On behalf of the Minnesota Regional Railroads Association, we would like to thank all of our guests, speakers and exhibitors for attending the 24th annual conference at Madden's on Gull Lake in Brainerd, Minnesota. Once again, attendance was high, the speakers were captivating, the food was delicious and best of all the weather was magnificent.

The conference kicked off Sunday afternoon with the annual golf tournament - this year held at beautiful "The Classic at Madden's". This year's tournament was one of the closest in recent memory, with members of the winning foursome consisting of Bill Drusch, Vic Sargent, Tim Jeske and Steve Schwarnweber. The evening's opening reception featured a New Orleans Mardi Gras themed dinner featuring the soothing sounds of The Showboaters Dixieland Band.

The group was welcomed back to the area by State Sen. Paul Koering during Monday's opening session. The morning programming featured a panel discussion on the state of Minnesota's economy, as well as a presentation on how the rail industry may play a role in the nation's economic rebound. In an effort to expose attendees to more than one breakout session, each of the four sessions were run back to back this year for the first time. Featured breakouts included the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's new storm water run-off rules, amendments to the Rail Safety Act, efforts to continue the reduction of diesel emissions through Project Green Fleet and an FRA rail and crossing safety update.

Monday evenings social gathering started with a lakeside deck reception overlooking Gull Lake, followed by a Hawaiian themed beachside luau featuring an authentic Minnesota pig roast. The evening was capped off with a roaring bonfire and live entertainment on the beach.

Tuesday morning started off with a presentation on American's Railroad Renaissance, followed by an update from the Minnesota Department of Transportation's rail office, as well as the annual video presentation by Minnesota Congressman James Oberstar. The conference concluded with the always popular legislative panel featuring analysis on the 2010 legislative session and prognostications for the upcoming 2010 election.

Below you will find pictures detailing the highlights of the conference, as well as links to the speaker presentations. And last, but not least, thanks to everyone who filled out the evaluation forms. Your input helps us craft future conferences. This year's winner of the $50 cash prize is Mike Urie from Krech Ojard & Associates. Congratulations Mike.

Again, on behalf the membership of the Minnesota Regional Railroads Association, we would like to thank everyone for helping make this year's conference yet another great success. We hope to see everyone next year!

John Apitz & Patrick Murray

Photo Captions Tina Lueth from Twin Cities & Western Railroad and Patrick Murray from the MRRA man the registration table at Madden's on Gull Lake The Showboaters Dixieland Band entertain the group during the Sunday's evenings New Orleans Mardi Gras & Dixieland Dinner John Apitz and Amber Backhaus announce the winners from the golf tournament and present the prizes State Sen. Paul Koering welcomes the group back to the greater Brainerd area on Monday morning Dave Christianson from Mn/DOT's State Rail Plan project manager moderates "ETA for a Rebound" panel discussion regarding the state of Minnesota's economy Kyle Uphoff from the Department of Employment & Economic Development participates in the "ETA for Rebound" panel Andreas Aeppli from Cambridge Systematics participates in the "ETA for Rebound" panel John Gray from the American Association of Railroads explains what role railroads will play in the nation's recovery Jim Holland from Pinnacle Engineering breaks down the MPCA's new storm water run-off rules during a breakout session Bill Droessler from the Minnesota Environmental Initiative and Mark Sulzbach from the MPCA discuss the diesel emission reduction component of Project Green Fleet John Smullen from the Federal Railroad Administration gives the FRA rail and crossing safety update Tracey Holmes Donesky from Leonard, Street and Deinard gives an update on amendments to the Rail Safety Act John Apitz and longtime rail consultant/aficionado Patrick Dorin catch up during the exhibitor's showcase Guests mingle on the deck overlooking Gull Lake at Monday evening's reception Michael Barron from Fletcher & Sippel displays a plate of the delicacies featured at the Hawaiian Luau Kevin Soucie serenades the group with the soothing sounds of his guitar at the bonfire Tony Hatch from ABH Consulting explains Wall Street's perspective on the rail industry during "America's Railroad Renaissance" Mark Wegner from Twin Cities & Western Railroad introduces Susan Aylesworth, Tim Spencer and Janelle Collier from Mn/DOT's Rail Office Brian McDaniel from Lockridge Grindal Nauen moderates the "2010 Session & Election Analysis" panel featuring Amber Backhaus of Leonard Street & Deinard, Matt Lemke from Winthrop & Weinstine, John Apitz of Messerli & Kramer and Rep. Mike Beard
Title	Author
"ETA for a Rebound" - Is Minnesota On-Track for the Recovery?	Dave Christianson - Mn/DOT Kyle Uphoff - Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development Andreas Aeppli - Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
"On the Rebound" - A Role for Railroads in Our National Recovery	John Gary - American Association of Railroads
"When it Rails…" New MPCA Storm Water Run-off Rules	Jim Holland & John Landwehr - Pinnacle Engineering
"Safety First!" - FR Rail & Crossing Safety Update	Tammy Wagner - Federal Railroad Administration John Smullen - Federal Railroad Administration
"America's Railroad Renaissance"	Anthony B. Hatch - ABH Consulting
"We're from the Government and We're Here to Help" - Mn/DOT Rail Office Update	Timothy Spencer - Mn/DOT Janelle Collier - Mn/DOT Susan Aylesworth - Mn/DOT

