by Dennis Dalman
St. Joseph’s newly elected mayor, Adam Scepaniak, will take the oath of office Jan. 6 at the beginning of the first city council meeting of the year.
Not only is Scepaniak the new mayor, but he is also a new daddy. He and his wife, Andrea, are the proud parents of a baby boy they named Forest (their first child), born Nov. 23.
The new mayor will be sworn in by current Mayor Rick Schultz, who is finishing his 14th year as the city’s mayor.
Scepaniak, 37, was elected Nov. 5 in a three-way race, receiving 44.4 percent of the total vote. The other candidates were Jon Hazen and Bob Loso. Before being elected mayor, Scepaniak has served since 2023 as a city-council member. He is also a member of the St. Joseph Planning Commission.
“I want to thank everyone who voted for me,” Scepaniak said in a Dec. 9 interview with the St. Joseph Newsleader. “I hope to live up to your expectations. I know there are a lot of people who didn’t vote for me, but I hope to earn their respect as I fulfill this role as mayor.”
On the night of the Nov. 5 election, Adam and Andrea Scepaniak were up late, checking the latest updated vote tallies online every 15 minutes or so via the Minnesota Secretary of State’s elections website. Finally, late into the night, the Scepaniak’s became certain that Adam had won the race.
“We were both very excited,” he said.
Scepaniak has already been planning and doing “homework” for things he would like to help accomplish in his years as mayor, projects he hopes to present shortly after he takes office.
“Mayor Rick Shultz has served the city well for 14 years, and much of the city staff is excited – as am I – to take office and offer a younger perspective with new ideas,” he said.
Among the projects Scepaniak, along with others, has been prepping for are the following:
One: Finalizing plans to make a long-time city residents’ dream come true: a St. Joseph Community Center.
Two: Planning and development for a Cannabis Municipal Dispensary Center.
Three: Efforts to strengthen the city’s relationships with the two colleges. He has already been meeting with school officials to accomplish that goal.
Four: Several major road-construction projects in the city. The construction may be a bit disruptive, but it will make the city much better in the long run, Scepaniak said.
“I’ve already started on plans and got as much accomplished as I could,” he said. “I’m a planner, and I like utilizing spreadsheets so I can keep organized. So am I ready to be mayor? Absolutely!”
One thing Scapaniak is not ready for are vacations because he said he doesn’t need them. The only one he’s ever taken was going to a family reunion last summer.
“I enjoy what I’m doing so much that I don’t have a need to take a vacation,” he said.
And Scepaniak has lots and lots of work to enjoy. The following are just some of his involvements:
St. Joseph Acting Mayor (2024)
St. Joseph Fire Department firefighter (2019-present)
St. Joseph City Council member (2023-present)
St. Joseph Planning Commission (2023-present)
St. Joseph Community Food Shelf board member (2023-present)
St. Joseph Rod and Gun Club member/MN Firearms Safety instructor (2019-present)
St. Joseph Lions Club at-large member (joined in 2024)
And last but not least, St. Joseph Mayor (starting Jan. 6)
Background
Born at the St. Cloud Hospital, Scepaniak is the son of Cindy and Bob Scepaniak. He has one brother, Bobby.
He moved to St. Joseph six years ago, going on seven years, because as he said, “It’s one of the nicest communities I’d ever seen.”
He is managing editor for “All/Outdoors.com” and a freelance writer for “Hunting/Outdoors” with its more than 10 print and online publications. He is also the manager of his family-owned “Guns and Gear” store in Waite Park.
That is where he met his wife-to-be, Andrea, who one day walked into the store when they struck up a conversation. She was raised in Litchfield and had lived for about 10 years in Georgia.
Scepaniak earned a bachelor’s degree in elective studies from St. Cloud State University.
Adam and Andrea Scepaniak both enjoy going on hikes and both work out for health reasons. They also do bee-keeping in their yard and raise 16 egg-laying chickens on a family property outside the city limits.
In a Newsleaders questionnaire filled out by Scepaniak during the election campaign, he listed St. Joseph’s greatest strengths as the following:
“Growing and attracting new businesses, a good place to raise a family, and job opportunities because of new businesses popping up on Minnesota Street and in the city’s Industrial Park.”
A St. Joseph drawback, he noted, is “the sparse parking in the downtown area, something the city has to work on as it welcomes new businesses and the city continues to grow. But despite that, the city is still a wonderful walking community.”
As mayor, Scepaniak said he “wants to support our businesses, emergency services (police, emergency medical services), and I want to ensure St. Joseph continues on its path of being a thriving, welcoming community.”
Adam Scepaniak was elected as the new mayor for St. Joseph. He will begin his duties in January when current long-time Mayor Rick Schultz steps down.
