Hansen: City from a newcomer's view

Last month, Democrat columnist Rose Nolen and guest columnist Stephanie Lefevers shared their perspectives on Sedalia. Nolen said the city isn’t what it used to be, and she would know, as she cited events she attended back in the 1960s. Lefevers, who is newer to town, basically said, “Wait a second, it’s not so bad.”

They’re both right. Like any city, Sedalia has good things and bad things. I’ve lived here since June, having moved from Brainerd, Minn., which is almost exactly the same size. So here’s the perspective of a newcomer, with the bad news first.

Bad things about Sedalia

• No live music club. Nothing against the local guys who play wine shops or barbecue joints, but let’s be honest: We need a cool live music club featuring touring original bands on Fridays and Saturdays (and offering good food and good conversation the rest of the time). Ideally, most bands would be from Missouri, some would be from out of state (perhaps swinging through here between stops in Columbia and Kansas City), and the schedule could be rounded out by local kids with something to prove.

I suppose the proximity of Warrensburg, with its college population, hurts our chances, but I believe every town of 20,000 people deserves a strong live-music option on the weekend.

• It looks like there’s a movie theater downtown, but there isn’t. For some reason, there was a lot of hype about that Fox sign being refurbished. But if I can’t see a movie in a cool old theater, that sign is just an empty promise.

• No new-music store. Maybe Sedalia is being progressive by not having a place to buy new CDs in this digital music age (other than Wal-Mart, which has a very limited selection, unless your tastes fall entirely within the top 40). But I’m old-fashioned, so I miss being able to buy a disc in person rather than over the Internet; even a Best Buy or a Hastings would be fine with me.

• Grocery stores. I haven’t found one that has everything I need. For some reason, local stores seem to have regular and non-fat versions of foods, but not much by way of low-fat, that middle ground where food tastes decent but you don’t have to feel guilty. Wal-Mart has been my best bet overall (their peaches have been incredible lately), but I find their meat somewhat tasteless, so I haven’t been cooking as many homemade meals as I should.

Good things about Sedalia

• Sports. Good baseball, cheap concessions and a laid-back atmosphere in a historic stadium — I love the Sedalia Bombers, and I plan to catch every game I can next summer. I’ll check out State Fair Community College’s hoops teams (but it’s certainly a shame that they axed the volleyball program). And the friendly confines of Kauffman Stadium (where I’ve never seen my Twins lose) and Arrowhead Stadium are an hour away — that’s not a bad drive to see big-league sports.

• Comic books. Game Zone Comics & Games doesn’t have much selection in the store, but if you know what you want, the friendly shop owners will order your titles for you. Other than paying for the comics, the service is free.

• Libraries. Between the Sedalia Public Library and Boonslick Regional Library — conveniently located next to each other — we have an excellent selection of books for a small town. (If you live in the city, a Boonslick card costs a reasonable annual fee; it’s free if you live in the county but outside the city.)

• Weather. Missourians probably take it for granted, but the weather is quite nice here. Since June, it’s been either hot or warm. Compare that to Minnesota, where it’s been hot, cold, rainy, windy — not to mention mosquitoey — often all within the course of a single day. And in the winter, it will be cold. I’d much rather be hot than cold. I lived in North Dakota and Minnesota most of my life, and I never really got warm until this summer.