OUR VIEW: Logan should be more than a stop on the way to real world

With Logan reaching the metropolitan mark of 100,000 residents last year, mainstream, corporate America is beginning to take notice of Cache Valley’s market potential.

Outside businesses are springing up at a relatively rapid pace. Restaurants and superstores with recognizable names are being erected in the Logan skyline and, some say, casting shadows on the valley.

While some students are excited by names like Starbucks and Café Rio, there are problems connected with the coming of all these new businesses.

Undeniably, new businesses mean new jobs and, in a place where college students trample each other just to get to minimum-wage employment, more jobs wouldn’t be a bad thing.

But students are willing to work low-paying jobs in fast food and telemarketing because it helps them achieve their goal – a college degree that, in theory, will get them off the telephone and away from the fryer.

If the city is to continue growing, more high-end jobs will have to be established in the valley to entice students to stick around and make Logan more than a rest stop on the way to the real world.

Logan will continue to grow in population and mainstream franchises certainly provide a level of convenience for the city’s residents.

But if city officials hope to ensure the quality of the city’s growth, planners will eventually need to get away from the short-sided gratification a $5 Caramel Macchiato might provide, and start focusing on providing high-end employment for future USU graduates.

A Café Rio does not a city make.