Youth club draws
high numbers in South St. Paul

By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | October 2026

When the bell sounds at the end of each school day, flocks of students emerge from South St. Paul Secondary School and are set loose into the city. The mass exodus took the Kaposia Library by surprise when it opened next to the high school in 2024 but today the library is prepared to handle the 80-plus teenagers who stop by to do homework or blow off steam while waiting for rides or upcoming events. To bring some structure to the surge, the Dakota County library has partnered with the South St. Paul Mayor’s Youth Task Force to create the 240 Club, held 2:30-5 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month. Now in its second year, the club – aptly named after the time of day that youth take over the building – offers structured games like bingo, as well as opportunities to give back to the community. Youth most recently helped make a large banner and other rally signage for homecoming week, held Sept. 21-25.

The club is designed to be flexible and fun, as staff recognize that students are coming off a full school day. Most students attending are in eighth to tenth grade, and this year’s orientation in early September attracted more than 55 teens.

South St. Paul Community Affairs Liaison Deb Griffith, who oversees the Mayor’s Youth Task Force, expects to see more programming this year while keeping the relaxed spirit alive. Plans are in the works for kids to deliver Valentine’s Day goodie bags to seniors living in the John Carroll and Nan McKay high rises, and other similar activities may be added. The task force, which is open to students in grades 5-12, operates a wide variety of annual programs to support the community. In August, members held the Fill the Backpack campaign, providing approximately 200 South St. Paul students with backpacks and school supplies. In October they will host the Great Pod-kin Patch, which is returning for its third year this fall. People can donate empty laundry pod containers and other plastic containers to be decorated as jack-o-lanterns and displayed outside city hall. The SSP Local Lemon stand will be at the patch with fall refreshments. Proceeds are donated to Neighbors, Inc. to purchase laundry pods for their clients; monetary and laundry pod donations are also accepted.

The club proved so popular in its first year that library staff have since designated the large conference room be a “teen hangout zone” every Tuesday, also from 2:30-5 p.m. Youth can get a free snack, study, participate in arts and crafts, play board games and video games, use sports equipment outside, and simply relax. If youth abide by general library rules, the group earns tokens toward a pizza party. They must collectively earn 600 tokens during the school year, and last year the group reached the goal with more than a month to spare. An end-of-school-year celebration was also held this spring.

“The kids reached out asking how they could help make the library more teen-friendly and fun, but also respectful for everyone being here,” said Kaposia librarian Sarah Connolly. “Adults and young kids want to be here too. Balancing all of that is something we think about all the time. It was really helpful to talk to the youth and get their input and ideas, and we ran with it.”

The 240 club also offers a way for local leaders and organizations to connect with the younger generation. South St. Paul Mayor Jimmy Francis, Special School District 6 Superintendent Brian Zambreno, South St. Paul Police Chief Brian Wicke and Dakota County Commissioner Joe Atkins are among those who have dropped by to join in the fun. Griffith said councilmember Joe Kaliszewski proudly calls nearly every game of Bingo, and that Neighbors Inc., Angelo’s Pizza and The Coop have chipped in by donating food.

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