Ground Level Category Archive: Todd County

Join a chat: Central Minnesota's housing squeeze

Posted at 11:06 AM on April 5, 2012 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Community Development, Economic Development, Todd County

We're holding another online live chat at 11:30 this morning to talk about affordable housing in central Minnesota.

This is part of the planning effort that several hundred residents have been engaged in for more than a year, talking about what they want Crow Wing, Morrison, Wadena, Cass and Todd counties to look like in 20 years.

Right now, almost half of the low-income residents in those five counties spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. You can check out what some people think about the situation and what to do about it by going to this page .

Then come back to the same page at 11:30 a.m. Thursday when you can join in a live conversation. See you there.

More on the central Minnesota "Resilient Region" effort here.

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Join a conversation: Affordable housing in central Minnesota

Posted at 8:29 AM on March 26, 2012 by Dave Peters (1 Comments)
Filed under: Community Development, Economic Development, Todd County

Whose job is it to make sure there's enough affordable housing in central Minnesota? What's the difference between affordable housing and cheap housing?

We're starting our second online conversation about the future of central Minnesota, asking questions about affordable housing in the area around Brainerd. Check out this Resilient Region discussion here and add your thoughts by using the comment feature at the bottom.

As we did with the first of these conversations, we're posting questions posed by the Region 5 Development Commission and the Initiative Foundation to some of the residents involved in the Central Minnesota Sustainable Development Plan. Then we're inviting anyone who wants to join in.

More about the effort here.

The discussion is part of a federally funded, several-year effort to create a vision for life in Crow Wing, Cass, Wadena, Todd and Morrison counties for the coming 20 years.

We'll plan to follow up with an online chat at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 5.

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Small cities anticipate LGA funding delay

Posted at 2:55 PM on July 19, 2011 by Jennifer Vogel (1 Comments)
Filed under: Local government finance, Todd County

Just as the Legislature is about to begin a special session to settle the state's budget, the revenue department has issued a release stating that Local Government Aid (LGA) checks--scheduled to be issued tomorrow--will be delayed until at least July 27.

I did a quick check of some small and medium-sized cities across the state, and it seems that most can handle the delay. Says Steve Peterson, mayor of Virginia, which relies on LGA for about a third of its $12 million budget, "It won't affect us. It's only a week. We can get by with that. As long as it's not any longer than that."

Gary Carlson of the League of Minnesota Cities did note that some cities have debt payments due Aug.1 and could be relying on the state checks for those.

Perhaps more unsettling for some cities, the Department of Revenue release suggests that the payments "will be revised to reflect the new 2011 levels." The LGA payment amounts that will be approved by the Legislature and governor are unknown at this point.

Without having seen details, the League of Minnesota Cities is anticipating that the amounts could reflect those included in a GOP bill vetoed by Governor Dayton earlier this year. That would mean most cities would receive less than they were promised for 2011, likely the same as they received in 2010.

When cities set their 2011 budgets last December, they had as a guide state-determined LGA "allotments" to be paid in two installments -- July 20 and Dec. 26. Those 2011 allotments were the same as the amount originally scheduled for 2010, but the state ultimately cut 2010 payments back.

All the uncertainty has some small city mayors and administrators hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

Don Rasmussen, mayor of Long Prairie, which could see its 2011 allotment cut from $845,000 to $736,000, says his city can weather what comes. "We've been pretty frugal with what's going on here and we've been more that way in the last couple of years with all the uncertainty," he says. "We have reserves."

"I'm always optimistic, adds Rasmussen, who is taking a wait and see attitude. "You have to worry about it, but if you sit back and let things you don't know about for sure get to you, you are hurting."

Mark Erickson, the city administrator for Winthrop--which could see its LGA amount go from $454,000 to $394,000--is less sanguine. He says his city would dip into capital reserves or maybe even raise property taxes.

"LGA represents almost half our budget," says Erickson, adding that Winthrop has already cut its city staff from eight people to five. "We have no place else to cut. They cut LGA and we raise property taxes. It's a pass along tax. It's not solving the financial problems. It's just passing the buck."

For background on the financial dilemmas Minnesota cities have been facing for some years, see our Ground Level project, "Cities in Crisis."

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Todd County marks anniversary of Initiative Foundation grant

Posted at 5:30 PM on May 18, 2011 by Jennifer Vogel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

A year ago, Ground Level spent two months exploring issues that relate to jobs and aging in Todd County, which, like much of rural Minnesota, has seen its population gray as young people move away and older people live longer.

We wrote and recorded stories, which you can view here, and hosted a live event at the Long Prairie High School, all in conjunction with Todd County winning a Healthy Communities Partnership grant from the Little Falls-based Initiative Foundation.

The grants are designed to help communities develop a vision for the future and begin to implement that vision.

In January, Todd County resident, writer and vinegar maker Nancy Leasman wrote a Ground Level blog post describing some of what had changed in Todd County in 2010, including the hiring of a new economic development director and the opening of a new Amish co-op in Bertha.

Tomorrow evening, the Eagle Bend Senior Center will host a party celebrating the one year anniversary of the Healthy Communities grant. Seniors have benefited in multiple ways, according to Verna Toenyan, who coordinates Todd County's senior services and was a force behind landing the grant.

"One of the goals of the healthy communities task force has been to increase digital awareness in Todd County," Toenyan wrote in an email. That includes computer literacy. "The very first pilot program was developed by Charlie Crews and kicked off with weekly classes." She notes that Crews is 80 years old and has developed a reputation as "the guru of teaching mature students."

The festivities begin Thursday at 4:00 p.m. at the Eagle Bend Senior Center, 129 Main Street, with appetizers, music and door prizes.

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Todd County votes to pursue broadband

Posted at 12:30 PM on May 17, 2011 by Jennifer Vogel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Broadband, Economic Development, Todd County

Todd County commissioners took a step today toward building a fiber-to-the-home broadband system, voting unanimously to spend up to $20,000 to match a grant for a feasibility study.

Ground Level has been tracking the progress of the "Broadband 7," a group of communities across the state either planning or building broadband networks. Todd County, northwest of the Twin Cities, has been considering a high-speed system for years, but only now has taken concrete action toward building one.

Spurred on by the Todd County Livestock Advisory Council, which argues that fast connection speeds are necessary to meet the demands of a global agriculture market, the county held a community meeting at Long Prairie High School last week.

Around 80 people from all walks of life attended, said County Administrator Nathan Burkett, who has advocated broadband as an economic development tool for years.

"It was fewer than we wanted, but more than we expected," noted Burkett, who said the idea of pursuing broadband received a favorable response. "Not everybody spoke, but those who did had some good questions.They seemed to understand and be in favor of accomplishing something."

The meeting was enough to push county commissioners to take the next step and pursue a $40,000 feasibility study grant from the Grand Rapids-based Blandin Foundation.

Todd County also has support from the business sector. County officials have partnered with Arvig Communications Systems, which already provides service to a third of the county, to help determine if a countywide system is feasible. Arvig has committed $20,000, said Burkett, bringing total funds for the study to $80,000.

"We have a handshake agreement to get through the first phase," he said. "Then we'll see what the study shows us and what the business model will require to make it work."

Stillwater-based consulting firm U-reka Broadband also will lend a hand. "We got lucky and stumbled across a couple of key players early," said Burkett. "Some of the obstacles other projects have run into, maybe we won't."

That's a reference to opposition from private telecommunications providers in locations that have pursued publicly owned and built broadband systems.

"Others who have done this with a private partner have made it through pretty well, without too much legal consternation," Burkett said.

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If counties have a better idea, will the state let them try it?

Posted at 8:00 AM on March 31, 2011 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Community Development, Local government finance, Todd County

In the drive to make local government more efficient and innovative in changing times, Minnesota's counties are about to ask the state to loosen the reins.

Give us the right, they're saying, to do things not prohibited in the law instead of just those things the law directs us to do. And for those things that state rules prevent, give us a flexible, accountable way to experiment without a long, cumbersome approval process.

Case in point: Todd and Crow Wing counties in central Minnesota, like most every county, know that a certain group of residents use a great variety of county-provided help, from social services to health care to corrections. They also know that communication among those government operations can be minimal, that applications for help duplicate each other and that rules prevent smart social workers from doing things they can plainly see would help people and save money.

So together they are trying to develop a project that would break down some of the barriers. Nathan Burkett, administrator for Todd County, gave this example.

A low income mother with a part-time job receives both medical assistance for health care and help from the county to pay for day care. Her employer offers her a full-time job. But if she takes it, her income will make her ineligible for medical assistance and for the day care subsidy and her pay increase will vanish. So why not give a county social worker the power to make a decision: take the woman off medical assistance and save the government some money, but let her keep the day care subsidy to make it worth her while to become fully employed?

Maybe it's a good idea and maybe it's not. Maybe it saves money but maybe it invites a greater likelihood of bad decisions. The point here is that to try it out requires the counties to go through a cumbersome and time-consuming state waiver process in a system whose bias is to say no, Burkett says.

That's what the Association of Minnesota Counties wants to change with a bill it expects to introduce later in April.

Minnesota doesn't rank very highly in measures of government innovation, says Ryan O'Connor, policy analyst for the association. "We're trying to encourage innovation on an issue by issue basis," letting local officials try to solve whatever transportation, social service or health care problems they think they can.

The proposal the association wants to float would introduce what is known as the Cooley doctrine -- letting counties do things not specifically prohibited by law instead of letting them do only what the law dictates (that would be Dillon's rule). It also wants to create a process that counties could use to set up a business plan for new service ventures, identify the desired outcomes and report to the state on the results.

Instead, for example, of making a county have a detox facility, O'Connor said, why not let it experiment with other ways to accomplish what really is the objective -- getting drunk adults off the street? Instead of taking eight years to get approval for redesigning and then building a highway, why not cut the time and cost with a design-build experiment? In return for greater flexibility in such cases, the counties would be expected to provide accountability to the state when the data becomes available.

So far, the counties aren't getting hammered with cuts to their state aid in the same way cities are in legislative discussion. But they do deliver a lot of services that likely will see other cuts in state money. So it will be interesting to see whether the state will grant some greater flexibility as the money shrinks.

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A year in the life of rural Todd County

Posted at 9:00 AM on January 3, 2011 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

Nearly a year ago, Minnesota Public Radio News took its first serious look at Todd County. Joining with the Initiative Foundation's Healthy Community Partnership, MPR News' Ground Level project has reported on the effort to bring people together to talk about the future of Todd County while marshaling resources and building on existing strengths.

In the early part of the year, Nikki Tundel, Curtis Gilbert, Jennifer Vogel and Dave Peters talked to people of all ages and occupations and reported on what they found. A well attended public forum presented in Long Prairie back in May held a mirror up for residents to see themselves as others see them.

Two issues came to the forefront during that time: the high proportion of people in Todd County over the age of 65 and the need for jobs. The Healthy Community Partnership group tackled those issues and established focus groups to address them. If you have a little time, read back through the Ground Level blog to get the panoramic view. Here are a few of the highlights, successes and challenges of 2010.
• A new economic developer was hired for the county
• Voters and the county board decided it was time to renovate the historic courthouse
• Long Prairie's mayor Don Rasmussen sold his bowling alley to new enthusiastic owners
• National Joint Powers Association broke ground for a new complex in Staples
• A new Mexican grocery store opened in Long Prairie
• A new Mennonite grocery store opened in Browerville
• A new Amish Country Co-op opened in Bertha
• A new medical clinic opened in Browerville
• A new potato farm warehouse was constructed
• Many of the county's cities got new streets and infrastructure.
• One repairable auto sales business closed and another opened
• Harm's Manufacturing in Bertha was taken over by the next generation
• Verna Toenyan and Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba encouraged the state Legislature to make senior bundled meals a statewide program
• Senior citizens will have the opportunity to take classes to become proficient users of computers
• Community gardens sprouted all over the county
• Community storefronts look pretty much the same as a year ago
• Long Prairie's incubator building is still waiting for its first tenant
• A few young people moved back home; more departed
• People have died and babies have been born
• Part of a neighboring community blew away in a tornado making us thankful to have what we have

This is by no means an all inclusive list. Please feel free to comment and add to it.

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In tough times, family opens Browerville food market

Posted at 8:44 AM on December 29, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

"People always have to eat," said Robert McDowell of his family's decision to open the Cherry Grove Market in difficult economic times.

Situated on the south edge of Browerville in central Minnesota, next door to the new Lakewood Health System Clinic, the newly built store has only been open a couple of weeks. Its shelves packed with plastic bags and containers, the store is a Mecca for home bakers, carrying baking supplies packaged in quantities from five to 50 pounds and sporting the Cherry Grove Market label.

Buying in bulk, the McDowell family repackages everything from flour to nuts and candy in the spacious kitchen filling the east half of the building, reserving the west side for retail space.

The kitchen also produces fresh baked goods and pizzas. A nut grinder allows for custom nut blends and a large stainless steel honey dispenser makes filling containers of any size a simple thing. The store also carries bulk cheeses, cured meats, "like-home" canned foods in jars, pickles, salsas, jams and pie fillings, pastas, dried fruits, herbs, spices, bulk cereals and fresh produce in season. Books and some gift items are also stocked.

Browerville's new building incentive program paid for the sewer and water hook-ups to help the start-up business. The McDowell family's own construction company, Lakeland Contractors, built the 6,700-square-foot building, also helping to keep the costs in check. Robert and Linda McDowell have not only brought a new business to the area, they've added jobs and contributed to youth retention by involving three of their own children in the business.

The market is open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with an hour earlier closing on Wednesdays. As with the family's Mennonite tradition, the store is closed on Sundays.

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Another voice calls for keeping seniors in their homes

Posted at 4:30 PM on December 21, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

The National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services is a citizens' panel of nationally recognized rural health and human services experts. Each year, the committee highlights key health and human services issues affecting rural communities.

This year's report examines three key topics in health and human services and their effects in rural areas: home- and community-based care for rural seniors, rural primary care workforce, and rural health care provider integration.

All are topics of particular interest in Todd County, where this month's census data release confirmed the flat population and the fact that one out of six residents is over 65.

Taking a look at home and community based care for rural seniors, it's important to understand some basic facts: the elderly population in rural areas is growing rapidly, it's estimated that there will be an increased need for long-term care and while seniors are happier staying in their own homes, aging in place is difficult because, traditionally, resources have been concentrated on supporting nursing home care.

The National Advisory Committee believes that options for home-based care need to be expanded. The committee recommends "evaluating current laws prohibiting payment to family members for care and coordinating with the Secretary of Transportation to ensure seniors are able to access care."

Another concern is that there are fewer physicians serving the populations of rural areas.

While much of what the report contains is not news to those of us who live in rural areas, the fact that this has now been recognized by a committee charged with making recommendations may bring about change.

Find out more about the national committee and its recommendations here.

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Todd County pushes computer proficiency for seniors

Posted at 4:57 PM on December 17, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

One of the projects of the Todd County Healthy Community Partnership is to assist senior citizens become proficient in using computers. Verna Toenyan, who has been actively involved in the project, says that given the trend for people to continue to work beyond normal retirement age, seniors will need to stay current with changes in computer use. Those who have never used computers will need to learn.

The county's computer committee opted to use county computers and install them, along with high-speed Internet access, in the Eagle Bend Senior Center. The county computers operate with Windows 2003 and will need to be updated to Windows 2007 to be compatible with the computer education program to be used. Once installed and updated, the computers will be accessible for anyone to use. Mid-February is the target for starting the classes to be taught by Charlie Crews.

After the classes are complete, three of the computers will be moved to another senior center within the county. One will stay in the Eagle Bend center. "We're going to teach one community at a time," says Verna. She also hopes a computer club will start in each senior center to allow for peer support.

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The courthouse renovation is a go

Posted at 7:30 AM on December 8, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (4 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

It appears that the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota doesn't take the time to celebrate what could be perceived as a victory. After naming the Todd County Courthouse to its endangered list for 2010, it moved on to accept nominations for the 2011 list. But Todd County voters followed the impetus created by the Alliance and the Todd County Historical Society and voted to support renovation of the courthouse.

At last week's County Commissioners meeting, the board voted to bond for $525,000, which means the renovation is officially underway.

County Administrator Nate Burkett says he can recommend further financing options after getting a more detailed estimate of the project's cost. That means that the drawing board will be a busy place for a while and Todd County residents can expect periodic updates on renovation developments. The Preservation Alliance should be celebrating.

On another update note: the Initiative Foundation's Healthy Community Partnership's partnership with Todd County seniors is moving into the project stage, too. Verna Toenyan says that classes are being set up for seniors who want to learn more about computers. Dates and times will be posted when they've been set. With 10 inches of snow on the ground and new layers being added almost daily, the winter of 2010-2011 may not be amenable to seniors getting out and about. But one thing seniors know: it'll be spring before we know it and computers will still be there.

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Good news on heart health

Posted at 8:30 AM on November 25, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

Last week, MPR's Lorna Benson reported that the incidence of Minnesotans suffering heart attacks is down. "The good news on heart attack treatment in Minnesota is that the state experienced a remarkable drop in hospital admissions for heart attacks since 2007. Last year, fewer than 78,000 people were treated for a heart attack, down 15 percent from three years ago, when there were 91,000 admissions.

"Dr. Kevin Graham, President of the Minneapolis Heart Institute, believes the trend is due in part to public smoking bans and to the widespread adoption of some basic drug therapies."

Tom Hock, a physician's assistant who serves patients in Todd County emergency rooms agrees. "I think several things contribute. First I think that people are more conscious of their life style choices. For years we have tried to educate people on the choices they make and I think some of that is finally sinking in.

"Secondly medication has improved and using those medications when they are needed helps to reduce cardiac risk for people. A good example is a baby aspirin every day. This alone can reduce risk of heart attack or stroke by 25 percent for most individuals."

As to the smoking ban, Hock believes it's made a difference. "Smoking is indeed a huge risk factor so any changes there have to be beneficial."

Researchers in Colorado made the same conclusions: Data suggests "...that community adoption of a smoke-free environment has the potential to rapidly improve the cardiovascular health status of its citizens. Smoking is the most potent modifiable coronary heart disease risk factor."

Findings also indicate a reduction in the incidence of myocardial infarction in people who get an annual flu shot. Researchers in England found a 19 percent reduction due to influenza inoculations. The jury is still out on why one is connected to the other but they offer the following statement: "We do not know whether the recently reported benefit of influenza vaccination as regards to reducing the incidence of heart attack, is an indirect benefit (reduces flu thus reduces complications from flu) or a direct effect on inflammatory processes that go on in the heart."

The Mayo clinic reports that reducing trans fats in the diet results in lower cholesterol levels, triglycerides, lipoprotein and inflammation -- all good news for our hearts. Research hasn't yet revealed whether banning trans fats has made a difference in the incidence of heart attacks.

Making hearts healthier in only a few short years as a result of relatively simple changes is a rather amazing development. Now, if only the same could be done for cancer.

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Voters OKed Todd County courthouse renovation, but what's next?

Posted at 10:08 AM on November 22, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

I wrote about the ongoing discussion whether to preserve the Todd County Courthouse back in May. Three weeks ago, the question was put to the people of Todd County in the form of a question on the ballot of the general election:

"In favor of renovating the Todd County Historic Courthouse and to bond for up to $4.3 million for said purpose. Yes____ No____
BY VOTING 'YES' ON THIS BALLOT QUESTION, YOU ARE VOTING FOR A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE"

The bonding referendum passed by a narrow margin. Though it passed, the County Board of Commissioners has told the general public that the decision is still up to the board and they may not go ahead with it in spite of the vote.

So even though the voters have voiced their preferences, it's not certain to me how the county board will decide how much to bond for or whether to do the project at all.

First, let's clarify some numbers, which make it seem like the project's price tag grew through the year. County Administrator Nate Burkett told me in May the estimated cost would be $4.1 million. But by Aug. 17, the price tag had apparently increased to $4.7 million. The proposed bonding amount went from $2.7 million to the $4.3 million on the ballot.

Burkett said in May that a feasibility report by the Collaborative Design Group estimated the cost of renovation at $4.1 million.

But then an August 2010 presentation, available on the Todd County website, detailed the renovation costs: The construction cost was just under $4.1 million but with the relocation of the 911 system and furniture, fixtures and equipment, the total was just under $4.3 million. Adding the geothermal system brought the cost up to just under $4.4 million.

Meanwhile, the county also detailed the expected costs for demolishing the old courthouse and building a new one, putting the total at just over $4.7 million.

Here was the breakdown of those replacement costs: Construction, $4,053,535.85; existing courthouse demolition, $350,000; relocation of 911 system, $50,000; furniture/fixtures/equipment, $160,000 for a total project cost of $4,613,535.85. Adding a geothermal system brought the total cost to $4,713,927.

