Site at Lake Phalen to be named Tou Ger Xiong Picnic Island

A Lake Phalen picnic island in St. Paul, Minnesota is set to be renamed Tou Ger Xiong Picnic Island, honoring the late Tou Ger Xiong, a Hmong advocate, comedian and storyteller who was murdered during a 2023 trip to Colombia. The island sits at the northwest corner of Phalen-Keller Regional Park and has long been informally known as “picnic island.” The St. Paul City Council was scheduled to vote on the renaming Wednesday as part of its consent agenda. The St. Paul Parks and Recreation department received a $250,000 grant from the Minnesota Historical Society for a mural and statue, while the St. Paul Parks Conservancy received a $15,000 grant for permanent naming markers. Installation is expected in summer and fall 2027, following a 2012 policy delaying memorial naming by at least three years. Xiong was born in Laos in 1973 and came to the U.S. as a refugee, later founding Hmong Minnesota Day at the Minnesota State Fair.