Winds of change are blowing on the Vermilion campus of Minnesota North College.
The local community college has undergone a partial facelift in advance of the start of the 2025-26 school year, which begins on Monday.
Just wrapping up on campus is a $3.6 million renovation and remodeling of the school’s classroom building, while leadership is under a new model.
Aaron Bender has stepped in as the campus operations director, adding that title to his ongoing work as the school’s athletic director, with former provost Chris Koivisto moving back to the classroom after serving in an administrative role for fourand- a-half years.
Those are the biggest changes as roughly 350 students arrive in town this weekend to move into both on-campus and off-campus housing.
Enrollment overall is on the upswing in Ely, but still down from where it was earlier in the decade.
“Enrollment looks to be steady, if not on a decent incline,” said Bender, who begins his fourth year at the school. “We feel confident here at Vermilion that we will have an increase in enrollment. How it weighs out with the entire Minnesota North system I don’t know.”
As school officials and staff were readying for the new year this week, the student count was still growing.
“Enrollment is still getting phone calls, and students are still looking to come,” said Bender.
Vermilion was a construction zone for much of the summer, as workers were completing a major overhaul to the classroom building, which was the result of funding included in the state bonding bill in 2024.
In addition to a new roof, there were restroom improvements and corridors received epoxy terrazzo flooring, wood panels, as well as new lighting and ceilings.
In two separate areas, two classrooms were combined into 45-seat single classrooms, while other classrooms got new flooring, ceiling and IT equipment.
New doors will be installed, while outside, a new front stairs from the parking lot to the campus buildings are being installed.
Several classrooms also have new furnishings including tables and chairs while a new campus-wide fire alarm control panel was also installed.
“It’s supposed to be wrapped up before the school year starts,” Bender said earlier this week. “The classroom building had a full remodel and they’re just finishing up with the last ceiling tiles. They did some work on the parking lot, some new steps. They remodeled the flooring in the hallways and converted some classrooms into larger ones by taking out some walls, and we’re kind of moving into a new era by bringing some more and updated technology to the classrooms.”
Athletics is playing a larger role in enrollment than in recent years, with approximately 60 football players on the roster and a full complement of a dozen volleyball players.
Both basketball teams are at better than full strength while the baseball team will have 32 players on campus this fall.
The bulk of the students are arriving en masse this weekend, although football and volleyball players and a few other students have been here a week or more.
“We’re in stages right now,” said Bender. “We had football and volleyball moving in this week and that was about 65 student athletes and now we’ve got the RAs and those in the park ranger law enforcement program and now we’ve got another 200 to 250 kids moving into the buildings.”
As part of Minnesota North, Vermilion is part of a single unified college with five separate campuses - joining Itasca (Grand Rapids), Mesabi (Virginia/ Eveleth), Rainy River (International Falls) and Hibbing.
The merger came in response to overall declines in student population and is geared at streamlining operations as well as offering students additional opportunities.
Vermilion is known for its niche programming - an array of courses and degree programs that focus on the natural environment.
Degrees in outdoor leadership, wildland firefighting and natural resources are just a few of the unique offerings at Vermilion.
The school year comes to an unofficial start Saturday and Sunday, when vehicles fill the parking lots and pull up outside campus housing units and first and second-year students arrive in town, many with their parents.
In contrast with many community colleges, which rely heavily on graduates from nearby high schools, Vermilion is unique as a two-year school that gets its students predominantly from outside the area and who live on campus.
Bender steps into his new role this fall as part of a leadership transition.
“I’m learning the ins and outs of taking care of these kids and we’re really going to try and get our community involvement heavier with all our students, especially our student athletes,” said Bender. “We’d like to get them helping with different events. We’ve been led by Chris Koivisto for many years and he did a heck of a job and he’ll be a tremendous resource for me as I transition into this leadership role.”
