Kasson Public School  The Kasson Public School building is located at 101 Third Avenue NW in city of Kasson, Dodge County, Minnesota, in the United States. Designed by architect Nels S. Jacobson Jr. of the architectural firm Jacobson & Jacobson, the school was constructed during the years 1917–1918. Kasson's elementary and high school students began using the building on December 5, 1918. The Kasson Public School was constructed during the years 1917–1918. Kasson's elementary and high school students began using the building on December 5, 1918. Samuel A. Challman, the first State Commissioner of Minnesota School Buildings and the foremost standard-bearer for the construction of Minnesota schools, expressed his approval of the school during a 1919 visit:  Commissioner Challman made the following statement about schoolhouse construction in 1914 to the National Education Association of the United States:  The school was used continuously from 1918 into 2005. For nearly ninety years the Kasson Public School played a central role in the life of the community. It served as Kasson's only school building until 1958 when the school district merged with nearby Mantorville and combined high school classes were held at a new school north of town. It served as the Kasson Elementary School for more than four decades after that. It eventually housed an alternative school, community education and school district administrative functions. Those uses were discontinued in 2005. The 1895 Kasson Water Tower, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is located behind the school. In early 2006 the City of Kasson, MN obtained the school. A November 2006 referendum to reuse the school as a combination city hall, police station and other governmental uses missed approval by only 122 votes. The city council soon voted to demolish the building. In response, local citizens formed the non-profit Kasson Alliance for Restoration (KARE) in January 2007 to advocate for saving the school. In May/June 2007 KARE stopped the demolition by filing a lawsuit against the city. KARE then sponsored an effort which lead to the Kasson Public School being placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 2007. The suit was settled out of court in August 2008. As part of the settlement the city and KARE partnered to conduct an Historic Properties Reuse Study which was completed in October 2009 by John Lauber and Company. The reuse study suggested many reuses for the school to include for example apartments, library and a community center. The study instructed the city to: “Market the [school] building to potential development partners (page 4)”.