High school students from three area school districts will have access to NIACC’s Career Center once completed in 2026.
Students from Belmond-Klemme, Hampton-Dumont-CAL and West Fork will be able to take part in college-level training, at no cost, in the following areas: advanced manufacturing, health occupations and business.
A groundbreaking was held in July for the new center, which will be located next to the Hampton Municipal Airport. Joel Pedersen is in his second year as president at NIACC and tells RadioOnTheGo News the new center will be a benefit to all students that choose to use it.
“So, really that’s just going to allow them to come and not have to be able to drive, and especially in that part of our region. It did get a little bit harder as you got away from the main campus. So with having the center in Hampton there, we just believe that all students in our region are gonna have opportunities. And some of them, like I said, will go there and then take those credits they’ve earned and bring them to NIACC. Some of them might take those credits to another college. But for a lot of students, it’s a chance to really do some of those trades at a higher level. They maybe have hit a point in their high school career where they’re like, listen, I have all my math and science done and I really wanna do something with my hands so I can leave for a couple hours and go right over to the center and learn more about welding or learn more about machining. So I just think it’s a great thing for our students and for our region. And just excited to see that groundbreaking.”
A $3 million grant from the Federal Economic Development Administration will help pay for the project. The center will open to students in the fall of 2026. More information can be found here.
Photo from the groundbreaking in July
