Want to save thousands of dollars a year, and get some exercise in the process? It is easier than you think. Just hang up the car keys for the day and walk or bike to work. Brainerd has thousands of houses located within a couple miles of major employers: Essentia Health, the courthouse complex, Ascensus and dozens of small businesses including my own. I have commuted on foot, sometimes by bike, in all seasons for years. While Baxter, Nisswa and other outlying towns are great places, I would never live where I had to start and end my day in sitting in a car. Getting to work without a car is part of a nationwide trend, especially among younger people. Brainerd has started to take advantage of this by starting to make the city easier to navigate on foot and by bike. With the new fat tire bikes, riding year-round is not only possible, but fun. Every morning I see fresh fat tire bike tracks in the snow on my way to work. An outdoor friendly city is not only more fun to live in, it will attract and keep the young people and families who are key to our future success.
Ed Shaw
Brainerd
