St. Paul recognized for its growth

ST. PAUL, Neb. (KSNB) - Some may know it as the home of the Nebraska major League Baseball Museum, but St. Paul is showing they have so much more to offer, and the state of Nebraska is recognizing efforts to build up the city of just under 2,300 people.

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development recognized St. Paul as a member of the Leadership Certified Community program. They’re one of just a few dozen cities statewide, and two projects set them apart from other similar cities.

The first is the wellness center under construction as a part of the Howard County Medical Center. The other is the St. Paul Water Treatment Plant, which was a $6 million project.

St. Paul’s mayor, Joel Bergman, said there are a lot of upsides in the St. Paul community.

“As I look at the city, as mayor, I see we have a great school system, we got a great recreational program, the community is thriving,” Bergman said. “That just brings people’s attention to our community, and you have to give credit to the leaders that are behind that, not the mayor, not the council.”

In the middle of all the growth, is the St. Paul Development Corporation, and whether it’s health care or child care, they want to have it in the city to make life as convenient as possible for residents.

“We want a well-rounded community, so we want good schools, we want good child care, a wellness center, anything they need medically that they don’t have to go to another community to get it, we want to offer here in town,” Laura Berthelsen, with the St. Paul Development Corporation, said.

St. Paul Development Corporation Executive Director, Parker Klingensmith, said there’s still room for growth.

“I think it’s tremendously important, for the growth if St. Paul, childcare is,” Klingensmith said. “There’s families right now that they have to plan to have a kid to a couple years down the road because that’s when the next available childcare center is. If we can eliminate that problem, and always have open spots for child care, I feel like that would be a huge step in the progress of St. Paul.”

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development also said St. Paul is working to prioritized infrastructure development such as a new fire station and improvements to the community’s Middle Loup subdivision.

The city just recently got a one million dollar grant from Nebraska’s Rural Workforce Housing Land Development Program to help acquire properties for workforce housing projects.

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