A look back at what happened in Shakopee history. You may also find this column in the Shakopee Valley News.
125 Years Ago: From the May 7, 1896 Scott County Argus
John Kintzie is making a valuable improvement on his home at Fillmore and Fourth streets. The entire house has been raised two feet, and to this is being added a one story frame ell 16×20 feet in dimensions, to correspond with the main part. G. Niedenfuehr is wielding the saw and hammer.
100 Years Ago: From the May 5, 1921 Shakopee Tribune
Gem Theater Will Add Second Machine
Manager L. E. Dawson of the Gem theater has made a very progressive move in the purchase of another projection machine. He will enlarge the projection booth and install the second machine at once, a step that will be greatly appreciated by Gem patrons because it will eliminate breaks between reels in the showing of pictures. With two projection machines in use one is ‘loaded’ while the other is running and when one machine is empty the other is instantly switched on. Advertising slides will be shown only before and between shows.
75 Years Ago: From the May 2, 1946 Shakopee Argus-Tribune
City To Have $50,000 Bond Election Soon
That the matter of a $50,000 bond issue will likely be presented to the voters of the city in a special election sometime soon is indicated in the Council Proceedings published in the Argus-Tribune today.
The disclosure is in a motion by Alderman Howard Heller instructing the city attorney to “draw the necessary papers for a bond issue to be voted on at a special election.”
According to the motion revenue from the sale of city bonds would be used for “tarvis, sewer, water, grading and the purchase of a new fire truck.”
The council will meet again May 7. Date for the bond vote is expected to be set at that time.
50 Years Ago: From the May 5, 1971 Shakopee Valley News
County Adopts $649,919 Budget
$20,000 Committed to Sheriff’s Radio…
The 1971 Scott County budget was officially adopted by the Board of Commissioners Tuesday morning, culminating 4 months of hacking and slashing in order to avoid a deficit.
When all the dollars and cents had settled, Commissioners had cut departmental requests by $50,500, ending up with a figure of $649,919.47 for general county fund operations.
Estimated revenue is $584,392.06, meaning that $54,752.59 is not budgeted. Commissioners shied away from the word “surplus” regarding the $54,000, however. Commissioner Tony Worm said the term “surplus” is not accurate if the amount cut from requests is considered.
He moved to earmark most of the unbudgeted funds for improvements to the county sheriff’s radio system, which he said has been trimmed out of budget requests for the past three years…
Worm said the radio facilities of the sheriff is now approaching the critical stage, since a transmitting station in Carver County being used to reach low parts of the county has been declared illegal by the Federal Communications Commission.
Commissioners committed $20,000 of the unbudgeted funds to the radio, and now have $34,000 between themselves and a deficit operation for 1971.
25 Years Ago: From the May 2, 1996 Shakopee Valley News
Two fires at Valleyfair
Shakopee firefighters responded to two separate fires April 23 and 24 about five hours apart at Valleyfair. Firefighters were called at 7:31 p.m. April 23 after a passing motorist noticed flames at the amusement park. That fire …was on the roof of a new food building. … Firefighters were called again at 12:16 a.m. April 24 by a security guard when a fire broke out in a building used for painting. The fire likely began from something hot being put into a trash receptacle…
