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St. Paul City Council seeks bigger recurring investment in library materials

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

Acting as chair of the St. Paul Library Board, City Council Member Rebecca Noecker introduced a resolution on Wednesday aimed at stating, in no uncertain terms, that the city needs to put more money each year into acquiring new library books, music and movies.Aside from last-minute emergency cash infusions, the St. Paul Public Library system’s collections budget hasn’t grown with time, even as inflation has greatly increased the cost of acquiring new materials, she said.A likely dedicated funding source, she said, could be the city’s Cultural Star grant program, which provides grants and loans to cultural organizations with funding from the city’s half-cent sales tax. The council has scrambled almost annually to find ways to boost the library system’s collections budget, or at least offset cuts, dipping into the $2 million Cultural Star grant program for $175,000 both last year and years prior. A similar grant amount is likely on the table later this ye...

Opponents petition courts for environmental review of proposed St. Thomas arena in St. Paul

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

Neighborhood residents have petitioned the Minnesota Court of Appeals in an attempt to block the University of St. Thomas from building a new college sports arena at Cretin and Grand avenues in St. Paul.With the goal of hosting men’s and women’s hockey, basketball and other functions, the university has proposed a sports and entertainment facility spanning 270,000 square feet on its south campus.Residents banding together under the title “Advocates for Responsible Development” have called the project’s Environmental Assessment Worksheet, or EAW, “inadequate, incomplete and misleading,” and asked the court to require a more elaborate review known as an Environmental Impact Statement.Among their concerns, the worksheet focused on the environmental impact of what the university described as a typical game drawing some 2,100 fans, instead of basing their figures on near-capacity games, which would feature up to 5,500 or 6,000 fans depending upon...

Loons CEO Shari Ballard ‘really pleased’ with club’s GM candidates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

Minnesota United’s pursuit of a new general manager has been progressing, and CEO Shari Ballard has given an update on the process this week.Ballard, during an interview on the Sound of the Loons podcast, said the club is reorganizing its sporting structure to be led by a GM, with a separate head coach reporting up to the GM. That to-be-named GM will likely take a title of Chief Soccer Officer (CSO) or Sporting Director.Ballard wants a clear separation of powers between the role of CSO and the head coach, with a “heathy tension” between short-term goals of the head coach and long-term vision of the CSO, rather than having those duties consolidated in one job, as it was under manager Adrian Heath over the past four years. MNUFC fired Heath and his No. 2, technical director Mark Watson, in early October, two games before the 2023 season ended.The hiring of the CSO will come first, and the Pioneer Press understands a list of candidates was put together internally — drawing a pool from ...

A sales tax hike to pay for St. Paul roads, parks is on Tuesday’s ballot. How would it work?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

In addition to electing a new city council member from their political ward and four new school board members, St. Paul voters will find a question on the Nov. 7 ballot asking them whether to increase the city’s sales tax to pay for 44 miles of arterial road reconstruction, as well as major parks improvements.The increase — 1 percentage point, or a penny on every dollar — is expected to raise $984 million over 20 years, with 75% of the money going toward some two-dozen designated road and bridge projects.Mayor Melvin Carter is urging residents to vote “yes” to capture revenue from thousands of daily visitors who use the city’s roads without paying for their upkeep. He’s noted the city has limited other funding options when punishing winters leave moon-like craters in major thoroughfares, and that without a quick cash infusion, the city would likely be forced to raise property taxes to rebuild arterial streets.Park maintenance is suffering a ...

St. Paul Park city election: 7 candidates for 2 council seats; plus a mayor departs while another returns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

With seven candidates running for two open seats on the city council and a new mayor about to be elected, there could be a sea change in leadership in St. Paul Park next year.Sandi Dingle, mayor since 2017, is retiring at the end of the year; former mayor and state Rep. Keith Franke is running unopposed Tuesday for the city’s top elected spot.St. Paul Park Mayor Sandi Dingle, left, is retiring at the end of 2023. Former mayor Keith Franke is running unopposed on Tuesday, Nov. 9, for the position. (Courtesy photos)Dingle, 60, said a breast-cancer diagnosis a few years ago spurred her to think about how much time she spends on city government. “It made me take a step back,” she said. “It made me realize that life is short, and that I want to spend more time with and focus on my family.  It’s been 18 years, I want to give somebody else a shot. I do believe in fresh blood. With fresh blood comes fresh ideas.”Dingle, who works in community development for the Metropolitan Council, was fi...

Schenectady Trading Company finds new owners

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Originally set to close, The Schenectady Trading Company at 609 Union Street will be continuing on with new owners. Entrepreneurs Tom and Ali Bland will be taking over the store. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! At the beginning of September, owner Caroline Bardwell announced the store would be closing so she could focus on her own well-being. On Wednesday, Bardwell announced the marketplace would be staying open as the Blands would be taking over operations."The store will not be closing and will be open for the holidays," said Bardwell. "They'll get a crash course in running the store with me still at the helm and the opportunity to engage with customers during peak season." Alltown Fresh opens on Route 9 in Fort Edward According to the announcement, Tom Bland is a woodworker from Schoharie and Ali Bland is a Home and Landscape Designer from Duanesburg. Together, they run the business Anything B...

Warren County homeowners urged to check water lines

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Warren County public water system operators have issued a reminder to homeowners to perform a federally required check for lead water system connections. Residential line checks must be done by next October, according to officials. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that homes on a public water system be checked for toxic lead pipe connections where waterlines enter the residences. Any homeowner that is not able or willing to perform the check themselves will be required to have representatives of the water agency visit their home to perform the check and report their findings. “We have had great assistance from residents around the county so far, but we still have thousands of homes where there has been no water line check reported." said Donald Coalts, Acting Chief Water Plant Operator for the City of Glens Falls. "This is a pretty quick and easy c...

Man convicted in prison contraband case found with more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An Albany man who pleaded guilty to burglary was convicted of promoting prison contraband and was found with more on his way to jail according to the Albany County District Attorney's Office. Elrajab Ravenna, 38, faces sentencing on Friday. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! On Friday, September 22, Ravenna pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. The original indictment alleged that on September 10, 2022, he went to a residence at 41 Judson Street intending to commit a crime, and injured someone inside.Prior to his guilty plea, Ravenna was convicted of first-degree promoting prison contraband and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon on September 13. He was accused of having a knife at the Albany County Correctional Facility on October 10, 2022, with the intent to use it against someone else. BCDA: Pittsfield man tried enticing teen through Faceboo...

Water main break repaired in Village of Coxsackie

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

COXSACKIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Village of Coxsackie is reporting the water main break that began around 8:30 Thursday morning has been repaired. Residents on South River Street have their water restored. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox!

St. Louis City firefighter hurt while fighting flames at abandoned home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:34 GMT

ST. LOUIS - In a scary moment on Thursday morning, a St. Louis City firefighter partially fell through a floor on the second story of a building during a fire. Fortunately, that firefighter was not seriously hurt.The scene unfolded just before 7:00 a.m. at an abandoned home on Palm Street just east of Union and south of Natural Bridge in the Kingsway West neighborhood of north St. Louis. Captain Garon Mosby with the St. Louis Fire Department said that crews at a nearby firehouse noticed smoke in the area. They responded and discovered the fire at the abandoned home.Mosby shared that the first crews at the scene called the fire in to get a larger response. Mosby told FOX 2 that crews went inside to make sure no one was in jeopardy or needed to be rescued. He added that crews noticed holes in the floors, which certainly raised concerns about the condition of the building. Crews later found out after they were already inside the building that it had a high probability of collapse. That...