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State Representative Joe Atkins
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4192
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
NEWS COLUMN
HAPPY BIRTHDAY INVER GLEN
“English muffin, juice and a library" is probably the most unusual breakfast combo ever ordered at Bridgeman’s, but that’s what I asked for on a cold day in January of 1997. I had been cajoling county officials about getting a library in Inver Grove, and set up breakfast with Assistant County Administrator Dave Unmacht that morning to talk more about it.
Unmacht brought along a preliminary draft of the County’s Capital Improvement Plan. I was taken aback when I saw that a library was not planned for Inver Grove until 2010+. I didn’t know what the plus sign meant, but I knew it wasn’t good.
Unwilling to just accept that delay I started a campaign that morning that, quite honestly, I thought would fail. The first calls were to the President of Inver Hills and to the IGH School Superintendent to propose a land swap that would allow for donation of a site for the library. With a supportive City Council and School Board, and a great community effort, donations were also offered to the County to make it easier for them to build the Library immediately.
The plan was brought to County Commissioner Jim Mueller, who shepherded it through the approval process, ultimately winning a narrow victory on a 4-3 vote of the County Board.
Inver Glen Library opened on March 11, 2000. It celebrated its 10th anniversary this past week.
My thanks go out to the hundreds of folks who had a hand in making it happen.
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