Month: September 2021

A look back at what happened in Shakopee history. You may also find this column in the Shakopee Valley News.

125 Years Ago: From the Oct. 1, 1896 Scott County Argus

Shakopee grows and keeps growing. Plans have been drawn and accepted, and the contract will be let at once for a handsome two story residence to be erected this fall for John P. Ring on the two lots he recently purchased in block 56. The site is on Fourth street west of Mrs. Haus’ and across the way from the Jacob Ries Jr. residence. The new structure is designed by Architect Fritz Rohlfs and is as tasty and up-to-date as could be desired. The dimensions are 22×42, the front being two stories high and the rear a story and a half. On the first floor is a spacious hall, four rooms and a bath room, and above are four rooms and an alcove. A large bay window adorns the west side, and the front is especially ornate and attractive. It will make a very desirable improvement in that part of the city.

100 Years Ago: From the Sept. 29, 1921 Shakopee Tribune

About thirty girls of the younger social set have organized a club and rented club rooms on the second floor of the Berens building above the Public Rest rooms. A meeting will be held this evening to complete arrangements.

75 Years Ago: From the Sept. 26, 1946 Shakopee Argus-Tribune

City Council Buys $13,000 Fire Truck

50 Years Ago: From the Sept. 29, 1971 Shakopee Valley News

Building Improvement Tax Incentive Asked

To Help Beautification Work…

The Shakopee City Council was asked Tuesday night to consider giving business property owners some sort of tax incentive if they made improvements.

Virgil Mears, spokesman for the Shakopee Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee said that during the committee’s study of the beautification and improvement of downtown, it had been told by businessmen that they held back on improvements due to concern over resultant increases in property taxes…

City Administrator Morris Anderson said the city could take two avenues of approach to the problem. It could do as Cloquet is doing … simply establishing a policy of not charging the property owner with tax increase if the change is designated as a maintenance improvement.

Or, he said, the city could request the legislature to pass a bill allowing the city to defer taxes on certain classes and ages of property upon which maintenance improvements are made.

After some discussion of the possibilities of getting a bill introduced during the special session coming up Oct. 12, the issue was referred to the executive committee for study…

25 Years Ago: From the Sept. 26, 1996 Shakopee Valley News

$11 million plan for Justice Center approved by county

Taxes won’t rise to fund it

The Scott County Board Tuesday approved the recommendation of the Justice Center Planning Committee, calling for an $11 million budget for the facility which will not result in increased taxes.

Construction is scheduled to begin next year, and take about a year for completion. After the opening of the Justice Center, which will be built next to the existing courthouse, remodeling of vacated space in the courthouse will take place…

A look back at what happened in Shakopee history. You may also find this column in the Shakopee Valley News.

125 Years Ago: From the Sept. 24, 1896 Scott County Argus

At the rear of the coalsheds on the three lots in block 31, recently purchased of O. S. Brown, Frank Buch is putting in a new “Victor” Fairbanks scales to facilitate the handling of his coal business. John Poetz is in charge of the work. Besides making use of the coal sheds located on his newly bought property Mr. Buch will house considerable lumber int eh big lumber shed adjoining, formerly the property of Wm. J. Kauth.

100 Years Ago: From the Sept. 22, 1921 Shakopee Tribune

Public Library Moved To Rest Rooms

The public library has been moved from the high school to the public rest rooms, which is centrally located and it will be more convenient for patrons to get and exchange books. Full arrangements have not been completed. It is presumed that the library will be open for distribution of books one day each week. Full particulars will be announced later.

75 Years Ago: From the Sept. 19, 1946 Shakopee Argus-Tribune

School Enrollment Tops Previous High

833 Pupils Registered in Shakopee’s Three Schools on Opening Days. Grades List 567, High School 266. Classes Held During Lunch Hour at High School.

Eclipsing all previous enrollment records and amplifying the responsibility which the community faces, 833 children were registered in Shakopee’s three schools when classes were resumed Monday, detailed reports revealed.

Opening day registration last year totalled 77 which was all-time high to that date. Largest increase or the current year was recorded at the public school where high school classes total 266 as compared to 250 last year, and the grade enrollment is 196 as compared with 170 a year ago. These figures are expected to increase, Superintendent Al N. Wurst said, when some delayed registrations are completed.

St. Mary’s parochial school reported a total of 137 registrants for the eight grades this year. The previous total was 149.

Registration records at St. Mark’s school showed 234 pupils listed in the eight grades, as compared to 227 last year.

High school enrollment figures list 72 freshmen, 73 sophomores, 64 juniors and 51 seniors…

To cope with the marked increase and resulting lack of ample classroom facilities, classes in high school continue uninterruptedly through the noon hour…

50 Years Ago: From the Sept. 22, 1971 Shakopee Valley News

Civil Defense To Begin Test Alerts

Shakopee will sound their sirens for a Civil Defense test on the first Wednesday of each month, Shakopee Mayor Ray Foslid announced this week. The first test will be held Oct. 6 with others continuing throughout the year. Officials remind residents that these are only tests.

