In 1989, a group of north suburban high school students visited Einhausen for one week on a tour independently arranged and led by a German teacher, Ms. Cheryl Wason. Five years later, the president of the Einhausen Partnership Club approached Ms. Wason about starting a sister city partnership between Einhausen and a city in Minnesota.

After searching for cities willing to form a partnership, the mayor of Shoreview expressed interest in pursuing a relationship. The high school students continued to travel to Germany and stay with host families in Einhausen while the mayors and city councils of Einhausen and Shoreview exchanged letters of interest, gifts and invitations for visits.

Ms. Wason continues to lead high school students to Einhausen and around Germany thus continuing and building on the relationships made between our two cities. As the idea grew and took shape, a community group was formed in 2000 comprised of parents and former students who had visited Einhausen on the tours.

This partnership committee set forth goals and began participating in Shoreview community events. The basic goals of this committee were to form the partnership, promote cultural understanding between the United States, including Minnesota, and Germany, create opportunities for Shoreview and Einhausen residents to form personal relationships, and to encourage Einhausen residents to use Minnesota as a portal for visiting the U.S.

In 2001, the Shoreview-Einhausen Sister City Association (SESCA) was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization and started work on an official sister city agreement. The official sister city partnership agreement was formalized in 2004 after many years of hard work! SESCA continues to help foster personal relationships between our sister city and residents of the greater Shoreview area as well as provide residents with cultural awareness opportunities.