Community visioning session

The Staples community was invited to ‘Imagine the Possibilities’ at the Batcher Block Opera House Visioning Sessions held at Central Lakes College in Staples April 10. Above: Mickey Davis (standing left) with McClure Engineering of St. Louis, Mo., facilitated the afternoon session, asking the 30-plus attendees what they felt was unique about their community and what they felt was missing. What is needed to draw people to Staples? “Dream big!” he encouraged them. A variety of suggestions were voiced, including boutiques, artisan-based gift shops, furniture store, ethnic dining, art gallery, live music venue, downtown gardens, bowling alley and movie theater. McClure is part of the team that is hoping to see the Batcher Block Opera House restored and believes it could be a major draw for the City of Staples. It’s one of a dozen opera houses in the United States and the only one with the original painted fresco on its ceiling. It’s a national treasure, McClure said of the opera house. Colleen Frost (standing above right) is the developer/visionary of the Batcher Block Opera House. She designed the new logo, which is featured on the slide below. Kelli Wegscheid, with Harmonious Architecture of Perham had a number of artist renderings available for viewing which depicted a number of possibilities for the five-story space, should the restoration become a reality. Future sessions will focus on an action plan and fundraising. Online information is available at www.batcherblockoperahouse.com. (Staples World photos by Dawn Timbs)