My friend
Boyd Huppert, a reporter at KARE-11 in Minneapolis, found a story that he and I believe plays out around the country. Huppert tells me:
New census data released last week had me traveling to Roberts, Wis., -- the fourth fastest growing city in Wisconsin since 2000, according to the new census data. It appeared to be a story about rapid growth in a bedroom community. Not anymore. Roberts issued nearly 70 building permits in 2001. Last year the town wrote three. So far this year -- zero. The mortgage mess and high gas prices are hitting these sorts of commuter communities especially hard. So much so that the census data can be outdated by the time it's released.
Watch Huppert's related story here.