But at the Aug.17 public hearing designed to inform the public about the proposal, renovation was given the same $4.7 pricetag:

The Project budget -Capital and Ongoing (estimated)
CAPITAL BUDGET
Expenditures
Courthouse Renovation 4,700,000
Expenditures Subtotal 4,700,000
Revenues
Bonding/Borrowing (2,700,000)
Grants (500,000)
Reserves/Pay-as-you-go (1,500,000)
Revenues Subtotal (4,700,000)

At the same meeting, folks were told the cost to taxpayers would be based on the presumption of a $2.7 million bond (see "bonding and borrowing" under "Capital Budget," above). But the bonding referendum put to a vote on November 2 was $4.3 million.

Burkett told me last week that the $4.7 million figure for renovation was a mistake in the prepared information that had been corrected orally at the meeting.

He also said his recommendation had been to bond for only $2.7 million, paying the rest of the costs with grants and reserves. But the county board, which determined the ballot question, presented voters with a question that gives the county the authority to bond for the full $4.3 million.

So that's how we got to this point but it doesn't answer what happens next. County board members have to decide whether to go ahead at all with the divisive project and, if they do, how much to borrow to pay for it.

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Some simple Internet advice for seniors (and others)

Posted at 4:05 PM on November 12, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

Todd County's senior citizens have decided it's important for them to learn to use computers, so as part of the process, here's a suggestion for avoiding a pitfall.

Using computers can seem daunting enough without warnings about viruses, predators and scams that can arrive uninvited via the World Wide Web. One way to avoid headache and heartache and unwittingly turning others into victims:

When a forwarded message warns about dangerous scenarios and suggests dialing a strange number on your cell phone to summon the police, offers gift certificates at a chain restaurant, suggests that you'll explode if you slide across your car seat while gassing up your car, or promises great fortune if you assist the sender in managing their newly found wealth, remember one thing: Go to www.snopes.com to check out the truth in the story.

Snopes considers itself "the definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation." You can use a search box to find items of interest or browse by category. Simply type in a few words from the suspicious message. Snopes will take it from there and tell you if the original message is true, false or a mixed bag of tricks. It will also give the history of the promulgated tale.

Recently, Verna Toenyan, who is leading in the effort to improve senior services in Todd County, passed this message on. I don't think she'll mind that I'm using this as an example. She's all for enlightening senior citizens. Here's the email she received:

Hope you enjoy your lunch on Applebee's!

My name is Bill Palmer, founder of Applebee's. In an attempt to get our
name out to more people in the rural communities where we are not
currently located, we are offering a! $50 gift certificate to anyone who
forwards this email to 9 of their friends. Just send this email to them
and you will receive an email back with a confirmation number to claim
your gift certificate.
! !
Sincerely
Bill Palmer
Founder of Applebee's Visit us at: www.applebees.com

Hey guys,

It really works, I tried it and got my Gift certificate confirmation
number in 3 minutes."

Check Snopes before you forward any messages or respond in any way yourself. Snopes will save you from passing on false information in the guise of being helpful.

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Trying to live longer in Morrison County: Residents think Blue Zones

Posted at 7:30 AM on November 8, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Local Food, Todd County

Blue Zones were identified by a team led by Dan Buettner as pockets around the world where people are living significantly longer than most areas of the world. "We found people who reach age 100 at 10 times greater than in the United States, where people suffer a fraction of the rate of heart disease and cancer than we do and where people are getting the extra 10 years that we're missing," said Buettner.

Buettner has identified nine behaviors common to people in all of the Blue Zones. The Vitality Project, an outreach program developed from research in the Blue Zones and sponsored by AARP and the United Health Foundation, is taking this information to interested communities.

Bob Graham, who has been involved in that effort in Albert Lea, came to Pierz and Little Falls recently, and as a result, 20 Morrison County residents are considering how they can get involved. Since a few folks from Todd County also attended Graham's presentation in Little Falls, there may be developments here, too.

The nine Blue Zones behaviors include: move, know your purpose in life, down shift, the 80 percent rule (stop eating when you're 80 percent full), plant power (eat more vegetables), red wine, belong to a healthy social network, beliefs, your tribe (make family a priority).

Albert Lea was chosen in 2008 as the first pilot city in the world to collectively try to live longer and better by applying the nine behaviors. According to The Vitality Project 2009 , restaurants in Albert Lea changed their menus to offer more healthy choices. Schools implemented seven wellness policy changes to reduce snack foods and increase activity. Businesses changed their environment and policies to encourage healthier behaviors. Volunteers planted 70 community garden plots. Biking and hiking paths were connected throughout the community to encourage more walking social groups called Walking Moais. Kids also walked more with a project called a Walking School Bus in which the kids walked the last mile to school every day under the supervision of parent and senior volunteers.

Graham, Albert Lea's community development director, offered additional tips at the Pierz and Little Falls gatherings: make good foods visible in the refrigerator, don't eat family style which encourages over-eating (dish up a plate in the kitchen and dine in the dining room), change social networks to associate with other like-minded health enthusiasts, make your community convenient for walking.

Participants in Albert Lea lost an average of three pounds each, employers reported a 21 percent drop in absenteeism, and city employees experienced a 49 percent decrease in health care costs.

While folks in the Blue Zones naturally live a healthy lifestyle that results in long lives, the Vitality Project believes that anyone can make the necessary changes to lead a Blue Zone life.

The Morrison County residents have formed a task force that is considering whether to bring the Blue Zones challenge to their community.

Here's a message from the Blue Zone team. If you're interested in what's happening in the Blue Zones, those long-lived pockets around the world, check out Buettner's excellent talk about the Blue Zone lifestyle. You can sign up for updates, too.

"Dan Buettner was invited to participate in the prestigious TED speaker series this past year. CNN found his presentation so valuable, they've showcased it on their web site, along with an essay by Dan.

"You can view the presentation at this link.

"If you are interested in booking Dan for your next professional event, please contact Amy Tomczyk at amy@bluezones.com."

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Long Prairie Packing donates to senior center

Posted at 11:34 AM on November 1, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

Long Prairie Senior Center member Hollis Bishop reported to the center recently that Long Prairie Packing company's golf outing fundraiser resulted in a welcome donation to the center. The $5,500 gift allowed the purchase of a big screen TV and a Wii, the home video console that allows users to engage with virtual games on the screen.

"We'd like to start a Wii bowling league, if other centers have Wiis, too," he told the group. "We hope it will appeal to younger seniors," he added.

Bishop makes a good point. Most of the seniors attending functions at the county's senior centers are in their late 70s, 80s and even into their 90s. Younger seniors need to get involved with senior concerns if the senior centers are to continue serving the needs of older citizens. Wii activities may attract younger old folks. Now, if they can just find a volunteer who knows how to hook it up.

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Little by little, Todd County adds local food production

Posted at 9:11 AM on October 26, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Local Food, Todd County

Dave Peters' October 18 post on Local Food, Global Hunger, reported on a panel discussion at the University of Minnesota. Their conclusion: "The world's food producers are, by and large, small landholders, and they will be the keys to solving hunger shortages, through using better seed and finding better practices. That may be a quite different question than selling beef or potatoes to the affluent at a downtown Minneapolis farmers market. But somehow it seems that local might answer a bigger question than we thought."

With the emphasis on local food producers, I've been looking at a variety of forms of local food production: three raised beds as part of a school's summer recreation program, a school-initiated community garden, a community-based plotted garden, a community-based program growing food for a food shelf and the Amish Country Co-op.

After hearing a presentation by the Farm of Plenty from Randall, Vickie Thompson, coordinator of Verndale's summer recreation program, was inspired to create a garden growing activity for the kids in grades K-6. The school's shop class built three raised beds adjacent to the school's parking lot. With donated seeds and plants as well as a grant from SHIP (Statewide Health Improvement Program) the kids learned about growing everything from beans to pumpkins. Wadena County U of M Extension educator Donna Anderson visited the program twice a week for most of the summer to teach the kids about nutrition and how to eat both raw and cooked produce from the garden. The kids were excited about growing food and got extra exercise by toting gallon jugs of water to regularly water their garden.

Though Bertha's school initiated their community garden project, they took an entirely different approach. Jean Shaw served as the mover and shaker after talking with SHIP's Katherine Mackedanz, who told her about the funding that was available to start a community garden. Shaw's plans were big because plenty of school property was sitting right there ready to till.

She thought an acre would be about right. After walking the football field to get a better idea of how big an acre is, she opted for a half acre for the first year. Shaw enlisted the help of her family, master gardeners, community members, the local garden club, classes in the school and the after school childcare kids to plant and care for the garden.

Produce grown in the garden was used in classes, to augment school snacks. Some of the 1,500 peppers harvested, along with tomatoes and onions, were cooked up into salsa. Yukon Gold potatoes awaited distribution while turnips and brussel sprouts awaited harvest in mid October. Workers took vegetables home and the school kids learned about nutrition and food preparation from the garden project.

Long Prairie's community garden took a more traditional tack with 15 equal sized plots, each with its own water spigot, rented out to individuals and groups. The $25 fee covered the cost of water, fertilizer, mowing around the plots and clean-up. The initial effort of getting agreement from the church that owned the property, plotting out and digging the soil, and installing the irrigation was undertaken by interested individuals and the local Economic Development Authority. A SHIP grant, cash donations and in-kind support funded the project. The gardens were planted and harvested according to individual preferences. The Long Prairie Elementary School and St. Mary's School each had a plot of their own. Students worked in the gardens and teachers took produce back to the classrooms to use as they wanted.

"We wanted to offer a canning class but that didn't happen," said Lyle Danielson of the EDA. "Some of the gardeners may have frozen or canned what they grew but probably most of it was for summer time use. It isn't just about the food. It's about building community, too; people getting to know each other including the four Hispanic families that had plots."

Putting picnic tables in the area was a friendly gesture to encourage visiting among the gardeners. A small open-sided shed to be built next year will offer shade and shelter for picnics.

The Soul Patch, a community garden in Little Falls, was initiated by Erik Warner in 2009. A parcel of empty land sat next door to the Morrison County Food Shelf. Warner decided it was the perfect place for a garden to grow food for distribution through the food shelf. The land was owned by the Bethel Lutheran Church which agreed to allow the parcel to be used for a garden. Warner, his family and everyone he could encourage to get involved helped with the garden. Gardeners harvested 2,009 pounds of produce the first year and 2,026 pounds this growing season. The U of M Extension Service offered classes on how to use the different kinds of food as they matured. Flyers distributed at the food shelf promoted the classes to those who received the food. (See a tip sheet for starting a similar project)

The Amish Country Co-op at Bertha markets produce grown in separate farms of the Amish Community. Longtime experienced gardeners, the Amish generally marketed their produce from roadside displays. Moving them into a building made the shopping experience better for both producers and shoppers. The food is grown locally and delivered to the co-op throughout the day during the growing season.

Farmers markets throughout the area offer additional shopping options. It's difficult to ascertain precisely what portion of food eaten in the county is produced here. Certainly all of the new gardens impact food needs in the area. It's clear from the examples above, though, that one person can make a difference. Individual efforts may indeed be the key to solving food shortages.

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Todd group pushes computer skills for seniors, jobs for youth

Posted at 12:00 PM on October 25, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Broadband, Todd County

Todd County's Healthy Community Partnership Group met again last week. They sat down at the Senior Center in Eagle Bend to define projects for the upcoming months.

Still looking at senior and youth retention issues, they decided to help senior citizens in the area acquire or polish up their computer skills and look at the problem of lack of jobs for young people in the Bertha area.

The group was established earlier this year in conjunction with the Initiative Foundation and has been a focal point for MPR News' Ground Level.

Charlie Crews, an octogenarian who taught computer classes to senior citizens in the Staples area, offered the use of his curriculum.

"They need a very basic class," said Verna Toenyan, who has helped facilitate the Healthy Communities Partnership program. "We'll set up a bank of computers and work in teams. People who complete the class will earn a certificate."

With so much information available online, and with information distribution commonly made via computers, it's essential that senior citizens acquire the technical skills to keep up.

On the youth retention front, the group looked at the county's small towns and lack of jobs for high-school-age young people. On-the-job training and work skills are nearly impossible to acquire when there are few places of employment in a community: no fast food restaurants, no grocery stores, no theatres, bowling alleys or other places where teenagers can normally make a few dollars on evenings and weekends while learning the responsibilities of being employees.

Bob Larson of Marlowson Event Center and the Amish Country Co-op is willing to work with the Bertha school's business management classes and look into the potential for getting grant assistance to plan a program. With the hope of attracting tour buses to the co-op, Larson is looking at the possibility of hiring area youth to assist with the added traffic to the business while learning what running a business entails.

Both projects are steps in the right direction. Each small step can ultimately make a difference.

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Medicine Cabinet Clean-out

Posted at 5:04 PM on October 15, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

Todd County Citizens Against Drugs and the CentraCare Health System in Long Prairie sponsored the first Medicine Cabinet Clean-out Event in the region Thursday, prompting residents to haul in unneeded drugs by the bag full for destruction.

Getting unused or outdated medications out of medicine cabinets reduces the opportunity for abuse and also reduces the chance of taking the wrong medication.

"They were glad to have the chance to get rid of them," said Katherine Mackedanz, Todd County's Public Health Educator. "Some had family members who had passed away and brought their leftover meds. Others asked that we do this again and in other communities close by."

Sheriff Pete Mikkelson, CentraCare Hospital Pharmacist Chris Hagen and Clinic Administrator Toni Tebben were also on hand for the event, which collected a large tote of uncontrolled medicines and a smaller amount of controlled substances.

"It's good that we're getting rid of this stuff; getting it out of medicine cabinets," said Mikkelson, noting that the controlled substances are too easily accessible to those who might abuse their use.

"Seventy percent of teens who abuse drugs get them from family," said Mackedanz. "Or from Grandma or Grandpa," added Tebben.

The controlled substances will be taken to the nearest licensed incinerator in St. Louis. The non-controlled substances will be boxed and taken to the transfer station.

"People can dispose of unused regular medications by sealing them and disposing in the trash. We want to get away from flushing them," said Mackedanz.

Though another Medicine Cabinet Clean-out isn't scheduled the response to the first one indicates a need for more. The group is considering holding the next one in Staples.

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'An old gal that pretty much does what she wants to'

Posted at 9:04 AM on October 13, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

After a life of 93 years, Dort Gere died Saturday. If you want a model of how to approach life for that long and how to deal with the inevitable disappointments and slowing down, watch this five-minute video of the woman from rural Bertha, Minn.

When Ground Level conducted its coverage effort in Todd County last spring, focusing on how a community adjusts to an increasing proportion of elderly, videographer Nikki Tundel spent time with Gere and produced the piece, which we showed during a public forum at the Long Prairie-Gray Eagle High School.

It evokes a wonderful spirit of a woman who gave much -- helping establish volunteer programs and senior centers, planting trees at the home she and her husband bought in 1954, just playing cards with friends.

She called herself just "an old gal that pretty much does what she wants to." And that meant returning to her house from the nursing home when told not to, giving herself baths when others offered the service. She still had her drivers license but knew she shouldn't drive, accepting help from a volunteer driver service she helped establish years ago.

"Gosh," she said, "if people didn't volunteer a lot of things wouldn't get done."

In the end -- "I did not ever expect to be this old" -- she was a woman whose card-playing friends had died, who couldn't dig in her garden, who needed dialysis twice a week. But she preferred solitaire in her own home to other possibilities.

There will be a remembrance gathering for Dort at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 14) at the Bertha Community Center. (Thanks to radio station KEYL in Long Prairie for confirmation on the time and date.)

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Medication management- another problem of aging

Posted at 7:30 AM on October 13, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

Problems related to adverse medication reactions among the elderly have continued to escalate over the last 20 years, an informal review of available literature indicates.

A report in 1987 said an estimated 200,000 older Americans were hospitalized due to adverse drug reactions or experienced such reactions while hospitalized.

A 1990 report by the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Human Services, indicated that 55 percent of the elderly were non-compliant with their prescription medication orders.

In 2001, Drugs and the Elderly reported that 15 percent of hospitalizations among the elderly were due to adverse drug reactions.

In 2009, a recent British study published in the Oxford Journal states, "the average rate of Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) related hospital admissions is 16.6 percent in the elderly compared to 4.1 percent in younger patients, with 88 percent being preventable.'"

And finally, this: "...Between 1983 and 1993 the number of medication-error related deaths more than doubled. Based on Food and Drug Administration data, medication related death, disabilities, and serious injuries almost tripled between 1998 and 2005. The majority of these medication errors affected the elderly population-those over 65."

While the term "adverse medication reaction" can refer to an individual reaction to a particular prescription medication, it can also be caused by a "medication error" or "non-compliance with medication orders." From loss of dexterity to cognitive impairment, the elderly are more prone to the effects of mismanagement of medication. And the situation isn't getting any better.

Here's one way to help senior citizens, and everyone, keep medications in order.

Todd County Citizens Against Drugs is sponsoring a Medicine Cabinet Clean-out Day as a method of helping folks dispose of expired or unwanted medications. It's one day only: Thursday, Oct. 14, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the CentraCare Health System clinic parking lot in Long Prairie. Bring medications in their original bottles for safe, proper disposal. Pouring them down the drain contaminates the water supply so here's a chance to take care of them properly.

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Planning to build your retirement home? Part III on universal design

Posted at 11:44 AM on October 4, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

One of the issues getting increasing attention in aging communities is home design and how it can help keep people in their homes longer.

As I suggested in two earlier posts (first and second), Richard Hardine of Infinity Development in Alexandria understands the accessibility issues involved. His own home is a marvel of modified living solutions. He knows that building such features into a new home is much simpler than adapting existing housing.

Richard made a list of special features which can be built into new homes, especially homes suited to accessibility issues related to aging: installation of oxygen outlets in walls to omit snaking oxygen hoses, deeper and wider bathtubs, higher toilets, pull-down shelves, battery charging cubbies for electric carts, ventilation systems, positioning rooms for the best use of natural light, sound deadening sheetrock for light sleepers, tightly woven carpets with thin pads for easier ambulation or wheelchair access, thermostatic heat adjustments on water faucets, outdoor raised beds for gardening, piping gas to grills to negate the need for hauling gas tanks and the list goes on.

"We look for a better way with the same function," Richard says of the challenges of keeping costs in check.

As baby boomers plan retirement homes, they would be wise to consider what their needs will be as they age. Building for long term accessibility makes perfect sense.

For more information, contact: Richard Hardine
Ringdahl Architects Custom Homes
320-766-1797
rhardine@gctel.com

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The Hardine's universal design home, part II

Posted at 8:44 AM on October 1, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

The Hardine home is a perfect example of building for long term accessibility. From the garage door inward, all facets of this one story English country cottage-style home have been carefully considered.

Richard, who uses a wheelchair because of progressive muscular weakness as a result of polio, gave me a tour of the home he shares with his wife Karen. He rolled to the walk-in garage door, opened it and the resident black Labrador retriever, Sam, galloped out and across the yard. Richard pointed out the absence of a raised threshold. "All five doors are at grade," he said, which means that a wheelchair rolls easily into the garage or in and out of the other doors that are all connected with a level brick walkway. Properly engineered slopes and 18 inches of flashing prevent water problems. Levered handles instead of knobs on the doors make for easy opening. It also means that Sam has mastered door opening and can let himself in and out.

A carpeted path extends from the entry door of the garage to the inner door. This carpet absorbs water and prevents slipping. It eases the transfer from wheelchair to vehicle and vehicle to wheelchair. One end of the garage accommodates Richard's workshop which has a lowered work bench and scaled down tools for easier handling. The home's central vacuum system's canister, as well as the water conditioner, are also in the garage allowing Richard access to them. The washer and dryer are just inside the door as well as a fold-down ironing board, "should Karen ever allow me to iron," laughed Richard.

A roll-in pantry, just off the kitchen, stores staples on open shelves with those Richard is more inclined to use on the lower ones. Both Richard and Karen love to cook. He appreciates the lower part of the dual height counter top and the small prep sink of the room's island when he's slicing and dicing vegetables for Asian dishes the couple enjoy. The buff colored family cat, one of three resident felines, also likes the small sink and positions itself in the cozy basin as the sun tracks across the kitchen. An indented space under the main sink allows Richard to roll up close. A toaster on a pull out shelf and a bread drawer make for quick breakfasts.

Richard preferred an oven with a door on the side rather than the front. Karen insisted on a conventional oven door, all but impossible for Richard to negotiate from his wheelchair. He consoles himself with the fact that he never he has to take a turn at oven-cleaning. The black counter tops and knobs on white cabinets are key components in a universally designed home. The color contrast allows for greater visibility.

Lower light switches and higher electric outlets throughout the house make for easier use as do three-foot wide doors, four-foot hallways and additional space to maneuver. Roll out shelves make storage a breeze from kitchen to office.

"The Brazilian cherry floors with a baked on aluminum oxide finish are 2 ½ times harder than maple," Richard says. The invisible finish makes them resistant to dog paws as well as wheelchairs.

