South St. Paul The Coop

A South St. Paul tradition for six decades

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

WhenBob and Karen Hanson purchased the building at 157 3rd Ave. S. as a real estate investment more than two decades ago, they had no inclination that the transaction would turn them into restaurateurs. Today, with the help of their son, Joel, the family is furthering the legacy of one of South St. Paul’s oldest eateries: The Coop, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this fall.

When the couple bought the property, which housed The Coop, three apartments and a 4-car garage, they planned to keep the Coop’s longtime manager, but he soon moved on. Then Bob and Karen dove headfirst into the restaurant and quickly learned everything about its operations. It proved to be a good place for Joel, their daughter Chelsea, and their friends to work while in high school; Joel even met his wife there nearly ten years ago when she was a waitress. Eventually, Karen left her nearly 30-year career as a paralegal to focus on the restaurant and continues to help manage it. Joel, however, is now running the show, with plans to one day officially take ownership of the restaurant that is best known for its mouth-watering chicken, burgers, coneys and ribs. They still make their own coney and barbeque sauce using the recipe dating to 1963.

School district making changes to IB, band and career path programs

City staff seeks direction on Armour gates property

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

OnJuly 10, the South St. Paul City Council held a work session and discussed, among other things, the future of the long vacant 3.75-acre property at 450 Hardman Ave., home to the historic Armour Gates. For years, the city has been trying to sell the property to a developer, but the gates have posed a problem. With a recent public petition drive to save the gates, city staff are now seeking direction from the council on how to proceed.

Jake Spitzack Staff Writer

With summer reaching its halfway point on August 7, the thoughts of many parents will soon be shifting to the coming school year. Here’s a look at what has been happening at South St. Paul schools this summer and what to expect for the new school year.

Special School District 6 is phasing out the Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme components of the International Baccalaureate (IB) and is looking for new ways to improve student outcomes. Only about one-third of students met or exceeded grade level standards in math and reading last year. The secondary school will continue to offer the IB Diploma Programme in grades 11-12, and the district is partnering with Inver Hills Community College to offer concurrent courses that generate both high school and college credit.

Based on community feedback for more programming in the arts, band will be offered to all fifth grade

The City’s Economic Development Authority (formerly called the Housing and Redevelopment Authority) purchased the property in the 1990s and over the years has been unsuccessful in finding a developer to buy the parcel for light industrial use. In recent months, South St. Paul Middle School history teacher Mark Westpfahl and his students gathered more than 2,000 signatures on a petition that urges the city to save the gates and possibly create a park around them commemorating the once bustling stockyard operations.

The July 10 work session document said Westpfahl and his students haven’t yet brought their petition to the council, but that city staff are aware of it. The document also said that, upon the council’s request,