Dakota College at Bottineau renovating Old Main for nursing program expansion

BOTTINEAU, N.D. (KMOT) – Medical providers across the country are in great need of nurses.

One of our state’s colleges is working to expand its facilities to make room for more nursing students.

Leadership with the EPA’s brownfields program will be on campus in Bottineau Wednesday afternoon, seeing the work that’s been done so far to the historic Old Main building on the DCB campus. The college used a portion of a brownfields cleanup grant from the EPA for asbestos abatement in the Old Main building. With the removal finished, the goal is to begin a multi-million-dollar renovation of the facility to transform it into a Center for Rural Health Education. “By investing in the cleanup and the environmental assessment of these buildings, we can support organizations like Dakota College at Bottineau to renovate them, and turn them into a more productive use,” said Ted Lanzano, brownfields program manager for the EPA Region 8.

The college says it hopes the new facility will allow it to expand enrollment for the nursing program from 35 students to more than 100. Later Wednesday we’ll hear from leadership with the college, including the new college dean Dr. Carmen Simone, on the future of the project and what it means for its nursing program.

Copyright 2022 KFYR. All rights reserved.