Monday's grand reopening of Minot's Early Head Start building was a welcome event indeed, another sign that recovery from 2011's devastating Souris River flood continues.
The Head Start building, located in east Minot near the North?Dakota State Fairgrounds, suffered heavy damage in the flood. A combination of State, local and Federal Emergency Management Agency funds funded Head Start's recovery. Some 14 months after the initial flood, school district officials on Monday proudly showed off the repaired and refurbished Head Start center, which is the first building the district has been able to reoccupy since the flood.
Work continues on a host of other buildings and projects in the Minot school district, including construction of a new Erik Ramstad Middle School and a repaired and expanded Longfellow Elementary. Those facilities are expected to be ready for the opening day of school in 2013.
Meanwhile, there is still work to be done at Head Start, with teachers continuing their preparation for the opening day of school in the Minot Public School?District. Preschoolers will begin classes next week. There will be many more achievements to come for the district, but the mere fact that the Head Start building is repaired and ready for students is a positive sign for the school district.