Chris Tonniges, left, CEO of Lutheran Family Services, and Stephanie Gardeman, director of the Root and Rise Program, walk into Mickelsen Hall on the former Dana College campus Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Blair, Neb. (Rebecca S. Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner)
BLAIR, Neb. — Tucked away on a hillside in Blair, the Dana College campus sat vacant for the better part of 15 years. But in recent years the property has gained new life through the work of a local nonprofit.
The private Lutheran-affiliated college closed abruptly in the summer of 2010, leaving the staff and roughly 600 students at the time in a lurch. After the land shuffled through several different owners, the property ended up in the hands of Lutheran Family Services, a nonprofit that offers family and health services.
The group has since repurposed two of the college’s aging dormitory buildings — Mickelsen and Blair Hall — into apartments, and some of the units are now occupied by young adults who have aged out of Nebraska’s foster care system. The campus grounds now have a new name: “Dana Village.”…