St. Anthony tank on the move after 15 years of staying idle

The longstanding tank at Clyde Keefer park in St. Anthony is no longer there, at least for now. That’s because city officials, along with a few members of the military, drove the tank to the city garage to clean, sand blast and paint it.

“I get notices from the Army once a year asking if we’re taking good care of our tank,” said Mayor Neils Thueson of St. Anthony. “And I write them back and I say, ‘Yeah, we’re taking good care of your tank, but it needs a paint job.’ Well, they wrote back and said, ‘We’ll paint it.'”

So that’s what the city is doing. To move the tank, a few people had to first see if the tank would start. Amazingly, the steel-clad machine started on the first try after nearly 15 years of sitting idle.

Once officials were ready to move the old war horse, state police closed Bridge Street for a few minutes while the tank drove off its concrete pad and onto the road. A few dozen people lined the streets to watch.

City leaders expect the tank to return to its cement pad in the park after just a few days. St. Anthony will be footing the bill to clean the tank. No military spending money will be used for the project.