South St. Paul Voice May 2023

South St. Paul

The true harbinger of spring Page 12

City projects on the horizon

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

Anew trailhead building, consideration of a new South Metro fire station, aging infrastructure and a new multi-family apartment complex were among the topics highlighted in this year’s State of the City address, held in early March. Here’s a recap of what to expect this year and ways to provide feedback.

Wakota trailhead - The City has partnered with Dakota County to create a trailhead facility with a restroom and a picnic shelter on the Mississippi River Trail near the Wakota Bridge, creating a trail connection to the Mississippi River Greenway. It will be built at the north end of the parking lot that is used by boaters using the nearby DNR river access, and those tending a South St. Paul community garden plot or visiting the city’s compost site. The site will be landscaped and include interpretive signage. The City is seeking community feedback through early September. For more information, visit southstpaul.org and search “Wakota scenic trailhead.”

Economic development - The city chalked up $37 million in new construction last year, the second highest amount on record, just behind 2021, which had $39 million. In fact, the city has added more than $30 million in value in three of the last six years. One of the biggest projects being discussed for 2023 is the Vaquero apartment complex to be built State of the City / Page 3

Traveling war memorial aims to heal wounds

Neighbors, Inc. names interim director

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

South St. Paul lost 11 native sons in the Vietnam War: Theodore Leyde, James Mega, Stephen Thuet, Keith Christophersen, Philip Des Lauriers, Robert Mariz, Richard Johnson, Gonzalo Villasenor, David Anderson, Eugene Johnson and Bruce Christensen. Their names are memorialized on the Wall that Heals.

Whilemany may never get the chance to make the hallowed walk along the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. – created in 1982 to honor more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War – this month St. Thomas Academy (STA) is giving people the chance to do the next best thing. STA is hosting The Wall That Heals May 26-29 at the school, 949 Mendota Heights Rd., Mendota Heights. This three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be open to the public around the clock, from 2 p.m.,

May 26, to 2 p.m., May 29. An education center featuring several exhibits about the Vietnam War will be set up near the wall. The traveling wall bears the names of the 58,281 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War. Just like the actual memorial, names are listed in chronological order based on date of death. Names with a cross next to them are soldiers who were missing in action when the memorial was built. Those with a diamond next to them are soldiers who were missing in action but whose remains

Donna Dalton, who has more than 20 years’ experience in nonprofit management, has been named interim executive director at Neighbors, Inc. She was placed in that role in mid-February by Mighty Consulting, the St. Paul-based search firm that Neighbors, Inc. has retained to help its board of directors find their next executive director. After six years with the organization, executive director Charlie Thompson resigned from Neighbors, Inc. in January to lead a nonprofit in the state of Washington.

Dalton has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in public administration from Hamline University. After working as a grant writer, she joined the St. Paul Foundation, and for a decade advised families and businesses on their charitable contributions. She then served 13 years as executive director at the Mortenson Wall that Heals / Page 3

Local artist finds inspiration in abandoned places

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

Adusty farmhouse with a broken door and beams of sunlight streaming through the cracks in its aged wooden planks. A lone, rusty windmill towering over a windswept prairie with no houses in sight. A deserted schoolhouse – once bustling with activity – with papers strewn across the

floor. These are just a few of the many lonely and abandoned scenes that South St. Paul resident Mariah Masilko has captured on canvas. She recently showcased her watercolor paintings at two locations during the St. Paul Spring Art Crawl, and her work will be featured at Grainbelt Brewery during the Art-a-Whirl in Minneapolis, held May 19-21. Her love of such places

was kindled as a child growing up in Grand Forks, N.D., where she spent many hours exploring the countryside and the relics within it.

“There was an abandoned old folks’ home pretty close to my house when I was growing up,” said Masilko.

“I was, like, 13 the first time we [she and some friends] snuck in there. I loved that place…. When I was in junior high and high school I

would always paint pictures of that.” She also spent a lot of time at her grandparents’ home in a small town in North Dakota, just a few miles from the Canadian border.

“I think it might be a ghost town now, but at the time it was just almost a ghost town,” she said. These days, finding a site that stirs her artistic juices isn’t always easy or safe. Ma-

silko usually finds the subjects of her paintings while on walks or drives, and occasionally stumbles across one online. While it’s hard to imagine she hasn’t hopped a few fences, she said she generally only goes to easily accessible buildings that have the door unlocked – and even then, she must decide whether it’s safe to enter or if she’d be better off simply poking her camera through

a window. Nearly all her paintings are completed in her studio from photographs because of the often unstable nature of the sites.

Masilko earned a bachelor’s degree in studio arts from the University of Minnesota in 1997. Following graduation, she worked at a legal office, got married and continued to paint as time

Sample St. Paul Page 6

Donna Dalton

allowed. In 2004, shortly before their first child was born, she and her husband moved to Fargo, N.D. for her husband’s work in the restaurant industry. It was then that Masilko began to sell her artwork for the first time. Over the course of two years, she landed her paintings in a few galleries in North Dakota. In 2006, the family moved to Minneapolis and four years later found a comfortable home in South St. Paul, where Masilko is active in the local arts scene.

