Pamela Rettler, of Inver Grove Heights, used one of the computers at the South St. Paul Public Library to print some documents Tuesday morning. ] AARON LAVINSKY • aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com South St. Paul has proposed that its city-owned and funding library join the Dakota County Library system and has offered the county the current library site to build a new, 16,000 square-foot library. Though there are many more steps in the process, this acknowledgement marks a definitive direction for the ongoing library debate in the city. That debate centered on whether to remodel or tear down the existing library, whether the city library should become part of the county system and if so, where a new library might go. The county will choose a designer for the new library; construction costs are estimated at $6m. The county is looking for funding help from the state. We photograph patrons and operations at the South St. Paul Public Library on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 in South st. Paul, Minn. (Aaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Dakota County library under construction in South St. Paul will be called "Kaposia" — a reference to the Mdewakanton Dakota and their seasonal village on the banks of the Mississippi River near current-day St. Paul and South St. Paul.

The county announced the name on June 22, just as South St. Paul's Kaposia Days was getting started.

Dakota County staff try to choose names for libraries that "will resonate with the community" and "offer a welcoming atmosphere for all visitors," a county news release said.

County staff consulted tribal historic preservation officers from several Indigenous communities, who supported the name.

Kaposia Library is expected to open in early 2024, and will be the 10th library branch in the Dakota County system.

The new library at the corner of Marie and Seventh avenues will replace the previous library near City Hall, four blocks away.

about the writer

Erin Adler

Reporter

Erin Adler is a suburban reporter covering Dakota and Scott counties for the Minnesota Star Tribune, working breaking news shifts on Sundays. She previously spent three years covering K-12 education in the south metro and five months covering Carver County.