Sold out: Former mayor’s trolley tours return to St. Cloud streets

(KNSI) – Former St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis is bringing back his popular trolley history tours this week, timing their return to the nation’s 250th birthday.

Kleis made the announcement during an appearance on KNSI. The 90-minute rides start at the St. Cloud Public Library and wind through the city’s past. He ran the tours regularly during his 20 years in office, the longest tenure of any mayor in St. Cloud’s history. In the 18 months since he left office, he says riders kept asking him to bring them back.

The first tour, set for July 16th, filled up within a day of its announcement, prompting Kleis to add a second date. July 15th was added, with tours running at 10:00 a.m. and noon. Both dates are now sold out. So if you spot the trolley making its way through downtown St. Cloud this week, that’s why. It’s out running one of its four sold-out history tours.

Kleis, who majored in history at St. Cloud State University, said the strong response doesn’t surprise him, given how much history St. Cloud has built up over its 168 years as a city, and before that as a territory.

He said the tour starts downtown at the library and moves through different eras, with a heavy focus on the earliest years. He described St. Cloud in 1856 as three separate hamlets, upper, middle, and lower town, each with its own distinct identity.

Those interested in future tours can call Metrobus at 320-257-4581.

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