Help Save the Drews/Liljedahl/Mauch Private Property from Condemnation by Dakota County!

this whole park idea is bullshit you take land to biuld a park and a bike trail!

This needs to be stopped!

How can this be allowed to happen in our country? Outrageous!!

I attended the court hearing last Wednesday and couldn't believe what the County had to say. I was a little disappointed that the only stand the Drew's lawyer was taking is that their father had asked them to keep the property in the family. You need a better defense. The Judge needs to be convinced that the property is not needed by the County. If it was me I would be pointing out some very important facts. The County says they want to put a trail head on the Drew's property. This property is only 2 miles from the Trail Head at Schaars Bluff. A Trail Head at this point does not make sense. The place that would make sense is at Bud's Landing which the County already owns. It is located 5-6 miles from Schaars Bluff and their are no other Trail Heads to the North of it. There is plenty of land to support their plans there and also an existing road. Their other argument was that the road to the Drew's property is a hardship to Nininger Township. Since I moved here in 1989 that road has always been a minium maintenance road which means it is not kept up like the other roads so it is not that much of a burden for the Township and doesn't carry the same requirements as the other roads. The most important point the needs to be made to the Judge is that the statistics that the County is using in reguard to bike path use is false! The statistic are for the Metropolitan Area (Mpls). National Surveys show that bike use has increased greatly in the City of Mpls but has decreased in the Suburbs. And the increase in bike use has increased for transportation and decreased for recreation. This information can all be found on the internet. LET THE JUDGE KNOW THIS INFORMATION! Don't let the County twist the truth in their favor.

Absolutely WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Let this happen to them, watch it happen to YOU. This is a battle we all need to take up.

Absolutely ridiculous that the county feels they can steal peoples home for a park! Especially when there is already the levee and Lake Rebecca. The city and county already own enough riverfront to not disturb more homesteads.

As a former resident of Dakota County I am angry that commissioners that I voted for are liars and thieves! Shame on Dakota County for working this evil on fellow citizens!

Dakota county parks department is wrong in taking your land. This is not an essential public need. Sullivan should be ashamed of himself for his selfish act.

Many of the lands acquired in Minnesota during the 1800s were acquired via "Land Patent". Land patent law precludes government interference with "....all heirs and assigns forever....". All patents were authorized and often signed by the president of the United States. Very seldom are land patents and their implications known by land owners. It may be a good idea to check for such a land patent with Dakota County records, or with the U.S. Land Office. Land patent rights supercede the power of local governments to impose on land owners....including the government's ability to tax the property or otherwise encumber it. Not many attorneys are familiar with land patent rights, so you may have to look for one willing to pursue it.

do not let them take your land! if i can be of assistance, let me know what I can do to help. city of Minnetonka attempted to take my mother's land for a park and walking trail. eminent domain was never intended for non essential government functions such as parks and recreation. If private property rights do not exist anymore, and we cannot make a claim to our own property, what else do we have?

I am am ashamed to say I am a Dakota County employee - and believe that this is totally wrong! A trail is one thing but to just take your land so they can expand a park is crazy.

this is insane....leave these people alone.

I wish you and your family all the best in saving your property and will pass this on for others to sign. We just lost our home to eminent domain in Henn Co. Please read our story at www.myeminentdomainstory.com. Maybe our grassroots efforts will bring light to this issue that is affecting many people around the country. Our situation was a frontage road so we didn't have a chance. They didn't pay us enough for a comparable home, so we are also moving forward with the process and have not settled. Don't back down and don't let them wear you down. When you need support, reach out to those who have gone through this, you will not have a problem finding someone, there are a lot of us. Take care of your health, it is an emotional rollercoaster.

Un American to attempt to take someones land!

This is so wrong!!! Don't make them leave!!!

This is crazy. Offer a realistic price or back off and make a detour for the bike path. Incredible.

You have no right to take someone else's property just because you want to use it for something else. Really the government needs to leave these people and there homes and land alone you have no right to do this and the courts should not allow them to do it. Stop the government now or next time it will be your homes they want for a park to make money off of.

Mona Trevis

I love parks, but I do NOT believe that the county has the right to force people to give up their property in order to create new parks.

Hi Dana, Just saw your response and I am 100% behind you on this. One of the County's arguments in court yesterday justifying their actions is the amount of visitors the park and trail would draw in annually. I think they estimated visitors at 140,000? They place a value on the number of people it would serve and tie that into "benefiting the community". A petition boycotting use of the park and trails if taken by force is exactly what is needed.