The selection of durable materials is only one consideration of a well thought out design. "All universal design features develop with each client as we establish the needs," says Paul Ringdahl. An Alexandria architect with decades of experience, Paul collaborated with Richard on the design of the Hardine's home. Paul's association with Richard, as well as an upsurge in aging baby boomers building homes they can live in the rest of their lives, inspired both to follow seven principles of universal design. These include

Equitable use

Flexibility

Simple and intuitive

Minimizes hazards

Requires low physical effort

Wheelchair-sized and spaced

"Each design for each person needs to be customized for their strengths and weakness," says Richard.

While offering the utmost in accessibility, the Hardine home hasn't given up character or style in exchange for usability. Nor was it a costly alternative to a conventional home. Richard says a new custom home is more economical than remodeling and adding adaptive features to an existing home. Paul agrees.

There really is no net add to the cost, just a difference in design. It's much harder to fix later rather than building for accessibility in the first place. You can't make hallways wider. You have to take space from one area to adapt another.

Next time: a few things to consider when building your retirement home.

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The beauty of universal design for aging in place

Posted at 9:34 AM on September 27, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (1 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

"Ronald" commented on my Sept. 8 post about aging in place. He mentioned homes incorporating universal design, barrier free plans, aging in place home plans and other similar concepts. I talked with Richard Hardine of Infinity Development in Alexandria, Minnesota, about universal design.

Richard's mobility was affected by bulbar polio the year after he was born in 1950, so he understands accessibility issues. With residual effects of progressive muscular weakness, Richard recently found that using a wheelchair works better than struggling with canes or other ambulatory supports. The knowledge gained in building two previous homes adapted for accessibility as well as his association with architect Paul Ringdahl of Ringdahl Architects in Alexandria, has created a thoroughly thought out floor plan for his own home and a wealth of information to share with other future home owners who require similar considerations because of their own physical limitations. Richard, who has master's degree in marketing and management, acts as a construction manager in his own firm and works in association with Ringdahl Architects.

At the onset, it's important to understand terms associated with accessibility.

• Accessible design conforms to mandatory requirements which vary widely but generally result in fixed features which are permanent and noticeable. These include: wide doors, lower countertops, bathroom adaptations, altered switch and control locations, absence of steps and stairs and wider pathways.

• Adaptable design allows for the omission or concealment of some features of accessibility until needed. Wide doors, no steps, knee spaces, switch and control locations and other features are built in but other adaptations can be added as necessary. These dwellings can look the same as others and be matched to individual needs when occupied.

• Universal design creates dwellings that have been carefully thought out and are totally accessible throughout the range of human abilities across a lifetime.

The principles of universal design produce homes that are beautiful and functional allowing access by anyone, regardless of physical capability.

Next time: more about the Hardine home and how it models accessibility.

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A visit to the Amish Country Co-op

Posted at 2:13 PM on September 24, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (4 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

On our mini-road trip last weekend, Mom, Dad and I traveled south on Highway 71 from Hewitt about four miles to the Amish Country Co-op just south of Bertha. We noticed the new harvest gold signs pointing the way to the Co-op, formerly known as the Mattress Factory . We turned left onto the service road that led uphill to the parking area south of the building. Bird houses, seasonal decorations and autumn mums lined the path to the door. With Dad steering his walker and Mom close behind, we made our way into the new Amish inspired market.

The scent of fresh donuts enticed us as we entered the remodeled display space. Shelves, tables and walls displayed seasonal produce, pickles, jams and jellies, quilts, baked goods, furniture, toys, leatherwork and craft items. White walls and bare concrete floors provided neutral backdrops for the colorful wares. An Amish man moved between the displays, adding his products to those already there. Two young Amish women in plain dresses and aprons made the donuts emitting the mouthwatering aroma.

"It's a good start," said the woman who greeted us and seemed to be in charge. "There'll be more coming and next year even more," she said referring to the empty rooms yet to be filled with Amish products. Items are priced and catalogued with a numbering system identifying the producer. Pricing on the pumpkins and squash varied a little from one grower to another.

An office in one corner allows for space to track the business side of the venture and doubles as a check-out counter.

We paid for three cups of coffee, a raised glazed donut and a fruit-filled donut and sat down in one of the two restaurant-style booths to share them. To my left, I noticed a freezer case with Schwan's ice cream and other frozen products. Other customers drifted in and out.

With the new Co-op space, the Bertha area Amish no longer set up roadside stands. Bob and Mary Larson along with Cindy and Gary Richter share this enterprise, the first of its kind in Minnesota. The Co-op is open six days a week. During the winter, it will be open only on weekends.

With our coffee cups empty and the last crumbs of the donuts licked up, we prepared to continue our road trip. Before leaving, I spent $1.25 on a large butternut squash. Then we made our way back outside and put Dad's walker in the trunk.

We drove back through Hewitt, checking on the Barter Fest. The size of the crowd seemed about the same and the music hadn't started yet. Back on Highway 71, we drove north, past the area's only wind turbine, and went into Wadena for lunch.

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A groundlevel event: Hewitt Barter Fest

Posted at 10:53 AM on September 20, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

I took my mom and dad to the first ever Hewitt Barter Fest on Saturday, September 18. I thought it would be fun to take my parents to a small event nearby since they live eight miles up the road in Wadena.

Dad was born in Hewitt in 1921. I grew up west and north of Hewitt but the Hewitt post office continued to deliver letters to our rural route. Dad has emphysema and uses a walker because of a couple of bum knees. Mom, at 90, does pretty well but still has pain from a hip fracture eight years ago and an arm fracture earlier this year. It was a chilly day so we stayed only a short time. But we had a good time.

I bought some tulip bulbs from the local garden club. Though it was billed as a barter fest, good old fashioned cash worked, too. Other tables offered collectibles, books, clothing and junk. Later, a trailer of tires appeared. As the promotional material said, "You make the rules." Socializing was as fun as bartering.

Planned as a "Free All-day Music, Art, Camping and Swap Festival," the event was sponsored by the Hewitt Lions Club. "Bring your goods, talents & creations. Promote community, self-sufficiency and friendship." Music seemed high on the list of activities for the day with more than a dozen performers scheduled to perform on the stadium-quality stage set up in from of the old community hall. The hall has been transformed into a private studio and gallery though admittance that day didn't seem to be encouraged, lacking signage or obvious entry. Wooden bleachers were set up to accommodate music devotees and a booth offered food and beverages.

Mom, Dad and I don't know if the music held people into the wee hours of the night since we moved on so quickly. We drove around town to check out the progress in transforming the old Hewitt school into a museum and then looked for the place where Dad was born. Then we headed south on Hwy.71 to visit the new Amish Country Co-op at Bertha. More on that next time.

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Octogenarian Charlie Crews knows computers

Posted at 8:57 AM on September 20, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

Charlie Crews, a member of the Todd County Healthy Community Partnership, will be 80 years-old on September 27. He volunteered to serve on all of the task forces by doing online research on youth retention, senior services and economic development task forces. Unlike many people half his age, Charlie has no fear of computers. In fact, Charlie has worked with computers since President Eisenhower's first term.

"I was in the Navy in 1955," says Charlie. "I worked in aviation supply and we used an automated record system. The computer was a UNIVAC and had vacuum tubes. It filled one room. We had to have an air conditioner to cool it." He developed programs for maintaining aviation supplies- instant information on tracking and shipment of parts- to keep the time that planes were out of action to a minimum.

UNIVAC is an acronym for Universal Automatic Computer and was the first commercial computer produced in the United States. It used 5,200 vacuum tubes and weighed 29,000 pounds. In contrast to that first computer, Charlie tells of recent gifts for family members. "We bought all of our grandkids and great-grandkids 9-inch mini-computers," he says. The interesting thing is that Charlie knows what made that 15 ton computer work and he knows what makes the baby laptops work, too. He's the one who keeps all of the family's computers working.

Charlie is definitely in a minority group. Many people much younger than Charlie are reluctant to learn to use computers. According to the Pew Research Center, "As of December 2009, 38% of U.S. adults age 65 and older go online, a significantly lower rate of internet adoption than the general population (74%) and even the next-oldest group (70% of adults age 50-64 years old go online). In addition, just 26% of U.S. adults age 65 and older have home broadband access, compared with 56% of adults age 50-64 years old (and 60% of all adults)."

Charlie thinks it's kind of sad when people don't use computers. "You can search the Library of Congress or find out how to fix a sewing machine," he says of the varied capabilities of online searching. He kept up with advances in computer technology during his 22 years in the Navy followed by a second career working for 3M as a microfilm equipment specialist and then as the national director of the sales division.

After retiring in 1986, Charlie and his wife moved from the Twin Cities to Todd County's Sylvan Shores and now lives in Staples. He started computer classes for senior citizens in 1994 and slowly led about 150 people into the computer age during the five years he taught the classes. He helped them select computers and serviced them for free.

Charlie no longer subscribes to the trade magazines nor attends consumer electronics shows, both of which kept him up on all the latest developments. He still stays current on the pricing and how to fix problems, admitting that viruses and worms have gotten him three times.

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The other end of the aging spectrum: Todd County's birthing center

Posted at 7:30 AM on September 16, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (3 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

In many of the discussions about an aging population, the topic of youth retention comes up. One young person who was raised in Todd County and has chosen to stay here is offering care services to both ends of the age spectrum: adult foster care and a birthing center.

Amy Claseman is no stranger to human care needs. She and her husband, Dion, have operated Claseman Adult Foster Care, offering residential senior care in their home, for the past five years. While continuing to offer care for older folks, Amy has undertaken an effort to establish a service for the opposite end of human experience: a birthing center.

Working with midwife Ruth Wingeier-King, doula Angela Martins and many others who support the idea of a rural birthing center, Amy has undertaken the renovation of a house 12 miles from Long Prairie. The home, owned by Amy's sister Anna Oliver, is at the intersection of County Road 38 and County Road 1 South in Burleene Township. It's now known as Alisha's Care Center in honor of the two women's sister, who died in a car accident six years ago. Following the Ohio model used by Amish and Mennonite communities, the facility is officially called a care center rather than a birthing center.

"Butterflies on the walls of the birthing rooms are in memory of Alisha," says Amy. The rooms will be named after the daughters of midwives, strengthening the tradition and connection of woman to woman care. Not that fathers or other family members will be left out of the birthing experience. Birthing centers are designed to be as home-like as possible, emphasizing that birth is a natural process that when managed properly can usually produce a healthy baby without medical intervention.

Expectant mothers will have normal prenatal exams with midwives Terry Gjerseth and Rebecca Taylor who will staff the center. A small building adjacent to the house will be used for those appointments. "Birthing centers aren't medical facilities," says Amy who is seeking accreditation, though Minnesota has no licensing requirements. She and Ruth traveled to North Carolina in May to learn about that state's requirements since it's a leader in the birthing center trend. Alisha's Care Center will follow a standard of care to fulfill any future licensing requirements that might arise.

Midwives and doulas (labor coaches) will assist normal deliveries. Any high risk expectant mothers or identified fetal distress will be referred to physicians. With a hospital twelve miles away, transfer to a medical facility can be arranged quickly should the need arise during labor.

Midwives have attended births in Todd County for more than 30 years. Home births have been an option, too, but with changes in hospital philosophies, medical support of home birthing is declining at the same time many families want to have their babies in a non-medical facility with less potential for exposure to pathogens and unwanted interventions. The Center for Health Statistics of the Minnesota Department of Health reports that cesarean deliveries rose from 17.7 percent of births to Minnesota residents in 1998 to 24.6 percent in 2004. Some sources report that number has risen to 1 in 3. A home-centered birth experience, while ensuring the health and safety of both mother and baby, are of primary concern for those who plan to use Alisha's Care Center.

"Alisha's Care Center will be a for-profit venture governed by a board of directors," says Amy, who wants the community involvement. When she hosted the first meeting of interested families back in February, "The house was packed with people," she says.

Many volunteer hours have been put in in the last seven months to ready the center for its grand opening Sept. 18. A birthing tub has been installed in the main floor bathroom and a portable one will be used on the second floor. One birthing room is on the main floor, along with a kitchen and living room, with two on the second floor. Families can bring their own food and comfort items for the stay, which may be from two to twenty-four hours after delivery. The center is nearing completion and the staff is excited about its first anticipated delivery, sometime in mid-October.

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From potatoes to poplars, Todd County harvest swings into gear

Posted at 10:25 AM on September 13, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

With an expansion project complete, Tom Petron Potato Farm is well into its busiest days of harvest. This year, with an added 9,600 square feet of warehouse space, new offices, break room and a new bagging machine costing over $150,000, the farm is digging, washing, bagging and shipping an estimated 210 tons of red potatoes each day.

Digging starts early, at 2 or 3 a.m., in fields scattered across Todd County. Field trucks holding 13 to 14 tons of potatoes come in from the fields throughout the day. Unloaded into conveyors, the potatoes are washed, dried, culled, sorted, sized, bagged, boxed or put into one-ton totes, and stacked on pallets in the warehouse, usually for only a few hours. Semis arrive from early morning into the evening. Forklift drivers shift the pallets as necessary and load the pallets onto the semis, which take the potatoes across the nation, many on the same day they were dug from the ground.

The farm employs up to 90 workers during the harvest season. Older people mix with younger ones, Anglos and Hispanics all work together in the well orchestrated tempo of harvest. Barring rainy days that can muck up the digging, this harvest dance continues from mid-July to the end of September.

Harvest of oats, wheat, corn, soybeans, sunflowers, hay, straw, and poplar trees each requires specialized equipment (tractors alone can be an investment of $100,000 or more), manpower and storage. Breakdowns necessitate specialized repair people who can get the machines up and running quickly. Safety is always a concern, from fields to roads to warehouses and barns.

Owners and managers assess the workings of the harvest while it's underway and after the flurry of activity ceases. How can it be done more efficiently? Is the space adequate for the job? Are the machines working as they should?

During the harvest and post-harvest clean-up, planning is already underway for next year providing ongoing economic stability for Todd County.

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Dorothy Klick, aging in place

Posted at 9:36 AM on September 8, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (1 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

At 95, Dorothy Klick is a prime example of aging in place with grace and wisdom. Having spent more years in Long Prairie, Minn., than anywhere else, she's still active and involved. She participated in the visioning session at the start of Todd County's Healthy Community Partnership, giving her perspective on what aging in Todd County can be.

Since selling her house several years ago, she lives alone in a spacious ground-level apartment close to her church and community activities. Though macular degeneration is robbing her eyesight, she's been proactive even regarding that, taking classes for the blind. Family and friends are close by if she needs assistance.

Born in Minneapolis in 1915, Dorothy was one of four sisters who all became nurses. In the 1930s, at the height of the great depression, it's a wonder that all four were able to seek higher education. While Dorothy's sister, Rose, headed into the skies as a stewardess with Northwest Airlines, Dorothy kicked her adventurous heels and joined the army. "We had no brothers and my mother, being foreign born, felt as though our family, too, should be represented," she says of her own army enlistment.

Dorothy's family moved to Long Prairie, where she graduated from high school. She earned her nursing degree from St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, which had the distinction of being the first hospital in the state. Graduating in 1938, Dorothy benefited from the school's nursing residence, which had been built in 1926 and housed the 200-plus nursing students. Documents show that in 1935, 6,000 patients were treated in the hospital while more than 24,000 lab tests and 2,000 X-rays were performed. From these rich clinical experiences and well equipped hospital settings, Dorothy went on to work as a surgical nurse for four years and then spent one year in industrial nursing.

After enlisting in 1943, Dorothy was transported to her first assigned station to find fields of mud, half finished buildings, and limited equipment. Her job, as chief surgical nurse, was to not only teach inexperienced young men to act as surgical technicians, but to also oversee the making of all linens and dressings, supervise the cleaning crew, as well as order and maintain $90,000 worth of equipment for the surgical units.

The next year, Dorothy set sail on the six-day trip that took her to England to work in a general hospital. Arriving at Ludgershal, her group was taken to a camp which had been used by British paratroopers. "It was filthy! Without rest, food, or sleep, we scrubbed the walls, floors, beds, etc. using our own soap and towels as rags. We had to procure and cut our own kindling, coal, coke, and carry out ashes," she remembers.

Living with unheated bathrooms, poor sewage disposal, no hospital laundry facilities and lack of water, the nurses worked 14-20 hour days and managed to save lives. In her first month in England, Dorothy's crew handled 600 operations and 126 blood transfusions.
But Dorothy says it wasn't all work. "We had 1½ days off a month." Dorothy and her friends saved bus fare by walking a mile and a half into town and used the money for entertainment instead. She traveled to London, Bath, Oxford and other parts of England and Scotland. She tasted England's famous fish and chips, enjoyed the beautiful countryside, the thatched houses and many chimneys.

She notes that late summer of 1944 was the busiest month in the hospital. "From 10 August to 10 September there were 700 surgery cases." Between August 7 of 1944 and June 8 of 1945, Dorothy documented 7,501 hospital admissions.

Dorothy spent a year in England and then served in Alabama and Iowa. She received the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and WWII Victory Medal I Overseas Bar. She was discharged on February 18, 1946.

On returning to civilian life, Dorothy married Florian Klick, a dentist who had also served in the military. They had five sons. She served as the president of the Auxiliary to the Minnesota State Dental Association for eight years, organized the local hospital auxiliary and reorganized the county public health service, working as the director and home health coordinator.

Dorothy has given 83 years of volunteer service to her community and church. Though a recipient of many honors and awards for her varied activities, she still doesn't rest on her laurels, continuing to assist with historical society events and filling needs that arise. The largest nod to her contribution to the war effort is the inclusion of her image on the mural in the Veteran's Memorial Park in Long Prairie. A surprise to her, "I was completely speechless," she says, when the painting was revealed.

A video interview with Dorothy is part of the veteran's oral history project of the Historical Museum of East Ottertail County in Perham.

Photo: As Don Hickman explained the visioning session process, Dorothy Klick and Leo Heinze looked on, at right.

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Todd County group focuses on youth, seniors, jobs

Posted at 9:02 AM on August 31, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Todd County's Healthy Community Partnership group met again Monday evening to develop task forces to address retaining youth, economic development and senior services.

Verna Toenyan, who has been a key player since the beginning of the partnership, suggested that since other groups in the county are addressing youth projects and economic development, readjusting the focus to devote this process to senior services might be most effective.

A team member asked where broadband access to the Internet fits. Verna responded that it fits everywhere, within every topic. Nathan Burkett picked up that thread and said that senior services phase into economic development, broadband service and youth retention. All of the work areas merge into each other and though setting specific goals for a task force is necessary, awareness of other projects within the county and assigning liaisons between the groups will keep the communication open.

Charlie Crews, who at 79 is on top of technology, offered to act as the research resource for all task forces. He offered copies of information he found online about youth retention and offered copies of a survey administered by the Canadian government as well as a 78-page strategy package on youth retention. He likened the effort to a three-legged stool: developing programs to involve kids in their communities will help them consider staying to provide some of the "thousands of services senior citizens will need" which will mean jobs and economic development- youth retention, serving seniors, jobs.

After further discussion, task forces to address youth retention and senior services were set up and representatives of the group volunteered to attend economic development meetings within the county . Those who volunteered or were assigned to the task forces are asked to recruit others to join the effort.

Pat O'Regan from the Initiative Foundation directed the group to develop a mission statement and then set duties for the task forces. A task force training session is set for Sept. 27 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Photo at left: Charlie Crews shares copies of the Canadian government survey and project strategy on youth retention with Jan Notch while Mary Ellen Otremba and Randy Newman discuss their positions on the task force.

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Healthy Communities Partnership continues

Posted at 8:49 AM on August 18, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Baldwin Township, Todd County

Representatives of four communities met August 17 at the Initiative Foundation in Little Falls in the next step of the Healthy Communities Partnership Program. Eden Valley, Brainerd, Baldwin Township and Todd County residents spent the day analyzing, refining and considering the best direction for their projects.

Dan Frank of the Initiative Foundation led the groups in determining institutional assets, financial assets, built assets and social assets as they "built a web of resources." He also recommended increasing the interaction among unlikely folks within a community which then increases the information and knowledge base. This engenders greater success as the diverse group works together.

After individually assessing the assets, flip charts came out. With five minute rotations on specific subjects, participants shared their ideas.

"The next step is assets to action," said Don Hickman and noted this exercise was a starting point for task force development.

Speakers were then invited to take the podium to offer resources to help the community groups as they develop projects. Included were: Tom Leach of the USDA, specializing in rural development; Adeel Ahmed of the U of M Extension with expertise in community economics; Diane Knudson from the Department of Employment and Economic Development and Chuck Marohn from the Community Growth Institute. As grants coordinator for the Five Wings Arts Council, I also gave a presentation.

Todd County will continue to focus on economic development, youth retention and senior services.

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Is the MEDCottage right for your grandma? Or you in 2030?

