Star Tribune
Future of Northland College in Ashland, Wis., remains uncertain as fundraising effort falls short
The Northland College Board of Trustees has declared a financial exigency and will make a final decision in two weeks about the future of the private school in Ashland, Wis.
Thursday’s action came with a pledge to make “a final, good faith effort” to save the 132-year-old college after failing to raise $12 million to keep the doors open. Leaders had said the school would close if they didn’t have the money by Wednesday.
“As we’ve said from the start, our shared goal is to continue Northland’s mission and we are committed to ensuring we’ve explored all options to do so. The board remains open and hopeful,” said Board Chair Ted Bristol. “Northland’s circumstances remain incredibly serious and significant progress will be needed in the next two weeks to avoid closure.”
Financial exigency is a formal recognition by the board that Northland College is facing a serious crisis that requires immediate attention and resolution, according to a statement from the school.
In mid-March, Northland officials said the school, which enrolls about 500 undergraduates, did not have enough money to continue operating beyond this year. They appealed to donors to contribute to “fund a new Northland College for a more sustainable future.”
In the three weeks that followed, more than 900 donors gave Northland $1.5 million — a record for the school. In a separate effort, more than 500 people had pledged more than $278,000 through a website called “Northland Forever,” which was started by faculty members and alumni to help save the college and share information about the school’s plight. But those efforts still left a $10.5 million shortfall.
School leaders have said Northland has long faced financial challenges and has struggled to find a sustainable solution. It has operated in the red for seven straight years, according to data from propublica.org.
The school reported a deficit of just under $3.3 million on its tax filings in 2022, with $31.8 million in revenue and $35.1 million in expenses. Income fell short of expenses by more than $3 million in 2016 and 2018, with smaller losses in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
But a recent audit of finances found the school’s deficit was worse than anticipated due to declining enrollment, growing costs and the loss of key funding sources. That led to the appeal to raise money and create a “New Northland.”
In the meantime, administrators said they are committed to supporting a positive environment through the end of the school year with no immediate changes to programs or services. That means the Career Expo, May Term, Honors Day and commencement will continue.
By extending the deadline, Northland President Chad Dayton said the uncertainty is also extended for students and others who are waiting for a firm decision so they can make future plans.
“There have been positive and productive conversations taking place among the board, leadership, faculty and campus groups, as well as the community,” Dayton said. “We are listening and agree that additional time and a defined process are valuable next steps.”
The University of Minnesota has postponed a scheduled Tuesday night lecture from infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci after pro-Palestinian protests that included some protesters barricading Morrill Hall the day before.
On Monday night, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the building, which houses the Minneapolis campus’ administrative offices, as Students for a Democratic Society used tied-up patio furniture to form giant barricades blocking the building’s large front windows and its entrances. The protesters demanded the U divest from companies with ties to Israel. At least 11 of the protesters were arrested.
The university decided to postpone Fauci’s lecture set for Tuesday night because of “unexpected and complicated incidents” over the past day, university spokesman Jake Rickersaid in an email.
“Given the importance of this lecture and the unexpected and complicated incidents that occurred on campus in the past 24 hours, University officials determined it best to reschedule to ensure a great experience for attendees and our University community,” Ricker said.
All tickets for the lecture will be voided and information about the rescheduled date will be posted later, the university said in an online post about the postponement. Pre-paid parking will be automatically refunded, the university added.
Additional pro-Palestinian protests took place Tuesday afternoon at the university in front of Coffman Memorial Union. The protests prompted university officials to temporarily close down at least a dozen buildings in a Tuesday alert. Those included: Coffman Union, Weisman Museum, Hasselmo Hall, Ford Hall, Vincent Murphy Hall, Tate Lab, Morrill Hall, Northrop Auditorium, Johnston Hall, Walter Library, Smith Hall, and Kolthoff Hall. All other East Bank campus buildings were switched to keycard access only, according to the alert.
An anti-Fauci rally had also been planned by conservative group Action 4 Liberty to coincide with the lecture at the university, but that was moved after the lecture was canceled.
Star Tribune
Aunt IDs 3-year-old who was fatally shot in Minneapolis home, speaks about what happened
A close relative on Tuesday identified the 3-year-old boy who was fatally shot this week in his family’s northeast Minneapolis apartment a day earlier.
Woods said police have told the family that Jajuan got ahold of the gun and it went off.
“Someone left a loaded gun [in the home,” said Woods, who has started an online fundraiser for her sister, Charlotte Williams. “He got ahold of it thinking it was a toy.”
Woods said her nephew, who went by Junior, “loved trucks and dinosaurs. He was just so silly and goofy. He was a momma’s boy.”
Jajuan suffered a gunshot wound to the top of the head, a source with knowledge of the incident told the Star Tribune. Paramedics rushed the toddler to HCMC, where he died a short time later.
Woods said she did not know who owned the gun.
Police spokesman Trevor Folke said Tuesday evening there have been no arrests and had no update to share in the “active and ongoing investigation.”
Bergman is championing efforts to boost literacy and invest in early childhood programming, and getting there, she said, requires financial sustainability, and that may mean closings and mergers. She attended last week’s finance committee meeting — as she’s done on a regular basis — and described the mention of “opportunity” as another rosy way of avoiding hard truths.
The district is spread too thin, she said. Some schools could take more students. Yet in others, class sizes are huge and caseloads so large that educators can’t build relationships with students and families, she said.
“I just fundamentally believe, and it’s been one of the objectives of my campaign, to be someone out in the community talking about this moment, listening to reactions, and listening for the places where families could get on board with the possibility of their beloved school having to close,” she said.
A way to get there, Bergman said, is by consolidating buildings, and in turn, expanding programming — perhaps not far from the school left behind.
Callahan argues that the mere mention of closings is causing families to leave the district: “This is not something that should be talked about so flippantly,” she said.
She said she would entertain the idea only if there also are plans to stabilize and recruit students, plus answers to three questions: How much money is being saved by closing a building? How many students will be retained if the school closes? And how many new students have to enroll to keep it open?
