On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, the Cardinal Kingdom playground at Annandale Elementary School was demolished to make way for a new playground to be constructed. The Cardinal Kingdom has been a longtime Annandale Community favorite since 1995.
At the Annandale School meeting Monday, May 24, 2022, Annandale Elementary Principal Jon Klippenes addressed the Board about plans to replace the Cardinal Kingdom playground, a longtime favorite since 1995, located at the Annandale Elementary School.
"Cardinal Kingdom is past its life expectancy of 25 years," said Annandale Elementary Principal Jon Klippenes. "More importantly, there have been increasing health office visits from splinters and slivers from the playground."
"We acknowledge the importance of Cardinal Kingdom in our community and will work to provide something the community is excited about."
Klippenes formed a committee to examine the options and get unique ideas for a new playground.
"I don't want a 'cookie cutter' playground," Klippenes said at the 2022 meeting. "I want this committee to develop as many ideas as possible. Then, once we have the ideas, I want our AES kids to have a say in the final design."
Construction of the new Playground is scheduled to begin Wednesday, June 7th.
Project cost
The total cost of the project is $733,419.53 ($397,250.99 for the playground, $315,411.04 for the surfacing and $20,757.50 for curbing).
"We opted for the poured-in-place surface to make the playground more accessible for students with disabilities, and it provides a soft, safe surface for various games such as four square and hopscotch," said District Business Manager Rick Pullen. "Finally, we added a curb border to protect the poured-in-place surface edge from our lawn equipment."
According to Pullen, the new playground will take up approximately the same amount of space as the old one.
The Annandale Lions donated $50,000 to help cover the surfacing costs.
Check out this week’s Advocate for the Cardinal Kingdom
Clearwater Lights, Clearwater Minnesota.
Candy canes for the kids and a mailbox for letters to Santa!
A must see this holiday season!!
Calling all Vets! What does Memorial Day mean to you? Contact Larissa at the Advocate 274-3052!
One of the last performances from DaBand after 25 years at the Annandale parade. When it comes to starting a song, try three times and you won't go wrong.
The Bluecoats of Canton, Ohio, performed in Annandale this morning. They moved quick. Here's a look at one of their tunes.
AHS Band Concert tonight 'Highlights from Brave'
Annandale High School 'Encore' singing the National Anthem at the 'Friday, Under the Lights' softball game Friday, April 28 at Annandale City Park.
Happy 100th birthday, Norman Oletzke. Read about him in this week's paper, and enjoy his singing here.
The Annandale High School Concert Band performs during the concert on Monday, Jan. 30.
Danny Heinrich's former Annandale home was torn down Friday morning, Dec. 23. Patty Wetterling and many others were there to witness the event. See the Wednesday, Dec. 28, paper for details.
The AHS jazz band performs during the Tunes and Treats event on Monday, Dec. 19.
A seasonal tune from the brass quartet that played during Minnesota Pioneer Park's Village Christmas earlier this month.
