Old Kelliher school for sale

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

March 18, 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

FOR SALE: Three-building educational complex in Kelliher, located 45 miles north of Bemidji. Buildings include 20,000-square-foot, three-story classroom structure; 6,600-square-foot laboratory/shop structure; and 10,900-square-foot gymnasium. All well maintained. Will sell individually, but prefer to sell together. Must sell by next winter. Will take best offer.

Advertisements similar to this will soon hit newspapers statewide, according to John Ostrem, executive director of the Headwaters Regional Development Commission, which is helping the community of Kelliher market its old school buildings.

Construction of a new $9 million school complex will leave the first Kelliher school -- completed in 1929, with additions in 1962 and 1965 -- empty this fall. And the North Beltrami Development Corp., established to promote the northern Beltrami County area, is fighting an uphill battle trying to find a new occupant for the old buildings before the new school opens its doors this fall, which could leave the old school vacant, unheated and not maintained.

A major media blitz to promote the availability of the old school will begin in early April, in which the NBDC has plans to use newspapers statewide to advertise the building; to send informational pamphlets to every graduate that walked through hallowed halls of their alma mater, hoping one of Kelliher's own may want to take a chance with the building; and to send information to businesses within a 100-mile radius that might want to expand.

The members of the development corporation are even planning a one-time advertisements in the Wall Street Journal to see if it will produce interest, Ostrem said.

"They feel the best way to sell it is to interest someone in the area," he said. "But we want the entire Minnesota business community to know about the opportunity."

So, what's for sale?

Basically everything except the buildings' contents, which will be moved to the new school, he said.

The first building -- a three-story, wood-framed and brick-faced classroom building completed in 1929 -- includes 14 classrooms, office facilities and a cafeteria all in about 20,000 square feet. The second building -- a steel-constructed laboratory/shop completed in 1962 -- includes a science laboratory, a shop and a new 30-year roof. The building is 6,600 square feet.

And the final building -- a block-constructed, brick-faced gymnasium completed in 1965 -- includes a 94-foot by 70-foot gymnasium and smaller rooms suitable for office space, all in 10,900 square feet. In addition, there is about 3.5 acres of land fronting Highway 75, fully serviced by Kelliher's utilities.

The buildings can be sold separately if parties are interested, said Nick Berg, Kelliher resident and NBDC's president, or all together, which would be the ideal situation for the community. He said a price has not yet been discussed by the participants involved and will probably be a best offer situation.

The NBDC members are enthusiastic about the chances of selling the building, but are also staying realistic.

If the community doesn't find a buyer this year, the buildings may have to sit next winter unheated and not maintained because the school district probably could not afford to maintain them along with the new building, said Rod Skoe, a Kelliher School Board member.

"There have been discussions but no plans are made as to what would be done if the buildings were not sold," said Ron Louma, Kelliher's schools superintendent. "If I sound like a politician it is because it's all in the back of our minds. You can't just leave a building like this ... you have to maintain it."

NBDC members say they would be willing to sell to almost anyone, but the final decision remains with the Kelliher School Board. It is still under the board's ownership.

"It's a cute little town. It might not seem like it at first, but once you meet the people there ... it grows on you," Ostrem said. "It would make a nice location for a small industry."