She took a lot of photos of the former cornfield on the corner of Highway 12 and W where Wal-Mart construction will begin last month. Many local people share Lisa's sentiments about the Wal-Mart scenario. One of my neighbors said the other day that we should get up a petition. But hey, it's too late. After some deft orchestration by the Baraboo mayor, the city administrator and the city engineer, Wal-Mart has its TIF, its annexation, and its zoning variance to build the superstore.
Construction is scheduled to start next month.
Nett said Europeans are very conscious of the importance and fragility their food sources, and that due to land use regulation it is almost impossible to build a house on farmland in Germany. This mentality has not taken hold in the states, she said. Baraboo did no economic or environmental impact study before welcoming Wal-Mart with open arms. Frantz says local consumers can benefit from low Wal Mart prices. The major losers in the local economy figure to be the two established supermarkets, Pierce's and Darrow's, which have been major contributors to the community for several decades.