George Joseph Beran

George J. Beran, long-time City Hall and business reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, died Wednesday at Lyngblomsten Care Center, St. Paul. He was 86.  Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10AM on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at Assumption Catholic Church, 51 7th St W., Saint Paul, MN 55101.  A Visitation will be held from 5-7PM, on Monday January 27, 2025 at Willwerscheid Funeral Home, 1167 Grand Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55105, and one hour prior to the start of Mass.  Burial will be at Resurrection Cemetery.

Beran started his career as a newsman at the Sun newspaper chain, covering South St. Paul. He soon was hired by the St. Paul newspaper. During his 35-plus years at the paper, he covered many beats, including the Metropolitan Council, St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County government, and, later, business with an emphasis on small business. An avid gardener, he also wrote a gardening column in the 1990s for the newspaper and developed an onion variety he informally named “Maplewood Sweets.”

Perhaps his most famous story was the time he hid in a broom closet at former St. Paul Athletic Club after receiving a tip that a number of civic bigwigs and public officials were planning a secret meeting to discuss building a professional sports stadium in the midway area. Through a crack in the closet door, he managed to have enough light to take detailed notes about the plan. The story ran in the next day’s Pioneer Press, embarrassing many attendees, including the editor of the paper’s editorial page at the time, who promptly submitted his resignation (which was declined).

He also was known for breaking the story in 1968 that a secret deal had been reached by the city to sell the Old Federal Courts Building (now Landmark Center) to a real estate developer in exchange for land for a parking facility in Lowertown. The deal likely would have resulted in the demolition of the beloved Old Federal Courts Building. Beran’s story galvanized readers and civic leaders to come together to save and restore the building for future generations. Fifty-five years later, his daughter would choose the building on Rice Park as the venue for her wedding.

His tenure as City Hall reporter extended through the administrations of mayors Charles P. McCarty, Larry Cohen and George Latimer. Beran was one of the founders of the Friday Lunch Group, along with Pioneer Press colleagues Don Boxmeyer and Don Del Fiacco and former City Council member Patrick Roedler. The group still meets today every Friday to discuss civic affairs, public policy and politics.

Beran earned a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s in economics from the University of Minnesota. He was preceded in death by his parents, Tilda (Olson) and George E. Beran. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Linda Kohl, a former reporter he met at the newspaper; daughter Molly Beran (Todd Chaney), sister Susan Beran Ryan (Daniel Ryan), brother Tom Beran (Helen) and many nieces and nephews.