Posted at 4:12 PM on August 16, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (2 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

Just as I dug into the newest idea in housing for the elderly, something was amiss with that product's website. Did broken links at MEDCottage.com indicate website malfunction or some unknown online zoning laws unlinking the little elder cottage from caretaker's back yards? Maybe neither, since eventually the site was working again.

Here's the MEDCottage concept by way of a Washington Post article since the MEDCottage website wasn't forthcoming with information: "A 12-by-24-foot prototype filled with biometric technology that would allow a family and health-care providers to monitor the condition of an aging or disabled relative. The cottage contains air-filtration systems, video links, devices that allow the remote monitoring of vital signs and sensors that could detect an occupant's fall."

The rental unit can be moved into the caretaker's back yard and connected with the home's electricity and plumbing for as long as needed. The cost? $2,000 per month. The theory is that elderly family or friends would rather be in a separate unit that monitors their every move than actually live with people or go to an assisted living facility or nursing home.

Zoning laws seem to be the biggest hurdle. What will the neighbors think when another dwelling is moved onto a city lot? How will the unit's plumbing affect sewer function?

I think the bigger question is whether this is really the way grandma or grandpa would want to live. Most opt to stay in their own homes because of emotional attachment and familiarity. Moving into a strange dwelling in an unfamiliar neighborhood, however comfortable it might be, differs little from moving into any other assistance facility; except that they will be alone.

This opinion was expressed in a forum comment. "That's the problem with the whole concept of the Granny Shack; if the condition of your health is such that you need your vital signs monitored 24/7, you do not need to be stuck out in a box in the backyard by yourself. For that matter, if there isn't at least one person in the family home at all times, why would you allow them to go off and leave an elderly or disabled person alone in a glorified garden shed like the family dog?"

"Nursing homes were developed to provide us with the care we need when age and disabilities are too severe for us to care for ourselves," said Lakewood Health System Medical Director Dr. John Halfen in the summer 2010 Lakewood publication Words For the Wise. "They keep us as healthy as possible, providing shelter, food, medical care, nursing care housekeeping, multiple different therapies, recreation and social settings."

Nursing home care comes at a pretty steep cost. If the MEDCottage is billed as a safe and less expensive alternative for our aging population, does that make it the best option?

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The tip of the education ice berg

Posted at 8:42 PM on August 15, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

I attended a "country" school for the six years of my elementary education. I didn't go to pre-school or kindergarten. In that time, I had three teachers: Mrs. Helmrichs when I was in first grade, Mrs. Mills in second grade, Mrs. Callahan in third through sixth. Each of these teachers taught all of the other grades as well as mine. We had no classroom aids, no principal or vice principal, dean of students, or custodians. The superintendent, a portly gentleman in a black suit, Mr. Vernon E. Bachman, visited annually. He was responsible for all of the rural schools in Ottertail County.

The students acquired a high level of proficiency in reading and math and always made AYP (adequate yearly progress) although those terms weren't used then. No child was left behind if they came in the school's door.

Mrs. Helmrichs, who taught at my school in the 1959-60 school year, said "Grades one through eight students and their teacher grew together like a family. When class was conducted for one grade, in a one room school, the other students were preparing their lessons. I know much learning took place by other students as they heard what was being taught to the different grades."

A headline in the August 11, 2010, Long Prairie Leader announced, "St. Mary's students excel on state's tests." The small private school achieved a reported 87 percent proficiency in both reading and math while a Star Tribune report said, "Minnesota students have not made much progress on state reading and math tests since last year, and the state's stubborn achievement gap hasn't budged, according to data released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Education."

I know the principal and staff at St. Mary's. They function like the "family" of the country schools of the previous century. That model still works. The principal has three school age children and a passion for education. She and the other teachers are dedicated, not in it for the money since teaching in a private school here means accepting lower pay than working as a public school employee. Some of the classes are small but not all of them. The school exhibits ethnic diversity and varying economic capacities.

Brenda Gugglberger, the school's principal, believes the high achievement scores are due to family/school connectedness. "We know the families. The teachers and families work together," she said.

Then there's the conundrum of what to teach and how to teach it. Some believe that it's become impossible to adequately teach all there is to teach so the goal is to teach students to learn rather than to teach them the basics. The problem with that philosophy is that young people can't begin to see the breadth of knowledge available in the world today if they're not shown the way.

The bureaucrats of education can't even see the way. A recent proposed solution to the problem of schools not making AYP is to add to the bureaucracy: fire existing principals, bring in new administrators, add additional ones to handle discipline, and hire someone for each school to document results. The salaries for those three positions could hire six teachers to reduce class size and teach.

The bureaucrats can't even see that taking teachers out of the classroom to attend required meetings to discuss the achievement of proficiency and AYP disrupts the flow of education. They consider reducing summer vacation because of loss of proficiency during the days of summer but can't see that over-use of substitute teachers during the school year have the same effect. Students have required attendance. Teachers should, too.

Judging by the writing and math skills that I see in my contact with the greater world, the basics have slipped. I think it's time to get rid of the bureaucracy in education and put the money and manpower in the classroom. Our future as an aging population rides on the shoulders of those who are being educated today.

What do you think?

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Todd County's numbers are declining

Posted at 11:29 AM on August 9, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

The numbers are always interesting; if you like numbers. Whether you like numbers or not, they tell a story and the story is telling. Todd County's population is going down.

In a report released by the Minnesota State Demographic Center and the Metropolitan Council, the estimated population of Todd County went down by 194 people (decreased by 212, gained 18 for a net loss of 194) between July of 2008 and July of 2009. Todd County's 11 towns each saw a drop in population with a total loss of 126. Long Prairie's is most dramatic with a population decrease of 42 residents.

Only five of the 28 townships, Eagle Valley, Germania, Kandota, Little Sauk and Villard saw increases in population. Germania had the greatest increase at seven.

Population numbers alone don't tell the story just as dates aren't the narrative of history. And, these are estimates. One would also have to analyze the death and birth rates, real estate transactions, and employment history to know exactly why the numbers have dropped. The 2010 census will help flesh out the story.

With layoffs at some key industries in the county between 2009 and 2010, the shift in population may be even greater than the estimates.

Dave Peters noted that with a slowed growth in Baldwin Township in Sherburne County, they still gained 81 people. That's just one township. Proximity to the metro area still seems to be a deciding factor in attracting both jobs and residents. Is it possible to change this in Todd County? Will installation of broadband change anything? Only numbers can tell. We'll have to wait and see.

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Todd harvest runs gamut from corn to grapes to camelina

Posted at 7:30 AM on August 6, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (2 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Sunflower field north of Long Prairie. Ayer's new vineyard, north of Rose City.

Harvest time is upon us. Though we often talk about bringing new jobs to the area, taking a drive through rural Minnesota quickly shows that farming is still a very active enterprise. While corn, beans, oats, wheat and potatoes still dominate the patchwork of fields, alternative crops like sunflowers, poplar trees, vineyards, and camelina dot the landscape.

Sunflowers are perhaps the oldest of the alternative crops. The seeds that develop in the heads are food for us as well as the birds. Sunflower oil extracted from the seeds is used as cooking oil, is an ingredient in margarine and is one source for biodiesel.

Poplar tree plantations have become familiar sites and scenes over the last decade or so. Harvested and re-planted, the trees provide pulp and a potential source for biofuels. Researchers continue to look for a way to increase the rate of growth to boost the tree crop's productivity.

Vineyards are relatively new to the Todd County area. Ron Schmid planted a vineyard near Clotho. Within three years he found his crop faltering and opted to transplant them to the southeastern Minnesota/Wisconsin border. Two other vineyards have recently been planted in the area. It remains to be seen whether this county's climate will produce quality wine grapes.

Few of us would recognize a field of camelina if we saw one. Gary Kniesel is raising 30 acres of it along with corn, beans and sunflowers on his 550-acre farm in Stowe Prairie Township. He says there are four or five farmers growing it in the Staples area. A member of the mustard family and a distant relative of canola, camelina is used in diesel engines and is also used in jet fuels, according to Kniesel. "It grows in poor soil, doesn't need a lot of water and produces 30 bushels to the acres," said Kniesel. Those 30 bushels yield 75 to 80 gallons of oil. Kniesel anticipates that the Central Lakes College will buy it for their experiments in biodiesel. The waste products, after the oil has been removed, can be fed to cattle.

Exploring alternative crops, looking for ways to diversify the local economy, and being open to change will help in building a sustainable future...and support us in the autumn of our lives.

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Working in retirement?

Posted at 10:05 AM on July 30, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Aging, Todd County

Retirement isn't quite what it used to be. For many, now, retirement means continuing to work.

I have two older brothers. Both retired in their mid-fifties but continue to work. Mark works full-time for a steel company. Bruce puts in thirty hours per week for his career firm. Do they need to work? Probably not from a financial standpoint but from a need to be busy, involved and productive. Healthy aging could mean having 30-50 years of "retirement."

My husband retired from a career in law enforcement to owning a business. He also has a part-time job. The cost of insurance and the fact that we're still putting kids through school motivates him.

My friend, artist David Rickert, retired from a career in graphic design. He moved to Staples anticipating lower costs of living and real estate. He still actively teaches, sells his art work and works at a liquor store.

My friends Joe and Diane Ayers retired from jobs in the metro area. They bought a farm just outside of Todd County and planted a vineyard. "It was like dropping a five-dollar bill in each hole," said Diane as they invested their retirement income in an endeavor that is a job for them.

When we visited Glacier National Park earlier this summer, I noticed that many of the restaurant servers, gift shop clerks and tour guides were well past retirement age.

Some older folks work from a need to be busy; others out of need. Perhaps some work out of a perceived sense that their retirement plan might not hold in the test of time.

Older folks continuing to work affect the job market for the young. Is that a problem? This is an especially important question in Todd County, where one in six people is over 65 and many residents are examining how the community maintains its quality of life as it gradually gets older.

What is your plan for retirement? Will you continue to work?

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Todd County's Key Strategy Meeting

Posted at 9:32 AM on July 28, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Todd County's Healthy Community Partnership team met again Tuesday to review and refine the clustered desired outcomes from the June 8 visioning session. Economic development and services for senior citizens emerged as the top two areas residents wanted to focus on.

The Initiative Foundation's Don Hickman gave an overview for the group of just over a dozen people who gathered at the Central Lakes College Agricultural Center in Staples. The diversity of the group had broadened over the previous meeting, with more men in attendance. People of color as well as health care representatives and educators were still missing.

Hickman reviewed six key future trends that may affect the community (the community is defined as the greater Todd County area with a focus on the aging population): How the aging population affects the workforce and community infrastructure and services, energy costs, health, ethnic diversity, poverty and communications technology.

After reviewing Todd County's assets and challenges as well as the desired outcomes, the talk turned to ascertaining whether the headings of those outcome lists were most descriptive of the needs and setting priorities.

Key ideas to emerge from the group:
• Todd County is a wonderful base for family life.
• Bilingual projects may aid diversity issues.
• Need for jobs to attract and keep young people.
• High school health careers classes and job shadowing may result in youth staying.
• Producing income versus re-distributing income.
• Help the businesses we have do better
• Small town concerns are different; residents are "more narrow minded."
• Communication and updating of community websites is needed.
• Transportation for elderly.
• The need for ruthless decision making in looking at long-term outcomes.
• A city world view is coming at us from all directions.
• A desire to preserve what we have but new people won't necessarily buy into it.
• New ideas create change.

From the previously identified desired outcomes and the evening's discussion, the following list of key strategic areas or goal choices emerged:

• Transportation and communication
• Youth retention
• Economic development
• Senior services
• Heritage / culture

Each participant categorized these goal choices into columns headed "Yes Now," "Maybe Now" and "Not Now." Further discussion and assigning points to each participant's choices resulted in prioritizing of economic development and senior services as the top two. These were followed fairly closely by youth retention and transportation/communication. Heritage/culture emerged as the lowest rated goal choice for now.

The next step is to come up with a vision statement.

The group will meet again on August 17 at the Initiative Foundation in Little Falls.

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Barrel maker says it can't find workers

Posted at 11:34 AM on July 23, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (8 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Earlier this week, I had a lovely conversation with this area's only coopers. Yes, Todd County has a barrel making business: Black Swan Cooperage, just north of Clotho, next to the Berkness Sawmill. Heidi and Russ Karasch sat down with me and I learned about the fascinating history and present day job of barrel making.

I'll be writing about the cooperage for print publications but one of the Karaschs' comments really hit me as I look into the future of this county. They said that they can't find employees here in Todd County. Historically, becoming a cooper required a seven year apprenticeship. Apprentices received a small amount of pay but since they started young, often around 14 (which Heidi did as she learned the trade from her father), by the time they were ready to start a family, they had a living wage. Black Swan Cooperage pays a living wage; starting pay is $10 / hour. With modern day mechanization of parts of the process, it takes about two years to become a good cooper. The cooperage invests in its employees by teaching the necessary skills.

According to a recent MPR essay, our society has so emphasized education and technology that the number of skilled artisans is at an all time low. The essayist suggested a return to valuing the skills of hand work. But, are young people willing to take on the physical labor that goes with hand work?

The Karasches recently hired six new employees. Only one showed up on the first day of work. They don't know why the others didn't arrive for work. They tried to hire non-English speaking workers but found the communication barrier a stumbling block in crafting barrels.

This is one small example but what would this mean if it becomes a trend? What happens to an aging county if the work force is unwilling or unavailable to support the local economy?

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Todd County continues work in the Healthy Community Partnership

Posted at 8:40 AM on July 15, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Don Hickman from the Initiative Foundation led a follow-up meeting on Tuesday to last month's visioning session for Todd County.

"The visioning session was well done," he said of the June 8 session at the Browerville Community Center. "The food was good, the input was good, it was nice to see Amish representation and the Girl Scouts were charming."

Hickman distributed lists of assets, challenges and clusters of desired outcomes that were generated by the 100-plus people attending last month's session. On Tuesday a group of 13 women and one man attended the follow-up meeting at the Senior Center in Eagle Bend. The desired outcomes -- things people would like to happen Todd County -- have been grouped into these headings:

Economics that affect seniors quality of life.
Programs.
Collaborations and Partnerships.
Facilities.
Health-related.
Governmental issues.
Transportation.
Education and youth-related.
Housing.
Volunteers.
Diversity.

The next meeting, scheduled for July 27 at the Central Lakes College Agricultural Center in Staples, will work to further refine these categories.

The discussion turned to the need for ethnic diversity within the group. Though some frustrations over the potential for communication difficulties were expressed, Hickman emphasized the need to be inclusive. The low representation by men was also noted. Though women tend to out-live men, men are nevertheless subject to the issues of aging and need to be involved in the planning process. Hospital and health care representatives will also be encouraged to attend future meetings.

The goal is to determine priorities for Todd County residents to work on to improve the quality of life.

Topics of retaining or attracting young people to the area, fund-raising and buying local were also discussed.

The July 27 meeting, from 4-6 p.m., is open to anyone interested in attending.

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Bertha's empty plant to become Amish crafts co-op

Posted at 9:57 AM on July 8, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (5 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Karin Nauber of the Independent News Herald has the answer as to the new owner of the old Mattress Factory building just south of Bertha. The newspaper's July 7 headline reads: Former J and R Mattress Factory to be home of Amish Country Co-op. While not owned and operated by the Amish, some facets of the rumor where true.

Gary Richter (Richter Construction of Todd County as well as owner of C.A.R.s in Bertha), his wife, Cindy, and Bob and Mary Larson have joint ownership. The building, newly named Marlowson Event Center will offer regular booth space for Amish handicrafts, an event center and possibly space for consignment auctions. It's set to open this month. Check out the front page of the Independent News Herald for all of the details.

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Coming to Todd County?

Posted at 10:09 AM on July 12, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

In a visioning session hosted by the Initiative Foundation's Healthy Community Partnership program, the aging population of Todd County voted the revitalization of our downtowns as the No. 1 priority. This aging population was identified by demographics that showed Todd County ahead of much of the state. Twenty-one percent of folks in Long Prairie are over the age of 65. Demography also revealed that the county's population of young people is down about 700 in recent years, which pushes up the ratio of old to young.

If Todd County set up an initiative of getting businesses and young people to move here, what can we do that we're not already doing, to attract them / you? If you're under the age of 40, living outside of Todd County but interested in moving, what would it take?

What kind of jobs are you looking for?

What salary would you require?

Considering you could buy a three bedroom home with a garage, yard and garden in Todd County for under $100,000, would this change your salary requirements?

If you're thinking of starting or moving a business, what would your requirements be? Storefront? Manufacturing space? Other?

What's holding you back? Distance to metro area? Shipping costs? Other?
Would you like information about local economic development?

Todd County is eager to keep its dozen towns alive. What can we do to make that happen?

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Destructive forces

Posted at 6:16 PM on July 6, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (1 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Which of these photos display the results of a natural disaster? Both? You're probably right. It's as difficult to understand the workings of a tornado and how it builds enough force to destroy a part of a community as it is to understand the workings of the policies and programs that resulted in the destruction of the small family farm.

Like the differences in temperature that gradually create a rotation and, ultimately, destructive forces, the temperatures of an economic climate create spirals and equally destructive forces.

Consider the Adaptive Program for Agriculture that half a century ago set out to solve the problem of farming. That problem was defined as an industry that was using too many resources.

The Committee for Economic Development, made up of 200 leading businessmen and educators, determined that the Adaptive Program was the solution. From the statement on national policy by the research and policy committee of the committee for economic development, "The retraining of farm workers leaving farming should be considered one of the principal objectives of the new Act. Those responsible for the administration of the Act should have it clearly in mind that farming is the leading case of misuse of resources in the American economy, that overcommitment of people to farming for their livelihood is the special form of the use of excess resources in agriculture, and that the Manpower and Training Act should consequently be applied with all vigor to solution of the farm problem." http://www.normeconomics.org/adaptive.html

As a result of this decision, the youth of rural Minnesota were drawn away to be educated and trained since, "The maintenance of employment opportunities in nonagricultural industry and services is an essential condition for the most satisfactory agricultural adjustment."

Offering educational incentives did indeed reduce the use of excess resources in agriculture. Farmers who stayed on the land were taught to use commercial chemicals and fertilizers, to increase their use of mechanization and ultimately increase both the cost of producing food and their income for the food they produced. While the CED's plan was to redirect resources, primarily human resources, one might question whether the motivation was to increase the income potential of the individual or of the businesses and industries that sought to employ them.

From the concluding paragraph of the statement of national policy from 1962, "CED believes that by enabling businessmen to demonstrate constructively their concern for the general welfare is helping business to earn and maintain the national and community respect essential to the successful functioning of the free enterprise capitalist system."

Fifty years after the CED initiated a program that was successful in directing rural Minnesota's youth to urban livelihoods, the next generation is suffering under high costs of education, reduced income, unemployment, and disillusionment.

It's time for a 21st century solution. What incentives can we offer to bring our young people back to rural Minnesota?

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Revitalizing downtowns with a can-do attitude

Posted at 7:30 AM on July 13, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

It wasn't yet eight o'clock and already Trenton Wallenberg had cranked up the Browerville City John Deere tractor. He'd loaded a black plastic barrel into the tractor's bucket, secured it with a strap and filled it with water. He'd attached a hose to the barrel's out-spout, raised the bucket to its highest point and driven down main street. By eight o'clock, he'd watered half of the city's square wooden petunia planters.

Some cities use their fire trucks to water flowers. Others use a Gator with a sprayer. Still others rely on business owners to take care of the flowers beautifying their boulevards. The great thing about small towns is their inventiveness in getting the job done.

Trenton, a part time summer employee, was busy again the next day. Once more, before eight o'clock, he and one of the two full-time public works employees, Tim Duncan, were out painting yellow sections of curb. Trenton held a piece of hardboard to direct the paint spray while Tim maneuvered the two-wheeled paint canister and directed the spray head, marking the no-parking areas.

In every community, the public works department is responsible for proper maintenance and operation of water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, and general upkeep of the cities. In small towns, that means the job is shouldered by a very small number of people working with limited resources, and a can-do attitude. They don't use fancy irrigation systems if a John Deere and a young man can do the job. They don't contract with GPS driven paint crews when a handheld sprayer and a piece of board work.>

The number one desire expressed by folks at Todd County's visioning session was to revitalize our downtowns. Apparently, we value the ability to buy local, to be able to have coffee, pick up a few groceries, and get the necessities of life without driving 30-50 miles to do it. With the example of a young man and his can-do attitude, what are the big ideas, and the little ones, that can make it happen?

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Playing with your food (numbers)

Posted at 7:30 AM on July 1, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Local Food, Todd County

There are about 2,400 people in Todd County for every grocery store. In nearby Wadena County, there are about 2,200 people for each grocery store. For most of the rest of rural Minnesota, the figures are about the same. Or lower -- in Red Lake County, there are only 1,366 residents for each store.

Meanwhile, Hennepin County has almost 5,600 residents for each grocery store. Ramsey County is about the same and in suburban Dakota County the number is twice that.

