Prairie Skyline Foundation

The Prairie Skyline Foundation and Preservation Alliance of Minnesota (PAM) were disappointed to learn last Thursday that Judge Michael Kraker denied their request for a temporary injunction to halt demolition of the historic Palace/Wayne Hotel in Crookston. Prairie Skyline and PAM had filed suit against the City of Crookston, Polk County, and the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) as a last-ditch effort to save the endangered building, which anchors Crookston’s commercial historic district. The building is a contributing structure to a designated historic district; under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) is mandatory for such properties before they can be demolished in whole or in part. In June, the City and County requested and received an “emergency waiver” from the EQB, allowing them to avoid the preparation of an EAW. An EAW would have required public consideration of alternatives to demolition. In his decision, Judge K

A person walks pass some of the murals painted at a closed building along Dexter Avenue in downtown Montgomery, Ala., on Friday, Oct. 1, 2010. (Montgomery Advertiser, Lloyd Gallman) Downtown revitalization must include historic preservation, expert says By Jill Nolin • October 11, 2010 age Downtown revitalization was once talked about because it wasn't happen­ing. Now, it's being talked about because it's actually taking hold in Montgomery. Montgomery's success, to date, in re­vitalizing its downtown is a major focus of the annual Alabama Preservation Conference that started Thursday and ended Saturday. Some of the sessions have offered analysis and commentary on what steps led up to the rebirth that sparked on the riverfront and is starting to push into the rest of the downtown area. "I tell you, you are doing the right things in Montgomery, Alabama. It's not there yet, but it's never there," said Don­ovan Rypkema, who is an inte