History & local legend
New Brighton's municipal building began as a National Guard armory in 1908. Employees later nicknamed its unexplained visitor “the General,” although no particular officer was identified as the ghost.
In accounts collected by James C. Reynolds in 1986, dispatcher Nancy Mastilak described hearing someone enter, close a door, and approach her at a printing machine. A cold touch landed on her shoulder; when she turned, the room was empty. Former employee Irene Jefferies reported a fleeting figure reflected in a water cooler. Police Chief Phil Rini also described heavy sounds coming from unoccupied rooms.
