John Ackerman is a big landlord of underground real estate. He owns 45 caves hidden beneath the roll скачать в хорошем качестве

John Ackerman is a big landlord of underground real estate. He owns 45 caves hidden beneath the roll

(7 Nov 2013) VOICE OVER) JOHN ACKERMAN COULD BE CALLED A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CAVEMAN. NOT BECAUSE OF HIS LOOKS OR BEHAVIOR, BUT BECAUSE HE OWNS 45 CAVES UNDERNEATH THE ROLLING HILLS OF MINNESOTA AND NORTH-EAST IOWA. ACKERMAN BEGAN EXPLORING CAVES AS A BOY. (SOUNDBITE: John Ackerman, Cave Owner:) "I think it's just to be able to be the first human to introduce light into the inky blackness of just unknown chambers that may go for miles. And then later, its to protect them so that they're available for scientific research." (VOICE OVER) HIS PRIDE IS SPRING VALLEY CAVERNS, THE LARGEST PRIVATE CAVE IN MINNESOTA. SPRING VALLEY WAS ALSO ACKERMAN'S FIRST PURCHASE TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO. WHAT HE INITIALLY THOUGHT WAS A RELATIVELY SMALL half-mile long CAVERN UNDERNEATH MINNESOTA FARMLAND ... TURNED OUT TO BE A MAJOR MAZE OF UNDERGROUND PASSAGES AND WATERWORKS. (UPSOUND: Ackerman at the map) (12:41:50) - After working in a passage after a year, I broke through and found over five miles of caverns. Most of this was all walking caves. This section was a river, raging river with very tall water falls. (12:42:06) (VOICE OVER) AS HE MAPS THE SPRING VALLEY CAVERNS, DRIPPING WATER IS THE ONLY SOUND OTHER THAN ACKERMAN'S MOVEMENTS. (UPSOUND WATER DRIPPING TO RUSTLE OF MOVEMENT) AND, THROUGH THIS PIPE, BROWN BATS ARE MOVING INTO THE CAVE AS WINTER HIBERNATION BEGINS. ACKERMAN's FURNITURE RESTORATION BUSINESS HAS BEEN LUCRATIVE - ALLOWING HIM TO PURCHASE CAVES AND SURFACE PROPERTY. HE ESTIMATES HE'S SPENT more than FOUR MILLION DOLLARS ON CAVE EXPLORATION AND ACQUIRING UNDERGROUND RIGHTS. (SOUNDBITE: John Ackerman, Cave Owner:) "I've had the shear good fortune to find a lot of caves. Over 40, 45 caves. And, its my wish to make sure that the scientific community has access to all these caverns when I'm long gone." ACKERMAN ADMITS THAT CAVING CAN BE DANGEROUS, BUT HE'S ON A QUEST TO PRESERVE AS MANY AS HE CAN FOR SCIENCE. HIS CAVES ARE FREE TO SCIENTISTS, CAVERS, AND NATURE GROUPS WHO WANT TO EXPLORE THE UNDERGROUND PASSAGES. TOM RITCHIE, ASSOCIATED PRESS Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...