Little Falls plans reunification drill at Camp Ripley; district to evacuate high school Sept. 17

Superintendent Johnson and district safety staff told the Little Falls school board Aug. 11 the district is planning a reunification exercise at Camp Ripley on Sept. 17 that would evacuate high school students and run through the reunification steps up to — but not including — parent pickup.

The superintendent said district leaders and safety staff have been meeting with the Little Falls Police Department, Morrison County Sheriff's Office, Falls Fire Department, Morrison County Public Health and Camp Ripley to plan the exercise and identify staging areas, bus routes and contingency steps. Mark (district safety staff) described the partnership as a unique local advantage and said Camp Ripley is helping design precise vehicle routes, student groupings and staging locations.

District officials said the Sept. 17 exercise will evacuate students to Camp Ripley where they will remain until about noon and participate in program activities and an introduction to career and community opportunities at the site. Officials emphasized that parents will not be required to pick up students from Camp Ripley on the drill day; the exercise will stop before the parent‑pickup phase. The district expects to use about 16 buses for the exercise and is meeting with routing providers to divide routes and confirm logistics.

Mark said the exercise helps both school staff and first responders understand each other’s processes and limitations, and that organizers plan to run the exercise as a “dry run” to surface coordination issues before an actual emergency.

Superintendent Johnson said the district will send families detailed information closer to the drill date and that officials hope the exercise will validate coordination across agencies.