What You Need to Know��

• District leaders opted to permanently close Harris-Lake Park Elementary in Lake Park, Iowa,��in January��after a ruptured steam line caused water, electrical and fire system damage.��

• Students in preschool through fifth grade were shifted to temporary classrooms, including a local church and the district’s high school.��

• The disruption accelerated the district’s timeline to open its nearly completed��56,000-square-foot��replacement elementary facility, which welcomed��students Feb. 17.����

• Administrators say the new addition to the existing middle/high school building is designed for more flexible learning and keeps the campus together K-12.����

Learn��More��

LAKE PARK, Iowa — After a boiler-related steam leak forced an evacuation and damaged key systems, the Harris-Lake Park Community School District has permanently closed its former elementary building and moved students into a new facility weeks earlier than planned.��The district opened its new elementary school Tuesday, Feb. 17, completing a rapid transition that began with emergency relocations for the district’s youngest learners.��

Custodial staff spotted a steam leak in the elementary building��in early January,��prompting an evacuation of the school, which served 167 students in preschool through fifth grade, according to KTIV.����

“It was causing not only some interior water damage, but the steam was putting an incredible amount of moisture into the air,” Superintendent Mike Thompson said, according to��.��

District officials said the partially ruptured steam line also created safety concerns and led to water,��electrical��and fire system damage. Service Master was brought in to address water and steam impacts, along with electrical damage and fire system repairs, KTIV reported.����

Classes for elementary students were canceled for two days as leaders��finalized��temporary classroom arrangements. Preschool, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classes were moved to Lake Park Presbyterian Church, while first through fifth grade students were��relocated��to Harris-Lake Park High School. Students in grades six through 12 remained at the high school, according to KTIV.����

The district had already been constructing a new elementary school,��designed by��FEH Design,��with a move originally planned after spring break. Following the boiler failure, leaders accelerated the timeline to a mid-February opening.����

On Feb. 16, the district hosted a media tour of the new elementary addition connected to the existing middle and high school building. Elementary principal Rebecca Matthiesen said staff adapted quickly to the midyear disruption.��

“It’s actually been better than we thought,” Matthiesen said, according to��.����

District leaders highlighted design features intended to support flexible instruction, including varied classroom layouts. Thompson also pointed to campus improvements that keep students and amenities in one place.����

“One of the things you’ll notice when you walk down the hallways is just the open design,” Thompson said, according to��.����

With the elementary now co-located on the K-12 campus, Thompson said the district expects more opportunities for cross-grade programming and student collaboration.����

The project team also includes KCL Engineering, Beck��Engineering��and Hoogendoorn Construction.��

This article is based on reporting originally published by KTIV on Jan. 5, 2026, and Feb. 16, 2026.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa—Construction remains on track for an August 2022 school opening for the new Hunt Elementary School project in Sioux City.

The new K-5 school is being built on the site of the old Hunt School that was demolished in mid-2019. The original Hunt School was named for Dr. Andrew Hunt, a physician and dentist who was the first president of the Sioux City School Board, which opened in the midtown area in 1906. It��closed after 113 years and was—by far—the oldest school in the public system.

FEH DESIGN is the architect on this $20.5 million project. EDA Inc. is the mechanical, electrical and plumbing��engineering consultant. DGR Engineering is the civil engineering consultant. Nelson Commercial Construction of Sioux City is the general contractor,

While the new Hunt school is under construction, neighborhood elementary students are attending classes in the former Crescent Park Elementary School.

“FEH has incorporated a very timeless and historic looking exterior design to Hunt Elementary that we find to be extremely complimentary to the history of the neighborhood,” said District Director of Operations and Maintenance Brian Fahrendholz.

Hunt School is considered a specialty school similar to others in the district. Hunt will be home to the A-plus curriculum placing emphasis on the arts and music throughout the core curriculum.

“There will be some unique design elements,” Fahrendholz added.

Some of these elements include an upgraded lighting system and raised band room that can function as a stage adjoining the gymnasium allowing for simple theatrical performances.��Other elements include multiple display areas, an art gallery and a classroom outfitted as a black box, which is a relatively recent innovation in the theater world, in which a simple performance can be held in a room with black walls.

The new building will also feature the salvaged terra cotta entrance structure from the demolished building inside the new dining commons as a reminder of the past.

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MOUNT VERNON, Iowa –��Cornell College��in Mount Vernon has selected��Kahler Slater��of Milwaukee as the design architect for a major expansion and renovation of its��Small Sport Center—the competition venue for its basketball, volleyball and wrestling teams.

Kahler Slater joins Mortenson Construction of Minneapolis, Minn. on the design-build team. A dollar figure and completion date for the project have not yet been released.

The team has been tasked with master planning for multi-phase improvements to the existing 105,000 gross square-foot facility, which opened in 1953 and was significantly expanded in 1986.

The project’s first phase will likely include the renovation and expansion of team locker rooms, the strength and conditioning center, athletic training areas, exercise studios, classrooms/meeting rooms, athletic department offices and competition venues.

A private liberal arts college, Cornell College was originally the��Iowa Conference Seminary. The school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron tycoon��William Wesley Cornell, who was a distant relative of��Ezra Cornel, founder of��Cornell University��in��Ithaca, New York.

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HAMBURG, Iowa — Construction and upgrades to Hamburg’s Marnie Simons Elementary School will proceed despite recent weather issues, while a major portion of the project is slated for completion in the summer with the help of ConStruct Inc. of Omaha, Neb.

One of the key portions of the project is the 21st Century Discovery Center, which would provide what school officials are calling a “markerspace” for student projects. Another portion of the project involves a new consumer science room, which has been reported as being completed.

Hamburg School Superintendent Dr. Mike Wells appeared in an interview on June 18 with a to announce updates on the school. Wells stated that workers have faced heavy precipitation over the past few weeks, including torrential rain from a severe storm on June 11. Although the rain has slowed down the pouring of cement, construction on the project will not be delayed. Wells said that they’re currently preparing to pour the floors and have already conducted compact tests on the soil. The team has also begun working on removing asbestos tiles from the classrooms as well as putting in new carpet.

Wells said that Aug. 1 is the deadline for contractors to finish that portion of the project as well as the renovation of the building’s science rooms, giving the school three weeks before the new academic year to install equipment and properly train staff on said equipment. If construction is not completed by then, there will be a penalty every day after the exceeded date.

Hamburg’s School Board recently approved features of another part of Marnie Simons’ expansion and renovation with a new safe and secure entryway, according to The superintendent said that new security-camera and door-scanning systems are necessary since the recent rise of school shootings across the country. However, one setback from the lone bid for the safe and secure entryway portion of the project came in over budget. As a result, Wells said the district is going back to the square one on a bid letting.

Once construction is completed, Wells has recommended that the discovery center should be named in honor of longtime Hamburg physician Dr. Fred Ashler, a person who has been seen as a backbone of the school district and the community altogether.

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