ELLENDALE — The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Elementary School went into a lockdown this morning.

Superintendent Kevin Wellen said nothing happened at the school itself and said the lockdown — deemed a soft lockdown — went into effect at the request of the Steele County Sheriff’s Office for an incident in Ellendale.

“Classes did continue but students were escorted by adults,” Wellen said in a news release.

The lockdown went into effect at 8:10 a.m.

Eight classrooms were evacuated to other parts of the school building. No one was admitted to the building and students were escorted by adults to different classrooms. The lockdown ended at 10:16 a.m., Wellen said.

More information from the Steele County Sheriff’s Office was expected to be released Monday afternoon.

According to sources, the cause of the school lockdown was connected to a man making threatening statements.

Look to the Tribune’s web edition this afternoon or to the Tuesday print edition for more information on the story.

The elementary school in Ellendale is part of the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva School District. The secondary school for the district is in New Richland. Minnesota Highway 30 connects to two communities.

Ellendale is in the southwest corner of Steele County and is about a mile off Exit 26 of Interstate 35.