Matt McKinney • mckinney@startribune.com
It took three years for planners in Bemidji, Minn., to draw up renovations to the town's Paul Bunyan Park, and just an hour or two of heated, accusatory jeers from locals last week to stop the plan cold.
The problem: a pile of boulders and a berm installed last month near the town's cherished statues of Paul and Babe the Blue Ox. The changes — just some of the $1.5 million in park renovations scheduled for this summer — were meant to make it easier for tourists to take selfies with their favorite plaid-wearing lumberjack. But soon after the boulders appeared, some locals began fretting about changes to the town's two most famous denizens.
"I come before you tonight for what I feel is probably one of the gravest situations that this city has faced in recent time," intoned Bemidji resident Bill Batchelder before the City Council on Monday. He demanded the removal of the boulders and berm, as did about 20 others who spoke. Some called the statues sacred. One woman made comparisons to the Lincoln Memorial.
"I've spent my life defending Paul Bunyan wherever I go," said town resident Derek Claypool. "And I'm sorry, you mess with Paul Bunyan, you better be careful." He sat down to applause.
The council quickly backtracked and voted 5-2 to take out the berm and boulders, undoing a plan that had been in the works since 2012.
The City Council meeting was heavily attended, with all seats taken. The local newspaper, the Pioneer, sent four reporters to cover it. Others followed on social media, with some residents using the Twitter hashtags #Paulmageddon and #Babeghazi.
Despite the circuslike atmosphere of the meeting, Bemidji resident Carl Sewall said most people weren't that worked up about the site renovation itself. It was more the conflict over Paul and Babe that drew people's attention. The Paul Bunyan statue has more meaning in town than you might think for an 18-foot-tall sculpture installed in 1937 by the local Rotary club at a cost of $600.