“I just got involved with the South St. Paul Arts Council that does a ‘Bring

Think Spring!

Your Own Art’ night at the Croatian Hall every month,” she said. “I think they’re talking about doing more things like having some shows and classes. They usually have a booth at On The Road Again – last year’s had kids’ paintings in it.

“I am going to get a little free art gallery in my front yard,” she added. “I’m excited about that. It’s kind of like the little free libraries but it’ll just have little art things.” The South St. Paul Arts Council installed a little free art library at 740 9th Ave. S. last fall. This will be the second in the city.

Masilko has displayed her paintings at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Artifex Manuum Spa & Gallery in Uptown Minne-

apolis, the Minnesota State Fair, the Landmark Center in St. Paul, Lake Region Healthcare in Fergus Falls, the Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts in Fridley, and several galleries in Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D. While lonely, abandoned buildings are her artistic forte, she is also known to paint modern buildings and city landmarks.

Painting makes her happy, she said, and fulfilled, “like I’m doing something that I’m supposed to be doing….. It’s almost like I have something inside that I have to get out, and it doesn’t even matter if anyone else sees it, I just have to get it out.”

To view her work, visit mjmasilko.com.

Park

Our beautiful cemetery is conveniently situated on the Pilot Knob plateau above the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers in Mendota Heights. We are proud of our majestic scenery and natural environment that is uninhibited by upright monuments, which creates a stunning park-like setting. We have provided quality, personal service to families since 1925. We offer the following options to our families:

• Sections specifically designed for casket or cremation burial

• Convenient no-interest pre-payment plans for three years

• No-obligation information and tour of the cemetery grounds

• Markers, vaults, vases and urns for purchase

• Newly developed cremation gardens

• Serving all faiths

Masilko’s painting of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox church in South St. Paul.

Wall that Heals

from page 1

were later found.

The 375-foot-long wall is arranged in a V-shape and increases in height to sevenand-a-half feet at its highest point. This gives visitors the illusion that the wall is rising above them as they make the walk. The wall has 140 highly reflective synthetic granite plaques that allow visitors to see their own reflection be-

hind the seemingly countless names of the fallen.

Staff from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the nonprofit that built the memorial in Washington, D.C., will be onsite to lead volunteers, educate visitors and ensure the atmosphere is reverential. One of the staff is Herb Reckinger, a South St. Paul native who graduat-

State of the City

from page 1

at the corner of Grand and Concord Exchange North.

Simek Realty, developers of the nearby 67-unit Drover apartment building, and Master Properties have partnered on the project, which includes a 170-unit housing complex with a pool and rooftop deck. They anticipate beginning construction in mid- to late-2023.

Concord reconstruction

- In partnership with MNDOT and Dakota County, the City has been reconstructing 3.5 miles of Concord Street between I-494 and Annapolis Street since spring 2021. Work on the final stretch, from Bryant Avenue to Annapolis Street, resumed in April and is expected to be completed in June. Two-way traffic is open throughout the corridor, with temporary pavement in the construction zone. Short-term lane closures may occur during roadway paving and the construction of a retaining wall. For more information, visit concordstreetssp.com.

South Metro Fire Department - The fire department responded to about 7,600 incidents in 2022,

a 4.3% increase over 2021 and a whopping 39% increase compared to 10 years ago. The increase in activity prompted the city to conduct a needs assessment of the department and its stations. South Metro is a joint venture between the cities of South St. Paul and West St. Paul and has space in both cities. The assessment was completed in December. One option in the report calls for the cities to build a new fire department in the center of the two communities. Both city councils will review the options identified in the assessment, and each will make a recommendation in the second half of the year on how to move forward.

Other highlights - Children’s materials at the library are now fine-free and youth in grades 4-8 can receive a free virtual library card. The City and Dakota County broke ground on the new library at Seventh and Marie avenues in October, which is scheduled to open in March next year.

South St. Paul Police Department has two student resource officers in the schools,

ed in 1970 along with some of the siblings of those whose names are now on the wall. Visitors can receive paper and a graphite pencil with which to trace the name of a loved one.

The Wall that Heals was built in 1996 and has since traveled to more than 700 communities. It’s transported in a 53-foot covered trailer that, when parked, is used for the educational exhibits. While at STA, it will feature digital photos of

and also received a $500,000 grant to hire more officers this year.

Wiggle Fest, Splish Splash Bash and Flannel Fest all had great turnouts last year and will return this year.

The runway at Fleming Field Airport was entirely repaved. The $250,000 project included new lighting and painting and was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and money from the CARES Act of 2020.

Challenges

The biggest challenge facing the City this year is the high cost of maintaining its aging city-owned buildings, including the public works facility, fire station #2, John Carroll building, well water

Minnesota service members whose names are on the wall, digital photos of local Vietnam veterans who returned home from Vietnam and later died, educational videos about the history and impact of the wall, a replica of the In Memory plaque, a map of Vietnam, a chronological overview of the Vietnam War and more. For more information about the program, visit www.thewallthatheals.org.

treatment buildings, buildings of the Northview Pool and Splash Pool, and the current library. The City has created a task force to look at these buildings and create a plan to address their maintenance, upgrades or replacement. Other challenges include replanting trees to replace the many ash trees –about a third of all trees in the city – infested with emerald ash borer, and leadership personnel changes. The City saw turnover of five department heads in 2022, including the police chief, public works director and city administrator.

