The Tribune would like to thank letter writer Richard Kary for sending a letter with the information on seven easy ways to ruin your town. To do what&8217;s right, it helps people realize how to do what&8217;s wrong.

In fact, it is interesting to note that Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Tuesday sort of mentioned the same thing. He spoke on how similar negative attributes cause economic-development troubles. He mentioned how some might look down, kick the dirt and mutter words about how nothing can be done. He said that sort of outlook gets people nowhere.

On the other hand, there&8217;s the positive outlook. This is a can-do outlook that gets things done. It&8217;s what works, and it&8217;s what the governor was talking about.

But keep in mind, he and most any economic development official likely would advise against being so ridiculously positive that it becomes a Lake Wobegon outlook. Going overboard makes it seem like something is tragically wrong or even comedic.

The best course is an honest-yet-optimistic one. You&8217;ve got to face the ups with downs. But when the downs happen, you can look on the upside. You move on to the next challenge.

And that&8217;s what local economic development officials have done in the wake of Target&8217;s announcement to build a distribution warehouse in Cedar Falls, Iowa, instead of Albert Lea.

Detractors and naysayers should keep in mind that it was quite a distinction to be in the final two cities for consideration. They should also recall that Larson Manufacturing did choose Albert Lea for its distribution warehouse. In fact, the groundbreaking ceremony for it takes place Wednesday.

Finally, Kary said he received that &8220;seven ways&8221; document from a friend. The Tribune found it originally had eight ways and was called &8220;Eight Ways to Ruin Your Town.&8221; It was developed by Jeff Eckhoff, executive director of the Minnehaha and Lincoln County Economic Development Associations in South Dakota.

Here they are:

1. Stay away from town meetings &8212; and be sure to criticize the way &8220;they&8221; run things. You don&8217;t have to be there to know that somebody else is not doing it right.

2. Complain bitterly about the climate. Dwell on the cold winters, the hot summers and the generally tough conditions for people who live here. Let the world know that this is the last place anybody would want to live and work.

3. Knock your city and county governments.

Spread the word about the stupidity of your elected officials. After all, they&8217;re all just out to get you anyway.

4. Don&8217;t buy anything locally. Use discount stores in the city and direct mail catalogs for all of your purchases. It’s a lot more important to save a buck than to save a local merchant.

5. Snipe at the local paper. Tell anyone who will listen that those &8220;media people&8221; are just no good; they never print any of the news YOU want to read.

6. Boycott community events. Tell yourself and everyone else that it&8217;s not your job to show up for ballgames, concerts and school programs. Who really care if anybody participates in those things?

7. Be more negative. Everybody knows that all kids are delinquents, all businessmen are crooks and all public officials are just looking out for themselves.

8. Be skeptical, cynical and critical about anything designed for the community&8217;s progress and betterment &8212; and do it as loudly as possible. Blame &8220;progress&8221; for every difficulty, economic development for changing things from the way they were in the &8220;good old days,&8221; and disagree with anything that makes things &8220;different&8221; in your town.