Art Petrie was not only a developer and shaper of the city of Mankato. He also had compassion for people with disabilities. Petrie, 86, died in December 2020. He had lived in Las Vegas for the past several years.

Petrie was involved in Mankato development for decades, working to revitalize the downtown area. he and partners took on many challenging projects, as well as the transformation of the former lower campus of what used to be Mankato State University for new uses. While regarded as having a brash personality as he pulled development projects together, he was also very generous and civic-minded. He was also part of the group that brought the Minnesota Vikings training camps to Mankato for many years.

Petrie also was very interested in creating low-income housing and developing projects and organizations that helped those in need. He was a founding member of MRCI, which provides employment and services for people with disabilities. He was its board president when the organization was the Mankato Rehabilitation Center.

He was a dedicated member of AA for 45 years.

Petrie is survived by his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and many other family members. Services will be held in July.