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Letter of the day: If 'Cambria silo' doesn't fly, why not ban all billboards?

August 1, 2010 at 12:29AM

This July photo shows a silo along Highway 169 between St. Peter and Le Sueur, Minn. bearing the logo for countertop manufacturer Cambria. Almost as quickly as the deal was done, Cambria was notified by the Minnesota Department of Transportation that it couldn't advertise on the silo without permission from the state. It was too close to a major highway. (Dml - Associated Press - Ap/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

So, let me understand: The painted silo bearing the name of a countertop manufacturer off Hwy. 169 between St. Peter and Le Sueur is "too close to the highway and doesn't comply with an ordinance banning advertisements in historic preservation districts" and must be removed if the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Nicollet County have their way ("Paint job raises ruckus," July 26)? No, I would offer that someone with way too much time on their hands didn't get their cut. The story reported that silo owner Lee Boyum "failed to get a permit for the $4,500 paint job." That obviously rankled Nicollet County. And I'm sure that the state has a permit fee that wasn't paid. Two strikes and you're out in this ballgame. Now we wait to see what happens at an Aug. 16 county meeting. But I'll raise the ante. If Nicollet County and/or MnDOT forces Boyum to paint over the silo for the reasons stated, perhaps the thousands of "Buy me!," "Eat me!," "Drink me!" signs that pollute the vision of every driver who travels our roads will be taken down as well. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could drive a quarter-mile without having to look at one of those obnoxious roadside billboards? What a utopia that would be. LORIN KRAMER, ROGERS