Dalton

from page 1

Family Foundation, where she approved grant funding to communities across the state.

As interim director, Dalton will work to ensure things continue to run smoothly at Neighbors.

“I’m just here to be the bridge to ensure that it continues fully functioning until the new executive director is named,” she said. “It’s a competitive market right now so we’re uncertain how long we’ll keep the job posting open, but we’re aiming to name the new executive director by June or July.”

Neighbors is seeking an experienced professional who understands the organization’s values – respect, generosity and inclusion – and can manage a team of employees and volunteers to deliver its services. The director is also responsible for budgeting and maintaining the financial well-being of the organization.

“The staff team [at Neighbors, Inc.] is really strong,” said Dalton. “They know the work really well and know the community really well, but the amazing volunteers are probably what have struck me the most about the organization…. The identity of community is really woven throughout this entire organization.”

Neighbor’s, Inc. provides food, clothing, financial assistance and more to residents in northern Dakota County. It relies on dozens of volunteers to operate its food shelf, Clothes Closet thrift store and other programs.

This isn’t Dalton’s first foray into South St. Paul. She has faint memories from her childhood of riding in her father’s truck to the Stockyards to sell cattle. She recalls it was a loud, busy and smelly place.

Rummage sales

Luther Memorial Church , 315 15th Ave. N., South St. Paul, is hosting its annual rummage sale April 27-29. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday; and 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday. For more information, call 651-451-2400.

St. John Vianney Church, 789 17th Ave. N., South St. Paul, is having its annual Reduce/Reuse Rummage Sale April 27-29. A $5 pre-sale is held 5-7 p.m. on Thursday. The hours on Friday are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and

Saturday 9 a.m.-noon with a $5 bag sale.

Book, record sale

First Presbyterian Church, 535 20th Ave. N., South St. Paul, is holding a book and vinyl record sale 10 a.m.4 p.m., May 5-6. Hundreds of fiction and non-fiction books will be available for adults and children, as well as a limited supply of vinyl records. All books are $1; vinyl records are $5. Proceeds support ministries of First Presbyterian Church. Parking available in the north lot.

SSP garden club plant sale

The South St. Paul Garden Club will host its annual spring plant sale 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, May 20 at 1900 Burma Ln., South St. Paul. The sale includes seedlings, perennials, shrubs, raspberry and strawberry plants, rhubarb, hostas, lily bulbs and garden art. Proceeds will be used to fund a field trip to Dodge Nature Center for South St. Paul kindergarten students. The club annually donates $2,000 to the South St. Paul

Educational Foundation for this purpose. Another $200 is set aside for a scholarship for a South St. Paul high school senior pursuing a career in horticulture or landscape design. To donate plants or for more information, contact Carol Mladek at 651-457-2564.

The Club will host its community gardens tour 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, July 9. More details will be available closer to that date. The South St. Paul Garden Club was established in 1992. New members are welcome.

SpringFest

St. John Vianney, 840 19th Ave. N., is hosting SpringFest 11:30 a.m.4:30 p.m., Sunday, May 7. The event features a craft boutique, raffles, bake sale, “cash and carry” baskets, a silent auction, flowers from Gertens, face painting, beer, BINGO and food trucks.

Library events

To register, or for more information, call 651-5543240 or visit www.southstpaul.org/library.

Book Club , 7-8 p.m.,

Thursday, May 11. The title is “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” by William Kamkwamba. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/SSPbookclub.

Organic Wire Sculptures, 6:30-8 p.m., Monday, May 15. Draw inspiration from images of plants or wildlife and create your own 3D wire form by bending and shaping metal wire. Registration required. Geared toward adults.

Tech Tutoring - Librarians offer one-on-one help with downloading library eBooks, setting up a Facebook page, saving files on a flash drive, and an introduction to Microsoft Word. To schedule a free 30-minute meeting, call 651-554-3243 or email hrodriguez@sspmn. org.

Parks and Rec

T-Ball - An introductory program that teaches the fundamentals of throwing, catching, batting and fielding skills is offered 6:157:15 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, June 5-July 19, at Veterans Field. For more

information or to register, visit the Parks and Rec. page at southstpaul.org. Volunteer coaches are needed. Contact Colin at ctrudgeon@southstpaul.org.

Summer camps - South St. Paul Parks and Rec is hosting a variety of summer camps that feature indoor and outdoor activities. Specialty camps include STEM Camp, Stars and Stripes Camp, Volleyball Camp and Preschool Camp. Each camp runs 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday and ends with a visit to Northview Pool or Splash Pool. To register or for more information, visit www.southstpaul.org/844/ Youth-Camps.

Meeting dates

The South St. Paul City Council meets at 7 p.m. the first and third Monday of each month in the council chambers at City Hall, 125 3rd Ave. N. For agendas and city council member contact information, visit www. southstpaul.org or call 651554-3284.

fourth Monday of each month. For agendas and school board member contact information, visit www. sspps.org or call 651-4579400.

