Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Minnesota District Holds Ribbon-Cutting for New High School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 10/04/23

Owatonna Public Schools in Owatonna, Minn., recently completed construction on a new high school for the district and celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony in late September, according to a news release. Owatonna High School covers 300,000 square feet and was designed by Wold Architects and Engineers to reflect the local community and available career paths for students.

The new facility includes spaces for career pathways like nursing, digital fabrication, the culinary arts, publishing and digital content creation, and science and engineering, according to the news release. The school also features a commons area designed to elicit the feeling of a town square, as well as ties to local industries to build partnerships between students and local businesses.

“Following years of working alongside many incredible local businesses, partners, staff and students, we are thrilled to finally open Owatonna High School and watch our students excel,” said Owatonna Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Elstad. “This school will help them foster a sense of community and ownership over their learning in an innovative and inspiring environment while serving as a source of excitement and pride for the city of Owatonna.”

Wold Architects and Engineers involved hundreds of staff members, students, community members, and local business leaders as they solicited input for the school’s design and community values. The land for the new school—as well as $20 million—was donated by mutual insurance company Federated Insurance. The district also partnered with construction manager Kraus-Anderson.

“After almost 10 years of working with Owatonna Public Schools to unite the community to successfully pass a referendum and design the district’s new high school, we’re proud to see the innovative building finally come to life,” said Wold Architects and Engineers partner Paul Aplikowski. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the district and local voices to create a school that reflects the community it serves. We are excited to see how this school realizes the district’s vision for education for many years to come and becomes a role model for the area in high school education.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Sam Houston State University Completes Athletic Stadium Renovations

    Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, recently announced the reopening of Elliott T. Bowers Stadium after an extensive renovation project, according to a news release. The university partnered with Stantec and DLR Group for the project’s design.

  • Health & Science Building

    Health & Science Building

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The College of Western Idaho's Health & Science Building has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.