(The Associated Press circulated the following article on August 23.)
MINNEAPOLIS — A Mayo Clinic-led coalition ramped up its fight against a proposed expansion of the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad through southern Minnesota with a full-page newspaper ad Tuesday urging President Bush to block a federal loan.
The group, calling its campaign the “Track the Truth” initiative, took out an ad in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that criticizes the railroad’s safety record and questions the wisdom of a $2.5 billion federal loan. The going rate for such an ad in a weekday edition is nearly $24,000.
Bush was in Minnesota for a fundraiser and health care event on Thursday.
“Mr. President, you can stop this deal in its tracks,” said the ad, which has a large photo of derailed train cars and criticizes DM&E’s safety record.
“Buying expensive ads does not change the basic fact that 55 of the 56 communities on the rail line support the upgrade project and that the Rochester Coalition stands alone in opposition,” said DM&E spokesman Jafar Karim.
The ad represents an escalation of the anti-expansion campaign by the Mayo Clinic, Olmsted County, the city of Rochester and its chamber of commerce. A rally to spread the same message is planned for Wednesday in Rochester.
Mayo has been actively campaigning against the Minnesota portion of the railroad’s national plan to build about 280 miles of new track and upgrade 600 miles of existing track.
“It has been primarily a behind-the-scenes, in-the-federal-agencies effort,” said Mayo spokesman Lee Aase. “We’ve come to the point where we need to get the people engaged.”
The ad points readers to a Web site for the coalition, which doesn’t specifically mention Mayo’s role. Aase said the Rochester Coalition is seeking to broaden its opposition network beyond the city.