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And

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iconic connector between

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superior Wisconsin and

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Duluth, Minnesota is set to

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close early next year. The

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Blotnik Bridge opened in

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1961 and now more than 65

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years later is scheduled for

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reconstruction. According to

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the governor's office, more

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than 33,000 vehicles cross

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every day and more than 265,000

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transport trucks traverse the

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bridge each year. In 2024,

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former President Joe Biden

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visited Superior to draw

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attention to funding just over

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a billion dollars for the

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project as part of the bipartisan

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infrastructure law. But now

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U.S. senators and two states

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and Wisconsin Governor Tony

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Evers have written letters to

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the U.S. Department of

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Transportation to release that

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funding so the project can

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proceed. Superior Mayor Jim

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Payne is part of the chorus

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calling for the grant money to

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be released so the project can

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get going. He joins us from

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Superior and Mayor, thanks for

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being here. Yeah, of course.

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Thanks for having me. So how

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critical is it to get this

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funding released sooner rather

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than later? Well, at first

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will be OK because the there

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are some delays built into the

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project. The problem is this

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the later we start the later

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we finish and the effect of

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the closure of the bridge is

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significant. And that's what

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we're preparing for. And any

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extension of that closure is

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problematic for the economy and

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quality of life of both

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Superior and neighboring

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Duluth. So the later it starts

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the later it finishes. What

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has the USDA told you about

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when that might happen?

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Nothing. We have had a lot of

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coordination with Wisconsin

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Department of Transportation

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and of course, Minnesota

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Department of Transportation.

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And until now we had reasonable

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assurances that this was going

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to happen. There was a lot of

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uncertainty at the start of

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this presidential administration.

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But that was supposed to have

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been resolved that that this

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project was going forward.

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So this is a very frustrating

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delay and Transportation

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Secretary Sean Duffy, of

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course, knows the region having

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represented it and knows the

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importance of this bridge.

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I would hope so. I would think

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so. This is a vital connector

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not just for the cities of

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Superior and Duluth or the

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states of Wisconsin and

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Minnesota. This is an

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international connector. The

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age of the bridge already

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limits the freight loads. There's

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almost no freight that moves

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over it, but it's going to be a

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vital connector for

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international shipping between

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Michigan, Canada, northern

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Minnesota, really the entire

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continent. It's a very vital

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connection. The Secretary of

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Transportation should

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understand that and recognize

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this. Look, one of the most

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important things to note here.

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There is no question about the

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fact that this bridge is

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closing. It is at the end of

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its life. It is going to

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close. The only question in

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front of us is whether it's

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going to reopen with a new

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bridge and when. So when the

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bridge closes, how will people

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get across? There's another

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bridge. The bond bridge is

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another major connector, which

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can handle the load, but it's

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going to create significant

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bottlenecks. If you look at

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even a map of Wisconsin, you

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can see Superior is sitting

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as a nice little hat there at

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the very northwest corner.

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Superior is a triangular

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peninsula into the the St.

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Louis Harbor of Lake Superior.

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That means traffic bottlenecks

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as it comes from Duluth and it

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already creates some backlogs

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when enough freight is moving

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through the city. That will

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become demonstrably worse

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during bridge closure. So the

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longer that lasts, the greater

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the impact on quality of life

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and commerce. Meanwhile, your

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city has already expended money

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toward the eventual replacement

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of the bridge. What is the

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preparation and that

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expenditure? There's been

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millions and millions of

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dollars in prep. A lot of it

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has been relocation of whole

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businesses. Some of them, as

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much as 100 years old, that

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we're operating at the foot of

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that bridge. We cleared it all

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out. And look, we did our part.

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We spent a significant amount

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of public local money, city of

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Superior money, to help

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relocate businesses, to

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improve transportation

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networks, to actually rebuild

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streets, improve them, to

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mitigate traffic, to to

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prepare for faster and more

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efficient emergency response

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during bridge closure. We have

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done our part, the state of

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Wisconsin, the state of

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Minnesota have done their part.

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Everything is ready. We're

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waiting for the federal

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government to live up to its

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end of the deal. And so the

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new bridge is supposed to be

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up and operating by what 20,

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31? Hope so. This is a

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transportation project and

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any transportation project

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involves delays. And so when

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you're looking at the largest

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transportation project that

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anybody up here has worked on

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from folks at the city of

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Superior, all the way to staff

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on both departments of

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transportation, we would

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expect some significant

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delays along the way. That is

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the nature of construction

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projects. So an unforced

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delay like this, a what seems

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to be a political delay only

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adds to the uncertainty and

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complexity of an already

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uncertain and complex project.

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So Republican lawmakers say

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the funding will be released

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and it's not in jeopardy. You

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just use the word political.

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What do you think the hold up

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is? I honestly don't know.

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I've worked with many

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different state and federal

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administrations at this point,

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including the Trump

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administration. And while

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there have been plenty of

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disagreement on priorities, I

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never dealt with this level of

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chaos. I don't know what the

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hold up is. I appreciate that

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lawmakers are saying that it

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will be released. Well, then

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release it. Sign the document,

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show us that we have the money

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so planning and preparation

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can resume. I don't know if if

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00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:40,600
it's so guaranteed. Let's hear

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that from the secretary of

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administration. Words do not

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build bridges. Actions do.

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Mayor Jim Payne. Thanks very

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much. Thank you.

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Marissa Marissa just said that

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was a great last line.

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I'd have talked all day. That's

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great. Well, good luck with all

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of that. And we'll we'll check

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back. Of course. We have lots

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of years to do. Yeah, I'm going

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to Washington on Sunday. I'm

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going to try and meet with you.

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OK. Feel free to call and ask

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how that went. OK. We will not

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have to. All right. Well, we'll

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see. We'll see. Thank you,

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everybody. Thank you.