The Freshwater Education District is one of the 12 education districts in the State of Minnesota. It is a special type of school district that comprises multiple member school districts. Its main purpose is to provide assistance to its members in implementing various programs and services that may be too costly for individual districts to afford on their own.

The district works with 13 different independent school districts throughout the Counties of Otter Tail, Wadena, Todd, and Cass to provide staffing and resources to help meet student needs that are unable to be fulfilled by their member district. Due to the increasing requirements within the education district, the Freshwater Education District researched the potential construction of its own school to provide additional programs and education opportunities for students unavailable through the member districts.

The school began a search for property centrally located amongst the independent school districts. When a parcel was found on the south side of the City of Wadena, Apex assisted the District with site layouts, utility design, stormwater management, grading, and other design components to be included in the district’s design.

The site was intentionally designed to enhance its natural features by incorporating small, low stormwater holding areas and higher earthen berms surrounding the site. Despite being bordered on one side by a Trunk Highway, the noise and light pollution from traffic were minimized by planting trees on top of the berms. The trees not only minimized the pollution but also created a sense of seclusion for the facility.

To learn more about the Freshwater Education District, visit their website.