Star Tribune
Meet the spirited saloon singer who belts out St. Paul Winter Carnival fun as this year’s Klondike Kate
Jody Vander Hart, 46, was recently chosen as the St. Paul Winter Carnival’s Klondike Kate for 2024. Eye On St. Paul recently sat down with the St. Paul native, now a Vadnais Heights mom of three sons, to learn more about her role as the in-your-face Gold Rush saloon singer of Winter Carnival lore.
This interview was edited for length.
Q: It sounds like you were born for this.
A: My maiden name was Singer, that’s right.
Q: Why did you want to be Klondike Kate?
A: I’ve wanted to be Klondike Kate since I was little. I went to Winter Carnival events and parades and I would see the ladies on the float. They were singing and having a great time.
Q: Klondike Kate has a reputation for a big personality. Is that you?
A: I can put on the Kate [laughs].
Q: So, is it more of a performance?
A: The Winter Carnival is a play. And the Kate is a character in the play. Every Klondike Kate has her own personality. Some are more in your face. Some are more coy. You spend a year developing the personality.
Q: Which are you?
A: I think I’m going to be more of the coy Kate. A little flirty Kate, not quite so in your face. But you know, we’ll see. It depends on the event.
Q: What is your favorite song to sing?
A: “At Last” by Etta James. I love it.
Q: Were you trained as a singer, or did you just pick this up?
A: I was in choirs, through college. Since then, I had kids, and I wasn’t really singing anything. Local karaoke every now and then.
Q: How did you find out to audition?
A: I was actually at a local karaoke one night and, after I was done singing, someone comes up and taps me on the shoulder and said, “Have you ever thought about trying out for Klondike Kate?” I said, “Of course I have. Who wouldn’t want to?” It turns out, she was a Kate. She was there that night. She was my catalyst.
Q: They name a new Kate every year. But is it true that because demand is so high, they keep a roster of former Kates busy during the Winter Carnival?
A: That’s right.
Q: So how many Kates are out there with you?
A: As the reigning Kate, I’m going to be more of the face this year. But there are about 10 to 12 active Kates currently. They will all be showing up here and there at events. We have a cabaret that’s on the 27th [of January] and there will be a whole stage of us.
Q: Where is that?
A: That’s at KJ’s Hideaway in St. Paul.
Q: Have you ever been to the Klondike?
A: I have not. I’ve never been to the Yukon. Might go now. [laughs]
Q: Is this Kate thing something you intend to keep doing?
A: Absolutely. We kind of have a five-year commitment that we agree to. And I plan to stay as long as they’ll let me. Once a Kate, always a Kate.
Q: How many times will you have to perform?
A: I will have 400-plus performances or appearances.
Q: Do you have to sing at every one?
A: Not every one. Sometimes you just do a snippet of a song. We visit elementary schools. Yesterday, we were at the Veterans’ Home of Minnesota. There are all sorts of little things we’ll do. During Carnival, there can be 10 appearances a day.
Q: How do you keep your voice from shredding?
A: I haven’t had that problem yet, but tea, honey. Maybe minimizing the talking on the side.
Q: No smoking, no whisky.
A: Well, no smoking anyway. [laughs]
Q: How do you choose your wardrobe? How many different outfits do you have?
A: So far, I’m up to about eight. You need to have one in each color for the wind princesses. If I am doing an event with the north wind, she’s blue. Purple is east. Green is west and red is south. The character is based on a real person, Kathleen Rockwell. The look you want to go for is a turn-of-the-century saloon girl. Every Kate wants to be their own Kate. You don’t want to copy. But I’ve definitely taken inspiration from all the other ladies.
Q: What do your kids think?
A: They think it’s cool.
Q: How old are they?
A: My oldest is 21. My middle son is 17 and my youngest is 13.
Q: Do they come to performances?
A: They will. They’re all having their own chairs — they say Kate Kid 1, 2, 3 on the back. They’ll be walking in the Grande Day Parade. I really want them to have fun and see what I’ve been doing for the past few months. They’re like, “This is Mom’s thing.” But they’re very supportive.
Q: Where were you chosen?
A: It was a contest. This year, we had eight ladies who tried out. They were all fantastic. It was at Inwood Oaks in Oakdale. We had a panel of nine judges. They’re looking at costuming. Confidence. They’re looking for someone who can be like a hostess, bring people in.
Q: When your year is up, what do you hope to have accomplished?
A: I want people to have had fun. I want to bring them in. The Winter Carnival’s magic to a lot of people. And if I can bring them by being the lady in the feathers, that’s what I hope to do.
Transforming the heart of both downtowns, which have much larger buildings than old warehouses, is going to take a lot more money, creativity and time. Josh Talberg, managing director at downtown Minneapolis brokerage JLL, said with no major apartment buildings on the drawing board in either downtown, the fleet of empty office buildings present a golden opportunity to create more housing and lead both cities in a new direction.
“You can can certainly see the fundamentals improving, and you can feel that vibrancy, and that’s ultimately the foundation that’s needed to get investors to reinvest in the city,” he said. “But it’s not as if these 18-wheelers can turn on a dime.”
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.
