New Rules For Ebikes And Escooters Hit St. Joseph Streets

The city of St. Joseph is placing a 1-year moratorium on the possibility of a data center in their community.  Mayor Adam Scepaniak says there has been a lot of anecdotal evidence of data centers being bad for the environment as far as the water runoff, and use of electricity.  He says some cities want to use these data centers in industrial parks and their industrial park is located in a wetland area.  Scepaniak explains that the city of St. Joseph plans to do some research on data centers, which is the reason for the pause.

State E-Bike and E-Scooter Law

The popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters has prompted the city of St. Joseph to look at potential rules and regulations for those vehicles in their community.  In Minnesota the law says e-bikes and e-scooters are regulated similarly to traditional bicycles, with specific age, power, and equipment restrictions. E-bike riders must be at least 15, while e-scooter riders must be at least 12. Both are generally allowed on roads and bike paths, but e-scooters are prohibited on sidewalks.

E-Bike Ordinance

Scepaniak says he and the St. Joe city council are working on crafting their first ordinance specifically on e-bikes and e-scooters.  He says there is a big difference between e-bikes and e-scooters than traditional bicycles.  Scepaniak indicates many of those riding e-bikes and e-scooters in St. Joe haven't been wearing proper head gear and that concerns him.  He feels many of the e-bike and e-scooter users aren't following traffic laws and he's concerned that will lead to accidents.  Scepaniak says they are looking at what other cities are doing in regards to this as well.

Residential and Commercial

St. Joe views the southside of the community as the area of residential growth potential and Scepaniak says they would like to see additional single family homes go in there.  He is not interested in adding additional multi-family home options at this time.  St. Joe is still looking to expand their industrial park.  They went to the legislature looking for $2.25 Million in bonding dollars from the state to make that happen.  Scepaniak says that money would go toward infrastructure in their industrial park north of Coborns on County Road 75.

Events

Upcoming events in St. Joe include their weekly spring/summer Farmers Markets from 3-6pm Fridays.  Last Friday was the first one at the Lake Wobegon trailhead.  Wednesday May 20 will be the first Woodfire Wednesday of the season at Rolling Ridge Event Center.  White Peony Boutique will be hosting their summer market on Saturday June 6.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Adam Scepaniak, click below.