There has been a sudden uptick in the traffic that flows by our Prentice St. office in downtown Granite these days. The detouring of highway traffic through downtown Granite has made it a bit interesting when you look over your shoulder to back away from the curb.
Those motorists and truck drivers are getting treated to some new vistas this week. The constant flow of traffic is seeing the community’s scenic riverside location from a new perspective these days. At the same time, travelers on Highway 212, at least those who aren’t familiar with the back-road routes that most of the local drivers are taking going east, are treated to the scenic by-way route past Upper Sioux Agency State Park. The vistas along the edge of the bluff and the shady and winding route along the river are bound to impress those drivers who never had a clue about the scenery along that route.
The joint section of Highway 212 and Highway 23 is one of the most traveled roads in this part of the state. MnDOT has categorized the primary highways in the state as Interregional Corridors and the only two roads that fit into that category in our part of Minnesota are Highway 212 and Highway 23 and both of them roll through here. The heavy traffic on those routes is the very reason that MnDOT is undertaking the repair and preservation of the concrete surface east of Granite. It’s good the road is undergoing that critical work before it is damaged beyond repair. The concrete rehab work is only going to last around four weeks so the inconvenience of the detours aren’t so bad and it should teach us all to look a little closer when we are backing away from the curb.
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While the detour this summer isn’t too bad, next summer will be a bigger challenge. MnDOT is making plans to do a much more extensive concrete rehab project on the segment of Highway 23 between Highway 212 and Highway 7 at Clara City. From what some of the MnDOT engineers are saying, Highway 23 will be closed for a good stretch of time next summer while crews are working over the concrete surface that is 30 plus years old. It’s hard to believe that “new 23” is that old. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that they were grading that new route between here and Maynard and on to Clara City, Since it was in the late 1970s, some simple math shows that more time has passed than I seem to remember. It was “just the other day” when all that happened, wasn’t it?
Highway 23 is one of the few diagonal routes anywhere in Minnesota and there is plenty of traffic flowing southwest to northeast and vice versa. As a result of the constant pounding of heavy traffic there seems to be no doubt that the road needs attention. Next year’s roadwork will shift traffic patterns around again and drivers will get another chance to see some new views of the Minnesota River valley.
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The weekend started out with the good news that I won’t need another colonoscopy for five more years. At the risk of being too public about matters that most folks keep private, I thought I‘d share this for a good reason: Thousands of people die of colon cancer each year and that doesn’t have to happen. It is easily detected and treated but if it is left undetected, it can kill you.
Some folks are more predisposed to certain types of cancer and most thinking seems to be that if you are 50 years old you need to have a colonoscopy. A lot of men and women do just that. There are, however, a lot of folks who do not and that is a cause for concern. The whole procedure is rather easy. I’ll admit that it isn’t a lot of fun drinking the large amount of laxative the night before the procedure but that’s the worst of it and it really isn’t all that bad.
The whole experience at the Granite hospital was pleasant to say the least. The staff is upbeat and keeps things on the light side as you drift off into slumber. When you wake up, the colonoscopy is done and you are given a report from the surgeon. Maybe the worst of it all was not being able to drink any coffee that morning so that first cup after leaving the operating room tasted good beyond belief.
The rule of the day is to have an afternoon of relaxation and who couldn’t use one of those? You really shouldn’t need a reason to relax but a colonoscopy is a perfect excuse to reward yourself with a bit of time off. Besides, it’s the doctor’s orders.
Before you conclude that all of this news is a bit much for what usually is just a friendly column, please consider the consequences of not using this valuable tool for the early detection of colon cancer.
Medical procedures are never inexpensive but neither is losing days, months or years from your life. Everyone should have a colonoscopy when they hit 50 years of age. It is a good example of why we need to have health insurance for everyone in this country. Good health shouldn’t be just for those who can afford it. Do you know anybody who can afford to have bad health?
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We took a drive down to Brookings, South Dakota last Sunday where the community’s huge annual art fair is held at the beautiful Pioneer Park along Highway14 on the west end of town. Friends Jo and Dale Pederson are annual exhibiters at the art fair, showing their rustic willow and oak tabletop furniture. Their furniture is displayed under a shelter that Dale built using post and beam construction. In a sea of very interesting stoneware, paintings, glass work and jewelry displayed in various types of cloth shelters or under the open sky, their sturdy shelter looks like a home away from home and attracts a lot of attention.
The Brookings Art Fair is limited to 200 artists who range from near and far in the Midwest and from points across the country. The large crowds each year enjoy live entertainment and plenty of good food. It is only 90 or so miles away and plenty of folks from our area get there to take it in.
The art fair is highly organized and well run and attracts lots of people and plenty of additional vendors in the areas near the park. Brookings has been blessed with a sizeable college and is a town that most folks call a very desirable place to live.
It was a fun way to whittle away a Sunday afternoon. The trip to Brookings gives you an interesting look at the high ground to our southwest where the windmills have sprouted like sunflowers on the July Dakota landscape.