Once again, we would like to extend an extra special thanks to the following companies, firms and organizations for their financial support of the 24th Annual Midwest Regional & Shortline Railroad Annual Conference…

Event Sponsors

1. BNSF Railway
2. CN
3. Krech Ojard & Associates - Duluth, Minnesota
4. Messerli & Kramer - St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota
5. Northern Lines Railway - St. Cloud, Minnesota
6. Northern Plains Rail Services - Fordville, North Dakota
7. Right-A-Way Applicators - Cooperstown, North Dakota
8. Union Pacific Railroad

Golf Sponsors

1. Aspen Equipment - Bloomington, Minnesota
2. HOTSTART - Spokane, Washington
3. Kimball Railcar - Kimball, Minnesota
4. Leonard Street & Deinard - Minneapolis, Minnesota
5. Messerli & Kramer - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
6. Northern Lines Railroad - St. Cloud, Minnesota
7. Northern Metal Recycling - St. Cloud, Minnesota
8. Northern Plains Rail Services - Fordville, North Dakota
9. Progress Rail Services - Woodridge, Illinois
10. Railworks Track Systems - Lakeville, Minnesota
11. Railway Equipment Company - Plymouth, Minnesota
12. Stanley - Cohasset, Minnesota
13. Stella-Jones Corp. - Ripley, West Virginia
14. Thompson Industries, Inc. - Indianapolis, Indiana
15. Twin Cities & Western Railroad - Glencoe, Minnesota

General Sponsors

1. AECOM Transportation - St. Paul, Minnesota
2. HDR Engineering - Minneapolis, Minnesota
3. La Colo, LLC - Nashville, Tennessee
4. Leonard Street & Deinard - Minneapolis, Minnesota
5. Northern Plains Rail Services - Fordville, North Dakota
6. Omega Industries - Vancouver, Washington
7. Progress Rail Services - Woodridge, Illinois
8. Railworks Track Systems - Lakeville, Minnesota
9. Railway Equipment Company - Plymouth, Minnesota
10. S.E.H. Inc. - St. Paul, Minnesota
11. Stella-Jones Corp. - Ripley, West Virginia
12. Thompson Industries, Inc. - Indianapolis, Indiana

Exhibitors

1. Diesel Supply Co., Inc. - Hudson, Wisconsin
2. Hatch & Kirk - Seattle, Washington
3. HOTSTART - Spokane, Washington
4. Kimball Railcar - Kimball, Minnesota
5. Minnesota Operation Lifesaver - St. Paul, Minnesota
6. Omega Industries - Vancouver, Washington
7. TKDA - St. Paul, Minnesota
8. TRICO TC/WIND - Litchfield, Minnesota

Registered attendees for this year's conference included representatives from the following railroads, companies and organizations:

ABH consulting AECOM American Assocation of Railroads Aspen Equipment Company Birmingham Rail & Locomotive BNSF Railway Briggs Business Communication Cambridge Systematics, Inc. CN Dakota County Technical College Diesel Supply Company D & I Railroad Edward A. Robinson, CPA Eide Bailly, LLC Federal Railroad Administration Fletcher & Sippel, LLC Hatch & Kirk HDR Engineering Head, Seifert & VanderWeide HOTSTART Industrial Lubricants Company Kimball Railcar Services Krech, Ojard & Associates La Colo, LLC Leonard, Street and Deinard Lockridge, Grindal & Nauen LORAM Maintenance of Way Martin Marietta Materials Messerli & Kramer, P.A. Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development Minnesota Department of Transportation

Minnesota Environmental Initiative Minnesota Northern Railroad Minnesota Operation Lifesaver Minnesota Prairie Line Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority MT Properties Northern Lines Railway Northern Metal Recycling, Inc. (formerly Phillips Recycling Systems, Inc.) Northern Plains Railroad Omega Industries Otter Tail Valley Railroad Phillips Recycling Systems, Inc. Pinnacle Engineering, Inc. Progressive Rail Progress Rail Services Railworks Track Systems Red River Valley & Western Railroad Right-A-Way Applicators (RAW) R. L. Banks & Associates, Inc. Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH) St. Croix Valley Railroad Stella-Jones Corp. Thompson Industries, Inc. TKDA Transportation Certification Services/Rail Temps Inc. TransSystems TRICO TC/WIND Twin Cities & Western Railroad Union Pacific Railroad Vossloh Track Materials, Inc. Winthrop & Weinstine, PA