The South St. Paul Lions Club meets at 7:15 p.m. the first and third Thursday of the month (September - May). For more information, visit https://ssplions. org.

South St. Paul Southwest Lioness-Lions Club meets the second Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. at Angelo’s Italian Restaurant, 1203 Southview Blvd., South St. Paul. This group of women serves the community through fundraising and volunteering.

Student notes

University of Dallas dean’s list: Maximilian Hastreiter

Memorial Day

The Special School District 6 School Board meets at 6 p.m. the second and

LeDuc

Tour

Tours & Events

Sibley

Gallagher Hansen VFW Post 295 will host a Memorial Day program at 10 a.m., Monday, May 29 at Oakhill Cemetery, 243 16th Ave. N. As of press time, a parade had not been scheduled. For

The South St. Paul Mayor’s Youth Task Force is accepting names for the first-ever South St. Paul Community Lemonade Stand. Do you have a creative name for the stand? We want to hear from you. Watch for a post on the South St. Paul Parks, Recreation and Events Facebook page asking for name submissions or contact Deb

Griffith at Deb.griffith@ southstpaul.org or 651-5543230 with your suggestion. Name submissions will be accepted until May 10. The task force will review all submissions and narrow them down to their three favorite names. These names will then be posted on the South St. Paul Parks, Recreation and Events Facebook page where

the community will vote for the winning name. The winner of the naming contest will receive an Angelo’s Italian Restaurant gift certificate, the opportunity to have the first glass of lemonade and, of course, bragging rights. Once the stand is named, the task force will introduce it at an upcoming South St. Paul City Council meeting.

The South St. Paul Community Lemonade Stand can be reserved by any South St. Paul community group, business, organization or family. It will be portable and easily fit into the back seat or trunk of a vehicle. Included with the stand are 100 compostable cups, a container for making and serving the lemonade, 100 napkins and a sign to advertise the price of the lemonade. The City of South St. Paul will also promote the stand’s location on Facebook, if the group reserving the stand wishes it to be promoted. In return for the

use of the lemonade stand, groups will give 50% of their proceeds to be used to purchase supplies for the next user of the lemonade stand. The stand can be reserved for the weekend or during the week for one or two days, depending on availability. A $25 deposit is required and will be refunded when the stand/kit is returned.

The task force is looking forward to providing the city’s first ever Community Lemonade Stand and we are

excited to hear the name submissions. For more information on the task force or the lemonade stand, contact Deb Griffith, Community Affairs, at 651-554-3230 or Deb. griffith@southstpaul.org.

Fitzgerald Theatre

10 E. Exchange St. St. Paul

651-370-2953

first-avenue.com

The New Pornographers, 8 p.m., Wednesday, May 3. Tickets start at $35. An Evening of Bharatanatyam by Alarmel Valli, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 6. $27.50.

Minnesota

History Center

345 W. Kellogg Blvd. St. Paul 651-259-3000 mnhs.org

Our Home: Native Minnesota includes historic and contemporary photographs, maps and artifacts. Visitors learn how Minnesota’s native communities have retained cultural practices, teachings

and values.

Other exhibits include Minnesota’s Greatest Generation, Then Now Wow, Grainland and Weather Permitting. The Center is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Thurs.-Sun. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and college students, and $8 for children ages five to 17.

History Theatre

30 E. 10th St. St. Paul 651-292-4323

Historytheatre.com

“The Defeat of Jesse James” is presented April 29-May 28. Set in 1876, this mix of honky-tonk cabaret and wild west show reenacts the infamous outlaw’s rise and fall, with a grand finale set in Northfield, Minn. Tickets start at $48 for adults.

Landmark Center

75 5th St. W. St. Paul 651-292-3225

landmarkcenter.org

St. Paul Civic Symphony’s Annual Mother’s Day Concert, 1-3 p.m., Sunday, May 14. Free.

MN Children’s Museum

10 7th St. W. St. Paul 651-225-6000 mcm.org

Framed: Step into Art is featured through May 7. Step into the 3D world of four well-known paintings, view famous prints and parodies of the Mona Lisa, and replace Mona Lisa’s face with your own.

Emotions at Play with Pixar’s Inside Out is the new featured exhibit May

Kickoff to Summer at the Fair returns May 25-28. The event includes food, brews, music, shopping, free parking and family fun at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Tickets are $12.50 in advance online; children age 4 and under are free. Save $3 when you buy in advance. For more information, visit mnstatefair.org/kickoff-to-summer.

about emotions, memory and imagination through interactive and digital experiences.

The Backyard: The Mud Zone is a new exhibit open

ing in an outdoor space in late May. Mix dirt and water to create different types of mud, mix up a gourmet muddy meal in the mud kitchen, and use catapults

and air cannons to launch mud at various targets. Other exhibits and activities include The Scramble, The Studio, Creativity Jam, Sprouts, Our World, Forces

S ample St. Paul

at Play, Shipwreck Adventures and Imaginopolis.

The museum is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tues.-Fri., 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturdays, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays. Tickets are $14.95. Admission is free the first Sunday of each month; reservations are required and tickets are limited. The next free date is May 7.

