Minnehaha Academy Announces Rebuilding Plans After Deadly Explosion

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We are getting a close-up look at what happened when a gas explosion gutted a Twin Cities school last August.

Video was taken a month after that blast leveled part of Minnehaha Academy's Upper School in Minneapolis, killing two staff members.

School leaders shared images of the destruction Thursday afternoon, while announcing plans to rebuild.

Video taken inside the building in September shows the extent of the destruction.

As Minnehaha Academy President Donna Harris announced the hiring of an architect and builder for the reconstruction, there was still sadness.

"It's really a bittersweet day," Harris said. "We are still grieving the loss of colleagues, the loss of our historic buildings."

The demolition has unearthed some treasures, including a time capsule from 1913 that was discovered in one of the cornerstones.

But memories of that August day still haunt those who were inside. Harris pointed out the window from which she escaped.

"Because we were blown back and couldn't go forward, it likely saved us because everything was gone beneath us," she said.

Nearly all of the people who were in the building still suffers from some type of injury. Most suffered concussions, including finance director Dan Bowles, who can't help but think about how the disaster could have been so much worse.

"We picked a time of the year when, the project was done when there were as few people as possible in the school, and so we're blessed by that," Bowles said.

The rebuilding is expected to be completed by August of 2019.

Upper School students have been temporarily relocated to the former Brown College campus in Mendota Heights.