HILLS, M.N. (KELO) — A new hub for day care in southwest Minnesota is buzzing with children.

KELOLAND News first took you inside the building on Main Avenue in Hills in late January.

The community was celebrating its completion after a renovation project.

Step inside the building now and you’ll find plenty of toys and little ones.

The building can house up to three separate day cares.

Kassie Haak opened Kassie’s Clubhouse on April 8th.

Starting the new business seemed like a good fit for the 20-year-old who enjoys being around kids.

“But I was kind of in my last semester of college and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do and then this kind of popped up perfectly and I was like, ‘You know what? That sounds fun, and I’ll do it,’ so here I am, and I’m really enjoying it so far,” Haak said.

Beaver Creek mom Kendra Rauk takes her son Boden to Kassie’s Clubhouse.

“We were really excited that it was going to be close to us,” Rauk said.

Rauk and her husband found themselves in a panic earlier this year when the in-home day care they were using in Sioux Falls closed.

She calls the hunt for day care difficult for parents.

“Especially in a smaller town. If you do find someone who has an opening, most of the time they don’t have an infant or toddler opening, it’s usually preschool and so your options are pretty limited and then the hours too to find someone who’s flexible,” Rauk said.

Just down the hall in a separate room is Creative Minds Childcare.

Owner Donna Bernhard opened up shop in mid-March.

“It’s been going good, keeping me busy, that’s for sure,” Bernhard said.

Hills mother McKenzie Thooft brings her sons to Creative Minds.

“Before this opened we were pretty much forced to do family, so it was just between my family, my parents, my husband’s family, and his parents. We’ve kind of gone with that for the last three years because there hasn’t been a lot around here,” Thooft said.

The city spear-headed the day care project to help fill a need.

“We lost probably six day care providers in the last 10 years and we’re to just a handful and there’s a big need, you know, people having to leave out of town. A lot of people work outside of Hills here, so they’ve got to take their kids somewhere. Anytime you take your kids out of your town, you take them out of your schools and everything, so its just nice to have something right here local at home,” Hills Mayor Keith Elbers said.

The building is city-owned.

Providers pay a dollar in rent a year, plus utilities.

“Part of the whole goal of doing this project is make affordable day care, make it affordable,” Elbers said.

“Since I don’t have to pay rent on this space, I’m kind of just working on making affordable rates for families because I don’t have that expense,” Haak said.

There’s still room for a third provider in the building, and Elbers says there is interest in the spot.

For now, Bernhard and Haak are providing an important service for families.

“Watching them get to learn something new every day and them portraying it into their daily life is cool to watch and be like, ‘Oh, that was me. I was able to teach them that,'” Bernhard said.

“It’s really fun to play with the kids and hang out with them and to grow those relationships with the kids because they’re just so cute and fun to learn from,” Haak said.

Both businesses are licensed in Minnesota as special family child cares.