Bridges, not bombs, Minnesotans say

What struck him was the bravery of people who rushed to save lives. One young man risked his own life to drag children from a school bus.

So far, five people are confirmed dead, at least eight are missing and 100 injured.

“This could have been anybody on that highly traveled bridge,” Share told the World in a phone interview. “My letter carrier crossed the bridge just 15 minutes before it collapsed. Everybody here in the Twin Cities has been impacted by this tragedy.”

President Bush visited, offering bland condolences to the grieving families, Share noted, “but then he moved on to complain that the Democrats want to exceed his spending limits in the federal budget. He says it would mean a tax increase.”

“It is ironic that we are pouring all this treasure into Iraq and we have bridges falling down at home,” Share said.

Dick Anfang, president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades, AFL-CIO, said an alarm was sounded on Minnesota’s roads and bridges at the MBCT convention in Mankato the week before the bridge collapsed. “We had elected officials who talked about their frustration that Gov. Tim Pawlenty [a Republican] vetoed bills to improve our roads and bridges,” Anfang told the World.