FOR US.

AND PLENTY OF POLITICS PER USUAL.

>> Cathy: THAT'S A LOT OF SHOW.

WE START TONIGHT WITH St.

PAUL CITY POLITICS.

MAYOR KAOHLY HER DELIVERED HER STATE OF THE CITY EARLIER THIS WEEK AND IT'S BEEN A WEEK FULL OF St.

PAUL DEVELOPMENT NEWS, INCLUDING THE SALE OF THE GREAT NORTHERN BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN AND NEWS YESTERDAY THAT BILL McGUIRE IS ACQUIRING THE NEW CBS SITE IN St.

PAUL.

FRED MELO COVERS ALL THINGS St.

PAUL FOR THE PIONEER PRESS, INCLUDING HIS NEXT ASSIGNMENT.

>> CAN WE TALK FASTER, I WANT TO GET DANCING AND EATING.

YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ME DANCE.

>> Cathy: I WOULD, ACTUALLY, ANYWAY, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT HERE ABOUT THE STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS.

I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING THAT THE MAYOR BROUGHT UP THINKS THAT HOME SNS A REGIONAL PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED REGIONALLY.

NOT MANY PEOPLE REALLY BRING THAT UP.

>> NOT MANY PEOPLE BRING UP THAT.

BUT St.

PAUL IS CARRYING THE WATER FOR THE STATE.

St.

PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS.

I A LOT OF THE FFORDABLE HOUSING, A LOT OF THE SHELTER HOUSING THAT'S BUILT IN MINNESOTA LANDS IN THE TWIN CITIES, AND THEN INSTEAD OF GETTING A THANK YOU FROM THE SUBURBS, IT BECOMES OH, THAT'S A SCARY PLACE TO LIVE, LOOK WHO THEY HAVE THERE.

THE HOMELESS ARE THE STATE'S HOMELESS, IT'S A STATEWIDE PROBLEM.

>> Cathy: AND, OF COURSE, WHEN YOU BREAK UP AN ENCAMP.

FOLKS GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

AND THE PROBLEM JUST MOVES AROUND.

>> IT JUST MOVES AROUND.

>> Eric: THE MAYOR SAID THAT SHE CAMPAIGNED ON GETTING BACK TO THE BASICS.

>> YEAH.

>> Eric: AND SHE HAD A LIST OF HINGS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON, LIKE A MAYOR OF A BIG CITY WOULD DO.

>> YEAH.

>> Eric: DIFFERENT STYLE THAN CARTER, MAYBE.

>> A LITTLE BIT OF DIFFERENT STYLE, RIGHT, EVEN N TERMS OF STRUCTURE.

INSTEAD OF HAVING ONE DEPUTY MAYOR, LIKE CARTER HAD JAMIE TINCHER HAS HIS RIGHT HAND PERSON, SHE HAS FOUR.

ONE OF THEM'S ALREADY LEFT.

JODY PFARR HAS MOVED BACK TO RAMSEY COUNTY.

SO, IT HASN'T BEEN PERFECT, BUT SHE CERTAINLY SPLIT UP THE WORK AND HAD CERTAIN FOLKS TUNNEL IN ON CERTAIN ISSUES LIKE THE MIDWAY SITE.

>> Cathy: BOY, DID IT COME AS A SURPRISE THAT OWNER OF THE LOONS WOULD BUY THAT PROPERTY, THE CVS -- OLD CVS PROPERTY, IT'S BEEN #RAISEDBYWOLVES AT THIS POINT.

>> FOR ME, NOT AT ALL, HE WOULD LITERALLY BE AT COMMUNITY MEETINGS WITH PICTURES OF WHAT HE WANTED TO SEE THERE.

EUROPEAN VILLAGE-STYLE HOUSING, YOU KNOW, JUST SOMETHING ARCHITECTURALLY INTERESTING.

HE WANTS MARKET RATE HOUSING, NOT AFFORDABLE.

THERE'S A LOT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON SNELLING AVENUE ITSELF, IT'S TIME TO GET PEOPLE WHO CAN AFFORD TO KEEP THE RESTAURANTS AFLOAT AND KEEP HIS STADIUM ULL OF PATRONS.

>> Eric: THERE'S A VERY AMBITIOUS PLAN WITH THE St.

PAUL ARENA, RIVERCENTRE, ROY WILKINS, THE GOVERNOR THROE THREW SOME COLD WATER ON THAT AS FAR AS THE STATE'S END OF IT.