Think about what that looks like if you're a grocer. A couple thousand potential customers doesn't let you offer as much consumer choice as five or 10 thousand.

One possible solution would be to create a bigger store and draw customers from a bigger area, essentially outcompeting some of the stores in your county. Might work, might create jobs.

But here's another set of numbers to think about. In Todd County, 394 households are more than a mile from a grocery store and have no car. That's more than 4 percent of the county's households. Same in Wadena County. In Red Lake it's almost 7 percent. In the Twin Cities, it's 1 or 2 percent.

Building the bigger store and reducing competitors seems likely to swell the number of people who have a hard time finding good food.

You can find these numbers and a whole bunch more on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food atlas.

The notion of food deserts, places where people don't have easy access to good food, often has an urban feel to it -- inner city neighborhoods abandoned by the big food stores -- but the USDA figures make it seem more rural, at least in Minnesota. (The national map you can build shows high percentages of car-less households far from grocery stores in the rural South, Appalachia, and the Indian Country of South Dakota, Arizona and New Mexico.)

They also lend impetus to those folks trying to encourage the growth of local foods and the strengthening of networks that can generate a reliable supply and consumption. I hope we can get into that more in the future here at Ground Level, but in the meantime, the food atlas is a good place to poke around.

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There's nothing like a good rumor

Posted at 8:04 AM on June 29, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

There's nothing like a good rumor. About a year ago my newspaper editor told me that Harm's Manufacturing, a machining and repair business in Bertha, had been sold. Since I'd done an article about the business prior to that, my editor suggested that I do a follow-up with the new owner. When I called to arrange an interview, the old owner answered the phone. He said a sale of the business was, "news to me." I asked him a couple more questions and all he would say was, "It's news to me." That rumor of the business being sold was obviously untrue. The Harms brothers are still working to fix "anything but broken hearts and the break of day."

A new Bertha rumor is that the former Mattress Factory, a building that has been sitting idle for a few years, has new Amish owners.

I set out to find the facts on this one. I drove up to the front door, noting the "sold" sign. I expected to see buggy tracks in the gravel drive or maybe even a gathering of buggies which would have made for a great photo. No sign of narrow wheel tracks or hoof prints. In fact, no one was to be found.

I figured the grocery store would be a great source of information but the clerk was a young lady who didn't know the goings-on of the community. "Check with Vicki; she's in back," she said. I traversed the narrow grocery aisle, my footfalls echoing on the old wood floor.

I found Vicki and asked her if the Amish community had purchased the Mattress Factory. She told me who had bought it. It wasn't the Amish. That rumor, too, was untrue. Vicki said I should check across the street. The mechanics there would know more. They did, but they weren't telling.

I stopped back at the Mattress Factory a few days later. A pick-up was parked out front, the door stood open. I went in. Music blared from a boom box several rooms away. I wandered through fresh sawdust from empty room to empty room, helloing as I went. While it was obvious that someone was working to get the building ready for something, I didn't find any one to answer my questions. I'm going to have to do a little more investigating to find out what the new owner's plans are. I do know who to call.

Since this is a blog and I'd love to have some input from readers, I'm writing this while I know some, but not all, of the facts. Why don't you tell me what you've heard? There's nothing like a good rumor.

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Getting to Seattle is easy, but what about West Union?

Posted at 7:30 AM on June 18, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

If you want to go to Chicago, just hop on the night train in Staples. Seattle? Sure, just hop on the night train in Staples. Passenger trains, Amtrak, only pass through in the dark of night but it's a simple thing to catch the train.

What if you want to go from Staples to West Union, two points within Todd County? That's not so simple if you don't have a car since no form of public transit will get you there. You'd better catch a ride with a friend.

Public transit in rural Minnesota, however, is better than it's ever been, and improving it was one of the topics Todd County residents raised at the community visioning session in Browerville earlier this month.

The Rainbow Rider and Friendly Rider buses will get you where you want to go, if you don't want to go too far, are willing to go during daylight hours, or don't mind paying a little more to go a little further.

The Rainbow Rider covers a five-county area in west central Minnesota, including southern Todd County. The wheels of the Friendly Rider go round and round in Wadena County and the city of Staples.

While the two bus systems look alike, their schedules aren't the same. The Rainbow Rider has no schedule. Simply call (1-800-450-7770) in advance, preferably a day ahead, for your dial-a-ride pick-up at your door. You'll pay $2 for up to five miles, one way; $4 for 5 to 10 miles, $5 from there to 20 miles and add on $2 for each additional ten miles.

People of all ages use the Rainbow Rider for weekday grocery runs, trips to the clinic or the daily commute to school. The buses are handicap accessible and the drivers trained to assist.

While it appears there's no limit to the distance it will go if you're willing to pay, the Rainbow Rider considers its service area to be southern Todd County and the cities of Osakis, Long Prairie, Browerville and Clarissa. It doesn't travel to the city of Staples.

Traveling too far limits the ability of the bus to serve other riders wanting a ride at the same time since the service is on a first call first ride basis. It operates between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

The Rainbow Rider also offers a volunteer driver program. These volunteers use their own cars to provide transportation anywhere. They're reimbursed for mileage at the rate of $0.585 per mile. Add on a $9 administrative fee. If you need to go 120 miles, it'll cost you $79.20.

Wadena's Friendly Rider (1-888-773-5500) generally operates between the hours of 7:15 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, Saturdays - 10-2:00, Sundays - 8-noon.

It treks around the Wadena streets but ventures to Verndale, Menahga, Sebeka, Nimrod and Staples on a set schedule. Fees are: $1.25 one way for 0-2 miles, $2.50 for 2-9 miles and $3.75 for over 9 miles but it goes no further than Nimrod.

Folks at Todd County's visioning session voiced a need for a regularly scheduled transit system. They know there isn't a system that will get you from the northern part of the county, Staples, to the southern part. Time didn't allow for discussion of what the specific needs are or how that might function. But with discussion and planning, the Friendly Rider and Rainbow Rider systems might move to accommodate the need for a scheduled system in the future.

The Rainbow Rider currently garages its buses outside Todd County but is planning to build a five-stall garage in Long Prairie's industrial park. When the garage is finished this fall, the schedule might change. The Rainbow Rider Transit Board which governs the policies of the bus system meets the second Thursday of every month at 5:00 p.m. at the Rainbow Office in Lowry.

The Friendly Rider works in conjunction with the Wadena County Volunteer Driver Program. Contact the Wadena County commissioners to offer suggestions.

What are your thoughts as to the need for public transportation in Todd County?

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Transform Todd: Todd County's visioning session

Posted at 8:53 AM on June 9, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (1 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Whether it was the promise of dessert and door prizes or passion for the future of Todd County, a hundred Todd County residents spent 3 ½ hours indoors on a lovely spring evening. Their mission was to consider the future of life here in mid-Minnesota. They gathered at the Browerville Community Center to do it.

As with any event worth its salt, the visioning session held on June 8 began with food. After everyone had their fill of barbecue on buns, pork and beans, cole slaw and beverages, they were ready to get down to business. Lynn Fabro, Browerville's city administrator welcomed everyone to the community, population 734, in the middle of the county.

The Initiative Foundation's Don Hickman led the visioning session. He described Todd County as possessing "exciting demographics" with a population ahead of much of the rest of Minnesota in aging. "There are many assets here, now. What do we want the future to look like?" he asked.

County Administrator Nate Burkett prepared for the visioning session by looking at the county as it is today and asking questions about the future. "What do we know about today? What do we think we know about tomorrow? What do we think we can do about what we think we know about tomorrow?" That may sound a little confusing but so will our future be if we don't plan for it. "I don't see a broken system. We are forward thinking and care for our neighbors. But the system is stretched. There are more seniors needing more services." He acknowledged that those aging into the future may want different services than those who are reaching advanced ages today.

Getting down to the visioning process of the evening, folks sat at their dining tables in groups of seven or eight and first did some solitary thinking about the assets Todd County has and then the challenges or problems. The first question asked about positive things. The second asked, "If you wanted to discourage a senior friend or relation from moving here what are the things you would tell them about?" Table mates shared their lists with each other, compiling one list that a representative from each table shared with the entire group. Items were written on large pieces of white paper that paraded along the walls.

The list of assets was long and appreciative; from natural resources to safe communities, helpful businesses, clean air, family values, community centers, museums and generous foundations. The list of challenges was just as long. From those lists more lists were compiled, this time reflecting tangible changes that could realistically be made in three to five years.

Using a newly minted term, the outcomes were prioritized using "dot-mocracy." Each participant was given three sticky paper dots. Walking along the lists, folks placed their dots next to the changes they thought were most needed and had potential for getting accomplished. Those who felt a desire to volunteer toward achieving those goals also left their names and contact information on sticky notes.

The apple crisp, ice cream and door prizes awaited those who stayed to the end; and most of the 100 attendees did.

Under a heading of Tranform Todd, the visioning session returned a top ten of desired outcomes. Leading the list were: campaign to revitalize downtowns and encourage folks to "buy local," rehab the Eagle Bend Senior Center (the hub of senior activities and source of meals for home delivery throughout the county), and reasonable healthcare. Other desired outcomes included: broadband access, development of green energy sources, grow senior center programs to attract new retirees, good jobs to bring back young people, develop a faith in action program to encourage the churches to offer more services, develop a community wide calendar of events, establish a county-wide scheduled transportation program.

The next step will be for the Initiative Foundation to more carefully analyze the results of the evening's work. They'll bring a work plan to the next meeting of this healthy community partnership group. The Initiative Foundation will continue to financially support the efforts to Transform Todd.

"We all would like to be rich and good looking," said Don Hickman, "But we have to work with what we have." That's true whether it's an individual or a county.

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Residents trying to create visions in central Minnesota

Posted at 7:30 AM on June 8, 2010 by Dave Peters (1 Comments)
Filed under: Baldwin Township, Community Development, Todd County

Tonight is the first of four "community visioning" sessions planned by residents working with the Initiative Foundation in four central Minnesota communities.

Residents in Todd County, where one out of six people is over 65 years old, are gathering at 5:30 p.m. at the community center in Browerville to focus on the challenges and opportunities of maintaining service and quality of life as the community ages. Check out our video, audio and text coverage of Todd County at Ground Level's Todd County web page.

Next up, on June 22, is Brainerd, where residents are likely to focus on the high unemployment and high rental rate in the city itself, as opposed to the more prosperous lake country surrounding Brainerd.

On June 29, residents of Baldwin Township in Sherburne County, will tackle the questions of growth, planning and the foreclosure boom that has been lowered on many communities in the outlying regions of Twin Cities exurbia. Find out more at our Ground Level Baldwin page.

Then on July 20, residents in Eden Valley will hold a similar session, looking at the general issues of how small, rural towns compete and survive.

All four places are participating in the Initiative Foundation's Healthy Communities Partnership, a program that provides training, expertise and cash incentives for residents trying to grapple with issues that can make their communities better places to live. MPR News' Ground Level has conducted a pilot project by providing news and information in two of the communities in an effort to increase the level of engagement among residents.

In each case, the "visioning session" is an opportunity to let anybody in the community have a say in what issues residents want to address. It begins a process that will narrow those suggestions down to a manageable few and then allow a core team of residents to take action. A key to success is that the team have a broad spectrum of support from business, education, local government and other interests.

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Did you know Todd County has a sin ranking?

Posted at 8:53 AM on June 15, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Oh, yes. Researchers and census takers are busy, busy, busy. Not all counties have been rated but we're among the lucky ones. Now we can see how we stack up with other parts of Minnesota in the competition of the seven deadly sins. Since early Christian times people having been casting a critical eye at one another. That's what society is all about, right? To keep each other on the straight and narrow or as a more formal mission statement would put it: to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin.

Since a good percentage of modern folk can't recite the Ten Commandments much less the Seven Cardinal Sins, here they are: pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth. The rating was put together by website creater Forum One Communications as a light-hearted demonstration of what you can do with readily available public health data.

And how do we rate? Here are the numbers:
Pride, 9%; Greed, 41; Envy, 7%; Wrath, NA; Lust, 70; Gluttony , 28%; Sloth, 14%

The numbers don't look too bad, except what's that 28% in gluttony? 41 in greed? And lust at 70?? The numbers make us look like fat, greedy, nymphomaniacs. But are we really?

Time to analyze the numbers. Since that lusty number is the highest, let's look at it first. The sub-title in that category is "Chlamydia Rate." What's that, you say? Chlamydia is an STD, formerly known as a VD, and when exactly did the acronym change? A Venereal Disease by any other name is a Sexually Transmitted Disease. To quote from the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute which compiled the data and reported the Center for Disease Control's findings, "Chlamydia is the most common bacterial STI in North America and is one of the major causes of tubal infertility, ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, and chronic pelvic pain. STIs in general are associated with a significantly increased risk of morbidity and mortality, including increased risk of cervical cancer, involuntary infertility, and premature death."

Already VD has moved on from STD to STI--Sexually Transmitted Infection. That must be a lesser form than "disease." While I would love to dig into some of the terms within the quoted statement, we need to move on to determine what that rating of 70 means.

Here's how the number was determined: Chlamydia incidence (the number of new cases reported) is reported as a rate per 100,000 population.

You were thinking it meant 70 % of the population of Todd County was infected with this STI. Right? Well, you were wrong. It means that 70 people out of 100,000 have recently been diagnosed (new cases reported) with Chlamydia. If my math is right, that means the lust rate should accurately be reported as .07%. Todd County's population, as of 2008, was 23, 917. That means that fewer than 20 people in the county were recently diagnosed with the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in North America.

So, our lust level (as determined by the CDC and the U of W) is low, our wrath didn't even hit the charts and all we really have to worry about is the obesity. You'll have to check out how they came up with that number on your own. That greed number, too.

Did I mention that Hennepin County's lust rate is 423?

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Does the Historic Todd County Courthouse have a future?

Posted at 8:05 PM on May 31, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (1 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Whether the Historic Todd County Courthouse should be preserved has been at the pointy end of a spear for decades. No one can deny that it's the icon of Todd County and a landmark of Long Prairie's skyline of which its builders must have been exceedingly proud. But strong opinions on the cost of maintenance and how to best use the space, or have it demolished, burble up periodically like oil in gulf waters.

More than a hundred years old, the Romanesque Revival building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's one of only a dozen historic courthouses of similar age in Minnesota.

Recognizing its historical and architectural value, Todd County residents have tended to its physical needs even while questioning putting money into a building with an uncertain future. In the not so distant past, the roof was redone. That and the repair of windows have prevented deterioration. But because of accessibility and maintenance issues, the former county offices and the courtroom facility echo with emptiness.

The structure has just recently drawn the attention of the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota (PAM). PAM is a statewide, private, non-profit organization with a nearly 30-year history of advocating for the preservation of Minnesota's historic resources. Their first annual (Anti) Wrecking Ball was held on May 20 at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis. It was announced, that evening, with members of the Todd County Historical Society in attendance, that the Todd County Courthouse has been named to the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places List.

The Todd County commissioners have taken the high road and enlisted professionals to determine the preservation worthiness of the building, which was built in 1883. In July 2009, they put out a "Request for Proposals (RFP) on Project Management on a potential Todd County facilities project. The focus of this project is to understand the potential costs and benefits of redesigning and renovating the Todd County Historic Courthouse."

While the Historic Courthouse was the focus of the RFP, the entire complex of the county seat was to be studied. An addendum two weeks after issuing the RFP further clarified the study. "The priority of this project is to help voters and Commissioners understand the feasibility and opportunity costs and benefits of renovating the Historic Courthouse. The County expects that to understand the true feasibility of renovation, that other options must be explored as well."

The RFT specified the following directives:

"The selected firm shall prepare a feasibility report that provides at a minimum the following six future facility options that the Todd County Board and Voting Residents can consider when deciding the future direction of the County's Facilities Needs:

#1 Construction of new county government complex at an offsite complex
#2 Removal of historic courthouse structure and replacing it with a modern facility
#3 Rehabilitation of historic courthouse structure
#4 Removal of historic courthouse structure
#5 Do nothing option (no removal, rehabilitation, or construction)
#6 Combination/Miscellaneous (Wild Card)

Each option should include a complete estimate of construction related costs and prediction of future operation and maintenance expenditures. Each option should also be assessed to see if it will meet the County's current and future space usage needs and requirements."

Collaborative Design Group of Minneapolis and Contegrity Construction Management of Little Falls were hired to perform the analysis and usability study. Their report was issued in March of 2010. Photos from the study and resultant design plans can be seen on the county's website. www.co.todd.mn.us. Under "News," scroll down to the 12th article titled "Historic Courthouse Presentation Documents." Blueprints indicate a use plan for the Historic Courthouse. It would be remodeled for "tax and land services / administration."

While the RFP called for a feasibility report on a minimum of six "future facility options," Collaborative Design Group appears to have zeroed in on option #3 as listed above. That, or those specific plans are the ones that can be seen on the county's website. The report includes: four pages of photos of the existing Historic Courthouse, six pages of a combination of photos and existing floor plans, one page of lists of county departments, two pages of existing site plan and building plan, and four pages of proposed plans which appear to be of just the Historic Courthouse building (the plans are not labeled by floor level). No cost estimates appear on the site report.

"They reported that the structure is good and useable," said County Administrator Nathan Burkett. "In May they reported that they estimated it would cost $4.1 million to renovate the building."

While the RFP hinted that the voters of Todd County would make the ultimate decision as to the future of the Historic Courthouse, that is yet to be determined.

"We are currently working on a presentation to provide three to four public meetings throughout the county so the public can see the plans," said Burkett on May 28. As to whether the decision would be left to voters, "All I know at this time is that ultimately the board has stated the intention is to have the people decide whether or not to save it," he said.

What's your opinion of the plans as presented on the county's website? Weigh in since blogs are for sharing opinions.

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So many farmers; so little gain

Posted at 1:38 PM on May 28, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Ten percent of the U.S. population are farmers. My sister has a farm. Her husband has a farm. My daughter has a farm. The area newspaper's associate editor has a farm. The grocery store worker has a farm.

But, like peasants of old who toiled only to pay exorbitant taxes to landlords and kings, these farmers never get ahead. Nor do they actually own their farms, which exist only in a virtual world. Zynga, owner of the online game "Farmville" on Facebook, is their landholder.

Interesting, isn't it, that thousands of people spend hours every day working their "Minnesota" farms, caring for cattle, cultivating and reaping their crops, building fences and acquiring more land. Yet, they never get ahead AND they NEVER COMPLAIN about it.

Bill, my brother-in-law who grew up on a real farm, says, "This is the only kind of farming I want to do."

Will this be our future? Will the young people who grow up playing virtual games prefer to pretend to live rather than get out and experience the world? Will our food only be produced by corporate giants?

Or is there an opportunity here? If folks are enthralled with simulated farming, is there technology to be developed to connect all those Farmville mice to remote controlled equipment that actually till, plant and reap? Think little farmer geek squads setting it all up and carting off the bounty. If milking cows can be automated, why not growing food?

That visioning session for Todd County is coming up in just a few days (June 8, 5:30 at the Browerville Community Center). All ideas for the future of Todd County are welcome- even geeky ones.

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Food: the saga continues. Home delivered groceries?

Posted at 8:57 AM on May 25, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

When I can no longer drive my car, I think I'll just have my groceries delivered.

That's a simple thing to say if you live within the city limits of a community that has a grocery store that delivers- perhaps a given if you live in the metro area. Living in a rural area puts you at the mercy of the services available.

I called six grocery stores -Todd County doesn't have many more than that- and though there wasn't a consistent answer, the general feeling is that delivering groceries is not a profitable enterprise. Three make deliveries within their city limits at no charge. One delivers only to its community's senior housing unit.

"We deliver whenever they call but there are only three or four. They're long-time customers," says Browen's Country Market in Grey Eagle. Browen's delivers as a community service.

Amanda Crosby of Steve's Country Market in Browerville occasionally makes home deliveries. She lives in Browerville and has worked at the store for ten years. Steve's makes regular deliveries on Tuesdays and Fridays to a half dozen people. The cost is one dollar per delivery. "We had up to 12 -14 but they've moved out, passed away or have gone to a nursing home."

One store has never made deliveries and doesn't plan to. Unlike metro living where residents have many options, if you live in rural Minnesota or a small town with only one grocery store that doesn't make deliveries, you have to get creative. Family and friends often help out but this reduces independence.

Mark Poegel, manager of Coborn's in Long Prairie, thinks home delivery of groceries could be a service of the future. "We have 'target hours' that are allotted for jobs. It takes time to take phone orders and there are no hours allotted for deliveries." The corporate world attempts to analyze and streamline their services, unlike the Mom and Pop grocery owners who live in the communities where they do business. Mark says the stores in larger cities have computerized their delivery systems. People can log on to the grocery store's website and place an order. The store prints out the order, fills it and uses a van for deliveries. "In Todd County the older folks don't use computers,"

Mark may be right that this will work better when the generation that grew up with computers arrives at the time in their lives when they can no longer drive to the grocery store. Perhaps an enterprising food industry mogul should look at producing less expensive, smaller serving, salt and preservative restricted, nutritious frozen meals for home deliveries in 2040. That should be about right. I'll be in my 80s and ready to let someone else feed me.