25 Years Ago: From the Sept. 19, 1996 Shakopee Valley News

Commissioners favor county staffing plan

A plan that calls for Scott County staffing levels to grow by no more than 60 percent of the rate of growth in population in the county was met favorably by county commissioners last week in a Committee of the Whole session.

Discussion of the plan was led by Brian Nasi, associate administrator of employee relations. The plan is designed to keep within the county fiscal plan calling for growth to match county residential growth.

Under the plan, department requests for staff increases must be reviewed by the county administrator and turned over to the Organizational Development and Employee Relations staff and evaluated by an analysis of need.

A look back at what happened in Shakopee history. You may also find this column in the Shakopee Valley News.

125 Years Ago: From the Sept. 17, 1896 Scott County Argus

The new business block for John Berens & Co. at the corner of Holmes and First streets is going up rapidly of late. The walls of the first story are up and the second floor is being laid today. The building is to be a handsome one, and will be doubly valued as an addition to the town owing to the favorable site. It changes the whole appearance of that part of town.

100 Years Ago: From the Sept. 15, 1921 Shakopee Tribune

Last week’s issue of the Catholic Bulletin contained quite a writeup of Shakopee giving the history of the Catholic parishes and school here and a writeup of several local business firms. Pictures of St. Mark’s church and school accompanied the writeup.

75 Years Ago: From the Sept. 12, 1946 Shakopee Argus-Tribune

Chicago Firm Leases Old Mill Building

Tool Manufacturer Picks Shakopee Site After Viewing Several Others

After looking over sites in several states and other communities, H. V. Detman, president and owner of the Riverside Machinery company of Chicago, has selected Shakopee as the future home for his thriving business and will move his plant here Oct. 1, it was authoritatively disclosed this week.

Mr. Detmann has negotiated a long-term lease of the old four-story mill building on the south bank of the Minnesota river between Lewis and Sommerville streets, and a crew of workmen have already begun renovating and repairing the large brick structure which has been vacant for many years…

The Argus-Tribune’s informant described the new industry as a manufacturer of a metal forming tool used in sheet metal work. The firm enjoys not only a thriving nation-wide trade, but is also in the foreign market filling orders for overseas delivery…

Remodelling of the mill building includes laying of a concrete floor in the lower story, a new roof over the main building, lowering of ceilings, removal of the old grain bins and the general reconditioning of the entire structure. A two-story addition to the west side of the building is being razed.

50 Years Ago: From the Sept. 15, 1971 Shakopee Valley News

Downtown Revitalization Project to Be Proposed

A proposal for the beautification and revitalization of the Shakopee Downtown area will be held Thursday evening, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Shakopee Senior High School Auditorium.

The meeting, sponsored by the Shakopee Area Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee, headed by Virgil Mears, will feature a presentation of a plan down by the Wayzata architectural firm of Vosejpka and Associates…

25 Years Ago: From the Sept. 12, 1996 Shakopee Valley News

Council formally sets referendums for Nov. 5

The Shakopee City Council last week formally adopted resolutions setting Nov. 5 referendums on a new fire hall and on an increase in the number of liquor licenses available in the city.

The council on Sept. 2 approved a ballot question asking for voter permission to issue $3.4 million in general obligation bonds for the fire hall, which would be located at the southwest corner of the intersection of County Road 16 and Vierling Drive…

The council last week also adopted a resolution to increase the number of on-sale liquor licenses from 12 – the maximum number allowed by state statutes based on population – to 17. The five additional licenses are proposed to accommodate potential development, including restaurants and hotels, city officials have said.

A look back at what happened in Shakopee history. You may also find this column in the Shakopee Valley News.

125 Years Ago: From the Sept. 10, 1896 Scott County Argus

The advantages of acetyline, the new illuminating gas, have been set forth during the week by a representative of the Buffington automatic generator, and two firms, Deutsch & Zettel, druggists, and P. J. Schwartz, general merchandise, have contracted for the lights. Being in the same business block they will need but one generator, and from this, at a cost of ½ cent an hour for each burner, their stores will be as brilliantly lighted as a full fledged electric light plant could do it. The drug store will use six burners, and Schwartz’s store, eight. The light is clear and intense, and almost as penetrating as solar light. It will cast a shadow on an incandescent lamp of ordinary power, and beside it an oil lamp looks like a glow worm. Four burners have been running in the Globe Hotel windows each evening, and the light casts a shadow more than half a block away. Four distinct shadows are thrown from an object in the street in front. Unless there are some deteriorating features not yet made known acetyline gas is a winner in towns where electricity has not made its way. The local firms mentioned received their outfit yesterday, and the piping will be done by Saturday.

100 Years Ago: From the Sept. 8, 1921 Shakopee Tribune

Ralph Warner has purchased a home from Mrs. Mary Doody on Fifth Street and will take immediate possession.