>> WHAT THE CITY WANTS TO O IS EXTEND A HALF-CENT SALES TAX THAT ALREADY EXISTS AND KEEP IT GOING FOR ANOTHER 30 YEARS OR SO.

THAT WOULD PAY FOR THE CITY'S PORTION OF THE $600 MILLION RENOVATION.

THE TEAM WOULD PUT IN SOME MONEY.

THEY'RE ASKING THE STATE FOR $200 MILLION.

WHICH WOULD COME FROM THE BONDING BILL, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THE GOVERNOR'S SOLD ON THAT.

SO, IT'S PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, LET'S COME BACK NEXT YEAR, BUT THE ASK IS OUT THERE.

IT'S A ITTLE MORE SOLIDIFIED, A LITTLE CONCRETE.

IT TOOK LAWMAKERS BY SURPRISE LAST YEAR.

THERE'S NO SURPRISES THIS YEAR.

>> Cathy: I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU THAT.

I WAS TALKING TO CRAIG LEOPOLD, OWNER OF THE WILD, AND HE SAID HE THOUGHT THE THIRD TIME WAS GOING TO BE THE CHARM.

DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT MIGHT BE.

WHY DOES THIS KEEP -- WHY DOES THIS FACE AN UPHILL CLIMB?

>> THE STATE DOESN'T HAVE THE HUGE SURPLUS A COUPLE YEARS AGO.

THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT ASK, FOUR YEARS AGO, LET'S SAY.

THE ATTITUDE AMONG BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS, IT'S KIND OF BIPARTISAN DISTASTE FOR FUNDING ANOTHER SPORTS STADIUM.

THIS ISN'T JUST A SPORTS STADIUM, THOUGH.

IT'S THE CONVENTION CENTER, IT'S WHERE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATIONS AND STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENTS HAPPEN, HOME OF THE WILD, HOCKEY STATE, THIS IS WHERE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN WOULD GO TO PERFORM.

>> Eric: DURING HER SPEECH, THE BIGGEST CHEER CAME FOR ALDI'S.

>> YEAH.

WE HAVE A VERY RESIDENTIAL DOWNTOWN NOW.

IT'S NOT THE HOME OF LAW FIRMS AND INVESTMENT OF BANKS.

AND WHEN WE LOST LUNDS AND BYERLY'S, THAT LEFT WITH AS A FOOD DESERT IN DOWNTOWN.

KIND OF EMBARRASSING, A LOT OF OLDER FOLKS MOVED DOWNTOWN, MAYBE FOLKS WHO DID NOT WANT TO RELY ON A CAR, AND SUDDENLY THERE'S NO PLACE TO GET BASIC MILK AND CHEESE.

SO ALDI IS PROBABLY A MORE APPROPRIATE PRICE POINT FOR KIND OF THE RANGE OF HOUSING YOU HAVE DOWNTOWN.

YOU HAVE SOME AFFORDABLE UNITS.

AND THEY'RE PROVEN, THEY'RE PROVEN KNOWN COMMODITY IN THE TWIN CITIES.

SO, YEAH, THEY'RE BREAKING GROUND -- THEY HAVE A GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY N THURSDAY.

YOU'RE BOTH INVITED.

>> Cathy: ALL RIGHT.

THERE YOU GO.

SAY, BEFORE WE GO, WHO IS THIS FLORIDA GUY WHO MIGHT BE PURCHASING THE GREAT NORTHERN BUILDING HERE IN DOWNTOWN St.

PAUL?

>> YEAH, I KNOW.

I'VE SPOKEN TO HIM ON THE PHONE.

HIS NAME IS JAMIE RAND, HE SAID IN THE DOWNTURN OF 2008 I BOUGHT 20,000, SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, GAINED VALUE, HE MADE A LOT OF AIL, HE FAILED OUT OF RETIREMENT THREE TIMES, HE'S COMING INTO DOWNTOWN St.

PAUL, AND HE'S GOT FOUR BUILDINGS THAT HE'S BUYING, ALL HUGE, ALL OWE BACKS TAXES, THEY NEED A LOT OF HELP, HE'S GOT THE MONEY TO DO IT.

FLORIDA GUY TO THE RESCUE, I'VE NEVER MET 'EM.

I'VE TALKED TO DEVELOPERS WHO CAN.

>> Eric: GET OVER TO THE