I believe that Murphy Siding is right when he pointed out that rail service here in Sioux Falls is a non-issue. The biggest employers here are the hospitals, the banks, shopping centers and restaurants.
We have a John Morrell packing plant on the north end of town which employs a substantial number of people, and my friend who had worked for the Milwaukee Road had spent his last working years as a freight rate analyst for our local John Morrell plant. He retired in 1989. In 1992, the corporation which currently owns our local John Morrell plant had slashed the health care benefits of all of the Morrell employees who had retired. To this day, I refuse to buy anything that carries the John Morrell label when I am shopping for groceries.