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Ribbon cutting ceremony at new incubator building today

Posted at 9:42 AM on May 21, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

It was a proud moment when Dorothy Klick and Steve Klick, investors in Long Prairie and its new business incubator building, along with officials and dignitaries, cut the ribbon for the grand opening Thursday afternoon. It took from September to May to finish the 15,000-square-foot building, which is designed to hold four new businesses.
Though some folks thought the building would house an egg hatching business, the incubator is for small businesses: it offers space for new businesses that can get established and then perhaps build their own structures within the 64-acre industrial park.

With new streets, curb and sidewalk leading to the building, only a little landscaping is left to be finished. Though the grass isn't manicured, some "green" features were built into the structure:
Energy efficient windows on the south side at a height so the sun can come nearly halfway across the interior (barring any dividers that hinder it).
In-floor heat and auxiliary heat sources for when the tall garage style doors are open.
Well insulated ceiling.
Standing rib roof - stronger to withstand heavier snow loads and resistant to leakage.
Potential for tapping into geothermal heat in the future.

In addition to the green features, the building has fiber optic cable, hard-wired phone, water, sewer, and plywood dividing walls which are more resistant to damage than sheetrock.

Each of the four units has an office or reception area, rest rooms in the office and in the work space, and a mechanical room. One lunchroom is designed as a communal space to be shared by all of the tenants and could double as a conference room.

Though the building would have filled easily three years ago, the dip in the economy means that no tenants have committed to moving in yet. There are prospects.

Local attorney Randy Brown, who built an office complex on Highway 71 in Long Prairie some years ago, is optimistic about finding tenants. "It'll fill up with local people or locals who know someone," he said. Brown's comment speaks to the quality of life in Long Prairie and Todd County. We know we have a good place to live and work. Networking to get the message out that a quality building is available to lease, no leaky roofs, lack of insulation, or difficulty connecting to the internet, may be the best way to find businesses to fill it.

"Two or three years ago, we looked around and there just weren't any buildings available for manufacturing and we had companies asking for space," said Lyle Danielson of the Long Prairie Economic Development Authority. They had scrutinized not only Long Prairie but other areas in the county, too.

With Region Five assistance in writing a grant that brought in $600,000 and Steve Klick's half million (he grew up here), the financing was in place for the building. Many hope it will add good employment opportunities not only for the immediate Long Prairie area but in a 30-50 mile radius as well.

"Don't be too anxious to fill it up with something that isn't going to do something for you," Klick said.

Danielson and Mayor Don Rassmussen did some quick brainstorming Thursday about possible tenants: a welding shop, a call center, printing to augment R.R. Donnelly's services, forklift maintenance and repair, pallet or box manufacturer and, of course, business start-ups that no one might expect.

Todd County needs good jobs to stabilize the local economy and perhaps retain some of its young people.

"I don't necessarily agree with 'build it and they will come,'" said Danielson. "But if you don't build it, they'll have no reason to come."

It's built and ready:

Now there's a reason to come.

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'Younger' elderly volunteers key to senior programs

Posted at 8:49 AM on May 18, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

In honor of Older American Appreciation Month, the Eagle Bend Senior Center hosted a special meal on Wednesday, May 12. Nearly fifty seniors and guests gathered for a chicken dinner, entertainment, door prizes and an update on the Senior Nutrition Program.

"Senior Nutrition is more than just a good meal," said Terri Weyer, the Lutheran Social Services assistant director of Senior Nutrition for several counties. Whether congregate dining at a senior center or getting meals delivered by volunteer drivers, the nutrition program reduces isolation and provides a link to other people. Sometimes it also helps identify additional needs and catalyzes setting up other needed services to allow people to stay in their own homes.

Terri told a story that continues to motivate her. "Several years ago, the volunteer driver didn't come. The site manager went out to deliver the meals. When she got to an elderly woman's house, the woman had raw spaghetti noodles and three pieces of bacon in a frying pan. She was trying to open a can of spaghetti sauce, with a knife, to add to the pan to cook for her dinner." Unprepared to cook, physically incapable, or unable to follow the steps required to put a good meal on the table, some older folks rely on community programs and assistance for their daily bread.

Gladys Judes, Eagle Bend site manager, reported that the number of people who eat their weekday meals at the center is down. "Younger seniors aren't coming to the center. We average 14 people a day." But it's an important meal for those who do. The number of meals on wheels has decreased, too. "Not as many referrals from Public Health," Gladys explained.

Verna Toenyan who has worked with seniors since the 1970s says that it's vital that younger senior citizens get involved to keep the programs going. "With an aging population, there's going to be a need for three to four times as many bundled meals in the future." Bundled meals are prepared at the center, frozen in microwaveable trays and delivered to homes throughout the area - 11,777 meals in 2009. "They're called bundled meals because we can add on groceries, medications, newspapers, flyers and library materials. Those things are negotiated on a personal basis," said Verna. She added that those who deliver the meals have also checked fuel levels and changed light bulbs.

Terri expressed appreciation for the staff at the Eagle Bend Senior Center: site manager Gladys Judes, senior cook Carol Winkler, assistant cook Darlene Klimek, Bernice Mansender and Janet Miller who handle a variety of tasks, and food transporter Ron Snyder. Volunteers are also greatly appreciated - 115 volunteer hours were documented in the month of April.

Verna invited everyone to attend the visioning session, and a free meal, on June 8, 5:30, at the Browerville Community Center. The Initiative Foundation funded project is looking at the future of Todd County. What are the bright spots? The challenges? What does the community of Todd County want in 20 years? Ten years?

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Hear an abridged forum on KEYL

Posted at 8:29 AM on May 13, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Radio station KEYL in Long Prairie plans to broadcast on Friday morning an edited version of the Ground Level: Todd County forum we held May 6 at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School. Listen for it on the 8:30 a.m. "open mic" segment.

We pared the hour-and-a-half session to 20 minutes so you'll at least get a flavor. You can get the whole thing, more or less, by going to our Todd County page. Click, in order, on the four visual elements across the page near the top and then click on "Listen" under the forum heading.

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Immigrants, jobs and Long Prairie

Posted at 1:43 AM on May 12, 2010 by Dave Peters (2 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

I just listened again to the exchange about immigration at our forum last Thursday in Long Prairie. (Go to our Todd County page, scroll down to "forum" and click on "Listen." The conversation I'm talking about starts around Minute 44 of the hour-long piece.)

Antonio Meza, who's been a resident of Todd County for seven years and has been a U.S. citizen since March, mentioned how welcome he's felt in Todd County (although not necessarily elsewhere in Minnesota) and reported the fear and uncertainty his fellow immigrants are feeling over recent job losses.

On the recording, you hear two people, including Long Prairie Mayor Don Rasmussen, make what seemed to be heartfelt and welcoming remarks in response. I had a suspicion that perhaps others who felt differently were present but chose to remain silent. The letters-to-the-editor space in the Long Prairie Leader supports that notion, and over the weekend, MPR News' Public Insight Network received a comment from someone who had read our work in one of the Todd County newspapers and who suggested that, in fact, illegal immigrants are taking good jobs away from citizens.

Are they? Two points to consider: Unemployment in Todd County, always higher than in the state as a whole, rose like it did everywhere else in 2008 and 2009 and dropped slightly more recently. And few would argue that all immigrants in Todd County are in the United States legally, although some people think that is more important than others do.

So, have job-seeking citizens been turned away by employers who have ready access to immigrants? Or is it a matter of citizens not seeking what are considered difficult, unpleasant jobs in the meatpacking industry? And either way, is the debate one purely of jobs and legality or are larger issues of economy and opportunity equally significant?

I grew up in a rural Minnesota town similar to Long Prairie and I worked for a time in a meat processing plant that employed a sizable contingent of Mexican immigrants. I'm genuinely curious to hear what evidence people have either way, although I feel the need to say I'm interested in shedding light on evidence, not in hearing personal attacks.

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Idea for healthy aging: Honor the cook

Posted at 12:11 PM on May 12, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (6 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Sue Farmer brought up a good point in her response to the previous post. In order to live healthy long lives, people need to know the importance of diet and exercise. If we are plugged into the media at all, we've heard that message often enough to tune it out. But the media put out even stronger messages, driven by some pretty big food companies, which tell us what they produce is somehow better. They tempt us to shop in other areas of the grocery stores than the perimeters where the fresh food is displayed. They even tell us that what we grow isn't as nutritious as what was grown in gardens across the land 30 years ago.

I stopped by an Asian food market in the Twin Cities this weekend. The fresh vegetables were laid out just inside the front door and just beyond them was the very fresh (still alive) sea food. The place didn't care much about appearances. It was all about people buying fresh food to take home and cook that day.

And that brings us to something else our culture has lost: the reverence for the person or persons who put the food on our tables- those who take, or make, the time to cook. In the neighborhood of my youth, it was the mothers who allotted time every day for meal preparation. They were honored for their efforts. Somehow that's been lost. Here's an idea for change: it doesn't matter who does the cooking but we need to initiate a movement to revere the family cook. Is it possible to insert a golden hour in our days, let the lords and ladies of the kitchen work their culinary magic, bow to their status as purveyors of sustenance and reap the health benefits?

What's your idea for healthy aging?

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Welcome to Nancy Leasman, Todd County blogger

Posted at 2:56 PM on May 7, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

I said the other day we expected to have a new writer posting items here related to Todd County, and you may have seen this morning that we are featuring the first post from Nancy Leasman.

Nancy has been writing for a long time about Todd County, central Minnesota and more for a variety of publications so it's great to have her skills and community connections on tap for residents in this venue. She'll track the Initiative Foundation's Healthy Communities Partnership process but is wide open to other topics as well.

Check out her post on Todd County and healthiness -- What's wrong with aging? -- and join the conversation.

Nancy is the second "community blogger" here on Ground Level. Brooke Walsh started carrying the conversation in Baldwin Township last week.

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The Fireball of Todd County

Posted at 9:26 AM on May 10, 2010 by Jennifer Vogel (1 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

(MPR Photo/Chris Welsch)

Fireball is a word that comes up when people talk about Verna Toenyan, who coordinates Todd County's senior services. "That seems like a strange one to use for a 62-year-old lady," she says, bursting into a hearty laugh.

Toenyan, who used to run her own financial planning business, was born in Bertha and is dedicated to improving Todd County. "It's just that I love the people and want everyone to have a bright future and options and opportunities, regardless of age, from a tiny baby on up."

Toenyan works with eight local senior centers. "I try to help them be aware of the resources that are available," she says. "I'm a cheerleader is what I am basically." She also fundraises for Todd's innovative Meals on Wheels bundled meals program, which delivers to elderly people living in the far reaches of the county, and coordinates a senior transportation network.

Often, she starts work at 5 am and doesn't stop until well after dark. "As soon as I get a cup of coffee in me, I'm planning my day," Toenyan says. If she gets tired, sometimes she pulls off onto the side of the road and sleeps in her car. "Naps are good for people," she says. "It's good contemplating time."

Toenyan was instrumental in winning a Healthy Communities Partnership grant from the Initiative Foundation of Little Falls. "They are always trying to help people help themselves," she says. "That community building piece is so important. As our community changes, as Todd County changes, it's crucial that we are all rowing the same the way in the boat."

One of the biggest changes the county is facing is an aging population. So far, thanks in part to Toenyan's efforts and those of a host of local volunteers, the county has been able to provide the necessary services. That may be more difficult in the future as the ratio of elderly people continues to grow.

"We need to look for what we can do and not wait until it is too late," says Toenyan, who cares for her husband who has Alzheimer's. "Many people will wait for a crisis and then ask for help. It's easier if you get ahead of the crisis. It's more cost effective, too."

Asked what keeps her going, Toenyan says, "It's the people in Todd County. I think they really care. Though we could probably use a little more hope."

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Designing Rural Minnesota

Posted at 9:56 AM on May 17, 2010 by Jennifer Vogel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Community Development, Todd County

(MPR photo/Nikki Tundel)

There are plenty of architecture and planning centers around fixing up urban landscapes. But when it comes to pushing for better design in small towns and rural areas, there is only one major outfit in the world: the Center for Rural Design at the University of Minnesota.

"It seems like there should have been something called rural design a long time ago," says Dewey Thorbeck, who founded the center in 1997. "Design professionals had ignored rural America."

The center has gained cachet lately, due to growing enthusiasm for local foods and urbanites moving to the country to start hobby farms. Last January, the center hosted the first ever international symposium on rural design. It's about to start an online education and certification program. And Thorbeck has a book in the works.

"The more knowledgeable people are about their surroundings," he says, "the more likely they are to make the kind of decisions that reflect their own values."

He notes that rural Minnesota has seen a lot of change lately, related to new food production methods, the aging of the population, emerging health issues and even global warming. "A lot of our projects are to help citizens manage change and connect the dots," says Thorbeck, who was born in Bagley, in northern Minnesota.

In other words, the idea is to help rural communities survive and reinvent themselves, whether as tourist destinations, recreational havens, thriving agricultural areas or bedroom communities for larger cities. "Each small town has a unique role," Thorbeck says.

He encourages communities to look beyond city and county boundaries to forge useful partnerships, find efficiencies and discover common solutions.

Thorbeck hasn't worked in Todd County, but says, "If I were to go up there and meet with them, I would try to say, 'Maybe we should get Wadena, Little Falls, and Alexandria - some representatives from other counties - to sit in on a regional discussion.'"

Examining the county's geography, he adds, "Wadena and Staples, toward Little Falls along highway 10, they have much more in common with each other I would think than Staples does with Long Prairie."

Rural people tend to be an independent lot. So, Thorbeck treads lightly when consulting, letting ideas bubble up from the communities themselves.

"There is a spirit in America of property rights which is more prevalent in rural areas than in urban areas," he says. "We don't preach one thing or another. We try very hard to say that we aren't the U coming in to tell them how to live. Public engagement is critical. This is community based design."

Presently, the center is working with Minnesota dairy farmers to develop environmental and building standards that Thorbeck hopes will someday become law. "If you have 5,000 cows under one roof and have people in there milking and cleaning, there ought to be some guidelines and there just aren't."

Over the years, he's learned a few things about rural Minnesota. "There are a lot of smart people living in rural areas," Thorbeck says. "Maybe that's stupid to say. But they know a lot more than I do."

Also, he adds, "They are probably more conscious of their landscapes than urban people because the land is more open. You see the rivers and the forests. A lot of people living in Minneapolis probably have never gone along the Mississippi River bank. Almost every rural person has a pretty good sense of where they live."

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What's wrong with aging?

Posted at 10:11 AM on May 7, 2010 by Nancy Leasman (2 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

As I've read the Ground Level news articles and listened to the discussions, both formal and private, one of the most forceful statements I heard was, "What's wrong with getting old? You can age and still be healthy." That's true. We can do our best to stay active and healthy. If that helps us age well, we'll succeed in getting truly old and still, at some point, reach the point when we'll need help.

The problem, revealed by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is that Todd County "health outcomes" rank 66 out of the 85 counties of Minnesota and 80 out of 85 in "health factors."

So, not only do we have a higher percent of elderly folks than other counties, we're also more unhealthy and, as we've been told for decades, poorer.

With a need for hope, let's dig into these statistics that have been pouring at us. At last night's forum, Ben Winchester of the Center for Community Vitality admitted that the median age of Todd County is skewed, not because we have more elderly but because we have fewer young people.

The University of Wisconsin's study reveals that Todd County's "physical environment" ranks high: 10th out of 85. We do have a healthy environment.

And someone suggested recently that Todd County's poverty level is also deceptive since, historically, folks whose main income is derived from animal husbandry have tweaked their profit / loss reports and actually have a higher standard of living than statisticians can detect. That's opinion. But we're all about opinion, here, and we want to hear what you think.

Are we poor, old and sick or is that what we like "outsiders" to think?

Weigh in on the discussion, but before you do, check out those health statistics because they tell much more that the three bits that I gleaned.

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160 turn out for Ground Level: Todd County forum

Posted at 6:38 AM on May 7, 2010 by Dave Peters (1 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

MPR News/ Allen Brisson-Smith

We had a very good turnout last night when about 160 Todd County residents showed up for our Ground Level forum at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School. People came from all corners of the 800-square-mile county, questioning, throwing out ideas and applauding at times during a conversation that started with the challenge of an aging demographic and ultimately wound up with a glimpse at the role of immigration in the county.

"If we follow Arizona's model we will lose the Latino young generation," one resident told the forum. "We may lose them if we treat them poorly."

She was responding a comment by seven-year Todd County resident and Mexican immigrant Antonio Meza. He told the group through an interpreter that he had been treated well during his time in Todd County and that he and other immigrants want to contribute. Meza said he doesn't want to return to Mexico and considers Todd County home for him and his family.

Immigrants are part of the equation for a community that is seeing the proportion of elderly increase because they tend to be younger than other residents and can bring a source of incomes and business. Long Prairie Mayor Don Rasmussen had the evening's final word: "Getting to know people before you criticize them has to be a No. 1 issue. The majority of (immigrants) feel they've found their spot."

The evening started with a video and audio presentation that you can get the gist of on our Todd County page by clicking through the four presentations near the top of the page.

Then host Kate Smith led three panelists -- LaRhae Knatterud, a state Department of Human Services expert on aging; Ben Winchester, a University of Minnesota research fellow who specializes in rural dynamics; and John Halfen, medical director of Lakewood Health System in Staples -- through a conversation about aging.

As was the case in our first Ground Level forum for residents of Baldwin Township, some of the best information came as a result of audience questions.

Sue Stine asked whether a new remote sensing device Lakewood is experimenting with could be used in assisted living or other group facilities so a number of residents could take part. Lakewood is considering the ideas of such "wellness centers," one official said.

Other parts of the conversation delved into multi-generational housing, whether compassion and human care is more significant than new technologies, and the notion that some elderly people both need help and provide volunteer services to help others.

Winchester, noting that there is a movement of people in their 30s and 40s back to rural areas, worried that successful communities will figure out a way to involve those people in core groups in their new communities. Joining a bicycle club is not the same as pitching in with the Chamber of Commerce or senior center.

Knatterud made the point early in the forum that as the number of elderly doubles in the coming decades in Minnesota, one thing that is certain is change -- we will demand different things, we will be more aware of health matters, we will want to stay in our communities longer.

It was an evening chock full of good conversation about an issue facing much of rural America; others could learn from folks in Todd County as they move ahead with organizing and setting priorities for taking action on aging under the Initiative Foundation's Healthy Communities Partnership.

We expect to have audio of the evening on the Todd web page by next week. And MPR News is enlisting Todd County writer Nancy Leasman to keep the blog posted on all things Todd County. So we're eager to let the conversation continue here. Please join in.

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Ground Level: Todd County forum tonight

Posted at 8:33 AM on May 6, 2010 by Dave Peters (1 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Ground Level is holding a public forum this evening at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School to talk about aging and the economy in Todd County.

There's a dinner at 5:30 and the program starts at 6:30.

We'll show the reporting work MPR News has been doing in the past month or two to delve into how residents can deal with the rising proportion of elderly people. And then we're expecting a good discussion among panelists Ben Winchester, LaRhae Knatterud and John Halfen and the audience. Kate Smith is hosting and we'll have Spanish translation available.

This is the second forum we've held. The first was on the issues of Baldwin Township in Sherburne County on March 4.

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Rural-urban connections via videoconference

Posted at 8:26 AM on May 6, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Community Development, Todd County

I seldom think about farmers when I walk past the meat counter at Rainbow.

But when you check out the cuts of lamb, beef and pork in the Whole Farm Foods Co-op in Long Prairie you can't miss the connection to the people who raised the meat. They're the folks selling it to you. Likewise if you purchase their goods through one of the Twin Cities churches the cooperative markets through.

If you want to learn more about that kind of rural-urban connection, whether it's about food, energy, health care, education or something else, check out a series of videoconferences offered by Minnesota Rural Partners in the coming weeks. The organization plans to offer examples and highlight collaborations region by region.

On Monday, May 10, the focus will be on Northeast Minnesota and broadband, entrepreneurship and workforce. On Tuesday, May 18, it will be on Northwest Minnesota with a look at education and workforce. On Wednesday, May 26, the focus shifts to east central Minnesota and the arts.

In each case there will be several places you can attend the videoconference, including St. Paul, for the urban bound.

Details and registration at the Rural Urban Connections Project.

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Check out Ground Level: Todd County

Posted at 8:36 AM on May 5, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

We've been building our Todd County web page over the past month as Jennifer Vogel's newspaper stories were published. Today we gave the page a new look to feature the video and audio work by Nikki Tundel and Curtis Gilbert.

