Latest news with #Satre
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Woodbury launches a new visitors bureau and website
What does Woodbury have to offer? Trails, parks and scenic views for lovers of the outdoors, restaurants for the foodies and 'phone eats first' Instagram crew, energizing attractions for adrenaline junkies, local businesses and, best of all, community, according to Eric Satre, marketing manager for the city's new visitors bureau, Destination Woodbury. 'We know Woodbury is a welcoming city and we know it's a great place to visit,' Satre said. Destination Woodbury, a city-funded destination marketing organization, launches Saturday at the Woodbury Community Expo. There, Satre will unveil the brand's new website, parks and trails map and host live demonstrations of what the site has to offer. 'We'll provide itineraries, things to do and places to stay,' Satre said. 'It's really just a one-stop shop for visitor resources.' The idea for the tourist bureau has been in the works for several years, Satre said. As the city continues to grow and develop, with locations like Central Park re-opening in the fall, and businesses like Top Golf and Main Event opening later in the year, 'now seemed to be the right time,' he said. Satre, whose position is funded by Woodbury's hotel lodging tax, has been in the tourism business for 18 years, having previously worked with Visit St. Paul and Visit Inver Grove Heights. Explore Minnesota lists dozens of cities and regions that have their own visitor information websites, similar to Destination Woodbury. But while the main purpose of Destination Woodbury is to attract visitors outside of the 50-mile radius, it's also meant for Woodbury residents looking to discover new attractions and book venues for special events like weddings and family reunions, Satre said. The organization also promotes local businesses by providing them a platform to share their stories, he said. 'The community in Woodbury is growing and developing and I feel like Destination Woodbury can grow alongside of it,' Satre said. Woodbury is a prime spot for visitors, Satre said, as Interstate 94 connects it to the city of St. Paul and travelers can now use Metro Transit's new Bus Rapid Transit route, the Gold Line, to explore. 'We have a great location here for visitors whether they're staying in Woodbury or maybe they want to make it their home base and go to a concert in downtown St. Paul, a game or the St. Croix River Valley,' Satre said. As of now, Destination Woodbury is only a website, but will open as a visitor's desk in Woodbury Central Park this summer, according to Satre. 'Guests can come and ask questions about what there is to do, places to go, local restaurants and so forth,' Satre said. Satre said the organization will help streamline the messaging of what Woodbury has to offer. 'My vision is to to launch the brand and the website in year one, then grow it from there,' Satre said. 'I mean, this is really just the beginning, which is very exciting.' For more information visit To submit a business, attraction, or event for consideration, contact info@ Judge dismisses former Washington County deputy's sexual-harassment lawsuit Four Stillwater teachers suspended for cheating on training program Stillwater schools make leadership changes Woodbury attorney disbarred after being convicted of swindling client Charges: Woodbury HS student had replica gun in backpack, ran from school What: More than 150 business and organizations offer promotional booths, hosted by the Woodbury Chamber of Commerce. Live entertainment, a kids area, vehicle fair and food will also be available. When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 5 Where: Woodbury High School, 2665 Woodlane Drive Cost: Free admission. Info: Visit for more details.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Our Company Could Not Coexist' with Trump as a Partner
THE MOST PRESCIENT AND POINTED WARNING about Donald Trump may have been raised by a Harrah's executive. In 2016. Phil Satre wasn't a celebrity, but he stood out in at least two ways: He was Trump's partner on an Atlantic City casino project in the 1980s. And he was willing to stick his neck out and write about it in the Reno Gazette Journal. The column Satre wrote was so spot-on that in my role then as commentary editor of USA Today, I republished it in our newspaper in hopes it would influence voters throughout the land. That was back when the extent of the Teflon Don syndrome had not fully penetrated our brains—when we still thought, or hoped, that reason and facts could make a difference. Here's just one paragraph of Satre's column: In 1985 I filed an affidavit with the court over Trump's claims of mismanagement: Referring to Trump I said, 'His written response to my letter of May 10 is characteristic of the bluster, threats, intemperance and unsupported and unsupportable falsehoods that have permeated the correspondence we have received from him and his key management employees almost since the beginning of our partnership.' My opinion of Donald Trump from the 1980s has not changed. The negative publicity about Donald Trump during this campaign—his conduct toward women, his business failures and his explosive temperament—matches my dealings with him. As we know, reason and facts did not prevail. Satre's words, so blunt and vivid, probably had the most impact inside my own brain. They have come to mind repeatedly during the first two months of Trump's return to office. Call it the boomerang presidency. Or the whiplash or rug-pull presidency. The bottom line is the same, whether we're talking about tariffs, Ukraine, Social Security, immigration, or anything else: You cannot count on Trump. You cannot trust him. Also, he knows nothing about the economy. 'I don't have a changed view of him,' Satre told me in a phone call this week—the first time we'd ever talked. 'His whole approach during the periods that I was involved with him in a partnership were examples of somebody who talked a lot about himself with a great deal of bombast. And there was no regard to accuracy of what he said or truthfulness. And as a consequence, ultimately, our company could not coexist with him as a partner.' Keep up with all our articles, newsletters, podcasts, and livestreams: Negotiating with Trump then sounds a lot like negotiating with him now. 'What was negotiated in those days was his name and how valuable his name was. We had lots of disagreements about that,' Satre said, deadpan, and we both chuckled. Were they resolved? 'No, they weren't,' he said. In a way, though, they were. Satre and the rest of the Harrah's team decided to sell their half-interest in the project back to Trump. They didn't lose any money in the transaction, Satre said, but Trump nevertheless claimed it was 'a great deal for him.' Harrah's went back to operating its 'very successful' Marina District casino in Atlantic City, which had opened in 1980. And Trump went back to doing what he does best, or worst. The Trump Plaza, as Trump called it after the partnership ended, 'filed for bankruptcy in 1992. It closed in 2014 after additional bankruptcies,' Satre wrote in 2016. And lest you're inclined to blame economic conditions, he made a point of noting that 'in contrast, Harrah's flourished during this same period, and I retired as Chairman in 2005.' And furthermore: 'I am convinced he simply does not have the temperament to be president, or more importantly, commander in chief: His hair-trigger temper, bluster, racial rhetoric and divisive domestic and international views will endanger our democracy and risk permanent damage to our society.' Not surprisingly, both Satre and I thought immediately of his long-ago op-ed after the volcanic Oval Office meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. When Satre read about it and watched clips, he had flashbacks to some of his sessions with Trump. 'We had several of those just really angry outbursts,' he told me. Satre did not write anything about Trump last year. 'I didn't feel like I could say anything different than what I said then. I actually was quite shocked in 2024, shocked by the outcome,' he said. Join now The enduring mystery, for Satre and so many of us, is why Trump's skills at selling and marketing himself have worked so well and for so long. They weren't in evidence, nor was there any hint he had a political future, at the time Satre was trying to work with him. That came later, he says, when Trump was riding high with The Apprentice: 'He had become a media personality more than a developer personality, and he started talking about running for president and all that. I began to run into people who said we should elect him president. I said 'Really?' The Apprentice. People were attracted to that.' Satre, now the non-executive chairman of the board of Wynn Resorts, has had a long and respected career in the gaming industry. But like millions of Americans, maybe tens of millions, he has failed at one big thing: Turning the electorate away from Donald Trump. Years ago, when he and other Harrah's executives contemplated a continued future with Trump, 'We made the decision that we'd be well served by terminating our relationship with him,' he said during our call. 'We decided to do it and we were very happy.' If only Republicans could find the courage and will to do the same. If I were a betting woman, I'd say they, and their country, would be very happy. Send this article around—to friends or followers or family. Share
