The Canton City Council met at 6 p.m. on the beautiful spring evening of March 12.
After approving the consent agenda, the board heard from Mabel-Canton Superintendent Gary Kuphal regarding the upcoming bond referendum for the M-C district. The previous referendum passed in 2020 didn’t go as far as they had planned due to post pandemic inflation on building materials, and there are additional needs that have been identified. Superintendent Kuphal outlined the major points: adding air conditioning to the rest of the school, building a new career and technical education shop, renovating classrooms, expanding and improving the school lobby, repairing or replacing sections of the roof, and updating the locker room. Kuphal pointed out that the locker room is unchanged since the 1970s, a time when M-C did not offer any girls athletics.
One resident expressed concerns about future enrollment. Kuphal acknowledged that enrollment has declined over the past five years, but stated the data shows that in the longer term, enrollment for the district has been steady. Based on demographic trends in the district, he feels confident that M-C enrollment will remain relatively stable for at least the next 20 years.
Another resident, who served on the school board of the former North Winn (Iowa) district in the ‘90s, described how that district was ultimately shut down by the state due to insufficient enrollment and not being able to continue offering adequate educational services. His worry is that there just aren’t enough young people having kids in our area to sustain a small district like M-C. Kuphal stated that he has never heard of the state of Minnesota shutting down a school for being too small, and there are districts in the state smaller than M-C. What Minnesota will do is take charge of a district if their finances become too unstable, but that is not an issue for M-C.
There was discussion of the situation in late 2023, when Decorah ended the arrangement by which 23 Iowa students were allowed to attend school at M-C. Kuphal noted with subtle pride that of those 23 students, 20 had gone to court to secure “educational guardianship” in Minnesota, and are still attending school at M-C.
Voting on the referendum will take place from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. on April 8 at the school.
In other business, Clerk Anne Koliha informed the board that the city received their funds from the recent bond issue for the street project. “The checkbook looks really really good right now!” she commented. Public works has started repairing alleys and shoulders now that mud season has started. There were no police, fire or planning reports.
The council then discussed the ongoing work on the softball field. The Canton Softball League is spearheading upgrades and repairs to the field and is working with the city. Councilors Jeremy Hanson and Jen Dowling, and Anne Koliha recently went down to the field for an assessment. They are considering getting a sand mix from Bruening Rock Products, and making repairs to the fence. The electrical system is still a big issue. The city will take on the infield sand and the fence and continue to assess options for the electrical system.
The final point of on the agenda was to consider approval of the Fillmore County Hemp and Cannabis Ordinance. The city can either adopt the county’s ordinance or create one of their own. The council voted unanimously to adopt the county’s ordinance, which will simplify regulation and enforcement for the city.
The meeting adjourned at 6:41 p.m., allowing everyone time to enjoy a little more evening sunshine.
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