MN Museum of American Art

350 Robert St. N. St. Paul 651-797-2571 mmaa.org

“Im/perfect Slumbers” is on display through August 20, in the M’s window galleries and skyway entrance. Guest curated by M artist-in-residence Katya Oicherman in collaboration with Curator of Exhibitions

Laura Joseph, this multidisciplinary series of installations captures the historical and contemporary state of sleeping and being in bed.

“Colonial Traumas” is an installation in Skyway 28 over Wabasha Street at 4th Street in downtown St. Paul. Created by Luis Fitch, the mural features colorful, vinyl cut-out skulls that represent the complexity of identity, place and belonging for people of mixed-race descent.

“It’s Okay to Laugh” is an installation in the skyway windows above Robert Street. Created by Jose Dominguez, it features colorful vinyl creatures that “play” hide and seek with passerby.

Ordway Center

345 Washington St. St. Paul 651-224-4222 ordway.org

Minnesota Book Awards ceremony, 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 2. $22.

Minnesota Opera presents “Don Giovanni,” May 6, 11, 13-14, 18 and 2021. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m., Sundays.

The Schubert Club presents a free outdoor stream concert of The KannehMasons at 6 p.m., Sunday, May 7, at Rice Park.

Singing the World Awake, 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 12. Tickets start at $25.

No One Stands Alone: a community celebration of youth music, 2 p.m., Sunday, May 21. Free.

Happy Hour Concert: Mozart’s Paris Symphony with Jonathan Cohen, 6 p.m., Thursday, May 25.

$20.

Express Concert: Mozart’s Paris Symphony with Jonathan Cohen, 8 p.m., May 26-27. Tickets start at $12.

RiverCentre

175 W. Kellogg Blvd. St. Paul 651- 265-4800

rivercentre.org

Fraser Festival, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, May 20. This sensory-friendly festival supports autism programs and services, and features face painting, a virtual reality activity, carnival games, silent disco and more. Food vendors will be present. Free.

Wedding Expo

p.m., Sunday, May 21. Free tickets can be found online. Tickets are $10 at the door.

about the selected objects and their meaning to their cultural community.

Artist at Pine Needle Gallery is a temporary exhibit featuring work from a variety of artists at the Pine Needles cabin on the St. Croix Watershed Research Station property.

Omnitheater films –“Born to be Wild,” through June 10. Join scientists who are rescuing and raising orphaned orangutans and elephants throughout Kenya and Borneo.

“Wings Over Water,” through September 4.

Follow the migrations of winged creatures as they return home to raise the next generation of waterfowl.

Stellar Tours Live Digital Telescope Show, Wed.Sun. at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Choose your own space adventure and experience the Omnitheater’s new Digistar 7 projection system. Omnitheater tickets are $9.95. Free for children ages 3 and under.

Museum tickets range from $9.95-$34.90, with discounts available for those with limited incomes.

Xcel Center

199 W. Kellogg Blvd. St. Paul 651-726-8240

xcelenergycenter.com

Blink-182 , 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 4. Tickets start at $115.50.

93X Twin City Takeover starring Disturbed, 6:30 p.m., Saturday, May 6. Tickets start at $35.

Shania Twain, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 17. Tickets start at $258.

Janet Jackson , 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 30. Tickets start at $25.95.

Adeti

May 1, on the Schubert club website. Learn about the djembe – a West Af rican instrument – in this free, 15-minute interactive session.

ebration Concert by the Kanneh-Masons

May 7, at the Ordway Music Theatre. Tickets start at $36.

Hampl – “Writing My Way into Music,”

Tuesday, May 16, at Summit Beer Hall. $33.

Courtroom Concerts are held at noon on Thursdays at the Landmark Center. All are free. Upcoming concerts include Isles Ensemble, May 4, and Clara Osowski (mezzo soprano), Casey Rafn (piano) and Steve Staruch (tenor), May 11.

Science Museum of Minnesota

120 W. Kellogg Blvd. St. Paul 651-221-9444 smm.org

Exquisite Creatures is on display through September 4. Explore the planet’s biodiversity by viewing preserved animal specimens arranged in intricate patterns.

Community Curators is a temporary exhibit on display through June. Each month, community artists, educators and organizers interpret items from museum collections alongside their own work. It also features conversations with curators

West Side Cinco de Mayo festival making a comeback

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

The West Side took a hard hit in 2020 when the pandemic forced the cancellation of the neighborhood’s wildly popular Cinco de Mayo festival. At that time, the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation, which had organized the celebration since 2009, indicated it would be back, but that never happened under their leadership. Last fall, members of the West Side Boosters Club saw the writing on the wall and began planning to resurrect the event, albeit on a much smaller scale. The Foundation declined to say why it dropped the event.

To the relief of many, the cherished Cinco de Mayo Fiesta will return this year 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, May 6, at Parque Castillo, 149 Cesar Chavez St. The event will feature bands, a lowrider show, softball tournament, 40 food and vendor booths, and more. Proceeds will go toward youth sports programs sponsored by the Boosters Club.

“It’s exciting to be able to do this and to know it’s run by the community,” said club president Bob Cruz. “We’ve had a lot of people reach out to do this…. A lot of vendors are people who grew up in this community. We’re giving them an opportunity to thrive, and giving the community a chance to come out and have a good, safe time.”

