The city of Luverne’s proposed day care learning center received a boost Dec. 29 when President Biden approved a $2.6 million federal grant funding its construction.
The grant announcement was a welcome present for the city of Luverne.
“This will go to the No. 1 issue in Luverne,” said Mayor Pat Baustian, “and help with a day care shortage for the entire county. The grant will help, but it won’t fix the shortage entirely.”
More than 100 projects in Minnesota received money through a $1.7 trillion spending bill approved by Congress just before Christmas.
The Luverne day care learning center will provide care for 186 newborn through school-aged children, or about half the number of day care openings in the area. Studies show upward of 300 children are in need of day care in Rock County.
The $2.6 million federal grant provides one-third of the remodeling costs for the new day care learning center.
An estimate of $6.4 million is needed for the project.
The city of Luverne plans to convert a former 30,000-square foot office building on Roundwind Road into the day care learning facility.
A countywide fundraising effort is set to kick off this spring. The goal of the six-week campaign is to raise $1.24 million in local support.
“They (the fundraising committee) had to wait until the omnibus funding bill was signed before going forward,” Baustian said.
The rest of the $3.8 million could come from Rock County, the city of Luverne and a $500,000 loan. A request to the state legislature earlier this year could be reconsidered during the current session.
State legislators finished the 2021 session this spring without passing a bonding bill. The state’s budget surplus could lead to the reconsideration of the city of Luverne’s $3.4 million request.
For now, the federal support is welcome news for the 6-year-old project.
“The congressional support was a shot in the arm,” Baustian said. “It provides us with the biggest economic development piece in 40 years.”
Architect and engineer plans will be finished this spring with plans to bid the remodeling project late spring.
The remodeling of the day care learning center is expected to take a year.
Once the center is complete, the city of Luverne will lease the building to a local nonprofit board for $1 a year. The board will acquire the day care license and hire a licensed director and assistant director to operate the facility.
The day care learning center is expected to employ up to 35 workers.
Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar submitted the earmark request for the local day care learning facility.
Among the other requests funded in Minnesota are improved access to health care, workforce support, infrastructure and public safety upgrades.