Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
The long-awaited opening of the new county-owned Kaposia Library at the corner of 7th and Marie is nearly upon us. The grand opening is scheduled for 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 20. It will feature a ribbon-cutting, remarks by local leaders, a performance by the South St. Paul High School choir and more.
The 16,000-square-foot building boasts many amenities including a large community meeting room, conference rooms equipped with audio-visual technology, study rooms, teen section, calming room near the children’s area, reading garden, bike racks, electric vehicle charging stations, exterior book drop and interior collage of South St. Paul’s history. The building is wheelchair accessible and its hours will be noon-8 p.m., Mon.-Wed., and 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Thurs.-Sat.
In the past weeks, library staff have been working hard to move equipment, technology, furniture, books and other materials to the new library. Until the grand opening, customers can pick up holds and return items at Central Square Community Center, 100 7th Ave. N. A shelf in the lobby has items on hold and a large bin outside is for returns. Central Square’s lobby is open 5 a.m.-8 p.m., weekdays, and 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturdays.
Kaposia library will be led by branch manager Honora Greenwood Rodriguez. She was named director of the former city-owned library last July following the retirement of longtime library director Kathy Halgren, and her title shifted to branch manager at the start of the year when the County officially assumed ownership of the new library. Prior to being named director, she was the adult services librarian for 12 years.
The City began developing a concept plan for the new library in September 2021 due to increasing costs to operate and maintain the former 11,800-square-foot library at 106 3rd St., which was built in 1922 and last renovated in 1964. In January 2022 the Dakota County Board of Commissioners approved the City’s schematic design for the new library and agreed to build it as part of its county library system. The final design was completed by Minneapolis-based BKV Architects in June 2022 and Donlar Construction completed construction in December 2023. A committee is being formed to develop a plan for what to do with the building that housed the city-owned library, and it will seek proposals and feedback from the public. For more information, visit southstpaul.org and search “Kaposia Library.”
The name of the new library is a nod to the village of the Kaposia band of the Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota), who lived along the Mississippi River near present-day Kaposia Landing, 800 Bryant Ave., in the 1830’s and ’40s. Chief Little Crow V was the last to lead the band before it was forcibly relocated to the Lower Sioux Agency reservation on the Minnesota river, near present-day Morton, Minn, in the 1850s.
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