Continued: 'Vote yes' is good for the Gander

Gary Leaf stood and began his sales pitch, urging the small gathering to vote for a proposed state constitutional amendment to increase the Minnesota sales tax and raise $300 million annually for the outdoors, the environment and the arts.

But Leaf's speech was not as noteworthy as where he was making it -- inside a cluttered meeting room at a Gander Mountain store in Rochester.

As the campaign to pass the amendment on Nov. 4 builds steam, outdoor outfitters Gander Mountain and Cabela's have become significant players by allowing their stores to be used for Vote Yes informational meetings. The stores contend that the move would be good for Minnesota and good for their business.

Leaf, who leads a sportsmen's group pushing for the amendment, had the full blessing of store officials as he spoke on Oct. 8. Store manager Mike Bobb sat in the back of the room during the presentation.

The stores, however, may increasingly find themselves in an uncomfortable position.

The Taxpayers League of Minnesota, a major opponent of the amendment, said last week that the meetings are being used to make "false claims" about what the amendment will do; the league disputes the idea that the biggest beneficiaries will be average Minnesotans, saying it will actually be "special interest" groups such as Pheasants Forever, a wildlife conservation and hunting advocacy group.

The league urged opponents to attend meetings at Gander Mountain and Cabela's in the coming weeks to "ask some tough questions."

Of the 20 informational meetings by the sportsmen's groups, which began in late September and will go through the end of this month, half are being held at Cabela's and Gander Mountain stores. A Gander Mountain spokesman said speakers touting the advantages of the amendment have also been brought in to brief store employees so that they can, in turn, tell customers of the amendment's benefits.

"The outdoors amendment, we think, is not only good for our business but it makes sense for Minnesota," said John Castillo, a Cabela's spokesman.

Gander Mountain, which is headquartered in St. Paul and has 12 stores in the state, will hold informational meetings at six of its Minnesota stores and also at a seventh in Fargo, N.D.

Getting out information

With a Minnesota Poll showing that the amendment has widespread support, but also that few know about its many details, the race to get information to the public is seen as a key to its passage.

"That's the biggest hurdle, getting the word out," said Bobb, Gander Mountain's store manager in Rochester.

During his talk before a dozen people in the store's "lodge," a meeting room with the mounted head of a caribou above the door, Leaf spent most of the time extolling the proposal's benefits -- and little, if any, reminding his listeners that the amendment will cost the average Minnesota household $60 a year because of the sales tax increase.

The amendment would, if adopted, raise the state sales tax by three-eighths of 1 percent for 25 years and yield an estimated $300 million a year. Of that amount, 33 percent would go to clean water projects, 33 percent to game, fish and wildlife habitat projects, 19.75 percent would be for arts and culture programs, and 14.25 percent would be for parks and trails.

How much the amendment's passage would financially help Gander Mountain, Cabela's or other stores that cater to outdoors enthusiasts is unknown.

Amanda Holloway, a Rochester resident who came to listen to Leaf, said it likely will not hurt. "We do shop here at Gander Mountain, we shop at Cabela's" along with other stores, she said afterward.

"These are good spots to capture the hunting, fishing population because [of], obviously, the folks who stop here for gear and supplies," she said. "It makes economic sense for [the stores] because it's more people hunting and fishing and they make more money."

Others are not so sure. Despite his opposition to the amendment, the Taxpayers League of Minnesota's Phil Krinkie said he doubts there would be direct economic gains by Gander Mountain and the other outdoor stores. "Are there going to be more people fishing and hunting because this passes? I doubt it," said Krinkie, the league's president.

Krinkie, however, said that the stores will get indirect benefits should the amendment pass, largely because outdoor groups such as Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever, whose members frequent the stores, are likely going to be given money from the amendment's proceeds to do conservation projects across Minnesota. "You're supporting the people who support you," he said of the stores' reasoning for backing the amendment.

"Gander Mountain's motto is 'We live outdoors,'" explained David Ewald, a company spokesman. "[We] are in favor of things that get more people outdoors.

"Yes, in the grand scheme of things, it's good for business," he said. "[But] that's not the main aim."

As he delivered his speech at Gander Mountain, Leaf leaned against a gun case. Kayaks lay near the store's front door. Before Leaf began to talk, Robert Bringman, a member of the Pheasants Forever national board of directors, took his seat and said he comes to the store "probably once a month."

One woman near the back asked Leaf: "Have you heard of much opposition to this?"

Replied Leaf: "Yeah, there's some ... [but] when people look at the values of Minnesota, particularly sportsmen, [they'll] make a decision to vote yes on the amendment."

Mike Kaszuba • 612-673-4388