MANKATO — An ambitious project to transform farmland on Mankato’s southeast side into approximately 100 acres of wetland and prairie is being put on indefinite hold by city leaders.
The origins of the Southeast Water Quality Initiative date back to former City Manager Pat Hentges, who in 2017 proposed the creation of a sweeping natural area to forestall flooding, ease erosion, clean up surface water before it reaches the polluted Minnesota River and provide a refuge for wildlife and nature-lovers.
To become reality, the concept required both funding and interested sellers. The city was hoping the former might be resolved with a bonding request to lawmakers in the current legislative session, but no progress has been made on the latter.
“Despite strong efforts, the property owners are not currently willing to sell the property proposed for the project,” a memo to the City Council summarized.
On Monday night, the council is expected to formally drop the request for state funding for the project, which totals $13.5 million when all of its components are included.
It’s not the first time the project has been delayed by the land-ownership issue. In 2020, a $1.3 million state grant was awarded to buy the majority of the required land, but negotiations did not result in an agreement.
In 2023, the council authorized up to $890,000 in local sales tax proceeds to be used as well. City Manager Susan Arntz and other city staff were once again unable to reach a deal, and the state dollars needed to be returned when they weren’t expended by the grant’s deadline.
The city doesn’t have the option of simply shifting to a different location to try to find a more-willing seller. Specific farmland, located between Monks Avenue and Pohl Road just south of Mankato’s city limits, is required to meet the project’s goals due to natural drainage patterns.
Large amounts of water from rural parts of Blue Earth County flow into city neighborhoods through that area during spring snowmelt and following torrential rains. So storing the water in a restored wetland there is key to the project’s viability.
Most of the land needed for the project is owned by David Schostag of Skyline, who told The Free Press the parcel has multiple would-be buyers.
“There are three people who are interested,” said Schostag, 84. “And I’m at a point where I’m not in a hurry to do anything.”
The land has been in his family for nearly 160 years since his great-grandparents broke the prairie sod around 1867 and began farming it, and he — as the last of his generation in the family — is left to make a decision on the property’s future.
The city is only one of the suitors attempting to persuade him to sell.
“There’s a number of solar companies that are interested,” he said. “And the farmer who’s farming it is interested.”
Based on sales of nearby land, Schostag found the city’s offer to be “considerably less” than what was being paid in the area.
But he also wishes there was a way to satisfy all three potential buyers, maybe with the city flooding the lower area of his 100-acre parcel for recreational purposes and for the farmer to till the land between the solar panels. The potential buyers have shown no interest, however, in that sort of compromise.
“Everybody wants all of it,” he said.
There’s also the matter of a longstanding relationship between the Schostags and the farmer, Ed Goebel, and his family, who were good neighbors whenever help was needed.
“They were always right there,” Schostag said. “… I want to be a good citizen with the farmer, too.”
Along with wanting to farm the land, the Goebels are concerned that if the city project moves forward it will potentially flood ag land outside the parcel because it wouldn’t drain as well as it does now.
“My concern is if we made a park out of it, it could be flooding some of the other properties,” Schostag said.
The flooding city officials are most concerned about is in the neighborhoods south of Minnesota State University, particularly the ones relying on Rosewood Pond — one of a network of stormwater retention ponds that have been overwhelmed following torrential rains which have become increasingly common in recent years. With the Southeast Water Quality Initiative appearing to be at an impasse, it was time to explore other options, according to the memo to the council.
“As a result, in December 2025, the city applied for a grant from the MPCA to reevaluate the Southeast Wetland Restoration Project and to explore alternative improvements and approaches to achieve the same drainage results. … If awarded, this study would be completed by the end of 2026.”
Arntz said the study would examine whether the project’s scope could be adjusted or if it could be refined in other ways that might address the concerns of the landowner.
“In the meantime, the city is commissioning a review of Rosewood Pond this winter to identify potential improvements to address flooding concerns on Rosewood Pond,” the memo stated. “We would bring recommended improvements that could be considered in 2026 as this plan is completed.”
Parker Skophammer, the administrative services director for the city, said Rosewood Pond is performing as designed, but the designs didn’t anticipate the level of precipitation that’s now occurring as the climate changes.
“With the rainfall we’ve had in recent years, it just doesn’t have the capacity,” Skophammer said.
If longer-term solutions require some of Schostag’s land, it’s not absolutely a dead issue.
Schostag said it’s been a couple of years since he’s had direct contact with the city, but he doesn’t rule out future conversations.
“I guess there’s not any reason to not keep listening if somebody wants to talk,” he said.