In contradiction of a Mitchell County Press-News story that I blogged about 11 months ago, the St. Ansgar school board reversed its decision to sell its 1928 school building to the city development council.
A nonprofit group formed a counterproposal to buy and preserve the school building. The board agreed in December (PDF of minutes). The nonprofit bought the building for $100 and has nearly $50,000 in donations and pledges. There is a bit of a catch: If the group cannot make a profitable go of it by Oct. 1, 2019, the building will be demolished.
I missed this when it happened, but the Gazette has an article for its Iowa Ideas magazine/symposium (employer plug!) about St. Ansgar attracting new residents, and it includes photos and information about saving the school.