Northern Minnesota is under a new alert until Friday at 7 p.m.

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

We enjoyed our week in the the national spotlight and somehow we'll find a way to carry on as we slip back into flyover country status.

But the post-Super Bowl strategy by business leaders and politicians is worth keeping a close eye on.

 -- the paper is owned by billionaire Glen Taylor, a beneficiary of taxpayer dollars for his private business -- is worth paying attention to, even though it was mostly ignored by the glitz of game day.

 flow of taxpayer dollars for more Super Bowl-style events.

Sound like the fix is in on the coming "study?"

The Strib, whose publisher and CEO, Michael J. Klingensmith serves on the organization whose task force will be conducting an assessment of the idea, says Minnesota should be more like Texas, which calculates how much of the state's tax revenue comes from out-of-state visitors and then dedicates that to big events.

Texans buy the double-speak of politicians that they're not spending their money; they're spending that of out-of-towners.

What the paper doesn't note, of course, is the reticence of Super Bowl organizers to open the books and let the taxpayers see whether the public money was worth it. Maybe it was; maybe it wasn't, but it seems odd to suggest a new spigot of public cash should be opened when the same promoters want to shield us from something, mostly likely math that doesn't add up.

Is that a wrong conclusion? Fine. Prove it.

On and around Nicollet Mall, Super Bowl business varied

Bob Collins

Author

We enjoyed our week in the the national spotlight and somehow we'll find a way to carry on as we slip back into flyover country status.

But the post-Super Bowl strategy by business leaders and politicians is worth keeping a close eye on.

2cb432-20180201-superbowl-loppet-sprints10

Hooked on attention, biz leaders want more public money for big events

Go Deeper.

Like this?