Naming things is hard. This is a land of 11,842 lakes, and a surprisingly large number of them are named Mud.
Renaming things is harder. You would not believe how much paperwork it takes to rename a lake or a park or a building.
So when Red Wing residents were ready for a new name for their new bridge over the Mississippi, they turned to the renaming experts — Minnesota lawmakers.
Those lawmakers turned to do battle with the greatest hurdle to any renaming effort — other Minnesota lawmakers.
For almost six decades, the old bridge along Hwy. 63 between Red Wing and Hager City, Wis., carried Dwight D. Eisenhower's name.
The former president and supreme Allied commander was there for the Eisenhower Bridge dedication in 1960, and he drew an enormous crowd. When the Minnesota Legislature decided to name a bridge after Eisenhower, they made sure it stayed named.
By state law, every bridge built on this spot must like Ike.