown Partnership meets once a month and would welcome anybody that is willing to participate in making downtown Shakopee a better place to do business. There are 2 new businesses called Karizma and Tupelo. I would consider both of them ‘upscale retail’. Paul’s Bicycle Shop is always bustling with activity. Valley Sport and Bill’s Toggery are long established/respected entities. Has anybody seen The Quilt Shop? Wampach’s might be ‘old shakopee’, but it sure is iconic. Dangerfield’s is re-opening Panzanella and now has a comedy club! Pablo’s is a huge draw, same as Turtle’s. We can’t expect these franchises to come in here and change everything, the change is up to us. I see lots of great discussion on these blogs and desires for Shakopee to be a better place, but not much action. Once that bridge is done downtown and 101 redone, along with resurfaced roads in the downtown… all by this fall…. Our downtown will be very appealing. Things are happening, you guys, and we would love your help to make them happen. I would love to see a music festival by the river, but that needs support. Same as a bike/run race. Any ideas or help for the Shakopee Downtown Prtnrshp can be called in @ 952.955.6421.

Blockbuster is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, so they are shutting down many stores nationwide, not just locally. The success of Netflix played a large role and other video on demand services (Amazon, Hulu, etc.) that customers can access with set-top boxes and apps built into TVs nowadays. Many of the pay-per-download movie titles are cheaper than renting a disc, and the convenience of not having to make a trip to a movie store.

Holy Smokes! While I predicted in my above comment that we’d lose Blockbuster Video within a year due to Family Video coming to town…I didn’t think it would be THIS fast. I just drove by Blockbuster and they have a “store closing” sign visible above the store. More vacant space in Shakopee I guess.

I can’t imagine any part of Shakopee that is scary. I also don’t think that the town is beyond hope and can never have anything upscale other than the many very nice neighborhoods. We need to hold our elected officials responsible for failing to recognize the need for this kind of growth. The zoning laws permit whoever will pay the rent to move in, thus a nail salon on every corner - right? The ordinances allow that strip mall on Marschall Road to operate with no parking lot lights and burned out shop front lighting and peeling paint. No one has the vision to pursue developers who might build the kind of thing we are talking about. The new athletic park is landscaped with cut weeds rather than grass…the nearby yards look better than the park. Let’s not even get into the bumpy roads with a patch every 20 inches…no landscaping or decorative medians here. They plan to replace the Denny Hecker dealership with a park n’ ride. As I said earlier, will it have the landscaping and restaurants that Eden Prairie has with SW Station? I bet we’ll get a parking ramp and that’ it. We need to replace the cities elected officials with people of vision at every opportunity.