You can hear some of the reporting on All Things Considered this afternoon. Then we'll present it all to an audience Thursday evening at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School, following up with a panel and audience conversation hosted by Kate Smith.

If you're close, stop by the high school for dinner on us at 5:30. The presentation starts at 6:30. See you there.

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Todd County future aim: Technology to draw young, serve old

Posted at 10:47 AM on May 4, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Mike Dagen in his Hewitt home. (MPR Photo/Chris Welsch)

This sounds a little odd to say but what 33-year-old Michael Dagen and 78-year-old Beverly Meyer have in common is that technology has made life more pleasant in Todd County.

Dagen and his wife, Amber Fletschock, brought a youthful infusion to Hewitt a few years ago and are revitalizing an old hall, planning a music festival and hoping to be part of a Todd County artist/musician/craft revival or sorts. They had high-speed Internet access before they had running water.

Meyer, who is chronically ill, avoids frequent trips from her farm house to the doctor because she has a gizmo that transmits her blood pressure, pulse, weight and other conditions to a computer in Staples at 10 a.m. every day.

They tie together the final piece of reporter Jennifer Vogel's four-part series exploring the future of Todd County and offer a glimpse at the myriad and even unforeseen ways changing technology might help a place like Todd County deal with the coming wave of aging. You can read it on our Todd County page and also see it in the four papers that have been running her Ground Level series -- the Clarissa Independent News Herald, the Browerville Blade, the Staples World and the Long Prairie Leader.

The series, the resources on the web page and the work we'll present at the forum Thursday evening at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School paint a portrait of Todd County and some of its challenges but also offer some ways for residents to look ahead -- everything from retrofitting old homes and strengthening old-fashioned volunteer networks to welcoming young newcomers and building access to new technology.

Join us Thursday for a look at those issues and more and to join in what we think will be a good discussion. The video and audio work of reporters Nikki Tundel and Curtis Gilbert will be presented and host Kate Smith will guide us through a conversation with U of M fellow Ben Winchester, state aging expert LaRhae Knatterud and health system medical director John Halfen.

See you there. Dinner on us at 5:30. Program at 6:30.

Coming soon on the Todd County page are Spanish-language translations of the four-part series. Also, we'll provide simultaneous translation at the forum Thursday evening.

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How to fix a home for an aging senior

Posted at 10:05 AM on April 30, 2010 by Jennifer Vogel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

More and more, elderly people are looking to "age in place" or stay in their homes long after retirement, rather than move to nursing homes or even assisted living facilities. One way to do that is to make homes more accessible, friendly to wheelchairs and walkers.

In other words, follow the principles of universal design, which simply means building features like doorways and counters so that anyone can use them.

"There are a number of things you can do," says Margot Imdieke Cross, an accessibility specialist with the Minnesota State Council on Disability. First, she says, "provide at least one no-step entrance."

Imdieke Cross grew up on a farm near West Union and because of an accident, has been in a wheelchair since she was 2. "Growing up in a chair, it was difficult to get into my friends' homes. They were not accessible."

Even those who are mobile now (or as Imdieke Cross puts it, "temporarily able-bodied") would be wise to plan ahead or build to accommodate aging parents or neighbors.

She suggests two other must-haves: Doorways that are at least 34 inches wide and a bathroom on the main living level. "One of the big reasons people end up leaving the homes they've been in for 30 years is they can no longer walk up a flight of stairs."

Rural seniors have particular needs, Imdieke Cross acknowledges. People who like to can tomatoes should adjust the heights of kitchen work surfaces. "Rural people are an independent bunch," she says. "It's not just the house. Anything they want to have access to, they should start being creative."

She notes that if someone loves gardening, they can raise their flower or vegetable beds several feet so they don't have to stoop. "Or if they are in a wheelchair, they can bring them down lower."

If money is an issue, she says that churches often provide volunteers with building skills. The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency offers low-interest loans for accessibility projects. And the St. Cloud office of Independent Lifestyles, Inc. offers solutions as well.

It's ridiculous how often the simplest fixes go unmade, says Imdieke Cross. Sometimes elderly people don't think they can change things or they don't realize how much easier their lives could be with a ramp or a grab bar.

"I just want to tell people," she says, "I currently have a 103-year-old aunt in a nursing home. When she was 80, her doctor suggested that she get her hip replaced. She said 'No, I'll be dead before you know it.' Now, she's kicking herself because she should have gotten the replacement. The thing I hear from old people when they get changes to their homes or the scooter they claimed they didn't need is, 'I wish I would have done it years ago. If only I'd done this 10 years ago.'"

Imdieke Cross's parting advice? "Quit enduring and start living."

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Immigration as a solution for an aging county

Posted at 8:30 AM on April 28, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

As the proportion of elderly people inexorably rises in Todd County -- one of out six are over 65 today; one out of four will be by 2035 -- something else has happened.

The county's population of Latinos also has risen, to nearly 5 percent of the total, more than 1,000 people. And half of them are under 20 years old.

Reporter Jennifer Vogel explores what can happen as a result in the third part of the MPR News series on Todd County and the future. You can find it on our Todd County page or in this week's editions of the Clarissa Independent News Herald, the Browerville Blade, the Staples World and the Long Prairie Leader.

There are at least five Long Prairie businesses operated by immigrants, and Latino enrollment is shoring up school employment. Young Latinos who express the hope they can stay in the area to be with family are training for in-demand health care jobs.

Few doubt the presence of some illegal immigrants. And as the immigration debate heats up again from Arizona to Washington, D.C., you don't have to look past Central Avenue in Long Prairie to join the same debate.

But if you just examine the numbers in Todd County, it looks like somebody threw residents a potential lifeline.

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Elderly depression: 'It's heartbreaking'

Posted at 8:39 AM on April 27, 2010 by Jennifer Vogel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

(MPR Photo/Chris Welsch)

Counselor Corrie Brown travels all over Todd County talking with older people about their mental health. "The most common problems I see are depression and anxiety," says Brown, who is the community outreach coordinator for Lakewood Health System's Reflections program. "If you are a white male over the age of 65, you are more likely than anyone else to kill yourself."

Brown says it's tough sometimes to get the elderly to accept mental health services. "I see a lot of stoic, German, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps stuff," she says. "There are a lot of barriers."

Even if someone wants help, their insurance program might not cover treatment or the co-pays could be high. The patient may not have easy transportation to the doctor's office, or the person might think that being depressed is just part of getting old.

According to a December 2009 article in Minnesota Physician by Lakewood's Dr. Mark Holub, "Although 13 percent of our population is over the age of 60, their utilization of mental/behavioral health services is much less than expected. Elderly account for only 7 percent of all inpatient psychiatric services, 6 percent of community mental health services, and 9 percent of private psychiatric care... Clearly, this population's needs for mental health services are not being met."

Brown will travel to any older person's home for an evaluation free of charge. "I try not use psychiatric words with them," she says. "I use words like 'down in the dumps' or 'feeling sad' or 'blue.' That gets people talking. People of this generation who are rural, they didn't grow up in an age where everybody had a therapist."

But convincing the potential patient may be just half the task. "I assess them and I have services for them," says Brown. "And then I can't help them because they can't afford the co-pay. For money this person could be getting help. Sometimes people say 'It would just be easier if I wasn't around.' It's heartbreaking."

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Aging in Spanish

Posted at 1:23 PM on April 23, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

We're putting together what I think will be a strong presentation on the future of Todd County that we're going to hold in Long Prairie on May 6. Nikki Tundel is producing video and Curtis Gilbert is working on audio scripts.

We're expecting a thoughtful and helpful panel and audience discussion on aging and how that is related to the larger Todd County economy, immigration, technology and other issues in the future. Panelists are going to be Ben Winchester, a rural sociologist with the University of Minnesota; LaRhae Knatterud, a premier expert on aging with the state Department of Human Services; and John Halfen, medical director of the Lakewood Health System in Staples.

The question in front of us today is how to make this forum discussion accessible to Spanish-only speakers in Todd County. I've been talking to Tim King, Anne Villalobos and others about the best way to do it. At this point, we'll plan to have written materials in Spanish that will help people follow the video and audio presentations.

What we're wrestling over is how to provide interpretation of the panel discussion. United Nations-style simultaneous interpretation via wireless transmission to headsets is one possibility. But Villalobos suggested this morning that a drawback is that headset-wearing audience members stand out in a way that's not always welcome.

Better, she and others have said, is to offer a soft-voice interpretation off to the side in the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School auditorium. That might have the drawback of potentially disrupting things for the rest of the audience. But perhaps it can work.

Any ideas out there?

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Women 45-64 vs people over 85

Posted at 4:14 PM on April 22, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

I had a chance to talk to about 80 people from around Todd County over lunch at the Clarissa Ballroom on Wednesday. They were there because it was the annual recognition of people who volunteer in a great variety of ways to help with the elderly in the county.

When you take away the formal and expensive structure of nursing homes, assisted living residencies, sophisticated health care, Medicare and Medicaid, the people in that room represent the informal networks that go a long way to keeping people in their homes as they get older. These were the meal preparers, the volunteer drivers, the organizers of senior centers that offer services.

And there were a lot of heads nodding when, as I explained MPR News' reporting efforts, I noted that a huge share of elderly care is provided by women between 45 and 64 and that the population of those needing care tends to be those over 85.

Right now in Todd County there are 5 1/2 women between 45 and 64 for every one person over 85. In 25 years, there will be 3 1/2 women that age for each oldster. Check out that fact and other Todd County data we just posted on our Todd County page.

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Can garlic ride to a rural rescue?

Posted at 11:35 AM on April 21, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Drop in at the Whole Farm Co-op in Long Prairie and you get a glimpse of how Todd County farmers are trying to cope with the pressures of the farm economy.

As chronicled in the second part of our series on Todd County, several dozen producers pool their beef, lamb chops, maple syrup, eggs and even chicken feet for soup to sell direct to consumers both in Long Prairie and through a number of church groups in the Twin Cities.

At the same time, others are wondering whether specialty crops might be the way to go -- fingerling potatoes, perhaps, or garlic.

It's an important question for Todd County and elsewhere because, among other reasons, the strength of the local economy will help determine how well communities can keep young people and deal with the coming growth of the elderly population.

You can find the story and some additional by-the-numbers information on our Todd County page. The stories also are also appearing in the Clarissa Independent News Herald, the Browerville Blade, the Staples World and the Long Prairie Leader.

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We need to talk

Posted at 8:48 AM on April 19, 2010 by Jennifer Vogel (2 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

(MPR photo/Chris Welsch)

The classroom at the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School smells of French toast and syrup. It's Thursday morning and a group of Latino women and their young children have just finished a breakfast designed to improve their English skills.

The class is taught by Anne Villalobos, who was born in Sauk Centre and learned Spanish when she was a Greyhound bus driving instructor in Texas. She uses fixtures of everyday American life - grocery store ads, a recipe for French toast - as learning tools.

"They say, 'This is what I need to know,'" says Villalobos. "I'm very honored to do this work."

There are approximately 1,000 Latinos in Todd County, mainly in and around Long Prairie. The city now has two Mexican groceries, a clothing store, and a bakery. Half the younger students at school are Latino.

And yet, the white and Latino communities remain largely separate, in part because many residents literally can't speak to each other.

"The biggest problem is communicating," says Martha Orozco, who arrived from Michoacán, Mexico in 1996. She has four kids, all of whom were born in Long Prairie and attend the local school. "I love living in this town," she says. "It's a very tranquil place. It's good to raise kids."

Orozco describes her arrival in Minnesota, which was during winter, in enchanted terms. "There was a lot of snow," she says. "When I saw the trees, they were so beautiful. It was like a storybook."

Margarita Galvan, also from Michoacán, has been in Long Prairie for a decade. Many local Latinos hail from the same part of Mexico. "We're from different towns, but the same state," she says. "Most of us heard of Minnesota, heard of good jobs and education and a safer life. Our kids have a better future here."

Where whites and Latinos have blended most seamlessly is in school, says Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Superintendent Jon Kringen. "You won't see segregation among the students. Hispanic kids are friends with white kids." These same children, many of whom are bilingual, act as interpreters for adults stuck behind the language barrier.

"I don't think there has been integration in the community as there is in the school," says Kringen. "It's a comfort zone thing, not a racist thing."

Galvan, who has three kids and just bought a house with her husband, is learning English in order to better navigate local culture. "Where we rented prior to this, the landlord started to learn Spanish and I started to learn English," she says. "I want to learn to read and write more properly."

In other words, Galvan wants to fit in. "For the most part people are friendly," she says of Long Prairie's natives. But, "I would like them to not view us as different. We work together. We go to school together. We are here and part of the community."

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Baldwin, Todd, Eden Valley and Brainerd zero in on getting people involved

Posted at 9:07 AM on April 16, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Baldwin Township, Todd County

Residents of four central Minnesota communities were in Little Falls again on Thursday to get more training on how to get their neighbors involved in taking up civic challenges.

The four places -- Baldwin Township in Sherburne County, Todd County as a whole and the cities of Brainerd and Eden Valley -- are participating in the Initiative Foundation's Healthy Communities Partnership. The goal is to get residents involved in whatever problems they think should be tackled -- better planning, for example, or a more vibrant business district, more parks and trails, a stronger safety net for old people.

People from each community zeroed in on their issues, showing photos of what people like and what they want changed and starting to figure out how to bring friends and neighbors into the process.

In the next couple months, each place will hold a public gathering to give residents a say in what issues get tackled and an opportunity to help tackle them.

If you've been following this blog, you know that Minnesota Public Radio News' role here has been to focus on two of the places -- Baldwin Township and Todd County -- and tell some of the stories that illuminate challenges. We're testing the notion that our journalism can enhance people's engagement in their community.

Jeff Holm, one of the prime movers of this effort in Baldwin Township, says he's pleased with the enthusiastic group involved so far. Next up for them is a session at 7 p.m. 6 p.m. (note the UPDATED time) Wednesday to discuss how to recruit more community members to that "vision" session this spring.

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Ground Level launches Todd County print and web coverage

Posted at 10:04 AM on April 14, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

I'm happy to say we've launched our Ground Level coverage of Todd County, both in print and online. We're focusing on how well this rural and economically stressed community is prepared to handle the aging boom that is approaching, but our coverage will explore the local economy, immigration and other issues more broadly.

(Join the conversation on this blog about the export of young people, for example.)

You can read Part 1 of reporter Jennifer Vogel's four-part series on Todd County in one of these four fine newspapers: the Long Prairie Leader, the Staples World, the Browerville Blade and the Independent News Herald in Clarissa. The piece shows you how an energetic network of volunteers, donations, government help and family provide at least one lifeline for elderly people living alone in the country.

You can also find the story on the Todd County page we've just made public here on MPRNewsQ. There's also an entertaining slide show by reporter Nikki Tundel, a nice little slice of the county. The page highlights the Todd County-related posts on this blog -- Nikki put something up yesterday on folks in Bertha banding together to give themselves a morning place to gather, for example.

As we did earlier on our first such page, on Baldwin Township, we will be adding material to this page as we continue to report -- video, audio, more text stories and data presentations that will be useful in understanding trends in Todd County.

One goal of this, as I've said before, is to provide information and generate conversations that can help residents get involved, in particular with the effort some in the county are making in conjunction with the Initiative Foundation to address issues of aging.

As always, we're eager to hear your feedback. You can comment here on the blog or email me. And by all means, plan to join us for a public forum hosted by MPR News editor Kate Smith on May 6 at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School. Dinner is on us at 5:30 and the program starts at 6:30.

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Coffee equals community in Bertha

Posted at 8:10 AM on April 13, 2010 by Nikki Tundel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Kapp's Kafe didn't win any awards for its cuisine. And its coffee, according to locals, was merely "fine." But when the main street establishment closed down a few years ago, the residents of tiny Bertha, Minnesota, were distraught.

For many townsfolk, Kapp's was the first stop of the day. Without Kapp's, retired farmers had nowhere to gather each morning. Grandparents had nowhere to show off photos of the grandkids. The community had nowhere to come together.

Luckily, the Bertha Senior Citizens group stepped in. With the encouragement of city leaders, a handful of senior volunteers launched a makeshift coffeehouse in the main room of the community center.

"A lot of seniors were used to going to the cafe. That was normal life in a small town," explains Gen Aldrich, president of Bertha Senior Citizens.

Kapp's was one of the few businesses still operating in the rural community. And when it shut its doors, says Aldrich, "We decided we needed to fill the gap. Everybody is interested in each other in Bertha. And here they can catch up on the latest gossip and see friends."

Members of the senior citizens group take turns unlocking the community center doors each morning and firing up the big, church basement-style coffee pot. The place runs on free-will offerings so patrons pay whatever they feel like for a cup o' joe.

"We used to have a standard charge. But then," admits Aldrich, "we realized people pay more when they can choose how much they want to give."

These days, customer contributions more than cover the cost of the coffee. The excess earnings have gone to support everything from the area food shelf to the local high school graduation party.

Bertha's community coffee events run from 8:00am to 10:30am and, on average, draw about 30 people. Regulars take turns bringing in baked goods to share.

"We've had everything from homemade rolls to any kind of cake you want to name," says Aldrich. "Jams. Apple butter. We get all the good stuff."

As far as Aldrich is concerned, it's easy to keep rural Minnesota communities alive. You just need to provide a place for that to happen.

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Voices from 1979

Posted at 10:32 AM on April 15, 2010 by Jennifer Vogel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

In March 1979, the students at Long Prairie High School published the second edition of a magazine they called "Snowshoe." (I'm not sure that there ever was a third, but this issue is available at the Todd County Historical Museum in Long Prairie.)

In colorful detail, it documents the lives of some of the older people living in and around Long Prairie at the time. It's well worth a look. The students let these elders speak in their own voices, seemingly without much editing.

One highlight is a story about Josie Lunceford, an avid hunter who looks fetching with a rifle. "I and my little dog Sparky would go out in the woods and if I found a den and the holes weren't too small, Sparky would go down in the hole and bring the pups up one at a time... Sometimes they got a hold of him, and he would pull them right out to the edge of the hole, and I would say, "Hold 'em, Sparky." He would hold 'em right there till I'd shoot 'em with a 22."

Lunceford says she used to get $12 a piece for a live fox "when the bounty was on." But, as of the time of the article, she says, "You can't dig 'em anymore. It's against the law, or I would probably be out today."

Albert Zellgert, 82, also had a lot to say. A violin player and wool spinner, he describes his childhood as "pretty darn hard." He walked a mile to school every day and wore hand-knitted socks and mittens. "We had to toe the mark. There was ten of us in the family so you know what they said to us, we had to do. If they told us to get the wood, we better do it!!!... Otherwise, we would get slapped around the ears. I didn't like that."

Asked whether people in 1979 were different from those back when he was a kid, he says, "I think they are a little more fresh. They're more forward, but I think years ago the people were more accommodating than they are now. They helped one another out if they needed help because that was the only place they could go was to the neighbors to get help. Now you can walk down the road and there's nobody to stop and pick you up. You have to walk."

Zellgert describes his life as a happy one. "I don't know what more I would want. I have a good life. That's all a person could ask for."

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Midmorning today: Taking care of aging parents

Posted at 9:13 AM on April 8, 2010 by Curtis Gilbert (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Jonathan Rausch, a writer for The Atlantic magazine, is on Midmorning right now. His latest article is about deciding what to do about his father's declining health.

Rausch discovered millions of middle-aged Americans are going through the same struggles. Paula Span who writes the New Old Age blog for the New York Times is also on the show.

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What can a family reunion say about aging?

Posted at 12:40 PM on April 7, 2010 by Dave Peters (3 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Do family reunions offer a key to how well we will deal with the health, lifestyle and economic questions brought on by aging?

That's what I found myself wondering after spending a couple hours Tuesday chatting with a dozen bright, talkative students at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School.

A lot of MPR News' reporting in Todd County for the Ground Level project centers on the questions of aging and how a community prepares for a rising proportion of elderly. But that doesn't mean it isn't about kids as well. People graduating from high school just as Baby Boomers hit retirement age will have a burden to bear, and how they choose to live their lives may say a lot about the quality of life elders will lead in the next few decades.

The kids' family histories ran the gamut. Three-generation farm family kids mixed with those who had arrived in Long Prairie a few years ago. Caleb King has spent nearly all his life in town, but he said his family was particularly spread out geographically and noted that relatives got together for a family reunion about every five years.

That made classmate Maria Juarez say, "We have one every weekend." Extended family members live in the neighborhood, and gatherings of aunts, uncles and cousins are a constant presence in her life.

If informal support -- provided by family members, neighbors and friends -- is crucial to aging well, then maybe the ease with which we pull off a family reunion is one measure of how easy it is to deal with the challenge of aging. The Minnesota Council on Aging estimated that 10 years ago 91 percent of all long-term care in the state was provided by family members, a percentage it expects to decline. Every drop of 1 percentage point costs the state $30 million, it estimated.

