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City of St. James Honored with 2025 LMC Sustainable City Award

June 27, 2025

 

The City of St. James was awarded the 2025 Sustainable City Award by the League of Minnesota Cities Thursday at the League’s Annual Conference in Duluth. The city was recognized for its project “Building an Equitable & Active St. James: Advancing Transportation, Energy Efficiency, and Community Engagement.”

St. James, a rural city with a population that is approximately 50% Hispanic, has prioritized equity, sustainability, and collaboration in a year of bold progress. Through active transportation planning, public building energy audits, and bilingual community outreach, the city has demonstrated that small communities can lead in sustainability.

The city received both the MnDOT Active Transportation Planning Assistance Grant and the Minnesota Boost Grant to improve walking and biking infrastructure, especially for students. Projects included Safe Routes to School updates, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sidewalk mapping, and youth engagement programs such as crosswalk safety patrols and walk/bike education.

In addition, St. James developed energy efficiency plans for public buildings including the library and fire hall, and hosted public workshops such as “Keep Warm, Save Money” to promote household energy literacy. All outreach was conducted in English and Spanish and informed by community feedback.

“Our work demonstrates that even small cities can lead in sustainability when partnerships, equity, and data come together,” said Grace Smith, Minnesota GreenCorps member and city project lead. “From transportation and accessibility to energy savings and youth engagement, St. James is building systems that will improve lives today—and for generations to come.”

The Sustainable City Award is presented annually to recognize sustainability efforts by a city among those participating in the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program—a free, voluntary program designed to help cities meet environmental sustainability goals through implementing 29 best practices. As of 2024, the program included 148 city and Tribal nation participants. The League partners with eight other organizations, including non-profits and state agencies, to administer the GreenStep Cities program.

The League of Minnesota Cities is a membership organization dedicated to helping cities throughout Minnesota build quality communities through effective advocacy, expert analysis, trusted guidance, and collective action. The League serves over 830 member cities through advocacy, education and training, policy development, risk management, and other services.