BEAR RIVER- A crumbling area educational landmark could be on its way to the dustbin of history if the Legislature approves a $2.923 million bonding request to fund a new community center for Morcom Township and the surrounding area.
The current Bear River Community Center and former Bear River School is a familiar icon for drivers on County Hwy. 22, sitting prominently on the southwest corner at the intersection with Hwy. 5. The uniquely styled brick school was designed by Eveleth architect Elwin Berg and built for $65,000 in 1933, according to an article in the former Eveleth News. The school was reportedly the first small rural school designed by the county district to serve as both a school and a general community social center. The school closed due to low enrollment in 1973.
Since then, time has not been kind to the building, and an engineering study has shown that it would cost more to fix it than to tear it down and build a new one.
“We had an engineering study done of the current structure as we had hopes of remodeling the building to make it ADA compliant and to resolve some of the larger structural issues,” Morcom Township clerk Sasha Lehto told a House committee on Monday. “This study showed that it would be more cost effective to build a new facility. The engineers determined it would take approximately $1.9 million to rehabilitate just the main floor of the structure and the exterior, which would not even touch the larger issues that we have, such as the attic, the basement, the crumbling front steps that are tied into our foundation, nor that we have to put garbage cans in our great hall to catch water that leaks from our roof.”
The authors of the bill, Rep. Dave Lislegard, DFL-Aurora, and Rep. Roger Skraba, R-Ely, emphasized that the building serves essential functions for the 1,800 citizens who live in the rural areas of northeastern Itasca and northwestern St. Louis counties, and Lehto expanded on that in her comments.
“To give you an idea, it hosts 12 to 15 events a month,” she said. “It’s our election polling place to host our elections. We conduct all our township government operations, EMS and fire trainings and meetings there. It is our children’s playground and movie theater, book club, men’s coffee club, the place we hold family reunions, holiday gatherings, craft fairs, potlucks, and a gathering place for our veterans. It’s the place we say goodbye to loved ones at all our funerals, the home to many receptions, and also where we celebrate our high school graduates. More notably, it is the home of our famous 103-year-old Bear River Fair.”
Lehto noted that the community center serves as the place where Northeast Itasca Rescue and Bearville first responders connect with air ambulance helicopters, an essential need as the nearest hospital is 35 to 45 minutes away.
“The building is critical to the people who live and work here,” Lehto said. “If we do not do something this building will no longer exist. We are a low-to-moderate income geographic area and our township alone carries a very high levy to support the repairs needed to keep the building operating. We have never requested assistance from our state Legislature. This is our greatest need in terms of infrastructure and rural development. If we are one Minnesota, I am asking you to consider the request as we are in great need at this time.”
If approved, the funds would provide for demolition, predesign, design, site preparation, construction, furnishing, and equipping the new community center. Sen. Robert Farnsworth, R-Hibbing, has sponsored the companion bill in the Senate, which has been assigned to the Capital Investment Committee.