PINE RIVER — Pine River-Backus voters approved a 10-year, $9 million capital project levy on Tuesday, April 8, with 62% of voters saying yes.
The funding will pay for heating, ventilation and air conditioning updates, roof replacements, improving windows and flooring and new buses, as well as supporting technology equipment and staff.
Superintendent Jon Clark told KAXE that district staff were feeling great about the results Wednesday.
"The show of support from the Pine River-Backus community in approving this capital projects levy is overwhelming," he said. "It feels really good."
A $300,000 home will see an estimated tax increase of $6 per month, according to the district.
Minnesota school districts have struggled to pass additional tax revenue measures in recent years. Clark said it helped that this wasn't a "super flashy" project.
"It was a lot of just transparency. These are needs," he said. "These aren't a list of wants that we'd like to have, these are needs that we need to have. I think that was conveyed very well in a very supportive environment. Our community listened."
Clark added that the community support is extra meaningful given the state of the economy and education funding.
"Some of the things are scary of what funding for education is gonna look moving forward, and it is nice that the Pine River-Backus community saw that and then stepped up to help us out," he said.
"We really appreciate it."
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When the garden or farmers market gives you everything at once, the best way to handle it is to return to the fundamentals: roast, grill, bake, pickle, can, dry, freeze and sauté. These aren’t just methods, they’re survival tools during harvest season. Especially grilling. Because it’s summer. And everything tastes better with a little char and a lot of butter.This week, Amy and Heidi talked to Erin Haefele of Green Scene in Walker, Minnesota, "a charming food haven nestled in the heart of rural northern Minnesota where small-town warmth meets big-city sophistication." Erin inspires us with simple preparations to deliciously fresh garden ingredients. And we hear from Amy's friend Beth Friedrichson from Wisconsin, who gushes about dilly beans and life on the farm with chickens and alpacas.Lots of folks phoned in to talk about their harvests, whether it was peonies in Stillwater, garlic near Detroit Lakes, urban front yard CSAs in Minneapolis, potato varieties in Deer River or stuffed grape leaves in Chicago, you had a story to tell. Share yours! This week's community recipe to cook along with us is Onion Pie: kaxe.org/community-recipe-onion-pie-ham-radio-amy-thielen. Give it a try and send us your reactions and photos at comments@kaxe.org!Ham Radio Features original licensed music — "You Know How I Like It" by Jeremy Messersmith.Made possible by the Minnesota Arts & Culture Heritage Fund. Support KAXE by becoming a member today: https://donate.nprstations.org/kaxe/donate -
Rain made for an interesting end to the baseball season for many Class A teams Thursday. Grand Rapids lost in the 3A consolation championship. -
Three of the four Republicans voted in favor of rescinding funding already allocated for public media organizations through the CPB and four Democrats voted against.
