Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 17

INDEX Faces Places B7 Obituaries B5, B6 Weather B8 rn www.startrlbune.commetro StarTribune Monday, October 1, 2001 Section "Jill 1U UUuUO fral? 0 From mi to Sf -iff A I rXJT-J 7 INSIDE Sister Justina, who ran shelter, dies at 83 The Benedictine nun devoted her life to helping the poor and hungry. Turn to B5. COLUMNISTS Doug Grow His column will resume Wednesday. Barbara Flanagan A call to keep the flags flying. Turn to B7.

CONICTIGliS i 1 i The Dakota Rail has run its course as a freight line. But the 44-mile route which winds through marshes, lakes and rural countryside is the subject of a bidding war between public entities and private investors. By Laurie Blake Star Tribune Staff Writer The highest bid may decide whether the scenic Dakota Rail line between Hutchinson and Wayzata becomes a 44-mile public trail or is sold in pieces to private buyers. The old freight line passes farms and towns east of Hutchinson and winds along shorelines, crosses bays and skirts country clubs in the suburban lakes region west of Wayzata. As a trail, it would be studded with beautiful natural vistas and handsome llakefronthomes.

But the rail line's affluent and ap-i pealing surroundings suggest there is profit to be made in selling it piece by piece. "It is beautiful it's a beautiful area with beautiful property," said Lee Graves, whose Peoria, 111., investment firm has a $7 million purchase option on the line and hopes to edge out a public bid. Alarmed officials from the state and from Hennepin, Carver and McLeod counties, whose offer was $2.2 million before the investment firm entered the scene, have asked the federal Surface Transportation Board to stop the sale long enough to allow them to make a counterbid. "It's an incredible public resource, and people are trying to make a killing on this deal," said Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin. Star Tribune photos by Carlos Gonzalez Striking views and access to amenities, exemplified by this passage over a channel to Crystal Bay on Lake Mlnnetonka, are among the reasons why many people feel the Dakota Rail corridor is Ideal for a public trail If its operator abandons it as planned.

a rV "This is a 44-mile corridor. Why should it be an extension of somebody's backyard?" I Wayzata Depot, 1 built in 1906 Gabriel Jabbour, former mayor of Orono and a trail supporter. MJZ4TA rJ St Martin's by the Lake Episcopal Church, built in the 1880s Tnnnoer i ft VKW" Vintage trolley-car boat rides in summer J. LiJ' Twl 25-ft. high trestle over channel Jauntier I i-wm i RAD.

continues on B3: Abandonments are increasingly rare. MINNETRISTA Minne'tonka '-VV landing Some oppose turning line into trail. ST. BONIFACIUS DAKOTA RAIL I CORRIDOR i Hennepin Co. Mud vv 1 Carver Co.

-To Hutchinson "From our standpoint, There have been no requests for service along the line since May 2000, and weeds have sprouted between the ties. A private firm has bid $7 million for the route; the initial public offer was $2.2 million. ,1 Coney we are looking at taking this ultimate puzzle and matching it up with local folks' desires." Investor Lee Graves, whose firm would sell some segments to private buyers but donate others for public use. s. It "'(; Star Tribune illustration by Jane Friedmann Guard changing at Four Inns Cranes train for trip led by 'parent' plane After paying for lunch r- Around IIK H.

fter paying for lunch at the Four Inns Tom Wells SWAT officer honored for bravery in standoff Anoka County Sheriff Sgt. Tom Wells led another officer into a Ham Lake house last fall, where shots had been fired and a 4-year-old boy and his mother were in danger. As a result, Wells was named Tactical Officer of the Year by the state's Special Operations Tactical Association. Using a submachine gun, Wells covered the door of a second-floor bedroom where the boy's father was barricaded. As the other officer carried the sleepy boy downstairs, about 20 rounds from a semiautomatic rifle ripped through the hall, just feet from Wells.

