St. Paul Unveils Mahmoud El-Kati Avenue Sign
An honorary co-naming on Milton Street recognizes the Rondo historian, professor, and author.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Awards
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St. Paul unveiled the honorary Mahmoud El-Kati Avenue street sign on Milton Street in the Rondo neighborhood. The City Council had voted 6-1 on Sept. 9 to approve the honorary co-naming for El-Kati.
Why it matters
The designation honors a longtime Rondo resident and historian while he is still able to receive recognition, according to Council Member Anika Bowie-Lundy, who led the effort. The council also lifted a ban on honorary street signs to make the designation possible.
The City Council approved the designation by a 6-1 vote on Sept. 9, 2026, after lifting a ban on honorary street signs. The unveiling took place on Oct. 27, 2026, and the record does not state the reason for the lone dissenting vote.
The players
Mahmoud El-Kati
A professor, author, and historian who taught history at Macalester College, where he is now professor emeritus, and who has lived in St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood since the late 1950s.
Anika Bowie-Lundy
A St. Paul City Council member who led the effort to approve the honorary street co-naming for El-Kati.
The details
Family, neighbors, and elected officials gathered in a tent at the intersection of Milton Street and the new avenue sign during the ceremony, which took place in the rain. El-Kati, born in 1935, arrived in the Rondo neighborhood from Cleveland in the late 1950s during I-94 construction.
Timeline
1935: Mahmoud El-Kati is born.
Late 1950s: El-Kati arrives in St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood from Cleveland during I-94 construction.
Sept. 9, 2026: City Council votes 6-1 to approve the honorary co-naming.
Oct. 27, 2026: The street sign is unveiled at Milton Street in a ceremony held in the rain.
Culture Shift
El-Kati arrived in Rondo from Cleveland in the late 1950s during the construction of I-94, which reshaped the neighborhood that the honorary designation now commemorates. The co-naming places a Rondo historian's name on a street in a community that the highway project transformed.
Residents and visitors to the Milton Street and Rondo area will see the new avenue sign at the intersection. The designation gives a visible local marker to a longtime neighborhood historian.
The takeaway
Honorary designations can recognize community members while they are still living and able to take part in the recognition. The El-Kati co-naming shows how local councils can use such tools to acknowledge neighborhood history.
Further reading
For more recognitions of local honorees, see Awards coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.
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