Music will be presented all day. The line-up is: Kalpuli Huitzillin, 10 a.m.; REGAL and Camila 11 a.m.; Los Alegres Bailadores, noon; Mariachi Lucero 1 p.m.; Chico Chávez Orchestra 2 p.m.; Shayla Carbajal, 3 p.m.; Tequila 2023, 4 p.m. Several food trucks will be on site throughout the day. Bags and balls will fly at 10 a.m. when the first round of the adult softball and cornhole tournaments kick off.

A lowrider show featuring 30-40 vehicles also kicks off at 10 a.m. Some of the vehicles will participate in a hydraulic bounce competition. Awards will be given in several categories.

Portions of State Street

and South Clinton Avenue will be closed off for the event and St. Paul police officers will provide security. Local restaurants will also host specials and entertainment throughout the weekend.

“Please come out and celebrate with our community,” said Cruz. “Now it’s [the event] not so big. We’re trying to bring it back to the West Side. Come celebrate our culture.” He said the Boosters will organize the event again next year if they can get enough sponsors. As of press time they had 18 sponsors this year.

“The community is pretty psyched about getting it back,” said West Sider Debby Luna, who has helped organize events for the fiesta in the past. “Hopefully each year we’ll get a little bigger. A parade is probably going to be the first thing they [the Club] will shoot for having next year. Not to the caliber it was, but some kind of little parade… If a lot of people want it to happen, then hopefully more people will jump on board to help make it happen.”

The Cinco de Mayo festival was first organized in 1985 by the former Concord Street Business Association (later renamed the Riverview Economic Development Association). It grew from a small community festival to a regional two-day event

that attracted more than 100,000 people. After becoming too much for the small nonprofit to handle, the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation took over its management and made it a one-day event. The celebration formerly took

place

Street between Wabasha and South Robert Street, and featured a colorful parade. For more information on this year’s celebration, visit westsideboosters.com/ cincodemayo.

along Cesar Chavez

File photo by Marina Castillo The lowrider show will feature 30-40 vehicles, some of which will compete for prizes in the hydraulic bounce competition.

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P ostscript

Dog Friends

My husband, Peter, is trying to impress a local collie. Peter knows better than this. He had a collie for many years. Collies are not easily impressed. They have their own priorities and their own agenda and if it happens to coincide with yours, you can pretend they did something on your behalf – but you’d be lying to yourself.

The current object of Peter’s affection is named Lassero and lives on a road Peter takes every day on his hike. Peter met the collie one day when the dog was sticking his head through the curtains

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of its owner’s house. Peter learned his name from the collie’s owner and went on to assume that he and the collie would be fast friends. From then on, as Peter walked by,

he called out, “Lassero!” but the collie ignored him.

Peter decided to bring treats. He brought a cookie and put it on the windowsill. The collie did not come. On the way home, Peter checked the windowsill. The cookie was gone. Peter did this for several days running.

“Maybe Lassero’s owner is finding the cookies,” I said. “Maybe he is throwing them away!” Peter was not convinced.

Then one day, Lassero was at the open window. Peter offered him a cookie. Lassero ignored it. He put it down on the sill. The pooch poked it with his nose. He eventually ate it but did not seem excited.

“I don’t think Lassero likes cookies,” Peter concluded.

The next day, he went out and bought corn chips.

“If he didn’t like cookies, he’s not going to like corn chips!” I said. “He’s waiting for organic sun-dried beef chips.” Peter looked as if he was considering this.

“I could take chicken,” he said.

“You can’t take chicken on your hike!” I figured there wasn’t much Peter wouldn’t do to capture this dog’s affection.

Then he had an idea. “Popcorn! Dogs love popcorn even more than beef!”

He packaged up some popcorn and put it in his backpack. “Lassero!” he called. The dog didn’t answer. Peter left popcorn on the windowsill. On his way back, he checked. The pop-

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corn was still there but one piece had been moved. It was now in tiny, wet pieces. Apparently, Lassero didn’t like popcorn either.

Some dogs will do anything for affection. Some will give you affection once they figure you’ve earned it. And some are always going to play hard to get. I had a feeling that Lassero might not be in the market for more friends, but I didn’t want to break this to Peter.

Even though it sounds funny, it’s a little sad. I’ve been ignored and ghosted by folks I thought were my friends. I realized – a little too late – they were not actually my friends. They already had friends, and I wasn’t one of them. It doesn’t matter if it’s a dog or a person. The

realization still hurts.

“You have lots of dog friends,” I reminded my husband. There’s Reacher, who he calls the “Reacher Creature,” a giant canine that jumps up in delight when he sees Peter. There’s Bucky, who has very short legs and lies down on the sidewalk when Peter talks too long with Bucky’s owner. There are several tiny dogs who walk on his route every day and bark in excitement every time Peter goes by. And somewhere, just behind the curtains of his home, is Lassero, ignoring Peter every day.

“Lassero doesn’t know what he’s missing,” I told Peter. And he doesn’t. Till next time.

