Jennifer Vogel
Consolidation left the old Henry Hill public school vacant and without a purpose. Read more →
MPR News How communities are facing the future
Reviving Minnesota Relics
The burgeoning arts economy in Fergus Falls just got another boost, in the form of a National Endowment for the Arts grant to spur “creative placemaking.” Read more →
The creamery building was the first in Randall, just northwest of Little Falls, to have indoor plumbing. Read more →
The Buckman Hotel was built by Pennsylvania-born farmer and former Minnesota state legislator and Congressman Clarence Buckman, who wanted someplace nice to stay when he was in Little Falls. Read more →
This former mercantile building on the edge of the Minnesota River was slated to be torn down before a group of locals convinced the city of Granite Falls to spend the demolition money on rehabbing it instead. Read more →
A former school teacher living in Iowa bought the Pipestone school, along with one in neighboring Jasper, a decade ago, each for $1. Read more →
For almost a decade, residents and officials in the small western Minnesota city of Morris tried to figure out a new use for the city’s former elementary school. Read more →
The debate over what to do with the public school in Kasson, in southeastern Minnesota, has been raging ever since the city took possession of it in the mid 2000s. A referendum to refurbish it failed and the city decided to tear it down to make way for a new library. But then local preservationists Read more →
The century-old Hotel Kaddatz in downtown Fergus Falls was vacant and falling apart when local residents stepped forward to save it. With the help of city leaders, community members put in money and volunteer hours to replace a failing roof and make other improvements. How communities grapple with empty, iconic buildings is a topic Ground Read more →
B’nai Abraham was the last active synagogue on the Range. But as the Jewish population in the area dwindled, it became harder to find enough people for a service. Its doors closed two decades ago and the building fell into disrepair. Read more →