Skip to main content

Community group seeks to save Jasper High School

Lead Summary
, , ,
By
Mavis Fodness

A group of concerned citizens in Jasper wants to preserve the former Jasper High School and reinvent the 1911 structure into a multi-purpose facility.
The school was designed by W.E.E. Greene, the architect who built Luverne’s prominent historic buildings — the Palace Theatre, Maplewood Chapel, Carnegie Cultural Center and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.
Concerned Luverne citizens have preserved these buildings through the decades, and Jasper residents hope they accomplish the same goal with their Greene-designed Sioux quartzite building.
Elicia Kortus and the group Reclaim Community want to preserve the historic Jasper structure and repurpose the building at the same time.
Affordable housing units, community center and business incubator facility are among the plans being discussed.
“If we get enough people together, we can buy it and save it,” Kortus said. “I got the tug on my heart … I know it can be done if you’re smart about it.”
Kortus first connected with the school as an elementary student visiting the classroom on the top floor of the three-story building where her mother, Emily Madetzke, was a teacher.
“I was in the last sixth-grade class when it closed in 1993,” Kortus said.
She graduated from Pipestone-Jasper High School in 1999 and now lives in Sioux Falls.
When the school was offered for sale in an online auction in December 2015, Kortus said she asked around to see if others shared her feelings about preserving the school for the community.
The result was the community group, Reclaim Community, bidding $25,000 to purchase the school. They were awarded the bid and made a down payment. Now the group has until mid-February to come up with the funds.
Kortus established an online donation site on generation.com called “Save Jasper High School – Initial Purchase Fund.”
So far, $6,275 has been pledged through 28 donors.
“There is growing momentum from many alumni, residents and friends of the area who are sad to see such a beautiful place standing so neglected,” Kortus wrote on the website.
“If we all give a little of our time and money, we can do great things with the beautiful place, and preserve this piece of history for future generations to enjoy.”
Reclaim Community is working with various local and state organizations including Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, a private non-profit organization in St. Paul that works with groups to preserve historical places and promote community growth.
In 2007 PAM identified Jasper High School as one of the state’s 10 most endangered historical places. The building is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historical Places.
Reclaim Community and Kortus are not the first individuals with thoughts of repurposing Jasper High School.
Richard Haase purchased the school building in 2001, but was unable to redevelop the building and its 2.1 acres before his death last year.
His estate was listed as the seller in the recent online auction.
As a group, Kortus thinks Reclaim Community can be successful in purchasing, remodeling and reopening the Jasper High School — a project one person couldn’t do alone, she said.
However, the group needs to purchase the building first, before moving to the next stages of development.
Later this month, Reclaim Community will host a fundraising event in Jasper to bring the group closer to meeting its $25,000 goal.
For more information on the project, Kortus has posted a youtube.com video called “SOS Jasper High Community Meeting Recap + Updates.”
A Facebook page under SOS Jasper High – Save Our School is also set up.

You must log in to continue reading. Log in or subscribe today.