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Gustavus Adolphus College
- Local Atmosphere

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Gustavus Adolphus College - Local Atmosphere - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.08

Local Atmosphere

B-
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Quick Stats

Points of Interest
  • E. St. Julien Cox House
  • Linnaeus Arboretum
  • Seven Mile Park
  • St. Peter Sandstone
  • Treaty Site History Center

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

You can’t talk about Gustavus without talking about Mankato. Though the community of St. Peter has fewer than 10,000 residents, Mankato provides a reprieve for Gusties who hail from bigger cities. Only 10 minutes away, you can find your favorites like Starbucks and Target. Students can also slip into town without being branded as a Gustie: because Mankato houses Minnesota State University, Gustavus students can oftentimes find reprieve and not be noticeable in a community where college students don’t stick out nearly as much. Simply put, the four years would simply not be bearable without Mankato’s mid-sized community.

St. Peter itself certainly has local charm: you can walk almost anywhere, there is virtually no crime, the Co-Op is out of this world, and they have a fantastic breakfast joint that all the locals frequent (Ooodles—try the chocolate chip pancakes). The rapport between the College and the community can be strained at times; locals believe that all Gustavus students are spoiled brats and Gustavus students think they own the town. Both are slightly accurate, but there is little effort to break down barriers. The college has been working hard to overcome this by having students take active roles in the community, and a majority of students are eager to contribute. However, the drunken college kids wandering around town at all hours on the weekends do tend to leave a lasting impression on the community. St. Peter is like most small towns with a lack of weekend activities where drunken and disorderly behavior becomes all too common.

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Gustavus Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Local Atmosphere at Gustavus Adolphus College

nicklerun7

'15

Religious Studies

4.6
A

Small and Quaint

St. Peter is anice little town with not a ton to offer. But it is a friendly community. Mankato is not far from St. Peter though and there is tons of things to do there.

Feb 13, 2012

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Local Atmosphere at Gustavus Adolphus College

bbruels

'14

Sociology

3.5
B

Small Town Living

If you're a small town girl like me, you'd love Saint Peter. Charming shops, beautiful parks, large enough to have a movie theater, small enough to feel safe. Some big city kids love the small town, others have a really hard time adjusting.

Dec 31, 2011

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Local Atmosphere at Gustavus Adolphus College

ethbjell

'12

Acting

4.2
A-

A Complicated Question...

See, Saint Peter, MN is pretty boring. There are cute things in town for when your parents and family come to visit like the Swedish Kontur Imports store and a few other kitchy little shops. There are some decent pizza places and Whiskey River (the local steakhouse) has got a great brunch on the weekends. The Co-Op has just expanded and is a great place to go shopping and grab a bite to eat. River Rock Coffee House is the perfect place to study off campus and get a top-notch cup of coffee. Most of the students do their shopping at Econo Foods (within walking distance from campus) and MGM Liquor and Econo's liquor counter suffice for the weekends.

There aren't many events in town often besides the Rock Bend Folk Festival (art/music etc.), a couple local plays, and the farmer's market. However, Gustavus has an award-winning Campus Activities Board that is always coming up with great ideas on campus and off (even in the Cities). If that's not enough, you can pop over to Mankato (10 minutes away) and grab an adventure. Mankato's where most of us do our shopping and get our fill of commercial society. ;)

We're also an hour away from the Cities, so all of that excitements only a hop, a skip, and a jump away.

Great location, but Saint Peter is really quiet and focused. The people here tend to drive to everything (Hwy 22 and Hwy 169 intersect in Saint Peter). No one is really walking around town so people tend to keep to themselves.

Oct 17, 2011

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Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate the local atmosphere on the following topics

What is the local atmosphere like at your school?

What is the proximity to other universities? Is there much interaction?

Can you see yourself living here after graduation?

Facts

Shopping Centers
  • Historic Old Town District
  • Madison East Center
  • Mankato Heights Plaza
Major Sports Teams
  • Minnesota Timberwolves: basketball
  • Minnesota Twins: baseball
  • Minnesota Vikings: football
City Web Sites
Distances to Nearest Major Cities
  • Mankato: MN: 10 minutes
  • Minneapolis/St. Paul: MN: 1 hour
Did You Know?

Five Fun Facts about St. Peter:

• Five of the state’s governors have hailed from St. Peter.
• The main street in St. Peter is wider than normal city streets. It was meant to be the capital city of Minnesota before St. Paul was officially given the title.
• Every fall, the city hosts the Rock Bend Folk Festival, which is a weekend-long event that draws in crowds of people with the wide variety of food, vendors, and of course, music.
• When the town was hit with a devastating F5 tornado in 1998, most of the campus was completely destroyed. Even though the Christ Chapel suffered extensive damage, the eternal candle never went out.
• The St. Peter Regional Treatment Center is the first psychiatric facility of its kind in the state.

Famous People from St. Peter:
Maximilian Dick – Violinist, New York Philharmonic
George Engesser – Circus entertainer, vaudeville
Olive Fremstad – Opera singer, Metropolitan Opera
Gideon Sprague Ives – Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, 1891–1893
John Albert Johnson – Governor from 1905 to1909
James M. McPherson – Civil War historian and author
Steve Neils – Football player, St. Louis Cardinals

Local Slang:
Pop – What Minnesotans call soda
Hair Binder – Hair tie
Duck, Duck, Gray Duck – You know that childhood game known as “Duck, Duck, Goose?” It’s “Duck, Duck, Gray Duck” in these parts.

Movie TheatersWhat's This?

Carmike Cine 6 - University Square Mankato
220 Stadium Rd.
Mankato
(507) 625-3456

Cinemark Movies 8
1850 Adams St.
Mankato
(507) 625-3553

Maverick Four
12 Mankato Pl.
Mankato
(507) 344-4444

St Peter Cinema Five
621 S. Minnesota Ave.
St. Peter
(507) 931-6631

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Gustavus

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