Ciara Parizek/MDN Members of Mouse River Players and the Minot Area Community Foundation gathered in front of the theater downtown on Tuesday for a donation check presentation. From left to right, Cathy Haarstad, Tim Baumann, Heather Speer, Grant Johnson, Jenna Johnson, Ashley Nilsen, Nancy Pearson, Holly Eidsness, Jason Zimmerman, Ed Montez, Ken Haartsad, Andrea Hood, Staci Kenney, Jill Wald and Lin Knickerbocker.

The Mouse River Players’ lobby has been under construction for quite some time, and MRP volunteer Lin Knickerbocker said the board is hoping it will be finished by the end of the 2024 season.

Construction on the building began in 2022, with the facade redone with the help of city funding through Minot’s Renaissance Committee.

Workers were at the grindstone on Tuesday morning, milling about in the lobby. Members of the Mouse River Players gathered at the building to receive a $20,000 donation for Phase 2 renovations from representatives of the Minot Area Community Foundation.

The walls still need to be painted a light cream color to match the paint already in the hall that leads to the theater. MRP’s plans to use a rich forest green as an accent color. Knickerbocker said some places needed to be touched up in that area as well.

The men’s restroom will be on the right and the women’s restroom will be on the left when approached, and water fountains will be situated between them. As of Tuesday, the restrooms were empty, but the tile had already been put down.

The flooring in the lobby will be made of sound-deadening planks that look like hardwood.

In the lobby, there is a small area that follows the window and is separated from the bathrooms. The plan is to put bookcases in that corner that will hold theater scripts and other papers.

The only hitch in the entire project was floor plans for the building had been lost. Knickerbocker said she and other volunteers looked in multiple different places, trying to find even the tiniest hint of a blueprint.

In addition to a cosmetic makeover, a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system was put in.

“We’ll have heat and AC in the lobby for the first time in the building,” Knickerbocker said.

According to the MRP volunteer, when run by previous owners over the last 100 years, the building has housed a labor temple, car dealership, implement storage building, blacksmith and saddlery.