Meet Your Mayor Scott Carlson

Meet Your Mayor Scott Carlson

BY LISA COWNIE

Scott Carlson knows the parks, streets and neighborhoods in North Mankato like the back of his hand. A knowledge that comes from spending his entire lifetime in the city that he now proudly leads. Five months into the job now, Mayor Carlson shares some thoughts with North Kato readers, the people he hopes to get to know better over the next few years.

What made you want to be mayor of the town you grew up in?

My family has always been heavily involved at Crossview Covenant Church. One day a church employee dubbed my father the “Mayor” of Crossview Covenant! We all thought it was a fun nickname, but in my young mind a seed was planted. So, I told my father, “maybe one day there will be a real Mayor Carlson!”

Seriously though, I have always been interested in North Mankato history and learning everything I can about my hometown. Over the years, I’ve been giving of my time, and I have always been very community-oriented, particularly with youth. Everyone will tell you my mind does not stop working, I am always thinking about what could be better, and how we can do things differently. I thought why not try for an elected position and take all these ideas in my head to the table. Then I knew I would get a chance to help in decision making. That way I could bring those ideas to the table, hear other leaders’ ideas/points of view, and be a part of problem solving and vision planning.

What are some of those ideas?

I would like to make North Mankato a destination. Think about other places: St. Louis, Missouri has The Arch; the state of South Dakota has Mt. Rushmore; the Bean in Chicago; and everyone knows the Spoon with the Cherry in Minneapolis. Across America there are things people want to see. There are tourist attractions and neat things to visit and do. I know Mankato and North Mankato are doing some of those things to make our cities more aesthetically pleasing like some of the lighting and the sculpture walk. Those things are awesome and beautify our area. But I want to make it even better than it is. I would love to creatively build on those great things; setting North Mankato and the greater area apart from everyone else.

One idea is that I am always looking for ways to connect neighborhoods through a trail system. I think that should start with the developments now being planned. We can work with developers to plan ahead for that so right off the bat they developers know we want it’s in our longterm vision to connect neighborhoods. Wouldn’t it be great to have a trail system that interconnects our community together? For example, trails that connect upper north and lower north have already been reopened or recently built. One of my inspirations that uses my vision of art and trails for that is a pedestrian bridge in Des Moines. The city took squares and welded them on the bridge, offset like a spiral tunnel. Then

they added led lighting so that evening walks are an amazing art/light experience. So, I am always thinking, “What can we do differently to make people want to visit here and say, hey this is a really cool community.”

Five months in, how is it going so far?

It’s about what I thought. You know I have a lot of good mentors. There are people that would like to give their opinions on how we should Could do things differently. However, there are also many people that love what we are doing. I enjoy the interaction with people whether it’s positive or negative, it’s just nice having discussions. So, the start’s been great. It’s been a whirlwind because of the bonding we are trying to get for the Caswell indoor rec facility. I am also learning the legalities and procedural things in government like how to run city council meetings. I think after night one of having to run the first council meeting and the nervousness of that, I am to the point now where I can add a little levity. I like to think of myself as humorous and enjoy having a little fun. It’s serious business but I like to add a little lightness and jokes to it when appropriate.

This magazine is mailed to every resident of North Mankato. What do you want to say to them?

I really want to get to know people. I do anticipate and want to do some fun things down the road like a “Meet the Mayor” in each neighborhood park. Really laid back, just get some refreshments, put out some chairs and just have people stop by to visit. Another one of my goals is to meet and visit with all our business owners in town. I want to know their negatives, their positives, what their needs are, what is going well from their perspective.

We’ve got some other great ideas. We are going to try to make some more video announcements of what is going on to see if that is a good way to communicate with constituents. Also, I want to have a “Kiddy Council” this summer. I think that will help children/adults learn the government process in a fun way and get them involved or interested early. I envision it being for kids age kindergarten through second grade. I will interview them and ask them what a mayor does, what does the city council do? Maybe have them vote on school lunches or playground equipment, stuff like that. The idea is to have good outtakes of funny comments while learning about the local government process. I hope it gets hits nationwide.

I want people to know I want to take my 30-some years of coaching and teaching to lead all stakeholders and bring them together. I want to develop a culture of togetherness within the city government. My goals are to have open communication between staff, the council, residents and for people to feel heard even if it isn’t the answer they want. We live in an increasingly diverse community, and I want to bring a sense of cohesiveness and understanding that will bind our community together.

Mayor’s Musings

Job: PE teacher at Monroe Elementary, Head girls’ track and cross-country coach at Mankato West. Head 4 Degrees club alpine race coach at Mount Kato.

Hobbies: golf, skiing and board gaming, gardening, playing drums

Family: wife and two daughters

Food: pizza

Band: Coldplay

Vacation spot: Mazatlan, Mexico, or Colorado

Volunteering: helping my Forest Hts. neighbors with anything they may need if asked. Connections Shelter.