January 2025
Coffee with Mayor Chris Whitehead
Mayor Chris Whitehead held his first Coffee with the Mayor as Mayor on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Community members and city employees were able to get to know Whitehead and discuss topics like Meadowlark Prairie Outdoor Labs, the Rail House, and housing in St. James.
College news
South Dakota State University announced the students who were honored on the fall semester Dean’s List. Overall, 3,901 students from 40 states and 32 foreign nations are on the list. More than 1,600 students received a 4.0 GPA, and those are indicated with an asterisk.
Film showing: Plastic People – The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics
The award-winning feature documentary film, “Plastic People – The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics” will be shown Tuesday, January 28, 6:30 p.m. at the Watonwan County Library. Sponsored by Climate Smart St. James as part of its educational awareness programming, this event is open to the public at no cost. To ensure adequate seating, those interested in attending are asked to sign up at https://tinyurl.com/plasticpeoplefilm
Home meet pairs gymnasts with Waseca
Lee Carlson St. James Area gymnastics continued their progress as a team against a strong conference opponent on January 16th. The Bluejays prevailed 131.050 to… Login to continue reading Login…
Mayor Column
Mayor Chris Whitehead Dear St. James residents, It is with great honor and excitement that I step into the role of your newly elected Mayor.… Login to continue reading Login…
Lordy, Lordy
Over my lifetime, several names have been assigned above and beyond the name given by my parents soon after I arrived. Having spent close to forty years as a teacher and coach, you can accurately guess several of those were not the most complimentary. Everybody has a bad day right? Sometimes a foul mood can cloud judgement and, despite dedicating a lifetime to helping other people’s kids, derogatory terms may be cast the way of an educator or coach.
Letter to the Editor
As many of you may have heard, I suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday, December 13, at Anytime Fitness here in St. James. Thanks to the many people for the life-saving help they gave me: Anytime Fitness, St. James police, St. James Ambulance service, Mayo – St. James Emergency room, Mayo – St. Mary’s Rochester, and Eyecare Center of St. James. I had a defibrillator/pacemaker implanted December 18 at St. Mary’s. Because of the amazingly quick response I received, I am recovering well and plan to ease back into work January 15.
Late pins carry St. James-Madelia to mat success
St. James hosted a quadrangular on January 14th putting an exclamation point on a pair of wins by finishing with a 40-30 decision over Windmom/Mt. Lake. After defeating St. Clair-Loyola 45-27, SJM defeating the Cobras for the first time in over a decade.
Big South Conference wrestling overflows with wrestling
Over a dozen wrestling programs converged on Jackson County Central HS, filling multiple mats in multiple gyms for the January 11th BSC championships. Izzy Swanson, Nevada Anderson Emily Esqueda, and Fernanda Esqueda each won top trophies for the girls and the boys team placed three wrestlers.