A large yellow sign on Main Street has some Albert Lea residents talking.

Why? Because it is one that has caused large controversy over the past three years.

The sign reads &uot;’King’ flooring and more,&uot; on one side and &uot;’Vibrations’ audio and specialty&uot; on the other.

Some residents are curious about the meaning of the yellow moveable billboards, which have become well known around town because they are commonly used by adult business owner Malcolm Prinzing of Albert Lea, who has been known to open pornography shops despite the objections of neighbors elsewhere in Minnesota.

But Prinzing doesn’t own the property, a former Mobil station and bait shop. And the new owners of the property say they have no plans to open a pornography store.

&uot;We’re two new businesses,&uot; Tom King, owner of King Flooring, said.

King said that he and Doug Hallum, owner of Vibrations, decided to move into the location and thought the signs would help to get the word out.

&uot;It’s good advertising,&uot; he said. &uot;That’s for sure.&uot;

Still, some neighbors are suspicious because other adult stores have opened under false pretenses.

Last October, a new business opened outside of Stewartville. Its name is Pure Pleasure.

Originally, the owners told the community that the business would be a new-age theme store. Months later, after doors opened, the shelves were lined with pornography.

Elsewhere in the state, Pure Pleasure stores have opened up, to the chagrin of communities such as St. Cloud, Mankato and Duluth.

These stores are owned by either Malcolm Inc. or DiMa Corp., both of which are owned and operated by Prinzing.

When Prinzing has used the yellow signs around Albert Lea, they usually have carried a political message. Two years ago, a large yellow sign with black letters was parked in the Northbridge Mall parking lot. The words on the sign urged people not to vote for a school levy referendum. In 2002, Prinzing used the signs to campaign against then-Sen. Grace Schwab.

The yellow sign has also been spotted advertising C.J.’s Revenge Theatre, a Myrtle nude dancing club.

King said the new business owners decided to rent the sign because they knew it would catch people’s attention.

According to City Manager Paul Sparks, the area where the business is located is zoned so that pornography cannot be sold.

&uot;We have an ordinance in place that would make that illegal,&uot; Sparks said. &uot;If there was to be a pornography store in that place, we’d enforce those rules aggressively.&uot;

The ordinance was adopted three years ago, and does not allow pornographic materials to be sold in certain areas such as residential neighborhoods or near schools or churches.

&uot;It would be presumptuous to assume that they aim to violate that law,&uot; Sparks said. &uot;But we’ll keep an eye on it.&uot;

Prinzing did not return calls.

(Contact Peter Cox at peter.cox@albertleatribune.com of 379-3439.)