DL-Online
By Vicki Gerdes
DETROIT LAKES — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat and Minnesota's senior senator, stopped by the Detroit Lakes Boys and Girls Club on Wednesday, Aug. 14, to tour the club and meet with its leadership about the preschool program that opened at the club in January 2023.
Klobuchar, along with colleague Sen. Tina Smith, helped the Detroit Lakes club secure $300,000 in federal early childhood education grant funding for the program, which offers full-day, year-round education and care for children ages 3-5. She spent a little over half an hour at the club Wednesday afternoon before heading out to meet with former U.S. Congressman Collin Peterson while she was in town (Peterson, who lives in Detroit Lakes, is a longtime friend and mentor).
According to Alyssa Hoskins, the club's resource development and marketing director, the Boys and Girls Club preschool program currently has 17 students enrolled, and has plans to expand to 22 this fall with the addition of a second classroom.
Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Patrick Petermann told Klobuchar that their club is one of only three Boys and Girls Clubs in Minnesota that are certified for providing preschool services.
"Our facility is certified through the state of Minnesota," Petermann said, noting that the addition of a preschool was one of the reasons why they added a second layer of front-door security — which was one of the things that the federal grant provided funding for, he added.
"As a parent, it's (the added security) peace of mind," said Boys and Girls Club board member Brittany Nordick, who was also present for the tour and discussion.
Petermann also said that they have plans to expand the program even further. "Our goal is 32 (students), which I think that by next year, we'll be there, once we get fully staffed and equipped and all that good stuff," he said.
The group spent a little time talking about the lack of affordable, quality preschool and child care services in rural Minnesota.
Nordick noted that in her work she's often had to help parents secure child care before they are able to go to work. "It's horrific," she said of the struggle to find openings with local child care and preschool providers. "I mean, there are parents who are staying home (because they can't find a provider)."
"We've talked about that too (in the Senate)," Klobuchar said. "We need to take it up a notch on the government level."
She added that one of the things she and Sen. Smith have been looking into is tax incentives for businesses to provide child care services for their employees.
Other topics covered during Klobuchar's visit included a $100,000 USDA Farm to School grant that the club received last month to purchase and operate a new "flex connect" farm system and hydroponic towers, and a Minnesota Department of Education ESSER Summer Enrichment grant that helped provide summer programming for not just the Detroit Lakes club, but the one in Perham as well.
"This has been an exceptional year for us," Petermann said. "This is the third grant we've received. We've felt really blessed."
