• The $1.875 million is to help build a new center in Glenwood

By Tim Douglass

tdouglass@pctribune.com

Minnesota’s U.S. Senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, announced last week $1.875 million in “Congressionally Directed Spending” had been approved for a new child care center, licensed for 100 children from newborns to school-aged children. The local facility will also serve as an early childhood education hub for early childhood educators and staff.

Klobuchar and Smith have been actively involved in securing federal funding for projects benefiting communities across the state through a process called “Congressionally Directed Spending” (CDS). During the CDS process, Klobuchar and Smith have considered project proposals and advocated for funding in close coordination with leaders from across the state, including here in Pope County.

The funding was dedicated to the Lakes Area Enrichment Center (LAEC) and will help build a new child care facility that will impact Pope County in many ways, including attracting families and workers to the community and providing a local hub for continuing education and retaining child care professionals, said Kylie Baldwin, Director of Lakes Area Enrichment Center (formerly Kingdom Kids).  Baldwin said her staff and board will now continue to work with community leaders to plan the next steps in the process.  

“There are lots of options that remain to be discussed but getting this funding puts us much closer to having a full facility in place,” said LAEC parent advocate Samantha Ewald.  

“The new center will be located in Glenwood,” Baldwin stated last week. Already working with Ayars and Ayars Architects, it is hoped the new facility will be a single-story building. “We still need to determine where the new center will be located in Glenwood,” she added.

Ewald said that the economic impact to the community for a 100-child capacity building can’t be overstated because it will mean more families will stay in the community and it also will help attract new families. Having a child care facility here would be a “huge attraction” for the area. “If workers can’t find housing or child care they won’t come here, Baldwin added.  

The other impact of having an adequate and affordable child care facility is that it will bring more children to Minnewaska Area School District, Baldwin explained.

The natural partnership between LAEC and Minnewaska Area Schools guarantees the best start for Pope County’s youth, said Minnewaska Area Schools Superintendent Chip Rankin.  

“The $1,875,000 grant for an Early Childhood Hub in Pope County allows for an expansion of services for our families and communities. The Early Childhood Hub grant is an opportunity for collaboration and partnerships to ensure we build the program our communities need to ensure we are an attractive location for continued success for our community,” Rankin stated last week.

This month, LAEC is relocating to the Minnewaska Area Schools’ W.I.N Academy building in Starbuck.  Most of the children who were at the former Kingdom Kids Child Care Center in Glenwood will move into that facility, which is licensed for about 67 children, including infants. Thanks to an extension given from the owner of the building–Calvary Lutheran Church. The church purchased the building in October of 2022 and will take over the facility just off of Highway 55 in Glenwood in April of this year. Even with the new child care center in Glenwood, it is hoped that the LAEC could also operate at the W.I.N Academy in Starbuck, Baldwin stated.

According to Klobuchar’s Congressionally Directed Spending form, the requested funds would make the building possible. “Our strategic plan is to build a larger 10,000 square foot building to serve additional children and to also be the Early Childhood Hub in Pope County. The new center will be licensed for 100 children ages birth to school age as well as a community hub that will feature a ‘training and resource center for all providers in the county. The space also can benefit parents and community partners such as community education, social services, public health, literacy ECFE, Pope County Family Collaborative and more,” the request form stated.

More funding for the new facility is needed, Baldwin explained. “We are looking at a facility that will likely cost about $3 million.  LAEC board members and staff will continue working to raise funds through donations from area businesses, individuals and fundraisers.  

How did this funding come about?

In late December 2022, Pope County Commissioner Gordy Wagner joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other area county commissioners at a roundtable telephone conference. The main topics were workforce needs and child care. The conversation quickly moved to child care with Klobuchar emphasizing that the state was “experiencing child care deserts in many rural communities.” She said the number of mothers leaving the workforce because of lack of affordable child care was “alarming.”

That’s when Wagner first got Klobuchar’s ear, telling her that Pope County was home to two large companies that manufacture aircraft ground support equipment.  Wagner told Klobuchar that, “pay wasn’t the issue for attracting workers; the workforce will take care of itself once affordable child care is and remains available.”

Wagner then provided statistics about a looming child care crisis in Pope County.

At that point, Klobuchar requested to speak with the commissioner after the call.  It was in that conversation that Klobuchar suggested “Congressionally Directed Spending” to provide funding to help build a facility in Glenwood and Pope County.  

Meanwhile, an Early Childhood Task Force was organized in Pope County and Trina Starker, took the lead as a liaison to Klobuchar’s office.  She said, “Klobuchar’s office provided information about how to go about seeking the funding, what departments to go through and was behind the local project all the way.” 

Through the Pope County Early Childhood/THRIVE Initiative, a grant was submitted to West Central Initiative to hire a child care project manager that would work with Trina and Klobuchar’s office. Tammy Anderson, Pope County Child Care Project Manager, filled that role, due to her level of expertise in the area of child care, grant writing and working with communities. She coordinated the writing of the Congressionally Directed Spending grant proposal with Kylie Baldwin, Trina Starker and input from others on the Task Force. 

“Looking back, I see that as the most important work I did as ED for the chamber,” Starker said. She and Kay Blauert, Executive Director of the Glenwood Lakes Area Welcome Center were there in the beginning and continued to serve on the local task force through the process.  

Starker said that the funding secured is “a huge win for the community.”  “Child care is such a big issue and if we can do this right, we could be one of very few counties that doesn’t have a child care problem.”

Jeannie Pederson, Pope County EC/THRIVE Initiative Coordinator and Acting Pope County Child Care Task Force Chair, said members are very appreciative of the partnership between the Minnewaska Area Schools and Lakes Area Enrichment Center as they relocate. As the LAEC director and board move forward with the next CDS grant steps, they’ll have the full support of the Task Force to help where needed.