TOWER— The Little Eagles Childcare Center may soon be able to accept children as young as 18 months of age. Center director Amy Richter is working with state licensing officials to obtain a waiver that would give the center the ability to accept a wider age range of children.

State licensing rules normally limit the age spread among children in a center to 36 months, unless the children are segregated. But that can be difficult to do in small centers, like Little Eagles, which is currently operating in the Tower-Soudan Elementary School.

“The parents we have been able to serve have been thrilled at the quality of care that their children have been receiving at Little Eagles,” said Richter. “We’ve known all along that there was additional need out there, so we’re hoping that the waiver will allow us to further meet that need.”

Richter said she’s hopeful that the center can have the waiver in place within about two weeks. That would allow the center to serve a wider range of families and children ahead of the Christmas break, when most schools are closed and many parents are forced to scramble for childcare.

Richter said Little Eagles is also continuing to accept children on a drop-in basis and Richter urged parents who haven’t already taken advantage of the facility to register for drop-in services. Parents can contact the center at 218-410-7077 or visit the website at littleeagleschildcare.com.