125 Years Ago: From the Dec. 29, 1898 Scott County Argus
The early sleighing created quite a boom in the wood market, and hundreds of cords have been hauled in and sold on the street at good prices. Herman Schroeder of the City Brick yard has already added a thousand cords to the long ranks in the wood yard in East Shakopee; and still it comes. He states that there have been as many as forty teams at his yard in one day. He has bought wood from forty five different parties, that is, contracted for considerable amounts from that number of farmers. He thinks there was a greater amount of wood cut last winter than usual owing to the light snowfall and the prevailing good prices. He is paying $2.25 for soft wood and $2.75 for oak, which is more than is offered in neighboring towns, hence the large amount marketed here.
100 Years Ago: From the Dec. 27, 1923 Shakopee Tribune
The King Midas Milling Co. as usual played the generous roll of Santa Claus by giving all of their mill employees a Christmas gift and they also presented a goodly number of sacks of King Midas flour to various people and organizations about town in appreciation of their co-operation during the past year.
75 Years Ago: From the Dec. 23, 1948 Shakopee Argus-Tribune
Five Ice Rinks Serve Fans Here
Shakopee skating enthusiasts are definitely not lacking in places to enjoy the sport this year—five municipal rinks are now in operation, Leonard Siebenaler, superintendent of parks and streets, announced this week.
Two of the rinks have been prepared in the recreation park near the Scout cabin; another is located on the south side of Shakopee avenue; a fourth in Holmes park, and the fifth on the vacant lot north of St. Mark’s school on West Third street.
Siebenaler, assisted by James Rein and members of the Shakopee fire department, got the skating areas in shape last week. All of the rinks were opened Friday night and have been in constant use since that time.
50 Years Ago: From the Dec. 26, 1973 Shakopee Valley News
Shakopee’s downtown revitalization plans receive new emphasis
Plans for revitalizing Shakopee’s downtown business district advanced recently with the hiring of a development consultant firm.
Shakopee’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) has been discussing plans and ideas for a new look downtown for several months, and the city has hired the consultants to get the project moving toward something concrete.
The new firm is The Hodge Stageberg Partners Inc., and the man who will work on the project is John Gravender.
Gravender has a series of meetings planned with local businessmen and community leaders during January to assess their views on the planning…
25 Years Ago: From the Dec. 24, 1998 Shakopee Valley News
Despite city concerns, train speeds to increase
Officials from Union Pacific Railroad said its decision to increase the speed of its trains from 10 to 30 mph through Shakopee was good for both the city and the railroad.
The Shakopee City Council didn’t buy a word of it.
Mayor Jon Brekke told company officials at the Dec. 15 council meeting that the city would use every means at its disposal to reverse the railroad’s decision. The council voted unanimously to direct City Attorney Jim Thomson to research the city’s legal options…
Interested in Shakopee history? Find even more at the Shakopee Heritage Society website.
