Hey St. Cloud -

Memorial Day weekend is here. Most of the country fires up the grill and calls it a day. St. Cloud does something a little different. Something that connects directly to why this city exists in the first place. The Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony at Mount Peace Cemetery on Monday morning has been going since 1910. If you've never been, this is the year to change that. Here's everything worth knowing this week.

Soldier City Market | Veterans Park, 1201 13th St | 9am–noon

The community market is back this Saturday. Local vendors, food trucks, live music, and veteran resources. Free to attend. Reminder: Soldier City Market now runs 9am–noon on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month.

Mon May 25 · Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony | Mount Peace Cemetery, 755 E. 10th St | 10am

This is the one. The ceremony has been held at Mount Peace since 1910, over 115 years without a break. Military flag honors from St. Cloud High School's Army Junior ROTC, wreath laying by veterans organizations and elected officials, a 21-gun salute, and Taps. Mount Peace holds 1,445 veterans spanning every major American conflict from the Civil War through Vietnam and beyond. It's one of only four Wreaths Across America recognized cemeteries in the greater Orlando area. Free and open to everyone. Show up.

Wed May 27 · Downtown Monthly Market + Historic Walking & Ghost Tours | Historic Downtown St. Cloud | Starting 5pm

A full Wednesday evening downtown to close out the month. The Monthly Market runs 5–9pm with vendors, food, and live music. The Historic Walking Tour kicks off at 5:30pm. The Ghost Tour follows at 8pm, covering fires, bank robberies, and the stories behind the buildings you walk past every week. Tour tickets at stcloudmainstreet.org/walking-tours

Downtown St. Cloud is getting a $60 million makeover. Atlantic Housing Partners is building a mixed-use development next to City Hall that will include a 250-space public parking garage, 150 apartments across two 4-story buildings, and over 17,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. The parking garage goes up first and moves fast, about six months. Full project completes within two years. The city is contributing $6.25 million and providing the land. Of the 150 apartments, 75 will be market-rate and 75 split among income-restricted tiers. Mayor Robertson addressed online concerns directly at this week's Council meeting: "Everything we're doing there is everything the citizens have asked."

The lakefront may be going smoke-free. After a presentation from Students Working Against Tobacco, City Council directed the City Attorney to draft an ordinance banning smoking at the lakefront. It hasn't passed yet but it's coming.

The former St. Cloud power plant on 10th Street is getting cleaned up at no cost to residents. OUC, which has provided power to St. Cloud since 1997, agreed to fund the entire $8.5 million environmental cleanup of the site. City Manager Veronica Miller negotiated an extra $2 million beyond OUC's initial $6.5 million offer. Once clean, the site is available for future city projects. Deputy Mayor Gilbert called it a significant win. Once in a while the city gets a real one.

There are restaurants, and then there's The Catfish Place. Open since 1977, it's one of those places that has outlasted trends, recessions, and two generations of locals who grew up eating here. The menu is exactly what you'd expect from a place that's been doing one thing right for nearly 50 years. Fresh catfish, hush puppies, and a dining room that feels like it belongs specifically on the south shore of East Lake Toho. Got family in town for Memorial Day weekend and want to show them what St. Cloud actually tastes like? This is your answer. 2324 13th St.

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Mount Peace Cemetery on 10th Street holds veterans from nearly every major American conflict. 427 Union Civil War soldiers. Three members of the United States Colored Troops. Fifteen survivors of the Andersonville prison camp. One Medal of Honor recipient. A Pearl Harbor survivor. A veteran of the Bataan Death March. And the last Union veteran buried south of the Mason-Dixon Line, William C. Russell, who died here in 1942.

The ceremony on Monday has been happening at that same cemetery every year since 1910.

That's St. Cloud.

Sources: Osceola County Historical Society (osceolahistory.org), Historical Marker Database (hmdb.org)

Your roof takes a beating in a Florida summer. CTR Roofing has been serving St. Cloud homeowners with inspections, repairs, and full replacements and they make the process easy from first call to final nail.

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Get a free inspection today at stcloudrooferctr.com

We're looking for a few St. Cloud businesses to come on as founding partners. Want your business in front of St. Cloud homeowners every Thursday? Apply here today to get your business in front of locals!

If you missed Issue 10, here's what you need to know. Garage sale weekend kicked off with no permits required for city residents, NeoCity South locked in a $470 million investment from South Korean semiconductor company ELSPES bringing 600 jobs to St. Cloud, and we spotlighted EastRow Market on New York Ave in Historic Downtown. Catch the full issue at thecloudlocal.com

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Keep showing up for St. Cloud, keep cheering on local people and businesses, and enjoy your weekend.

Your Cloud Local Team

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