#mankato

These were men who helped lead the Dakota Uprising or Dakota War when their families were being starved. The lands of Oc̣eṭi Ṡakowiƞ Oyáte had been taken by white colonizers, and they in turn were forced to live on reservations where they had to rely on these same colonizers to meet their basic needs. When they refused to provide what they had promised, the community fought back.

My besties @realityminus3 and Zeke Rat visited KMSU studio in Mankato, MN and co-hosted a show on the air with DJ Karen Wright. She spun some They Might Be Giants, of course. Near the end of the broadcast, I shot a video of a house sparrow mom feeding her fledgling and the music seemed to fit well 🙌

We're Zenbu-itadaku Re:Cover (Zenbu-ita), an anime/Japanese cover band based in Mankato, MN, and we're hoping to foster a community of people who want to help us share our love of all this cool stuff.

So, if you're interested in doing anything with us please reach out.😄

Members we're looking for:

[ CURRENT ]

Lead Guitar (Possum - injured)

Rhythm Guitar (Leo - wants to focus vocals)

Bass (Ace - busy schedule) [ NEW ]

DJ + MP (Manipulator), we use backing tracks

Keyboard

Female Vocals [ HELP ]

Social Media Manager

Techies/Roadies (can comp for show/con ticket, etc. if helping) [ OTHER ]

Doubled Members (subs, extra parts for specific songs)

Other Instruments for specific songs

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you're interested in doing anything with us. These are just our main needs currently.

Thanks,

-Chris (Hoto)

In doing research after my previous trip to Mankato, I discovered that I had missed some stuff. Some very cool stuff. And so, I headed back south.

My target was one of CHS's switcher locomotives. They have a big oilseed processing facility on the west side of town, along with a tank car washing facility, where I was supposed to find my little engine. My target was supposed to be parked on the stub track to the left of the picture. Rather than a unique orange locomotive, I found a boring blue one. CHS had recently exchanged their fleet of leased switchers for two of their own, and the old ones were nowhere to be found... or so I thought.

At the time of my visit, part of Mankato's downtown was undergoing a repaving project. The road that was closed just so happened to be my way out. I didn't feel like getting stuck in traffic, so I tried to find another way out. One wrong turn later, I randomly stumbled across this old Chicago & Northwestern bay-window caboose, adorned in a custom Mankato Tourism paint scheme. It dates back to 1957 and previously sat near the town's former train station, being moved to this parking lot near the riverfront in the early 2010s. The coolest finds are the ones you don't expect.

Since I was in the area I figured I'd get a proper shot of the Plymouth switcher buried in the weeds. It still isn't great, but better than nothing. I also flew over to the adjacent scrapyard to see their current switcher, and also found a 1947-built flatcar.

ALTX 601 has served the scrapyard since the early 2010s. It's a very heavily rebuilt EMD NW2, only recognizable by the step-down ramp from the nose to the cab. It was originally built for the Peoria & Pekin Union Railway (they had the greenish-grey paint), and later went on to work for the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad (responsible for the blue/white stripes along the bottom edge). The flatcar is a General Steel Industries design, notable for its unique bulkhead walls.

While I was turning onto the main road out of town, something in the distance caught my eye. I saw the distant, sun-lit silhouette of a great machine parked atop a hill, no doubt a remnant of a long-gone limestone quarry.

I promptly found a place to launch my drone and flew over. What a cool machine! I believe it dates back to the 1960s, but I can't find *any* information about it online. Not one bit.

Here's what I do know. The site was once a limestone quarry, one of many in the area. It started operations in the '50s or '60s, eventually becoming a demolition landfill which was capped in the 1990s or early 2000s. I emailed who I believe to be the owner, asking about getting some closer-up pictures, but I haven't received a response yet.

While I was driving back north, a miracle occurred. Sitting on a siding near the town of Kasota were three small, unique switcher locomotives; the ones I had driven all this way to see.

IRSS 1237 is an EMD SW10. By the mid-1970s, the Union Pacific's fleet of switcher locomotives, all built between the late 1930s and early 1950s, were getting rather old. Many had developed issues and the less problematic ones were becoming too expensive to maintain. UP had a choice: throw out all of the old switchers and buy new ones, or rebuild them into something more modern. They chose the latter. And thus, the SW10 was born. 65 EMD switchers made up of TR5As, SW7s (what 1237 started as), and SW9s were selected for rebuild. Upgrades included a newer 645-type engine, larger electrically-driven radiator fans, and a large sandbox on the front of the nose. This space would usually be occupied by the radiator, which was moved to the roof, creating the unique & instantly-recognizable hump.