Latest news with #LittleFalls
CBS News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Little Falls grapples with possible school closure amid budget shortfall
The Little Falls community is urging school administrators to reconsider closing one of the district's three elementary schools. It's the latest example of how budget shortfalls are plaguing school districts across the state. The main entrance to Dr. SG Knight Elementary School has turned into a campaign showing how deeply personal this is. The principal says it pulls at the heartstrings. The countdown until summer isn't an exciting one here. Jessie Martin has a 7 year old at Knight. If the school closes, the other options are at least 15 miles away. "My son loses relationships, loses friendships and might not get to see his friends on a daily basis," Martin said. "Hopefully you're not late. Hopefully you're not late to work. It means getting up earlier if you do have work. It's longer days for them." According to administrators at Little Falls Community Schools, it's been long days and nights grappling with what Superintendent Greg Johnson warns could be a $1 million shortfall in the next few years, and that's after the district's already cut $3 million last year. The issue isn't COVID money drying up, it's falling enrollment. There are 1,000 fewer students in the district now than there were 30 years ago, with the same amount of schools. "We can't sustain with the amount of students we have, inflationary concerns and state mandates that dictate our budget," Johnson said. He says he knows closing Knight will be painful, but it's not final. Other ideas the district is considering include merging the middle and high school and even transitioning to a four-day week, which Johnson thinks could even boost enrollment. "With more students coming in, we can generate more revenue with families," he said. Another option to raise revenue is through raising taxes, which will need to be put on the November ballot. The district conducted a survey of parents and community members and will share those results at a board meeting on Monday night. Johnson says the final decision could be made within weeks.
CBS News
09-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Vietnam 50 Years Later: Inside the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum
There will soon be a new place to visit honoring the stories of Minnesota's history in world conflicts, including the Vietnam War. The new Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum is under construction just outside of Camp Ripley in Little Falls, and is expected to open in late 2026. When it opens, it will honor not only Minnesota's service members and their sacrifices, but the refugee experience as well. For the past 50 years, the former regimental headquarters building-turned-museum has served Camp Ripley well. But Doug Thompson, the museum's curator of collections, says these quarters are now just too cramped to do the museum justice. "In totality, in all of our our collections, I would say that that number is between 70,000 to 80,000 individual artifacts, ranging from ribbon bars to submarines," Thompson said. MMVM Inside, you'll find items from the Revolutionary War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and beyond. All of it is meaningful to Minnesota. "Everything that you see in the museum today was donated by a Minnesota family and veteran, so it gives a real good connection for Minnesotans to their history," he said. The new museum will also feature a state-of-the-art archive room, a classroom for students, as well as a dedicated space to continue recording and preserving stories of Minnesota's veterans and refugee communities. "It's who we are as a state. We've been shaped by that. The leadership that those communities have demonstrated at various levels, first responders, state legislature active in their communities, we want to have those stories be part of those facilities," Thompson said. Finally, a facility to call their own, built just for them, that lays the groundwork for future generations to remember and honor their past. This story is part of the WCCO documentary "Vietnam 50 Years Later: Reflection on a War that Changed Minnesota," by reporter Pauleen Le and photojournalist Art Phillips. Watch the full documentary below, or on our YouTube channel.
