St. Joseph

An icon in St. Joseph is closing its doors after 70 years in the community. El Paso Bar and Grill is well known for everything from fish fries to volleyball leagues but owner Carole Tamm says she’ll always remember it as one big family.

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. Joseph took a step towards selling it's existing city hall and moving it onto the Colts Academy site. The facility committee has met several times to discuss the needs for remodeling, adding on to the existing city hall building, or building a new facility on the Colts Academy grounds.

A Kwik Trip is moving into the El Paso Bar and Grill location in St. Joseph. The St. Joseph planning commission will be considering a special use/variance and platting on October 12 for the development. El Paso will be closing on September 26th after 70 years in business.

St. Joseph is expected to approve a final service agreement on Monday night to subscribe for a community solar garden. The city is being asked by SunShare to provide energy on a subscription basis. They would build the solar gardens and parter with Xcel Energy.

El Paso Sports Bar and Grill has become an icon in St. Joseph after a nearly 70 year history. The building is well known for its year-round fish frys, volleyball leagues and for hosting weddings and other events in it's banquet hall. Owner Carole Tamm says it's all sadly coming to an end in late September.

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.

Five Little Free Libraries have popped up in St. Joseph parks this summer. John Anderson is chair of the city park board and says a Little Free Library is a box full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book and bring back another to share.

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.

St. Joseph is looking to add a foot golf course to a city park in the near future. The city park board is looking to add a six hole course to Northland Park, which is north of County Road 75.