In certain circles here in beautiful Albert Lea, there is a lot of complaining and head scratching over the painful notion that the city has not grown much &045; if at all &045; in the last 20 years. People have seen the population stagnate, they don’t believe enough new business is moving in, and they think downtown has gone downhill.

This trend is all the more baffling because we, in beautiful Albert Lea, sit right at the intersection of two interstates. With I-35 coming through on its way from the Twin Cities to Des Moines, and I-90 passing by as it stretches from Sioux Falls to Madison, we should be in a perfect position to capitalize on all the traffic.

It’s often pointed out that we’re supposedly the smallest city in the nation that has two interstates in town. Of course, those other cities, like Chicago, Dallas and Seattle, may have already been big before the interstate came through. But hey, let’s not worry about details.

Albert Lea is the smallest, they say. How can we explain this wasted potential? Why aren’t these interstates pumping enough new people and money into our economy? Why haven’t we surpassed Rochester, Detroit and Los Angeles yet? With all those cars zipping past on those concrete superhighways, you’d think at least a few of the drivers would take an Albert Lea exit and start up a plastics factory or a pet store or something. And you’d think that with thousands of people driving through every day, that once in a while a couple of them would stop here and decide never to leave &045; or at least take note of our nice little town and tell all their friends to move here immediately.

It’s a perplexing problem. But luckily for all of us, I have developed a modest proposal that can remedy this situation.

If two interstates are not enough, then we need to get a third one coming through here.

Think of it. If we have 50 percent more people passing through, that’s a 50 percent better chance that somebody will drop by and start a business or buy a house. Our city becomes a 50 percent better location for companies that need to ship their goods off in all directions. And it increases the number of interstate signs that say &uot;Albert Lea&uot; by 50 percent. You can’t buy that kind of advertising!

I have it all mapped out. The highway can shoot off of I-29 at Watertown, S.D. and head southeast. After passing through Albert Lea, it can continue southeast to the Quad Cities, where it will link up with I-80.

Think of all the businesses that need to ship their goods to both Watertown and the Quad Cities! If there’s anything I hear way too much from businesses these days, it’s &uot;How in the world am I going to find a location from which I can easily ship my goods to Watertown, S.D. and the Quad Cities?&uot; Fork makers, gelatin refineries, shoelace manufacturers &045; the list goes on and on. Well, folks, beautiful Albert Lea will be located right at the middle of this new freeway. Bring your business here, and find unparalleled access to Watertown, the Quad Cities and beyond!

So far, nobody has been able to tell me why this plan will not work.

And because the interstates are a federal program, we won’t have to worry about the cost. I already have some people in Washington working on burying this new proposal deep somewhere in the war budget. Did you know those senators and representatives don’t even read these big bills all the way through before they vote on them? It’s true!

Think of the fame that will head our way if we’re the city with not just two, but three interstates! We can capitalize on this. We can create an &uot;Interstate Museum&uot; here in Albert Lea that is sure to pull in dozens of people from all over the country (not just Watertown and the Quad Cities) every year. They will drive hundreds of miles on the interstates to get to the museum and learn about those interstates they just got done driving on.

I’ll keep you all updated on my plan as it moves forward. And no need to thank me. Seeing the economic boom sure to come from this third interstate is reward enough for me.

Dylan Belden is the Tribune’s managing editor. His column appears Sundays. E-mail him at dylan.belden@albertleatribune.com.