Editing Kasson, Minnesota (section)

==Historic 1918 Kasson Public School==
[[Image:Kasson Public School.jpeg|thumb|left|[[Kasson Public School]]]]
Due to efforts of Kasson's non-profit historic preservation group Kasson Alliance for Restoration (KARE)<ref>[http://www.kassonalliance.org/index.html Kasson Alliance for Restoration (KARE)]</ref> the 2012-era [[Kasson Public School]] building has officially been placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].  Kasson's elementary and high school students began using the stately building on December 5, 1918.<ref>''Dodge County Republican'', December 5, 1918.</ref>  The school's nomination to the National Register<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20071214.HTM| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080119055741/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20071214.HTM| archive-date = 2008-01-19| title = National Register of Historic Places Listings}}</ref> was approved on December 6, 2007, almost exactly 89 years later.

The school joins the Jacob Leuthold Jr. House,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/mn/Dodge/state.html|title=National Register of Historical Places - MINNESOTA (MN), Dodge County}}</ref> the Eureka Hotel<ref>[http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/mn/Dodge/state.html Eureka Hotel]</ref> the Kasson Municipal Building,<ref>[http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/mn/Dodge/state.html Kasson Municipal Building]</ref> and the  Kasson Water Tower<ref>1895 [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/mn/Dodge/state.html Kasson Water Tower]</ref> on the list of Kasson's buildings on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. 
[[Image:WaterTower2006KassonMN.JPG|thumb|upright|Kasson Water Tower in 2006 (built 1895)]]

KARE<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kassonalliance.org/news.htm |title=KARE News |website=www.kassonalliance.org |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314141430/http://www.kassonalliance.org/news.htm |archive-date=14 March 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the  City of Kasson<ref>[http://www.cityofkasson.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={3B7755B3-CCA8-454B-94AD-1E3FEB8B64FA} City of Kasson]</ref> co-sponsored an Historic Properties Reuse Study to investigate ways to use the Kasson Public School building.<ref>Grossman, Laura. [http://news.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=356611 "City, preservationists reach agreement on Kasson's old elementary school"] {{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Rochester Post-Bulletin'', August 15, 2008. <!--accessed August 16, 2008--></ref> The Reuse Study Report was published in October 2009.  A citizen task force was formed in November 2009 and began meeting in January 2010 to investigate the [[adaptive reuse]]s options outlined in the report which included a survey distributed to all of Kasson's 5,000 citizens.  581 citizens responded.  In May 2010 the Task Force presented the survey results to the City Council.  58% of the respondents favored rehabilitating/reusing the school. At a city council meeting in August 2010, Mayor Tim Tjosaas asked the council to form a Library Building Committee (LBC) composed of citizen volunteers; this was approved. The LBC began meeting in September 2010.

In February 2011 the LBC announced that they had met with Deb Parrott of the engineering and architecture firm Widseth, Smith, Nolting and Associates. Parrott, who has experience with library design, was asked to prepare three library design proposals for the historic school, as follows: 1) total rehabilitation of the 1918 school building, 2) a partial or modified rehabilitation of the school building and 3) a completely new structure on the general footprint of the existing building (after demolition of the 1918 school).  KARE rejected all three proposals and the building sits vacant to this day.