History

• The City of St. Peter was founded in the year 1853 by Captain William Dodd. It is one of the oldest cities in Minnesota, and has the largest concentration of historic places in a downtown area in the state.
• St. Peter is the county seat of Nicollet County. Mayor Highways in St. Peter include: 169, 99, and 22.
• St. Peter is right near the Minnesota River. It is also near Swan Lake.
• In 1858 the Minnesota Legislature designated St. Peter the state capital. The original bill was awaiting the governor’s signature when it was stolen by Joe Rolette of Pembina. Since Rolette had the bill outside of St. Peter for more than 48 hours, it lost that designation, and St. Paul was made the capital.
• The St. Peter Company was formed in the year 1856. A site south of Traverse Des Sioux was the company’s preferred location.
• While the City of St. Peter was founded in the year 1853, the city was not officially incorporated for 20 years, in 1873.
• St. Peter is home to the Traverse Des Sioux Historic Treaty Site. The treaty between the U-S Government and the Sioux Indians was signed in 1851, and opened up much of the Minnesota River Valley to settlement. The Treaty Site is located off Highway 169 on the north side of St. Peter.
• St. Peter is the hometown of 5 former Minnesota governors, more than any other town in the state. Willis Gorman, Henry Swift, Horace Austin, Andrew McGill, and John Johnson were all from St. Peter.
• Two famous opera singers are St. Peter natives: Olive Fremstad and Jussi Bjorling.

Businesses

• St. Peter is home to Independent School District Number 508. Their nickname is the Saints.
• St. Peter is home to the Regional Treatment Center State Hospital, a large employer in the area. There is also a museum which traces the hospital’s history all the way back to 1866.
• A mainstay in St. Peter is Gustavus Adolphus College. The 4-year school was founded in 1875, but residents began raising money for the school in 1858. Gustavus is known as one of the most prestigious schools in Minnesota and the nation.
• Some of St. Peter’s major industries and employers include: Alumacraft Boat Company, makers of boats and canoes; the headquarters of both Scholarship America and the Minnesota School Board Association; the St. Peter Hospital; and a company called Intelliserve, which does tele-marketing.

Festivals & Events

• St. Peter’s Winterfest takes place in February. The 10-day long festival includes numerous events, such as the “Freeze Your Buns Run,” fireworks, a parade, a dance, an ice fishing contest, and much much more.
• St. Peter celebrates St. Patrick’s Day the way it was meant to be– with a parade. The annual event draws thousands of Irish and non-Irish alike.
• St. Peter celebrates our nation’s birthday with An Old Fashioned 4th Of July.
• The Nicollet County Fair is held in St. Peter every August.
• Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter hosts a Nobel Conference once a year. Scholars from around the world visit the campus. The event typically takes place in October.
• Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter in St. Peter hosts the Christmas In Christ’s Chapel concert every December. People from around the region gather at the chapel to hear performances by the Gustavus Choir.
• The E. Saint Julien Cox House in St. Peter is a fully restored Vicorian house once owned by one of the most colorful and eccentric figures in Minnesota history. Escorted tours are available in period dress. In December, “Christmas At The Cox House” lets you experience a Victorian Christmas.

