Mankato's downtown wrestles with history of alcohol-fueled issues

MANKATO – The football team had just won its home opener, and "Thirsty Thursday" drink specials beckoned from local bars.

"This place is usually packed," said Angela Welsch, a bartender who took the night off to be with friends at the Underground Bar & Grill, one of about a dozen bars crammed into the two-block section of South Front Street that makes up the city's infamous "Bar-muda Triangle."

But while plenty of students showed up to lift a glass ­— and some stumbled back home with friends as the night wore on — the clock swept past midnight and the triangle area mostly just waned.

For city officials, that is by design. An after-hours bar fight in May involving two of the city's football stars, including former Gophers quarterback Philip Nelson, that left former Maverick Isaac Kolstad fighting for his life shone an unpleasant spotlight on the city's party culture.

The Mankato Free-Press, in an editorial headlined "Downtown behavior unacceptable," called for renewed efforts to fix the problem. "Late-night downtown Mankato too often is a danger zone," the newspaper said.

This summer, the city spent $1.3 million to renovate a portion of the "triangle" area, stripping away planters and trees that made it difficult to patrol, enlarging some sidewalks and adding more video surveillance cameras. Police have increased patrols and have added high-powered portable lights to flood the area with light at bar closing time.

The efforts are about more than just trying to sweep away the university town's reputation for bar fights and underage drinking problems.

Its economy, too, grew faster last year than any of the state's metro area, led by strong gains in manufacturing and agribusiness, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

An influx of new construction downtown promises to reshape the city's skyline, with a seven-story office tower going up on Riverfront Drive and another four-story building rising on Front Street.

A mix of residential and commercial property, the new buildings will add momentum to the movement of people coming to live and work downtown, said Todd Miller, the city's public safety director.

"As a part of that revitalization, we're looking at what we can do to ensure a location that is not only appealing for people to go and spend their time, but one that is safe and clean and provides the best possible environment," he said.

The history of alcohol-fueled tragedies includes the binge-drinking deaths of former Minnesota State University, Mankato student Amanda Jax in 2007 and 16-year-old Andrew Anderson in 2008. A crackdown on underage drinking in 2010 netted about 100 citations, but on the same weekend then-Mankato Mayor John Brady was caught driving drunk in Golden Valley with an open container of alcohol.

He landed headfirst on the pavement and then was kicked in the head. A police sergeant said in court papers that surveillance video of the confrontation appears to show Kolstad throwing a punch before he was attacked.

Nelson, 20, and St. Peter resident Trevor Shelley, 21, face assault charges over the incident.

Kolstad, after months of intensive therapy, has relearned how to walk but has struggled to regain his speech.

He led the Mankato football team onto the field Thursday night in an emotional reunion with his old teammates.

At least one student said he thought the publicity surrounding Kolstad's injuries has been something of a lesson for other students.

Others said it was a fluke that Kolstad got severely injured in the first place.

"The situation with Philip Nelson and Isaac Kolstad is not reflective of downtown Mankato," said Chris Rugowski, manager at the Underground Bar & Grill. "Normally, there is very little violence, if any."

On Thursday night, as students crowded inside popular places like Blue Bricks, Rounders Sports Bar & Grill and Pub 500, Miller and a handful of city officials looked on. A few students lingered outside while others nursed drinks at patio tables out front.

Nearby a young man in a Minnesota Vikings jersey grabbed a friend by the shoulders and steered him away.

"Let's go home," he said.