🔁 Rosemount Locks In Wind Tunnel + Ice & Golf

Rosemount Hires RJM to Build Indoor Ice

Council voted 4-0 on Aug. 18 to hire RJM Construction as construction manager at risk. This was a hire, not a vote on the two-sheet indoor ice building itself.

A Goodwill Is Proposed Next to Spirit of Brandtjen Farm

Lakeville's Planning Commission recommended a 20,839-square-foot Goodwill with 97 parking spaces east of Pilot Knob and south of CSAH 46. No surrounding owners spoke, and City Council does not have a date yet.

Rosemount Approves North Wind's First-Phase Aerospace Campus

Council voted 4-0 on Aug. 18 to lock in the first phase of North Wind Test's aerospace campus just south of Meta, west of Blaine Avenue. Phase 1 is one wind-tunnel building plus two accessory buildings on 8.86 acres, with mass grading able to start now.

Every railroad town needed a hotel.

Travelers stepped off the train and needed somewhere to sleep. Salesmen passing through. Families relocating. Workers heading to the next job. The hotel by the depot was the first thing they saw.

Most of those hotels are gone now. But a few left their marks.

THE ST. PAUL HOUSE

The St. Paul House opened in Shakopee in 1854, the same year the town was platted.

It started as a railroad hotel and saloon along the Minnesota River, just east of downtown. When the stagecoaches came through, it became a stop on the route. For 111 years, the building adapted to whatever the town needed.

In 1915, new owners remodeled it into a hotel and restaurant. In 1936, Frank Wampach added a bowling alley. Prohibition-era sources remembered it as a speakeasy with gambling machines. By 1954, it had been remodeled and rebranded as the New St. Paul House.

On a night in 1965, it caught fire. Firefighters battled the blaze for 16 hours. The building was never restored.

Today, the Order of Eagles Aerie sits at 2nd and Fuller, where the St. Paul House used to stand. Few buildings in Scott County lasted as long or wore as many hats.

THE GARDNER HOUSE

In Hastings, the Gardner House Hotel opened in the mid-1880s.

It's still standing.

The building sits at 2nd Street East and Ramsey Street, on the National Register of Historic Places. The first floor now houses a beauty school. The upper floors are apartments. But the bones of the old hotel remain.

THE ONES THAT BURNED

Most weren't so lucky.

In Lakeville, M. Lander built a boardinghouse in 1856. By 1858, the village had two hotels, including one built by G.F. Ackley at a crossroads. It later burned.

In Shakopee, the Wasson House — also known as the American Hotel — operated from 1853 to 1912. Gone now.

The pattern repeated across the south metro. Hotels rose with the railroads, served their towns for decades, and then vanished to fire or demolition or neglect. The travelers moved on. The buildings didn't.

WHERE TO SEE IT

Gardner House Hotel — 2nd Street East and Ramsey Street, Hastings. National Register of Historic Places. Still standing. View historical marker

St. Paul House site — 2nd and Fuller, Shakopee. Now the Order of Eagles Aerie. Read the full history

Alger Ct, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077

➡️ 7 bed, 7 bath, 1.02 acres on a private cul-de-sac
➡️ 18-foot ceilings & stone fireplace with built-in cabinetry in the living room
➡️ 4 fireplaces throughout — living room, family room & primary bedroom
➡️ In-ground pool with dedicated pool bath & exterior access

Price: $1,600,000

MLS #7127587

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MBAA's 55th Annual Golf Classic (Lakeville) It's the 55th year of this scholarship golf classic at Brackett's Crossing, and spots are limited, so lock yours in at 9am. Tee off.

Celts Pub Annual Golf Tournament (Farmington) Shotgun start at Southern Hills at 11am, then dinner and prizes back at Celts, all raising money for Farmington groups at $125 a golfer. Hit the links.

Wild Bill's Boots, Bites & Big Hearts (Apple Valley) Grab lunch at Wild Bill's starting at 11am and a portion of sales goes to No Tummies Left Behind, fighting childhood hunger right here. Give back.

Eagan Market Festival (Eagan) ALLIGATIONS brings Chicago-style blues with a groove at 3pm, so you can shop the market and actually dance while you're at it. Catch the blues.

Picnics in the Park (Rosemount) Last one of the season at Camfield Park at 5:30pm, pack dinner and meet The Well for a laid-back night on the grass. Pack a picnic.

Jonah and The Whales - Live at the Lake (Lakeville) Free lakeside night at Casperson Park, Long Time Gone opens and Jonah and The Whales take over at 7pm, blankets and food trucks included. Rock out.

Music in the Park (Farmington) Feeling Minnesota puts a fresh spin on '90s-to-now country, rock, and pop at Rambling River Park at 7pm, so bring a lawn chair. Pull up a chair.

Little Mania Wrestling (Rosemount) Tiny titans hit the ring at Truplayerz at 7:30pm for a high-energy title fight, 16 and up, doors at 6pm. Catch the chaos.