ISD 166 launches informational website as facility & grounds improvement plans move forward
The ISD 166 school board recently held a meeting and work session to discuss and review facility and grounds improvement plans.
The plans at Cook County Schools have been ongoing for months as the school narrows down on needed facility and grounds improvements.
The school is working with the architectural firm DSGW, a Minnesota-based company specializing in hand-crafting healthcare, education, commercial, and indigenous architecture to find facility improvement solutions.
Some identified improvements include adding co-curricular facilities such as a track field, creating a commons area for students, and upgrading locker rooms, bathrooms, and classrooms.
On Feb. 22, DSGW presented potential improvement options for the school board to explore. Then, the school board held a work session on Feb. 28 in Grand Portage to receive feedback and continue discussions.
“We had a very meaningful input process,” Superintendent of ISD 166 Chris Lindholm said of the work session meeting.
Lindholm said DSGW will incorporate the feedback from Grand Portage into the improvement plans as they move forward. Some feedback included improving building security measures, enhancing the main entrance, opening up the center of the building, and creating a multi-use space for community events.
As the school board works to narrow the plans, County Schools has launched an informational website, Vikings Vision, for the public to stay up-to-date on the process.
Currently, VikingsVision.org includes preliminary results from the building assessments, which identified several areas needing future improvements, such as a need for a common and multi-purpose gathering space, undersized secondary classrooms, a shortage of physical education space, and classroom storage space.
Lindholm said VikingsVision.org will be updated regularly throughout the coming months as the facilities planning process continues. “The goal is that by end of May the board has voted on what the questions will be because then we need to submit all of that to the Department of Education for approval before we can put it on a ballot in November.”
District residents can submit questions or feedback about the district’s work to evaluate its buildings at VikingsVision.org/connect or by contacting Superintendent Chris Lindholm at clindholm@isd166.org or 218-387-2271 ext. 612.
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Chris Lindholm, superintendent of ISD 166, for an update on the facility and grounds improvement plans. The audio from the interview is below.
Kalli Hawkins March 5, 2024