He ducked into a bathroom, then dashed downstairs as more shots were fired. "I had never heard that many shots before," Wells said. He then led the county's Special Weapons And Tactics team in trying to talk to the 25-year-old man. When the gunman didn't respond, tear gas was used to force him outside, where he was arrested. Sheriffs Inspector Scott Bechthold said Wells' leadership and 15 years of experience "is why that situation ended as well as it did." Jim Adams dii; It's illegal to pass near railroad crossing According to the Minnesota Driver's Manual, some trucks and all buses are required by law to stop at railroad crossings.

It is illegal to cross the center of the roadway to pass any vehicle within 100 feet of a railroad crossing. This includes passing buses and trucks that are legally stopped behind the crossing. COMMENTS If you have comments or complaints about this section, contact the reader's representative 612-673-4450 or readerrep Ostartrlbune.com. If you -have news tips, contact Scott Gillespie at 612-673-9088ormetrostate 6startrbune.com. last week, a cus Wf 4 Joe Kimball break through turbulent air to catch the plane's lift during Saturday's demonstration flight.

Four others flapped far behind, trying in vain to catch up with "mother." The birds are still in training, but time is running out. In a few weeks they'll embark on a migratory journey to Florida, following the ultralight. Though the flight was briefer than expected, Lyle Bradley didn't regret making the 200-mile trip from Ando-verto see it. CRANES continues on B2: Map shows the birds' migration route. ByDarlenePflster Star Tribune Staff Writer NECEDAH NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, WI.

If there's a movie version, all nine of the rare whooping crane colts will fly in perfect V-formation. They'll soar over the Midwestern marsh in golden fall light, their ultralight "parent" leading them in a victorious circle over an awestruck crowd. The plane, the golden light and the crowd were there, but in real life, nature wouldn't cooperate. At their long-awaited public debut, only one of five young whoopers was able to tomer mentioned that she wouldn't be back because the long-time owners the Lon-nee family had sold the homey eatery in the downtown St. Paul skyway system.

The customer didn't realize she was talking to one of the new owners, Louise LeClair. "She meant no offense to us, but it shows how much people really care for the Lon-nees," LeClair said. For 40 years, former owners Jack and Elise Lonnee and their children, Susan Jacquart and Bob Lonnee have served food and made friends at the Four Inns. Patrons came as much for the friendly atmos- phere as for the homemade specials and pies. "They are a huge part of this," acknowledged LeClair.

"It's going to be impossible to fill their shoes." But Louise LeClair and her husband, Don, are veterans of the downtown lunch crunch. They ran the Blue Ribbon Deli on 5th Street until their building was demolished three years ago to make way for the Law-son Software building. Jack and Elise Lonnee supposedly retired two years ago, Star Tribune photo by Richard Sennott Don LeClair, left, set out an order, as Jack Lonnee, right, worked his last lunch rush. when they sold their business to their children. ST.

PAUL continues on B3 Im'wnnu "Jim i Fans cling to Midway's charms 1 canadenrt tm vj Baseball could be headed downtown, as the Saints and St Paul officials consider a riverfront ballpark. By Lourdes Medrano Leslie Star Tribune Staff Writer Next to metal bleachers at St. Paul's Midway Stadium, a dozen old theater seats form a field level nook known as the Windsor Clubhouse, a quirky improving Midway instead. The mayor's office and the Saints are mulling plans for an estimated $25 million ballpark on the city's West Side, next to Harriet Island Regional Park across the Mississippi River from downtown. Total costs and design details have yet to be announced, but the Saints have offered to pay 50 to 60 percent of the stadium's cost.

STADIUM continues on B3: Map shows stadium's current and possible location. version of luxury-box seating. It's about as close as the bare-bones municipal stadium, home of the St. Paul Saints for eight years, gets to the comforts of big-time sports. This is, after all, minor-league baseball.

And to many fans, that's part of the charm. But as talk of a new downtown ballpark for the Northern League team grows louder, loyal fans who lament the potential loss of what they say is a unique baseball experience in their back yard are pushing Star Trbune photo by Darlene Pfister Operation Migration pilot Joe Duff adjusted his crane costume before taking off In his ultralight to go ck up" the cranes..