Jacob Wetterling's hometown is trying to raise $4 million to build a new rec center that will honor him.
St. Joseph is fundraising for the Jacob Wetterling Recreation Center, which would include three gyms, a track and activity rooms. It would also have a monument honoring Wetterling with images of the sports he enjoyed, his No. 11 and a tower with a light that will always be lit.
"It's really beautiful," City Administrator Judy Weyrens said, adding that Patty Wetterling, Jacob's mother, has long pushed for a community center.
The recreation center would be part of the St. Joseph Community Center, the first for St. Joseph, a 6,500-resident city about 8 miles west of St. Cloud. The rec center will be a 40,000-square-foot addition to the community center, which will be in a renovated former school and include amenities such as a community kitchen and community rooms.
After the $4 million in donations, the city will fund the rest of the $12 million project with a regional half-cent sales tax, Weyrens said. Donations can be sent to Sentry Bank, P.O. Box 159, St. Joseph, MN 56374 or dropped off at the city's Government Center.
Kelly Smith
Grand Rapids
Calling all bears! DNR wants help finding dens
Stumble across a bear den in or around the Chippewa National Forest? The Minnesota DNR would like you to report it so it can add more bears to a study it is conducting using GPS tracking collars.
The study is examining how bears have responded to changes in the forest since the 1980s. Researchers want to understand factors that cause population change and enable the DNR to "better manage and conserve this species," according to a DNR statement.
