city government

St. Joseph decided to cut just over $50,000 from its 2016 preliminary budget on Monday night. Council members were previously asked for options to lower the budget and tax rate.

St. Cloud is taking a step towards a possible $19 million retail-office building that would go in next to city hall. During their regular meeting on Monday night, the city council heard a plan for the city to enter into an agreement with Inventure Properties.

A new $10 million retail project along Highway 23 is being pitched to Cold Spring. The city council heard the plan on Tuesday night, which calls for a new Wenner Do it Best Hardware and Rental at the corner of Highway 23 and County Road 2.

St. Joseph is looking to move ahead with a proposed 745,000 foot distribution center. The center is proposed on 98.92 acres of mostly agricultural land in St. Joseph. The proposed location for the center is near 19th Avenue Northeast and County Road 133.

The St. Joseph park board is continuing to work towards creating a dog park in town. The plan was first presented to the city council earlier this month. John Anderson is chair of the park board and says a possible location for the park is a site between Fir Street and Highway 75, directly east of the Lake Wobegon Trail.

Upgrades and repairs to downtown Cold Spring will cost just over $3.2 million, according to a feasibility study. The city is looking to reconstruct County Road 2, also known as Red River Avenue. City engineer Brian Lintgen says a large part of the cost involves replacing utilities like storm sewers.

St. Joseph is looking to possibly add a city community development director to its staff in the near future. The community development director would be responsible for planning and economic development needs of St. Joseph.

Six candidates made their case for a spot on the St. Cloud city council on Monday night. Steven Baklaich, Emily Esch, Seal Dwyer, Sonja Berg, Steve Laraway, and Nick Hall each gave a three minute speech to the council, who will make a final decision on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.

The number of women elected to local government posts in Minnesota has leveled off at far less than even since reaching an all-time high in 2002.