It was already dark when I arrived in Middle River on a summer evening. To get there I had traveled over 330 miles from my home in the Twin Cities. The small NW Minnesota town has a population of 303 people and sits just about an hour south of the Manitoba border. When I arrived at my Airbnb for the night, I wasn’t checking into a hotel or a rental home, I was wheeling my luggage into a retired classroom.
After serving students for 80+ years, the Middle River School closed in 2018 due to low enrollment. In response, the close-knit community teamed up to transform the space into a community hub.
The Middle River Legacy Center – formerly the Middle River Elementary School – is the home base for six popular Airbnb rental spaces. The unconventional opportunity to spend the night in an old norther Minnesota school has attracted the atten-tion of adventure seekers from far and wide. The inside of the building remains garnished with mementos of the school’s long history, plus a few additions.
Each rental occupies a form classroom, furnished to maintain its authentic charm. Typical throw pillows and full-sized beds meet blackboard backdrops and writing desks turned nightstands. Décor in the form of rotating globes and American flags come standard. In addition to Airbnb rentals, the space hosts Middle Rivers’ City administrative offices, a local coffee company, a church, a clothing design and alteration business, and a regional link library in the former school library.
Flanked by my colleagues from the University of Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Team (CERTs), we paid a visit to the region to check in on our partner projects happening in other parts of Minnesota. Having heard tons of talk about Marshall County’s newest tourist attraction, we were ready for an adventure.
NIGHT SCHOOL Exhausted after a long journey, the rental spaces’ property host, Sandra showed us to our rooms and said goodnight. I unpacked my PJs near an inviting doll house and brushed my teeth in a sink conveniently located next to a wallmounted pencil sharpener. After the lights were out, the space shifted before my eyes. What was a familiar, warm classroom transformed into a suddenly daunting and entirely too big space. I sunk into my allotted bed and stared up at the ceiling drop tiles.
“Do you think this place is haunted?” I mock-whispered out loud, only half joking.
“Oh, FOR SURE,” replied my travel buddy and work bestie, Shaylyn, from her bed across the room. I scanned my shadowy surroundings and secretly felt grateful to have a classmate for the night.
Despite a lifelong love of learning, from kindergarten to college, I was regularly plagued with school related bad dreams. Everything from zombie lunch ladies to forgotten pants. So, I would be lying if I said that at the time, I wasn’t worried that the excursion would serve as fresh nightmare fuel.
“Too late to turn back,” I thought. And with that, I fell asleep in class.
A BEAMING COMMUNITY The next morning, I awoke free of nightmares, well rested, and somehow feeling smarter! (Learning through osmosis, perhaps?) My CERTS colleagues and I started the day with breakfast in a former home economics classroom turned kitchen/dining room/community space. Coffee, pastries, and cereal were provided.
Next, we took a full tour of the Legacy Center and learned more about the reason for our visit, the center’s massive lighting upgrade. With support from our CERTs Seed Grant program, The Middle River Legacy Program was able to overhaul the building’s dated fluorescent lighting and upgrade the entire place to LEDs. The center expects yearly savings of nearly $7,000. For small towns like Middle River, savings like these can mean the difference between continuing to serve the community and closing the doors for good.
Building on the momentum from the upgrade, the Legacy Center launched the “Adopt a Light Program.” A devoted following of supporters, ranging from regular community members to alumni of the school, have signed on to contribute $10 a month to keep the center’s lights on. Other fundraising efforts to repair the roof and weight room are also underway.
Before heading home, we tooled around the local community. The town boasts a convenience store, an antique shop, a resident train caboose names Frank, and other noteworthy stops, like Veteran’s Outdoors, (another CERTs partner!)
On the drive back, my colleagues and I agreed, we were sad to say goodbye to our new favorite small town. So the next time you are in Marshall County in NW Minnesota, consider a stop in Middle River…Top of the class in energy efficient hospitality!
Project Snapshot: City of Middle River - Legacy Center Energy Efficiency Project Clean Energy Focus: LED lighting upgrade (and other efficiency steps from a facility study) Northwest CERT Seed Grant: $5,000 Other Funds Leveraged: utility rebate, “Adopt-a-Light” community donations, Middle River Legacy Center Fund through the Northwest Minnesota Foundation Energy Saved Each Year: 28,947 kWh from lighting and 42,708 kWh from heating and cooling setting adjustments Money Saved Each Year: $5,570 People Involved and Reached: 410