Lawsuits, marijuana and transit projects

How should Dakota County use a $10 million legal settlement from a multi-state lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors? To what degree should local governments control the sale and use of recreational marijuana, if the state legislature legalizes it as expected? What is the future of transit in northern Dakota County? These timely topics are addressed in this column, along with a dash of local history and a call for reader input to guide our future decisions.

Opioid lawsuit and settlement

The State of Minnesota, Dakota County and local cities were part of a multi-state lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors, which was recently settled for $26 billion. This money will be divided among states, counties and cities through 2040. The approximate amounts that local jurisdictions are expected

to receive from the settlement are as follows: Dakota County: $9.8 million; Apple Valley: $664,000; Burnsville: $1.1 million; Eagan: $812,000; Inver Grove Heights: $487,000; and Lakeville: $626,500.

Only cities with populations over 30,000 will receive settlement funds, which explains why South St. Paul, West St. Paul and Mendota Heights are not on the list of recipients. I found this allocation unfair, since smaller communities are among the hardest hit by the opioid crisis. Indeed, here in Dakota County the data shows South St. Paul, West St. Paul and Hastings

Neighbors, Inc.

By Heidi Satre

In this month’s “Get to Know Neighbors” series, we will highlight our newest program: financial empowerment, which offers services to help improve financial well-being and security.

The program offers free, one-on-one personal financial counseling and education to help participants achieve a personalized goal, such as achieving control of debt, building savings, monitoring and improving credit, making major purchases, protecting resources and planning for the future. Our Financial Empowerment Center features computer kiosks, printers, scanners and a fax machine and is staffed 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Participants are assisted on a first-come, first-served basis. Appointments can be requested with a certified financial counselor. We have two counselors on staff, and services are offered in both Spanish and English. We also offer free notary services. Since its inception, the

sustained among the most significant harm from the opioid crisis.

As Dakota County decides how to use our portion of the settlement, I am advocating for funds specifically for South St. Paul and West St. Paul to be used for prevention efforts and for our highly effective Drug Task Force partnership with the two communities. The partnership recently seized more than 250,000 illicit fentanyl pills in a local bust. My latest online survey seeks input on how the opioid settlement funds ought to be allocated. Questions also address other county issues, plus high-profile state proposals that will have significant impacts on counties. Those wishing to weigh in can take the survey at www.surveymonkey. com/r/LC6F9JT.

In the last year, opioids were involved in the greatest number of overdose deaths among Dakota County residents. Across the country, fentanyl is now the No. 1 cause of death among Americans ages 18-45. For more information about the opioid

lawsuit and settlement, visit www.co.dakota.mn.us/ HealthFamily/ChemicalHealth/Opioids/Pages/default.aspx.

State proposals with local impact

This is the time of year when local communities and counties keep a keen eye on what’s happening at the State Capitol. Set to finish work by mid-May, the legislature is expected to make key decisions on issues that could have massive local effects. For instance, it is anticipated the legislature could legalize adult use of recreational marijuana this session. Already, local governments across Dakota County are looking at what this means and to what extent to impose regulation. Likewise, there are several proposals to raise the metro sales tax, chiefly to fund transportation and transit, such as extension of the G Line, a bus rapid transit route down Robert Street in West St. Paul. To weigh in, take my survey or contact me at 651-438-4430 or Joe. Atkins@co.dakota.mn.us.

135 years ago this month

In 1888, the first electric monorail in Minnesota history attracted over 100 dignitaries to northern Dakota County for a test ride, then spurred a mystery that has yet to be solved. On May 9, 1888, massive steel trestles that were erected in South St. Paul in the ravine between Bryant and Central Avenues carried a single car 1,260 feet on an elevated track as it ascended west from Concord to 16th Avenue, where passengers on board hung high in the air before returning. Created by Dakota County-based Enos Electric Railway, the monorail ride was orchestrated to convince St. Paul City Council members to hire their company to build a monorail connecting St. Paul and Minneapolis. Enos won the job. Then the mystery began. For some reason, the investor group never accepted the contract and the company suddenly disbanded and disappeared, in spite of capital stock valued at $2 million (nearly $100 million

in today’s dollars).

Speaking of history, students at South St. Paul Middle School are proposing to save the historic Armour Gates, located at the corner of Hardman and Armour in South St. Paul. The massive gates once provided entry to the largest meatpacking facility in the world. It was also the largest building in Minnesota when it opened in 1919. Armour employed as many as 4,000 people at the plant and expended nearly $90 million annually for livestock, the equivalent of $1.3 billion in today’s dollars. Armour grew so big that when the first Fortune 500 list debuted in 1955, the company ranked No. 7. The next 10 smaller companies on the list were Gulf Oil, Mobil, DuPont, Amoco, Bethlehem Steel, CBS, Texaco, ATT, Shell Oil and Kraft. While Armour closed in 1979, the gates remain as a reminder of the hard work many local women and men – including my own grandfather – made to better the lives of their children and grandchildren.

Financial Empowerment Program has aided many participants. One family began visiting Neighbors last fall to address the rising cost of food. With the help of a counselor, they created a spending plan that included paying for food as well as saving for a future emergency. Six months later, the primary vehicle they used to get to and from work broke

down. They used the money they had set aside for emergencies to fix the car. The mother reported it was the first time they had been able to pay for a car repair without borrowing money. For more information about our Financial Empowerment Program or to request an appointment, visit: www.neighborsmn. org/financial-empowerment.

