St. Cloud mayor dedicates time capsule chronicling COVID-19 era

ST. CLOUD – Mayor Dave Kleis on Thursday dedicated a time capsule chronicling St. Cloud residents' lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The capsule is to be buried for 100 years — as a way to acknowledge the century that's passed since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and give future residents a glimpse into the first 20 months of the most recent pandemic.

"You know, it would have been great to open up a time capsule last year from 100 years ago and know what they were thinking and, not so much necessarily all of what's been reported, but the personal parts of it," Kleis said.

The capsule includes personal letters written by city staff and leaders from St. Cloud State University, CentraCare and the St. Cloud school district. There are also newspaper clippings and even a few vials of the Moderna vaccine donated by the county, Kleis said.

"I'm not going to tell you all the contents because that's the mystery of a time capsule," he said, before adding a license plate, umbrella and dollar bill as tokens of what life looks like in 2021.

During Kleis' tenure as mayor, he has dedicated time capsules at several city buildings, including the police station, library, aquatic center and convention center. The COVID-19 time capsule is northwest of Lake George near a time capsule dedicated in 2006 for the city's sesquicentennial. It's also across the street from the former Technical High School, which is being renovated to house city offices.

"I'm a big supporter and advocate of preserving our history," he said. "We have such a rich history in St. Cloud."

Jenny Berg • 612-673-7299 • Twitter: @bergjenny