Habitat For Humanity Dedicates Home with Help from Minnesota North College Faculty & the Applied Learning Institute

by Annika Freiburger

Hibbing, Mn – North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity will be hosting a home dedication to celebrate the completion of Lacy Podlogar’s home in Hibbing. This home was built in partnership with students from the Hibbing High School with leadership from instructor Erik Kuusinen. The construction class provided most of the labor on the project as part of their hand on learning class work in partnership with the Applied Learning Institute. The electrical class at the Minnesota North College-Hibbing Campus with leadership from instructor Steve Oberstar provided the electrical work for the home.

Lacy has been involved in every aspect of building her home working right alongside of the students as well as working on homes of other Habitat homebuilders in the program. She simply wanted to learn everything she could about building a home! “I just like learning in general but the thing I probably liked the most about building my home was doing the flooring.” Lacy is the mother of four children and is looking forward to having an affordable home that provides “a place of security where we can relax and be who we want to be. A place to heal, laugh, cry, and grow as a family. This home will provide a fresh and lasting start for my family and me.”

“This project is a great example of community collaboration to address the affordable housing needs of our neighbors. The Podlogar family and friends put in great amounts of sweat equity into their home construction project which was matched by student’s efforts as they came out of the classroom to do hands on learning. Community volunteers and organizations also pitched in throughout the project to keep the home moving forward at key stages. We are grateful for a caring community that donates funds and lends a helping hand to help a family build and affordably buy their home, an opportunity that they would not have without your help,” said Nathan Thompson, North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity’s executive director.

The home received funding support from the Owens Family Charitable Foundation, Cleveland Cliffs and many local area businesses and individuals. Many community volunteers, friends of the Podlogar family, and crews from the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Togo, also volunteered to help complete the project. Thank you all for your support!

This event will take place on Monday, July 25th, 2022, at 2:30pm at 11958 Townline Rd, Hibbing, MN 55746

***This story was created by North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity.

To learn more about their organization, please go to www.nslchfh.org.