At the Tuesday, January 12, 2010 meeting of the Schroeder town board, Township Supervisor Ross Willson said he had a letter ready to go to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) protesting its directive to Marion and Roger McKeever to remove their sign from the Highway 61 roadside in front of their cabin/restaurant business, Satellite’s Country Inn. He did not send the letter, however, after County Commissioner Bruce Martinson told him records show discrepancies regarding where McKeevers’ property lines are.
Thesign has been there for decades, but MnDOT told Mrs. McKeever about a year ago that a new survey showed that the sign was in the state’s right-ofway.
Roger McKeever said he and his wife bought 200 feet of property from their neighbor years ago to clear up uncertainties about their property lines. He said he has seen MnDOT surveying Highway 61 many times over the years and wondered why their sign was considered improperly located this time. He suspected he fell into the state’s radar when he and his wife protested a ban on any new signs along the highway. They lost the opportunity to put up a billboard they had permission from the county to put up because the sign had not yet been installed when the ban went into effect.
County Commissioner Bruce Martinson said he wrote a letter to MnDOT and believes MnDOT is practicing “selective enforcement.” He has not yet received a written response from MnDOT.
Ross Willson pointed out that many signs along the North Shore are much closer to the highway than the Satellite’s Country Inn sign was. TheMcKeevers could put a sign in the same spot if it was on wheels, but McKeever does not want to give up on their original sign, which has been removed.
McKeever is certain that moving the sign further away from the road would prevent customers from seeing it in time to stop, and if they miss it, he said, they are not likely to turn around and go back, especially if they are looking for a restaurant.
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