Submitted rendering After discussion and three votes Thursday, the Sleepy Eye School Board selected a Storm mascot option B by a 4-2 vote Wednesday.

SLEEPY EYE — It’s been a long, winding road, but after many committee meetings, surveys and three votes on Wednesday, the Sleepy Eye School Board selected a mascot to replace Chief Ish Tak Ha Ba (Chief Sleepy Eye).

By a 4-2 vote, the school board approved a storm mascot with a tornado to replace the Indians mascot.

Three votes were needed to break ties caused by six of seven board members attending the meeting.

The vote follows a mascot survey of 271 students and staff that favored the same logo with 146 votes. A logo with two eyes, a tornado and one lightning bolt received 97 votes. A logo with eyes and two lightning bolts got 28 votes.

Superintendent John Cselovszki said there was no state funding available for changing the school mascot, which must be done by Sept. 1, 2025.

By a 6-1 vote in March 2024, the school board approved changing the school mascot from Indians to Storm. The board OKed the storm mascot over the bearcats by a 4-3 vote. A phoenix mascot was also considered.

A school mascot committee originally submitted 55 mascot names for consideration. Choices included the lakers, prairie wolves, wildcats, wolverines, sturgeon, owls, orioles, bear cats, lions, ravens, sunsets, dragons and legends, to name a few.

Cselovszki said he hoped to get legislative support for $500,000 to recover the school district cost to change the mascot which includes a number of new uniforms, signage and gym lettering.

He told the board Wednesday that school athletic uniforms that read “Sleepy Eye” could continue to be used, but ones that read “Indians” would have to be replaced.

Legislation in 2023 prohibited the use of American Indian images as school mascots in Minnesota after Sept. 1, 2025. School districts had the option of applying for an exemption to the new law if the leaders of the nearest tribe approved the request.

School district representatives met with several Lower Sioux Indian Community Tribal Council members and requested to continue using Chief Sleepy Eye as the school mascot. After positions were expressed, the Lower Sioux Tribal Council informed school representatives they would not support an exemption application to keep the Indian mascot.

In other board meeting action, Cselovszki said Brown County Public Health is no longer providing area schools with nursing services so the school district plans to hire an Licensed Practical Nurse with Registered Nurse oversight support for student health needs.

He said new legislation requires school districts to develop a cardiac emergency response plan consistent with a model plan developed by the Minnesota Department of Education beginning with the 2026-27 school year. The legislature appropriated $1 million to implement cardiac emergency response plans in fiscal year 2026 only.