Community center waits as $650,000 is left to fundraise

By Bryce Haugen

Correspondent

What started as a dream during a struggle to find a childcare provider for their oldest child in 2022, Tyler and Alexandra Rupe turned into a reality following a more than three year journey.  ¶  “The childcare shortage really did dictate when we could consider having another child and made it challenging to make it to work,” said Tyler Rupe, the owner of Battle Lake Refrigeration, Heating, and Cooling.  ¶  After calling more than 30 area childcare providers looking for an open spot and good fit, the Rupes realized they were not alone in their fruitless efforts.  

¶  “We started doing our own research and learned about the study done by Otter Tail County on the childcare deficit we were facing and realized this truly was a need,” Alex Rupe said. “Being entrepreneurs ourselves, we jokingly said ‘we should start a daycare’ and then really started to realize we could actually pull this together as a nonprofit and support our community.” The Rupes said they have received overwhelming support from the entire Ottertail area.

The Ottertail Family Center, under the Rupe’s non-profit childcare organization Three Little Otters, broke ground in October of last fall. Instead of a traditional childcare center, the OFC hosts four independent providers – with room for more – which began moving in in January and February. The daycare facility will feature enough space for up to 48 children in a pair of duplexes located near the city’s water tower. Currently, 32 children are enrolled, with a couple of providers with limited openings for more kids.

The OFC mission statement: “To provide a supportive, well-equipped space for dedicated childcare providers to run safe, engaging and high-quality programs by creating an environment where children can learn, grow and thrive — socially, emotionally and physically — while fostering a sense of community, connection and care for families in and around the Ottertail area.”

The couple went through a lot of different planning stages, got connected with like minded people in the area who also saw the need for childcare and worked towards a common goal together to make this happen, Alex Rupe said. 

“We were fortunate to have a passionate board of directors who helped go out and raise money for this project … At first, there was some hesitation because it was such a new idea, people were not sure how it would work, but they knew we needed more affordable and reliable childcare, so were excited to see a group of community members come together to solve a common problem.”

With support from Otter Tail County, the Rupes were able to receive a $240,000 MN Department of Employment and Economic Development grant. Between fundraising and the grant, Tyler Rupe said, the childcare units were completely funded. 

“The DEED grant was truly a building block for us,” he said. “It gave us the foundation and momentum we needed to move forward with developing the daycare buildings, turning what was once just a plan into real progress.”

Launching the OFC through Three Little Otters, the Rupes said, has helped not only them, but so many others have access to affordable childcare and be able to keep up with the demands of being working parents, while also giving children the opportunity to learn and play in a safe environment.

Tyler Rupe said they were met with some challenges when we initially got started, but those only helped shape our idea into something that will serve our community long term.  

“We did adjust our vision as originally the concept was supposed to be one building, and as the years progressed, we adjusted to accommodate the community as a whole and into separate buildings for the ease of providing spaces for daycare providers,” he said.

The facility is non-profit, Alex Rupe said, because the main goal was to serve the community, not to make money. 

“We felt the nonprofit model made the most sense because it gave us the opportunity to be able to apply for grants to help fund the space, as well as use grant funding to help support different support and enrichment activities for the providers and their childcare kiddos,” she said. 

Rather than a traditional center, Alex Rupe said, they wanted providers to feel like they were making a livable wage – a traditional center model would make it too expensive for local families to have access to affordable childcare. 

“Our providers are truly the heart of the business and are there with our local kiddos helping them learn and grow and have a safe space to have fun,” she said. 

Alex Rupe is also the new executive director for the Ottertail Community and Wellness Center, a separate but complementary project that has the goal of opening at the end of this year or the start of next. When it is completed the plan is to have a full size basketball court, room for pickle ball players and a community room for meeting spaces or family gatherings. 

“The community center is meant to be a space to serve our community as a whole,” she said. “We wanted to provide a space where community members could go and be active and socialize throughout the year, but also create a destination spot for people who visit our area and really help promote Ottertail and its surrounding businesses. We also wanted a space where kids could come and be active and have a space to learn through play. That is one reason why we chose to open up the community center to our providers and allow them to use the space for free during their business hours.”

For the community center, Alex Rupe said, the biggest hurdle left is fundraising, being around $650,000 short of hitting the goal to have the space completely funded. 

Other communities facing similar childcare shortages can take a page from the Ottertail playbook. 

“Change can start with just a couple of people who are passionate about making positive change,” Tyler Rupe said. “Even when things seem hard or out of reach, keep pushing and networking with people who have a similar passion for serving the community. There are so many amazing people and resources in our county alone and we are so grateful for everyone who believed in our vision and helped us get connected with the amazing resources we have here … We hope that by having reliable, quality, and affordable daycare in Ottertail, that this allows parents to feel comfortable going to work and being able to help provide for their families, while knowing their kids are having fun and learning in a safe space with providers who truly are passionate about what they do. We hope by having childcare in town, this will help local businesses fill their open job positions as well.”