The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may not have been able to prevent New Orleans from flooding, but you've got to give the Corps credit for one thing: It knows how to maintain a restroom. On the trip along West River Parkway from downtown Minneapolis to Lock and Dam 1, comfort stations are in pitifully short supply. Sure, there are a few port-a-potties here and there, but port-a-potties are not suitable for civilized folks in any non-crisis situation. Stop in at the restroom at Lock and Dam 1, which is open from April to November, and you will feel that you have suddenly been transported to Sweden. It is tidy, well-lit, and better scrubbed than 80 percent of the restaurant kitchens in this town—and probably much cleaner than the foul commode in your domicile.