Joe Atkins Dakota County Commissioner

‘The Sap is Running’

Tim Spitzack Editor

It’sSaturday, Mar. 25 and I’ve just come inside from tapping four large maple trees in my backyard.

“Well?” asks my wife before I’ve even kicked off my slushy boots.

“The sap is running,” I happily exclaim.

“Really?” she replies, as if she doesn’t believe me. After a long winter that has dumped about 90 inches of snow, she, like many others, has reason to believe that spring might never arrive. Indeed, it has taken its own sweet time. Normally, I tap the trees in early March and boil down the sap into delicious maple syrup around the first day of spring: March 20. I’m a good 10 days behind schedule. In years like these, an old John Denver lyric inevitably comes to mind: “Springtime is rolling ’round slowly. Grey skies are bringing me down.”

As difficult as it is to wait for pleasant spring weather,

it’s equally amazing what happens when the sun finally chases away those grey skies. Its nourishing effect brightens our spirits and warms even the coldest of hearts. With the sap running, I know it won’t be long till the leaf buds get the nutrients they need to pop forth, and then April showers will usher in May flowers. Dutchman’s breeches, jeweled shooting star and spring forget-menot are early bloomers in the woodlands and meadows. In our yards, crocus, tulips and daffodils are the first to brighten our landscapes. And what a joy it is to see them return.

A hike along the Mississippi on tree-tapping day gave me more reason for hope. As I stood silently at the river’s edge, the sights and sounds of nature surrounded me and stirred my senses. Songbirds chirped, ducks and geese flew overheard, and in the distance was a flock of gulls. At once, a thousand rose and quickly broke into two groups that

simultaneously swirled outside to in, then landed again. I was amazed they could fly in such a frenetic pattern without hitting each other. The river was open and the sound of its waves lapping against the shoreline was music to my ears. Just two weeks earlier I had crosscountry skied down the bluff and made tracks along this then-frozen section of river.

Maple syruping

I took up maple syruping three years ago and have been working to perfect the craft ever since. For me, it has become my true harbinger of spring. It’s a time when I’m able to spend an entire day outdoors – and a full day it is. Over my backyard firepit I’ve built a temporary oven using concrete blocks. On it I place a boiling pan, the remnant of a slow-cook roaster that fizzled out a few years ago. I light the fire at 6 a.m., sit down on a wooden bench and begin to feed split oak into the small flames.

The morning air is chilly, making the warmth of the hungry fire especially inviting. In the east, the rising sun splashes ever-changing hues of pink and red on the clouds. Soon, the cheerful melodies of songbirds drown out the soft crackle of the fire.

Once I get a good bed of coals, I pour a few gallons of sap into the pan – another 12 gallons await nearby in white plastic buckets. Throughout the day, I never venture far from the makeshift oven. I may do a few chores, but mostly I enjoy my time by the fire. As the sap boils, steam rises from the pan and I must wave it away to see the progress. Every hour or so I feed the fire more wood and pour in more sap. While 14 gallons of sap may sound a lot, it will only produce about one quart of syrup.

The best part of the day is when my kids and grandkids arrive. Now there is conversation and laughter and constant movement between the house and firepit. I have willing partners to throw a log or two on the fire and pour sap into the pan. They know they’ll receive a bottle of the sweet golden syrup in return for their efforts.

After an evening meal together, everyone filters off to their own homes. For

me, there is more work to do. Around 10 p.m., I “finish” the sap inside on the stovetop and use a hydrometer to make sure it’s at the proper temperature. Once done, I put cheesecloth over a pitcher for one final straining of the now-gooey syrup. Finally, I pour the syrup into 8-ounce bottles waiting on the counter, and with delight lick the drips that hit my fingers and the side of the pitcher. The rich maple flavor is wildly delicious and sweet as candy. With the bottles filled, I hold them up to the light and marvel at the natural golden goodness, and in them I see the stack of blueberry pancakes that awaits me in the morning.

Weather conditions dictate when tapping can begin. For sap to run, it must be above freezing during the day, and is best when it dips below freezing at night. Some people use a metal spike to hold a plastic collection bag. Others use a plastic tap attached to a hose leading to a covered bucket. That’s the technique I learned from my mentor in maple syruping: Bud Trost, a former chief of police in West St. Paul. Bud was in his sunset years when I first met him, yet spry and active. He’d shuffle into my office a few times a year with his ever-present walking stick

to give me information he wanted published on the local VFW and American Legion groups in which he was involved. Years later he began attending my church, and it was then I learned that he and his family were maple syrupers. One day I visited his home and he graciously shared tips and techniques that would make my first tapping successful. He gave me four buckets, taps and lines, which I still use today. Sadly, Bud passed away the following year, but his memory lives on. Now, each spring when I pull the equipment from the shelf in my garage, I still see the bright twinkle in his eye and the half-smile that always graced his face. I recall his kindness and generosity and remember that maple syruping is not only a great way to celebrate spring, but also an opportunity to share with others.

Top: The boil down begins.

Bottom: The hose and bucket system.