The former Nasinec Funeral Home in Wells has been converted to the Little Rebels Learning Center.

It is not unusual for buildings to get repurposed for different uses. However, it is probably not very common for a former funeral home to be turned into a daycare center.

But, that is what happened in Wells when the Little Rebels Learning Center opened its doors last May.

“We took ownership of the building in February of 2022, so the turnaround to make it into a daycare center happened quite quickly,” Connie Stanke, who operates the facility, explains. “We had a lot of good help to do the necessary remodeling.”

The former funeral home, which was last known as the Nasinec Funeral Home, has a house connected to it.

“That was one of the first issues we had to address,” Stanke says. “The state required us to put in a firewall between the daycare and the residence. When we purchased the funeral home, the house came with it along with the paved parking lot at the south end of the block.”

Other work included tearing down old walls and building new walls.

“We needed to separate the children by age,” Stanke comments. “Currently, we have three classrooms. One is for children six weeks of age to 15 months. Another classroom is for kids 16 to 33 months of age. The last room is for those kids who are 33 months up to kindergarten age.”

Other work which needed to be done included painting some walls and redoing some ceilings.

“We also had to add two emergency exits to the main floor,” Stanke adds. “And, we had to install a security system.”

But, as she explains, owning and operating a daycare center was not really what she had been planning to do in her life.

“I was going to school for law enforcement when I found out I was pregnant,” Stanke says. “My husband, Jesse, and I were struggling to find a daycare provider. We did find a neighbor to help out but then decided to explore opening our own daycare.”

They had been looking for awhile when they thought they may have found a place that would suit their needs.

“Little Lambs in Wells made the decision to close, but they did not want to sell their building,” Stanke shares. “But, they did sell us their equipment.”

Then the former funeral home became available and the Stankes bought the property and started making changes.

“I guess another thing we had to do right away was construct a fence to enclose the play area,” she comments. “We also had to mulch the playground area.”

Jesse’s connections through work proved to be quite valuable.

“My husband works for Wakefield Pork and they have provided us with support, especially with business advice,” Stanke mentions. “MPI Farms out of Amboy did the construction work even though it is not the kind of work they normally do. They did a nice job and got everything done and the daycare ready to open in a matter of a few weeks.”

Little Rebels Learning Center is licensed for 42 children, but they currently have 23.

“We have a wait list for school age kids,” she says. “We just can’t take them right now the way we are set up.”

However, there are plans in the works to increase their space.

“There is a large basement downstairs,” Stanke explains. “In order to be able to utilize that space, we need to add a sprinkler system to both the downstairs and upstairs floors.”

The sprinkler system is not cheap, perhaps as much as $35,000, and the Little Rebels Learning Center applied for and received a childcare grant in the amount of $4,000 from the Faribault County Economic Development Authority to help with some of the cost of the upcoming project.

“The front yard will also have to be dug up to hook up to the proper water source for the sprinklers,” she adds.

However, there is a bright side to expanding to the basement.

“Because it was a funeral home, there is already an elevator between the two floors,” Stanke notes. “So it will be handicapped accessible.”

According to Stanke, there had been two elevators in the facility but the firewall, which was necessary between the house and the daycare center, had to be continued into the garage and it meant losing use of the second elevator.

Buying a house, in addition to the former funeral home, could have involved many more improvement projects. But, thankfully, Stanke notes, that was not the case.

“The house is in good shape,” Stanke says. “We just did some work on some floors but nothing very major.”

As for the daycare center, very little work had to be done to the floors, according to Stanke.

“We just had to have the carpets cleaned,” she comments.

Little Rebels Learning Center currently has seven employees, including Stanke.

“I am very fortunate to have a husband who handles the maintenance work,” she says. “He is very helpful.”

The Stankes, who have been married since 2012, are raising four children, and while the birth of their own child may have sparked their interest in starting their own daycare, Connie Stanke says she could not be happier operating Little Rebels Learning Center, especially after she and her husband struggled to find a daycare provider themselves.

“We know there is a need,” she comments. “We have parents bringing their children here from New Richland and others come from Mapleton and then drive to Mankato to work. And, seeing these children with their beautiful smiles makes every day special.”