To Fellow Residents of Silver Bay

Why would you run for May­or? This is a question that I have been asked many times, espe­cially by my friends. They know this isn’t my gig.

I will try to explain it to you. First, you need to know I was born and raised in Silver Bay, went to school here, graduated, went to Vo-Tech in Alexandria, MN for Diesel Mechanics and then returned to Silver Bay. This was in 1986, Reserve Mining was shutting down and there were no jobs to be had. I eventually took a job as an automotive tech in Grand Marais. It was already being invaded by tourists back then. I worked there for a year and tried to make a go of it, even­tually realizing that I would never be able to afford my own place there. I decided to take a leap of faith and move to Nevada in search of a job in the gold mines. They were booming at the time and I landed a job in construction of those mines and a second job working directly for Barrick Gold Strike as a mechanic. There was a housing shortage out there because of all the mine develop­ment and I was lucky enough to land an apartment 80 miles from work. I made good money for the 3 years I was there, but knew I would not be able to afford to buy or build a home there. In 1990 I was offered a job at Cyprus Northshore Mining and decided to take a pay cut to return home. I missed the Minnesota Great Outdoors, you know, trees, wa­ter, cool lake breezes and snow. Upon returning, I rented a house in Silver Bay and spent the next 6 years enjoying my decision to come home.

In 1996ish I purchased 80 acres of raw land off the Mount Rockwood Road, just outside the city limits. Since then, I have been trying to get established at that location while raising a fam­ily.

As I said, I was raised in Sil­ver Bay and my mother still lives in the house I grew up in. That residence has been titled in the names of myself and my siblings for years now.

My plan is to reside at that address before the election and stay there through my term as mayor, should I be elected. It is my understanding that this is a concern for some.

The current criteria to run for Mayor in Silver Bay are; You must be over 18 and be a regis­tered voter living within the city at least 30 days before election day. That means drivers license, utility bills, mailing address, bank accounts all have to show your in-town address. Mine will. If you still have concerns, I encourage you to look at past and present city council. One lived in Her­mantown for years. I am told one is currently living in Moose Lake, and the current Mayor has kids living 5 miles out of town and vot­ing on city boards/commissions. Does that make it right? That’s for you to decide. Enough about that.

The reason for me to go through all of this is really pret­ty simple. I have been told many times by residents of Silver Bay that they do not want to live in Grand Marais. I agree. Remem­ber I said I could not afford to live there?

I am concerned that, with all of the planned development going on, our future generations are not going to be able to afford to live or build here either. The tourist jobs will not pay enough for any­one to live on, let alone thrive. I am concerned that the very peo­ple that we are catering to are the people who will eventually get Northshore Mining shut down. They have already got the fog horn shut down because it both­ered them. They were successful at getting some of the lights from the plant shut down because they could not see the stars or north­ern lights. This, to me, would be like moving in next to an airport or a rifle range then complaining about the noise. These are not people that support Northshore Mining or Silver Bay. They are here to take whatever they can get for free any way they can, all while convincing you that this is what you want. The plant, every­one knows, is the lifeline of Silver Bay. They are trying to convince you that you need a backup plan for “when” the plant fails, and they want you to believe that selling your soul to tourism is the answer. Please pay attention closely, these people do not have jobs. They specialize on living off of grants and donations. They have all day every day to sit and figure out who or which small city they will be able to fleece next. Right now, that is Silver Bay and its residents. These people have already infiltrated our committees and boards, putting themselves in decision making/advisory po­sitions. They know that our small community does not have the expertise or knowledge to know all the ins and outs and legalities that come with these projects. They have already talked our cur­rent administration into giving a non-vetted individual, who claims to be a contractor with nothing more than an old skidsteer and a dirt plane, 20 acres of land for $1 (with plans of another 30 acres later. Oh, I am sorry. Was that a secret?) This city owned land is just that, city owned. It is not owned by the council or the Mayor or the Administrator. None of the city’s land should be sold without the OK of the citizens. That land deal should have been voted on by the public and every dime of the $300,000 of taxpay­er money that has already been spent on it should also have had the citizens’ blessing.

The citizens of Silver Bay have been trying to stop this kind of underhanded crap from happen­ing. The current administration is not listening. This same admin­istration is taking everything the “voluntary” Economic Develop­ment Authority Advisor is telling them as Gospel. (I currently live below him and can see him through my high powered binoc­ulars, up on that hill, smiling all the way to multiple banks!) Luck­ily, investigative reporter John Ramos of the Duluth Monitor has shown up (I strongly suggest you subscribe to it) to bring some of this stuff to the public. (By the way, he has a pretty interesting interview on there of the current Mayor that I strongly suggest you check out. If you can’t find it, get a hold of me. I may have a copy of it for you!) I believe once you read that article, you will be con­vinced Silver Bay is in dire need of a new Mayor or maybe more!

So you ask, Why Dean Floen for Mayor?

To get things back on track… to take back the keys to the city (lit­erally) and put them back in the hands of the tax paying citizens. (Oh ya, just so you know, the city’s own “Volunteer Economic Advisor” currently is $14,000 be­hind on his own property taxes. When asked about it, he said it is an economic strategy. May­be someday he will put a letter in this paper explaining it so we can all take advantage of it!) If I become Mayor I will not do busi­ness with anyone who cannot keep current on their taxes, es­pecially someone who is asking the city for something. I believe the current Mayor needs to go. He is sharing a sleeping bag with these people (Should I become Mayor, we will have a sleeping bag burning party in the City Hall parking lot. You will all be wel­come to attend. Maybe if we all pitch in we can get the President of the 501c Rocky Wall Produc­tions to deliver us one of those Rocky Wall pizzas to split! MMM, that sounds delicious! – Notice I gave you a little plug there Nel­son.) Yes, you’re next! The cur­rent Mayor is known to be an investor. After all, he has enough money from the LeBlanc Dynasty that, if he loses a little, it will still be OK. He recently embarked on a new gravel pit venture, but you have already probably heard about it. It’s weird, because he was instrumental in getting Boat House Bay, a project that I am sure will need many yards of gravel and fill to complete, un­derway. I would be willing to bet, if he doesn’t already have the contracts for gravel to the project or contractors signed they will be soon. What was that? Conflict of interest you say? Na, just his way of doing business.

So, you ask why run for May­or? I don’t think I have a choice. Do you?

There’s a lot more to this sto­ry, so stay tuned. If the Mayor doesn’t voluntarily step down, there will be more of this coming. I am not working alone! Get to know your Mayor and what he is up to. It’s easy, follow the money. There is nothing more important to him!

Thanks for your time!
“The Underdog” Dean Floen