People

• The City of St. Peter has a population of approximately 10,000 people. The Mayor is Tim Strand.
• St Peter soldier Sgt. Gerald Brekke received the Non Commission Officer award for the State of Minnesota from the National Guard in 2011. He was asked to join the Guard’s State Combative Competition Team, which placed 7th in 2011 during the All Army Combative Competition at Fort Hood, Texas. Brekke also received the Minnesota Enlisted Soldier award from the National Guard in 2011.
• The United Way of St Peter merged with the Greater Mankato Area United Way organization in 2011. The merger decision came with a unanimous vote. Greater Mankato Area United Way President Laura Bowman said the move will cut costs and save time for all the non-profits involved.
• The St Peter City Council gave it’s final approval for the location of a dog park for the city in 2011. The land is being leased from LeSueur County.
• The building which held the former St Peter Co-Op became the home of Jake’s Stadium Pizza in 2011. Jake’s Stadium Pizza also has locations in New Ulm and St James.
• The St Peter Food Co-op opened the doors to their new location on Highway 169 in 2011. The member-owned business has been serving residents of the St Peter area for over 31 years, and expanded their hours and other amenities thanks to the new location.
• The City of St Peter’s new 17-million dollar water treatment plant went fully online in 2011. The city held an open house for the new state-of-the art plant in May of 2011.
• Volunteers helped the Nicollet County Historical Society sandbag the Treaty Site History Center in St Peter in preparation of possible flooding in 2011.
• Gustavus Adolphus in St Peter celebrated their 150th anniversary in 2011.
• 20-year-old Gustavus Adolphus Junior Evan Taylor packed a camera and a GPS tracking unit into a styrofoam cooler, attached it to a weather balloon purchased online, and sent the whole thing about 125,000 feet into the air, or about 25 miles up in 2011. It came back to Earth about 8 miles southeast of Faribault, along with high-definition pictures and videos of the stratosphere.
• More than 1,000 people took part in the Good Food For All food packing event in St. Peter in 2011.
• Governor Mark Dayton named Professor of English at Gustavus Adolphus in St Peter, Joyce Sutphen as the Poet Laureate for the State of Minnesota. She will serve as the primary spokesperson, supporter, and promoter of poetry in the state.
• Gustavus Adolphus College celebrated it’s 71st annual Festival of St Lucia to kick off the Christmas season in Swedish custom in 2011. Jennifer Warness of Burnesville was crowned Lucia for 2011.
• Chris Voeltz of St Peter won $100,000 in the Minnesota Lottery’s Minnesota Millionaire Raffle drawing in 2011. He bought the winning ticket at the Kwik Trip in St Peter.
• St Peter High School named Dakota Haslip the Snow Week King of 2011. Crowned Snow Week Queen was Amanda Frederick.
• The St Peter High School Marching band placed 3rd in it’s class at the Minnesota State fair high school marching band “Battle of the Bands” competition.
• The St Peter High School Mock Trial Team went to State Championship in 2011 as Region 6 winners.
• KNUJ’s Hometown Hero for the month of September 2010 was Ellery Peterson of St. Peter. Peterson was honored by the Kiwanis Club and as a Nicollet County Senior of the Year. He also volunteered his time with the City of St. Peter, the St. Peter Rotary Club, Gustavus Adolphus College, the St. Peter American Legion. The Hometown Hero recognition is sponsored by KNUJ AM & FM and select Thrivent Financial For Lutherans agents.
• In 2010 Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed St. Peter native Krista Jass to the Fifth Judicial District trial court bench in Blue Earth County. Jass is currently the Fifth Judicial District Chief Public Defender, a position she has held since 2007. She earned her doctorate degree from Hamline University School of Law in 1993 and her bachelor degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter in 1990.
• St. Peter Area Chamber of Commerce named Anders Ringdahl-Mayland as President and CEO in 2010. Ringdahl-Mayland is a Gustavus Adolphus College graduate who served as interim director of the St. Peter Arts Center in 2009. The St. Peter Chamber of Commerce serves about 240 member businesses and entities.
• In 2010 the St. Peter City Council approved a wage freeze for 2011 that will save the city as much as $120,000. All 5 city employee union groups agreed to the request, which was approved by the Council.
• The City of St. Peter joined the Sister City International Program, and is now officially partnered with the City of Petatlan, Mexico. The Mexican town was chosen as St. Peter’s Sister City because it is similar in size to St. Peter, and also has a college. Delegations from each city will be making formal exchange visits.
• The finishing touches were put on the newly-reconstructed Highway 169 through downtown St. Peter in 2010. St. Peter Chamber of Commerce President Anders Ringdahl-Mayland said the like-new highway has been a great benefit to the community.
• The Highway 169 Project in St. Peter earned a national award for Mn/DOT in 2010. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials present the Minnesota Department of Transportation with the “Best Recovery Act” Award for its work on Highway 169. Mn/DOT also received the “Innovative Management Award” for its role in coordinating transportation choices to the new Target Field ballpark.
• In 2010 a landmark restaurant was demolished. Ruttles Grill and Bar, once a fixture in the downtown St. Peter area was shut down and the property was purchased by Nicollet County for future expansion of the county courthouse campus.
• In 2010 the St. Peter Co-Op met its goals and began renovating it’s new downtown St. Peter site. A special groundbreaking ceremony took place in October 2010. St. Peter Co-Op General Manager Margo O’Brien said the community came together to support the member-owned business.
• A St. Peter teen won a $10,000 grand prize in 2010 for coming up with an unorthodox use for bubble wrap. 13-year-old Matthew Huber came up with the idea to use bubble wrap as an alternative to conventional glass Petri dishes for science experiments. He entered the idea in a contest sponsored by Sealed Air Corp, the Elmwood Park, New Jersey company that makes bubble wrap. Matthew got to show off his invention on the CBS Early Show.
• The St. Peter Academic Decathlon team traveled to Omaha, Nebraska in 2010 for the National Academic Decathlon. The team won the school’s first state championship in nearly a decade in March 2010, after an undefeated season. Top overall finished of the state meet was Dan Obermiller.
• In 2010 a St. Peter teacher began working with the Nicollet County Historical Society to create “Virtual Field Trips” to the Treaty Site History Center in St. Peter. The virtual tours will be available for students in St. Peter and other school districts. The project involved taking over 4,000 pictures of the various displays at the Treaty Site History Center. The Virtual Field Trip was made possible through a grant from the Minnesota Historical Society.
• St. Peter’s Gustavus Adolphus College recieved nation recognition in 2010. The college was named a “Top College” in the Princeton Review’s guidebook, The Best 373 Colleges for 2011. Gustavus ranked at # 18.
• Gustavus Adolphus College was named one of America’s top 100 colleges for 2010 by Forbes.com Gustavus College Dean Provost David Frienen said the college was listed as the 98th best in the country.
• “Perry” the Gustavus Adolphus College Corpse Flower, bloomed in 2010 for the first time in three years. The Corpse Flower drew over 7,000 people the last time it bloomed. A webcam had also been set up in the biology department moitoring the Corpse Flower at Gustavus.edu.
• A huge expansion project was approved for Gustavus Adolphus College in 2010. The St. Peter college will build a 125,000 square foot academic building just west of Christ’s Chapel. Gustavus President Dr. Jack Ohle said the 44-million dollar project will also include renovation of the A.H. Anderson Social Science Building and a new mall connecting everything to campus.

Click on the title below to listen to the Town Days Podcasts

• St Peter Camber of Commerce

  24 Feb 12

• Police Chief

  24 Feb 12

• Nicollet County Historical Society

  24 Feb 12