75 Years Ago: From the Sept. 5, 1946 Shakopee Argus-Tribune

Getting New Front

A new front is being placed in the Gamble store here. Work on the project began this week with the removal of the old entries and plate glass. When complete the front will have a single center entry to the store instead of two corner entries. New display windows and stages are included in the improvement plans.

50 Years Ago: From the Sept. 8, 1971 Shakopee Valley News

Depot No Longer Needed…

The fate of Shakopee’s railroad depot owned by Chicago-Northwestern Railroad Company will be decided in the next several months by the Public Service Commission. The railroad company is asking permission from the commission to abandon the Shakopee depot and utilize a consolidated station in the Valley Industrial Park area. A public hearing is slated for 10 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 9, in the Public Service Commission’s office to hear pro’s and con’s on the move.

25 Years Ago: From the Sept. 5, 1996 Shakopee Valley News

Shakopee to be among top-growing school districts

School districts in Shakopee, Chaska and Prior Lake are expected to be among the top 10 in enrollment growth in the next two years, according to the Metropolitan Council.

In a report released last week, the Met Council said that while some school district in the outer-ring schools and those in Minneapolis and St. Paul will experience significant growth in enrollment, other districts, mostly in the inner-ring of suburbs, will show a decline…

Lakeville, with a 1994-95 enrollment of 6,790, is expected to be the fastest-growing school district, increasing by 1,875 students by the 1997-98 school year, or by about 27.6 percent. Chaska is second on the list, with its current enrollment of 5,436 expected to mushroom by 1,219 students, an increase of 22.4 percent. Shakopee is eighth on the list, with its 1994-95 enrollment of 2,941 expected to grow by 383 students, an increase of 13 percent. Prior Lake-Savage completed the list, with its 3,840 enrollment expected to grow by 352, an increase of 9.2 percent.

A look back at what happened in Shakopee history. You may also find this column in the Shakopee Valley News.

125 Years Ago: From the Sept. 3, 1896 Scott County Argus

Second street for a distance of three blocks west from Holmes is undergoing repairs that are of the best kind of road building. The sandy bed has been properly scraped and graded, and upon this finely broken rock from the lime quarries has been deposited, ton after ton, until the top is nearly or quite level with the Omaha track. The road will get better instead of worse with the lapse of time and will be bearing up the traffic of the town fifty years from today. The same plan of work used on Holmes from Second to Third streets would give an excellent road up the hill for all vehicles, from a bicycle to a stone dray. It is to be hoped this can be done with the present appropriation.

100 Years Ago: From the Sept. 1, 1921 Shakopee Tribune

Mrs. Sidney Dierberger and Mrs. C. C. Andrews of this city have been appointed by the State Highway Commission to take a traffic census on the Minnesota highway for one week, beginning last Sunday. The ladies are stationed on the highway, in east Shakopee, near the Mrs. Beggs home, from 6:30 in the morning until midnight every day. The daily traffic is from 700 to 1,000 cars, while last Sunday 1,800 cars passed over the road.

75 Years Ago: From the Aug. 29, 1946 Shakopee Argus-Tribune

Valley Bakery In New Location

After many months of planning and waiting for new equipment Elmer Dahl announced this week that he is moving the Valley Bakery to its new location in the M. J. Berens building on First street.

Mr. Dahl said he expected to have the new plant in operation by Sept. 3. The plant at the present location on Lewis street will close Saturday, Aug. 31.

In the … the newly installed equipment at the new site will be put in position to resume operation, Mr. Dahl said. Announcement of the move is made in the advertisements in the Argus-Tribune today.

50 Years Ago: From the Sept. 1, 1971 Shakopee Valley News

First Ground Broken at Valley Industrial Park

The first groundbreaking at Valley Industrial Park in the area of Eagle Creek just merged with Shakopee was held last week.

Officials of the Conklin Company, along with representatives of the industrial park developers and the contractors for the new building met for the ceremony.

Conklin Co., a Minnesota-based manufacturer and distributor of cleaners, sealers, wetting agents and lubricants, will construct a two-story light industrial building of concrete block faced with brick.

25 Years Ago: From the Aug. 29, 1996 Shakopee Valley News

County justice center is on track for construction in ‘97

Project manager Gregg Davies gave Scott County commissioners an update on the county’s justice center project last week.

The justice center architect, Wold Architects, held meetings in July with representatives of various county departments to discuss space needs. The results were summarized for the Justice Center Planning Committee, the county Space Team (an internal committee composed of the associate administrator of internal services, the maintenance engineer, and the central services manager), and the Executive Team (County Administrator Gary Cunningham, six associate administrators, the court services director and library director).

The Justice Center Planning Committee has received square footage opinions based on the space needs findings, and will make a recommendation later to the County Board.

County officials hope to begin construction next spring, with completion scheduled about a year later. That would be followed by remodeling of the courthouse.