Umlauts R Us: Gov. Dayton Orders MnDOT To Re-dot Linström

It's good to know that Governor Dayton is tackling the tough issues here in Minnesota: the umlauts are coming back to Lindström!

Yes, according to a story in BringMeTheNews.com, Governor Dayton issued an executive order earlier this week pretty much requiring MnDOT to use umlauts (those little dots over certain letters) on road signs when appropriate.

Apparently, umlauts used to be used on MnDOT signs for the city of Lindström, but had been removed recently, following a directive from the federal government. (Why the federal government is even issuing edicts about such things is a topic for another time, mind you.) Lindström is located in Chisago County, and is named for Swedish immigrant Daniel Lindström. Due to its heavy Swedish ancestry, it calls itself “America’s little Sweden.”

But now, thanks to Gov. Dayton, the umlauts are coming back. The story says the Governor had this to say about it: “Nonsensical rules like this are exactly why people get frustrated with government. Even if I have to drive to Lindström, and paint the umlauts on the city limit signs myself, I’ll do it.”

Seeing as I'm roughly a quarter Swedish, I agree with the Governor: Bring back the umlauts, MnDOT! (Although, truth be told, I really can't tell you what purpose umlauts serve, linguistically speaking. In fact, the only reason I even knew what they were called in the first place, is that the rock group Motley Crüe used to use one back in the 80's.)