MANKATO — Since 2019 the Mankato West Swim Team has been sharing a space at Mankato East High School for practices and meets. While the school was grateful for the generosity of their cross-town rival, there was a change that needed to be made.
“They were very gracious to share with us … but you’d have to juggle things around,” Sherri Blasing, principal at Mankato West, said. “And our teams wanted to put up their record board. They wanted a place to call home.”
As of Tuesday, they got that place, as members of the community, the swim team, the school board and West High School unveiled the new pool at Dakota Meadows Middle School.
“It was very exciting,” Blasing said. “We had a big red ribbon … and the students were the ones that held the ribbon and then another student did the cutting to usher in the new pool.”
And what was certainly a special moment for those students also brought a lot of joy to those who worked to make the project happen.
“Between the swimmers, their families and the coaches today, it was just fun to sit back and see their expressions,” Supt. Paul Peterson said. “What today signifies is really an expansion of opportunities for kids, families and the greater community.”
The pool, an eight-lane competitive swimming pool, was a part of a bond referendum the district passed in 2023 to improve facilities across the district.
At West, that project is still ongoing, but at Dakota Meadows, crews are putting the finishing touches on the school now and the new amenities – which include the pool, a secure entrance and a third gym – will be ready for use when fall sports begin practices on Monday.
“We know an eight-lane competitive pool is going to stand out for both our conference and our section. There’s already talk about us being able to host some competitive section tournaments in the future,” Peterson said. “This is really a community aspect, and we fully intend to maximize its use.”
For Blasing, and those at West High School, the excitement over the project really comes when they think about what the pool represents.
“It’s the Scarlett pool,” Blasing said.
“Those swimmers now have a sense of home. … It just adds so much for our swim team.
They can proudly display their records and hang their logos and invite people into a Scarlett pool.”
Both Blasing and Peterson point to one thing that helped make this dream a reality: outstanding community support.
“In the world of public education, the only way that projects of this magnitude get done is when the community supports their public school.
We’re really fortunate to be in the greater Mankato area,” Peterson said.
“We can never say it enough, just thankful and grateful we are to the community.”