Teeny Tiny Town Says Ta-Ta

Wednesday, 22 June 2011 | by Pat's Picks

The vote was 2-1, literally. All three residents of Tenney, Minnesota showed up to decide whether or not to dissolve their teeny tiny town yesterday says the Minneapolis Star Tribune. And while the votes won’t officially be tabulated until later this week, Mayor Kristen Schwab and City Clerk Oscar Guenther are confident they know the outcome. After a short chat, they realized Guenther’s sister, Tenney’s other resident, was the only holdout.  The town’s population peaked in 1910 when it boasted 200 residents. By the time the 2010 census was finished, the total count was down to five. Guenther says despite the nostalgia a small town evokes, it’s an unsustainable dream: “People love the notion of a little town. It’s a quaint idea. But when it comes down to it, it’s impractical. Maintaining the city’s buildings and property takes money and time. It’s like having someone near death and you try to prolong life to no avail or just to say farewell.”

According to Wikipedia, “the city’s main economic feature is a single grain elevator located near its southern border.”