Over the past five years, the Board of Directors has been seeking a building suitable for use as a public space for the display of North Star's diverse and growing collection. We are pleased to announce that the search is over! On December 21, 2004, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved the sale of the former North St. Paul Library building to North Star. On February 16, 2005, the North St. Paul City Council approved a necessary change in the zoning of the property.

North Star purchased this 10,500 square foot single story brick structure for $700,000. We are putting $450,000 down and the remaining $250,000 is being financed by Ramsey County on a five-year interest only contract for deed at the rate of 3%. How could we afford to acquire such an exciting property? Well, the purchase was made possible by a $350,000 anonymous gift from a long-time North Star member. The donation is contingent upon meeting a challenge to raise an additional $100,000. To date, we have raised $97,000 toward the challenge goal. If you are interested in helping us meet the challenge or fund our balloon payment, simply contact Board Chair John Guthmann (651-482-8900).

The new building will help North Star continue its mission "to collect, preserve, display and share the artifacts and history of the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides." The Museum News asked Board Chair, John Guthmann, what he thinks of the new building: "we are very excited about our acquisition. With this facility, North Star will be more visible, kids will have much more access to our collections, and we will be able to provide program and service opportunities to kids in both the Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs that we cannot presently provide." Look for more information on the new building and the additional programs we will be offering. Of course, we will give our members a chance to see the building as soon as we can.

Click here to see more pictures of the new building.