MORTEN ARNESON
Bob Reiss, From the Re-Echo, Summer 2002

From the very beginning, Morten Arneson was the champion of the St. Louis Park Medical Center.  In 1950 he leased the Medical Center three acres of his nursery on Excelsior Blvd. so they could build their building. The final agreement was very one sided and the terms were very financially beneficial to the Medical Center for many years to follow. In their first meeting, Mr. Arneson became the agent for their welfare and success. As the building was going up, Arneson was on the site every day. He provided the water, the electricity, the phone, some extra planks and whatever all for free. Through the first years of the Medical Center, he remained encouraging and/or critical of their expansion plans.

The St Louis Park Medical Center was not the only benefactor of Arneson's wisdom and energy. From the 1930s through the '40s and into the '50s he was very active in promoting the changes necessary to the local government to accommodate the expanding municipality. Morton Arneson and his wife, Katheren moved to the Park in the early 1930s and found a very lax and possibly corrupt government.  He, with several other residents, formed the Better Government League and throughout its existence, until 1953, he was the only Chairman. The first action of this group was to find and promote candidates for election with impeccable reputations. Their first success was getting Roy Sewell elected mayor. He immediately fired the police chief and hired Andy Nelson who served St. Louis Park very well for many years. The Better Government League talked more good people into running for the Council, and the Village started to turn around. The role that the Better Government League saw for itself was to select and endorse the people they though would use good judgment. After they were elected, the Better Government League left them alone to do their job.

When Arneson found the Planning Commission was not actively planning for the growth of St. Louis Park, he got himself appointed to the Commission.  He worked to get people appointed who could provide positive, professional and knowledgeable input.  He spent 25 years on the Planning Commission during the period that was an exceptional time in St Louis Park's growth. During this time, St. Louis Park was completely rezoned and it is still zoned very much the same today.

Arneson's big contribution was on the Charter Commission. The Better Government League set up a committee, including Arneson, to study the best form of government for municipalities.  They quickly settled on the Council-Manager type.  It put the administration in the hands of hired professionals and left the elect4ed officials free to look at the big picture.

The first Charter proposal failed to pass and it was decided that it was because it was not a very good charter.  The Better Government League supported a second Charter Commission. Ameson also served as Chairman of this Commission, which included several well-qualified attorneys.  They worked for four years before they proposed a vote on it.  The Charter they wrote is the one under which the City operates today.

There was no viable opposition to this Charter and it was assumed that it would pass. Last minute opposition to Arneson personally developed and this Charter failed.  In 1954, this same Charter was put to a vote and passed.  By this time Arneson had moved to Edina. The St. Louis Park Medical Center honored Morten and Katheren by naming a new building built in their honor.  Others were less kind. In a history of St. Louis Park commissioned by rival Carroll Hurd in 1976, Arneson is barely mentioned.  In addition, only two lines were devoted to the St. Louis Park Medical Center, presumably because of Arneson's association. 


 

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.