For decades Minnesotans had Daytons department stores. The venerable mother store was located on the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. There was a downtown St. Paul Dayton's store and they also anchored each of the Dales malls. From there Daytons spread to bigger outstate towns to have 19 stores.
We loved the merchandise, easy return policy (no sales slip necessary and no time limit on returns,) and looked for the delivery trucks. Delivery was free. Daytons had high end fashion setting clothes and more affordable lines. If you purchased from Daytons you got quality and value. Dayton's always had a wonderful Christmas display in the top floor auditorium.
In the 90's the Dayton-Hudson Corp. purchased Chicago's Marshall Fields stores. In 2001 they changed the name from Dayton's to Marshall-Fields to the consternation of Minnesotans. By 2005 the corporation was sold and the name changed to Macy's. That one went down hard here. Many didn't feel the same attachment. We missed the policies of the old Dayton's that had been around for a century. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton
Mark Dayton is a heir and descendent of the founding George Dayton. He is also involved in politics and ran unsuccessfully for several offices. He spent his own money on the campaigns. I may not be exactly right, but I believe he spent about 14 million of his 20 million$$ fortune getting elected. He was a one term senator from Minnesota and then he decided not to run for re-election. Maybe he didn't like the ridicule he got in the press when he closed his Capitol hill offices during the anthrax by mail scare. Maybe he didn't want to spend another 14 million of his own money. Maybe there wasn't an overwhelming cry for him to run again. I don't know. I do know he has now thrown his hat in the ring to run for Governor in 2010. I don't know if he wants my advice, but I would like him to know I think it is Dayton's not Dayton that we miss.
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Sen. Dayton closed his office when the Senate was to be in recess (meaning all senators would have left town anyway) specifically in response to the Bush administration raising the security threat level (shortly before the elections). If I were him, I'd say it loud -- if the administration didn't want us to take the threat seriously, why did they raise it??
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