Salem Sue, the world's largest Holstein cow, towers above I-94 in homage to the region's dairy farmers. Dunseith houses a turtle made from 2,000 wheel rims and the world's largest buffalo resides in Jamestown. Most roadside attractions celebrate the cultural life of a region or leech onto an existing tourist infrastructure. Greff's Enchanted Highway is a metallic rain dance for an economy to come. Even before the decline in Midwestern family farms in the '70s and '80s, Regent was a town of just 500.
Seniors make up the bulk of the citizenry.
Regent has not had a police officer in 12 years and its children travel 45 minutes each way to school. The Enchanted Highway is a community effort. The highway wouldn't have gotten off the ground without the support of the town, says Brenda Wiseman, manager of Regent's Consumers Co-op. Wiseman has helped Greff raise funds since the project's inception. Roger Warbis of Farmer's Union Oil, Regent's gas station, says people are divided on whether the highway will help revitalize the local economy.