St. Cloud City Hall Adds Historic Mural, Celebrating Education and Community Legacy

(KNSI) – A mural now graces the entryway of city hall as part of the final touches, turning historic St. Cloud Technical High School into the seat of city government.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in March 2022, and the city began operating out of the space. Since then, finishing work has been going on, with the last piece being the aesthetic upgrades.

Mayor Dave Kleis met with KNSI News outside the wall-size painting, marking a milestone in a building that he says can stand the test of time, calling it “that completion of the transformation of a 100 year old plus school into a city hall that’s going to stand for another 100 years.”

The mural represents the past and the relationship between education and local government. Two former schools have served as city halls. Before the old Tech High School renovations, the council chambers were housed in what was Central Junior High School, starting 1984. The first city hall was built where the River’s Edge Convention Center now stands.

All three buildings are represented on the mural along with former District 742 Superintendent Willie Jett, who got the ball rolling with the city to move to the old Tech after agreeing to sell the land for $1. Current Superintendent Laurie Putnam is also depicted for continuing to work with the city after Jett’s retirement. Chuck Winkelman who served as Mayor and City Councilman is also recognized for his years of service. As is Mary T. Howard, a long-time school board member who played an essential role during most of the time the city and the school district were partnering. Tech High School’s first principal, Elizabeth Clark, is included for establishing the public school system in the city. Clark Field is named after her. John Wilson, who is considered the founder of St. Cloud as he gave the city its name and was its second mayor can also be seen. Last but not least is Kleis, who is St. Cloud’s longest-serving Mayor, but who also is recognized for his work on moving city hall.

The first idea wasn’t to have a painting. “The original concept was to actually take the photograph from the ribbon cutting, but then you would lose the history,” according to Kleis. He added that “the artist did a great job of incorporating not only the history of the individuals, but the history of the buildings.”

Along with the mural, pictures have been added throughout the building, but there is one final piece. In the next few weeks, photos of all 100 parks and all city buildings will be placed on the council chamber walls.

Minnesota statute requires spending some public dollars on artistic beautification for public buildings. Around $30,000 of the $11 million renovation budget was spent on the art. Most of it was paid for through a grant that the city received from the National Endowment for the Arts. The painting was made by Traumen Glasberg Designs, James Lundberg and Rebekah Glasmann.

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