Closeness to family was on the kids' minds. This was a college-bound crew, for the most part, and brighter lights beckoned from St. Cloud, the Twin Cities and beyond. But I could see the wheels turning as they considered what that meant.

Caleb, for one, thought the odds were "pretty slim" that he would return after graduating. Jordan Reed, whose great grandparents farmed in the area, sees himself going into civil engineering or political science. "There's not a lot of opportunities here for those types of careers."

Charlie Faust is thinking about engineering, too, but said being close to family is important. "I don't want to take over the family farm, but I will," he said, if he has to.

And Viri Ledesma wants to get a college degree via the Internet so she doesn't have to leave town to do it.

Erin Roe, who sees her home town of Grey Eagle "kind of emptying out," could see the value of both leaving town and staying close to family. "I like both sides of that," she said.

Long Prairie has experienced an influx of Latino immigrants in the past decade, and it was tempting to see a cultural difference in the answers to this question. The students, in fact, declared it flat out -- Latinos tend to hold family closeness in high regard and will give that a higher priority when making life choices.

Todd County's Latino population is less than 5 percent of the county's total and it is far younger than the county as a whole. So it's pretty tough to conclude much on this score. But perhaps there were some insights to be had Tuesday in Room 115A at the high school.

The students, by the way, provided a pretty optimistic assessment of how well ethnic mixing is going.

They took note of tension in town and potentially gang-related graffiti in recent months. But Kimberly Romero thinks racism is declining as people get to know each other, and Maria chalked it up to this: "Americans are getting nicer."

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Training the next generation of health workers

Posted at 3:58 PM on April 4, 2010 by Curtis Gilbert (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Students list the pros and cons of working in long term care as part of Tanya Jensen's Health Occupations class at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Senior High School. (MPR Photo/Chris Welsch)

The median age in Todd County is about 39 -- 3 years older than Minnesota as a whole. But the employees at the Long Prairie nursing home skew much older.

Among the nurses there, the average age is 50. That means a good number of them will be retiring in the next decade.

"We are going to run into a labor shortage," Administrator Dan Swenson said.

In response, CentraCare Health System, which runs the hospital and the nursing home, has partnered with the local high school to conduct a class called Health Occupations.

Students spend most of the course shadowing practitioners -- doctors, nurses, dentists and even veterinarians.

"You get a more hands-on experience instead of just getting to read it in a book," said student Amber Bense, an 18-year-old from Burtrum.

The class is in its fifth year, and there is always a waiting list for the 12 seats available.

"It's a booming field," teacher Tanya Jensen told the class recently. "There is a high demand for long term care providers. So if that's something you're interested in, you will have a lot of job security."

Four of the students in the class already work in long term care as certified nursing assistants. But most of the students doubt they will stay in central Minnesota, let alone Long Prairie.

"There's nothing to do in this town," student Ashley Bakke said. "It's little, and it's boring."

Some students said they would like to end up in Alexandria or St. Cloud. But only Maria Montanez planned to return to Long Prairie after college.

"All of my family's here," said Montanez, whose parents came to the area to work in meat packing and now own a Mexican clothing and jewelery store in town. "In my culture we're all pretty close. So I'd want to be close. I wouldn't want to be far away."

Montanez would rather work in the hospital than the nursing home, but that's still good news for Swenson, who runs them both.

"If we can get one individual out of that class to go into health care and come back here, it's a success," he said.

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Preaching La Palabra

Posted at 8:30 AM on March 30, 2010 by Jennifer Vogel (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

(MPR photo/Jennifer Vogel)

On a recent Tuesday evening, after a day of working on a nearby potato farm, an impeccably-dressed Pastor Rene Morazan pulled wrappers from the bushes in front of his church, Iglesia Apostolica de la Fe en Cristo Jesus, just off Long Prairie's main drag.

Morazan, 34, has been the pastor here for three years. "I was a member before I was the pastor," he says. Eventually, he became a deacon and then the previous pastor's assistant. "I felt the call of God. I always had that in my heart."

Inside, the church (the name translates as the Apostolic Church of the Faith in Christ Jesus) is painted bright yellow. There is the setup for a band near the altar, where Morazan plays guitar.

The church is associated with the oldest Apostolic Pentecostal church in Mexico. Sins here are washed away via baptism by immersion. At the sanctuary's front corner, there is a half-constructed baptismal tank that will be lined with Mexican tiles.

Morazan came to Long Prairie in 1998 from California with his wife. "I really like Minnesota," he says. "I like the people."

Part of his mission is helping Long Prairie's Latino community - especially the newcomers - adjust to life in the Midwest. "Sometimes we find them temporary labor," he says. "We connect people with jobs. Mostly it's farm work. There are still a lot of people coming to Long Prairie. It's a good area."

Asked how he and other Latinos have been received by Long Prairie natives, he says, "In every area, there is a little bit of discrimination. Not a lot. Ninety percent of the people in Long Prairie are nice."

The church's congregation of around 30 hails mostly from Mexico, and Morazan delivers his sermons in Spanish. "I want to try to preach in English and Spanish," he says. "I like it when white people come to the church."

Morazan is ambitious when it comes to preaching. He holds services in parks. He goes door-to-door. He visits believers in the evenings and conducts bible study classes. He'd like to expand his flock to 150. "We have faith that we are going to have 40 people by the end of the year," he says.

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New trend: Grandma's moving in

Posted at 8:52 AM on March 25, 2010 by Curtis Gilbert (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Today MPR's Midmorning program looks at an interesting trend toward what's called "multi-generaltional households" -- parents, kids and grandparents all living under one roof. It's based on a new Pew study.

Might this be one way to care for America's aging population? Listen to the 9 o'clock hour of Midmorning today.

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Where the sidewalk ends

Posted at 5:01 PM on March 25, 2010 by Curtis Gilbert (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Take a walk around Todd County's largest city, Long Prairie, and you'll soon be faced with a choice: Traipse across someone's lawn, or take to the street.

The sidewalk extends only part way down this Long Prairie block. (MPR Photo/Curtis Gilbert)

There are many places where whole sections of sidewalk are simply missing, grown over with grass and moss. And some neighborhoods have no sidewalk at all.

It's a minor inconvenience for a 29-year-old, able-bodied reporter. But if you're 82 and use a walker, it's a bigger problem. What seems like a small thing looms larger as an emblem of the issues that pop up as the proportion of elderly grows.

"I walk on the street," said Leona Smith, who walks at least two miles a day, three days a week, weather permitting. "The sidewalk is so uneven, it just drives me crazy."

According to a report from the University of North Carolina's Highway Safety Research Center, pedestrians 65 and older are far more likely to die after being struck by a car than their younger counterparts.

Advocates for the elderly say that makes well-maintained, accessible sidewalks especially important for older Americans. But they point out people of all ages benefit from better sidewalks.

"It's for the person in the wheelchair, but it's also for the couple with the stroller or the kid on the bike," said Jon Knopik, community services developer with the Central Minnesota Council on Aging.

As Todd County looks to a future with more and more elderly citizens, Knopik says it should take steps toward becoming more pedestrian-friendly.

City Adminstrator Dave Venekamp says Long Prairie has put city-subsidized sidewalk improvements on hold for the last two years in response to cuts in state aid.

Sidewalks are back in the budget this year, but could be axed again depending on what happens to local government aid at the Legislature this session, Venekamp said.

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Demographer Gillaspy: Brace for aging bubble

Posted at 10:52 AM on March 24, 2010 by Dave Peters (1 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Tim King and I have been having a conversation on an earlier post about whether concern about an aging population might be a little exaggerated. Specifically, Tim has been urging us to look at the birth-to-death ratio in Todd County and explain what it means when more people are being born than are dying.

I asked Minnesota's state demographer, Tom Gillaspy, to weigh in, and here's what he had to say:

Births normally outnumber deaths by about 2 to 1 in most of the state. This is not a new thing and is the main source of our population growth. Also, generally over the past decade, births have been increasing (though down a bit for the recession). Over the next couple decades, births will continue to outnumber deaths though the ratio will decline a bit as we continue to age.

I assure you that the concern over aging is not overblown. The baby boom generation, born from 1946 to the early 60s, is now about age 50 to 64. This is a very large generation that is beginning to retire. At the same time, the high school graduation class of last spring will be the largest for about a decade and the population age 18-24 (college age) will decline in Minnesota and the US. More old folks retiring and fewer young entering the work force and our workforce growth will slow dramatically this decade. That will contribute substantially to declining economic growth. This is already happening in Japan and Europe and will soon begin to happen in China.

By 2020, Minnesota and the US will have more people over age 65 than children in K-12 education for the first time. The whole concern over health care costs is fueled by the aging of the population. Social Security now (as of the past couple months) has a net out flow of income and is beginning to dip into its trust fund. This date is a couple years earlier than expected due to the recession causing a decline in Social Security tax receipts and an increase in the number of people initiating Social Security retirement benefits. We have entered the "age of entitlements" that economists and demographers have been pointing to for about 4 decades.

You might want to listen to some recent MPR/NPR interviews with David Walker, president of the Peterson International Economics Foundation and former comptroller of the US currency and director of the GAO. His main topic is the financial situation resulting from promises we have made to people and are not prepared to pay for now that they are ready to collect.

The David Walker interviews that Gillaspy mentions are here:

March 16, 2010
April 17, 2007

Gillaspy's point about future shrinking high school graduating classes reminds me that one of the countervailing forces in Todd County is the arrival of a younger, working-age set of immigrants. Half of Long Prairie kindergarteners are Hispanic.

That's one of the issues we expect to explore as we continue to report in Todd County, so if you have thoughts, let us know. How are people seeing an economic or any other impact of immigration?

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The meaning of "small town USA"

Posted at 8:23 AM on March 26, 2010 by Nikki Tundel (3 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

The phrase "small town USA" pops up in everything from song lyrics to political speeches. Most often, it's used to evoke the image of a close-knit community, a place where everyone knows everyone, a town teeming with those who rely on each other like loved ones.

Of course, a cynic might wonder if such a place really exists, if this catch phrase holds any true meaning. Sure, people like to imagine there are places in America where Norman Rockwell paintings are lived out day after day. But does that make it so?

That cynic, and many others, would likely be surprised by many of the communities in Todd County. They come pretty darn close to fulfilling that quintessential image of small town USA.

Just ask Karen Weego. She moved to Hewitt, Minnesota, from California - where her apartment building had a larger population than her new town. She didn't know a soul in Hewitt, yet A bunch of the city's residents showed up to help her move in. Once she came back from the store to find a rhubarb pie on her kitchen table. She still doesn't know who left it for her.

Then there's Joe Arnzen, a long-time resident of Grey Eagle, Minnesota. Last summer, the car Joe and his sister Linda were riding in was broadsided. Linda was killed and Joe was seriously injured. The town's residents rallied around Joe and did everything they could to help. When Christmas came around, they even set up his holiday decorations. And that was no small feat.

Linda and Joe shared a home for years. Linda loved creating elaborate displays in their yard for every holiday on the calendar and Joe wanted to continue that tradition. But, still struggling to recover from his physical injuries, he found even arranging plastic gingerbread men beyond his abilities.

Then, one day, a group of townspeople arrived on Joe's doorstep. They informed him they'd be setting up his decorations that December. They gave him a laser pointer and told him to indicate exactly where he wanted them to place each Christmas elf and every toy solider.

Just last week, the mayor of Grey Eagle let Joe know that he and a few others from town would soon be over to take down the Christmas display and put up the Easter decorations.

The phrase "small town USA" might get thrown around a lot these days. It's kinda cool to know that, in some places, it really means something.

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Know a personal care attendant in Todd County?

Posted at 1:34 PM on March 19, 2010 by Curtis Gilbert (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

As part of our Ground Level: Todd County project, Minnesota Public Radio News is looking into the effects recent cuts to Minnesota's Personal Care Assistance program are having on the county's seniors.

If you know anyone in Todd County who is a personal care attendant or who uses one, I'd like your help getting in touch with them. Please e-mail me or call 651-290-1194 and leave me a message there.

Personal Care Assistance is a state program that pays attendants to provide tens of thousands of elderly and disabled Minnesotans with (largely non-medical) help -- getting dressed, grooming, eating, etc. The goal is to help people stay in their homes, instead of living in an institutional setting such as a nursing home.

The program has surged in popularity over the last decade. State spending on Personal Care Assistance more than doubled between 2002 and 2007 to more than $400 million a year.

That explosive growth made the program an attractive target for budget cutting last year. A report from the Legislative Auditor also found lax regulation made it vulnerable to fraud.

The Minnesota Legislature made a number of changes to the Personal Care Assistance law last year -- tightening eligibility, requiring training for attendants, and limiting the number of hours a personal care attendant can work in a given month.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty made $7.5 million in additional cuts to the program unilaterally last summer as part of his package of unallotments.

I'm curious about what effect those cuts and legislative reforms are having on Todd County senior citizens. I appreciate any help you can give me in answering that question.

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70-plus people facing the future

Posted at 8:40 AM on March 19, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Baldwin Township, Todd County

The Initiative Foundation's effort to help four central Minnesota communities come to grips with what residents want to deal with was in full swing Thursday in Little Falls.

While the swollen Mississippi River was roaring through town a couple blocks away, more than 70 residents of Baldwin Township, Todd County, Eden Valley and Brainerd spent the day getting training from the Initiative Foundation's Dan Frank and Don Hickman. The foundation's Healthy Communities Partnership tries to help people identify the assets they have where they live and then figure out how to set priorities to make something happen.

They go back at it with another training session in a month and then each community will hold a session to let anybody in town participate in the process. It was good to hear the folks from Baldwin Township were making use of the MPR News material from our public forum March 4.

Similarly, I hope the folks sitting around the Todd County table yesterday will be able to build on the reporting we're doing now. We expect to partner soon with local newspapers in the county, to build a Todd County web page and to hold a forum in the county May 6.

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Help us define Ground Level

Posted at 8:50 AM on March 22, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Baldwin Township, Brainerd, Todd County

If you've been reading this blog you know that MPR News' Ground Level project is focusing lately on Todd County. But we're also thinking through what happens after that and who in the long run is the audience and what is the subject matter.

I had coffee at the Stomping Grounds coffee shop in Staples last week with Cheryal Lee Hills, executive director of Region Five Development Commission, to help me think about those questions.

First, who's the audience for our journalism?

The easy answer is anyone interested in how Minnesota communities try to maintain or revive their vibrancy. At this point, it strikes me that includes two groups.

One is the people on the ground, engaged or getting engaged in what's happening where they live -- people like Jeff Holm, Sue Hix, Jay Swanson, Elaine Phillippi and Elly Rittenour in Baldwin Township who are trying to figure out how to plan better in their 36-square-mile community.

But a second, broader part of our audience is made up by the surprisingly large and not entirely coordinated industry of people and organizations trying to help folks like those in Baldwin Township and Todd County. We're working with the Bush Foundation and the Initiative Foundation, of course, but there's a million more out there -- other large foundations like Blandin and Wilder, smaller community foundations, non-profits like 1,000 Friends of Minnesota and Minnesota Design Team, the University of Minnesota's extension operations, governmental entities like Hills' that do planning for multi-county areas, local governments and more.

Thousands of Minnesotans are engaged in helping people build livable communities, trying to bring out the potential. The web of connections among those people is complex. As Hills told me, sometimes her regional development commission flies at 100,000 feet and offers planning and coordination; at other times it's on the ground implementing and providing money for specific projects. It all depends on what's appropriate for the time and the topic, she says.

I'd like to think Ground Level can help in the conversation.

So, second question, what's the subject matter of Ground Level's journalism? My answer today (again, thanks to Hills for the metaphor): Anything that helps people who are getting their hands dirty.

That might be literal where a community garden is playing a part in a sustainable food network among farmers and local buyers. But it's meant to focus on real people on the ground in real places. It doesn't mean simply saying a committee was formed; it means looking for ways to illuminate, to inform, to enlighten, to show people things they perhaps didn't know about their communities.

I think that happened in Baldwin Township, where we've gotten encouraging feedback from residents figuring out how much they want to do collectively to deal with unplanned growth.

It can happen in Todd County, where residents are wondering how to maintain a sustainable community as the proportion of elderly grows steadily.

In Brainerd, residents are exploring how to take better advantage of their natural setting. In Crosby, residents want a better downtown. In Cook County and elsewhere, people are pushing for greater access to broadband.

In general, we're interested in any place where people are thinking hard about creating livable, sustainable places to live, tackling the big questions of transportation, energy use, housing, land use, food use -- in other words, wherever Minnesotans are taking action to make better places to live.

I'm eager to hear whether this resonates with readers, both those with their hands dirty and those who are trying to help them.

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Todd County, aging and the numbers

Posted at 8:06 AM on March 17, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

I ran across another set of numbers regarding aging in Todd County.

1. The state Department of Human Services expects that people over 65 will represent a quarter of the county in 20 years. Right now, it's about one in six. The vast majority of those over 65 in 2030 will, of course, be Baby Boomers.
2. More than 2,000 people over 65 will live alone in the county in 20 years. That would be up from fewer than 1,300 now.
3. And, after chatting with the women who make meals for delivery at the senior center kitchen in Eagle Bend last week, I find this an eye-opening prediction: Women between 45 and 64 -- those considered the primary caregivers -- outnumber people over 65 by about 5 1/2 to one. In 20 years, there will be fewer than 3 1/2 such women to each old person.

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Getting old the new way

Posted at 8:31 AM on March 16, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

As we try to get our hands around the question of aging in Todd County -- how loud is the aging shoe going to be, as Tim King wondered skeptically on a post here last Friday -- I met Monday with a couple people who suggested there's something new about getting old.

We're increasingly seeing an informal network of support replace or supplement the traditional arrow of institutionalized help for the elderly -- Medicare or Medicaid, assisted living, congregate dining, nursing home beds, hospitalization. Churches and family play big roles in supporting older people, but so can new networks of neighbors and friends, communal living arrangements, intergenerational living arrangements, cooperative shopping and transportation setups among neighbors. Neighborhoods once filled with kids now house a bunch of elderly folks who will gradually form their own "naturally occurring retirement communities" with their own services for each other.

So said Diane Sprague, director of a private consultant company called Lifetime Home Project, and Katy Boone, public health planner for Carver County. They stopped by at my invitation to give me a little primer on where things are headed.

"We can't predict where this is going to develop," Boone said.

These informal networks might not be the ultimate answer for a widower on a Todd County farm who is suffering from depression. But given the sense of community evident, for example, around the breakfast table in the Village Cafe in Grey Eagle last Thursday, maybe it does muffle the sound of that shoe dropping just a bit.

The big driver? Naturally, Baby Boomers, people more likely to take matters into their own hands and create solutions for their problems as they get old, Sprague and Boone said.

Have you see examples of this informal support network emerging in Todd County or elsewhere? I'd love to hear about it. Comment here.

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Count Them In

Posted at 8:27 AM on March 23, 2010 by Jennifer Vogel (2 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Dale Judes (MPR photos/Jennifer Vogel)

After two weeks of reporting in Todd County, I'm struck by how many people volunteer their time in order to provide services for others. Recently, before indulging in a lunch of turkey and mashed potatoes at the senior center in Eagle Bend, I met some of the two dozen people who volunteer for the Meals on Wheels program, which serves the elderly, disabled and needy.

They cook and deliver hot food to more than 30 nearby clients and drive stacks of home-made frozen dinners to 29 more living in far flung parts of the county. "This keeps them in their homes," said Gladys Judes, who was manning the senior center front desk. "We check up on people."

Last Thursday, I rode along with Gladys' husband, Dale, as he delivered coolers full of frozen bundled meals - each client typically receives 14 dinners, a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk and desserts. Drivers are paid for their mileage, but not their time.

Dale Judes, a very fit 63-year-old who favors cowboy boots, said the delivery program - which is privately financed via the efforts of Todd County's coordinator of aging, Verna Toenyan - keeps people out of nursing homes. "People do better in their own environments," said Judes, who used to own a farm. "They want to be independent." Nursing homes, he said, can seem like "holding pens for the mortician."

Over several hours, Judes drove meals to eight clients, all the while punching numbers into his GPS. A few agreed to speak with me.

Dale Stevens, a 66-year-old retired auctioneer, says Social Security doesn't go very far and he's broke at the end of each month. "I haven't eaten out in three years," he said. Recently, he was hospitalized for dehydration and drove himself to the emergency room. Asked whether anyone besides Dale checks in on him, he said, "The county person comes every two months to make sure I'm eating and haven't fell over dead."

The last stop was Loretta Peterson's farm. The 83-year-old lives alone in a house that's bursting with photos of kids and grandkids. She entertains herself by listening to a police scanner, which went off several times during our visit. She says she doesn't get lonely. "I'd never want another man," she said. "I like men, but I wouldn't want to live with one. I'm too ornery. I want everything my way. If I got one my age, he would be the same way. And we'd fight all the time."

"I would like to stay here," Peterson said of the farm where she's lived for fifty years. "As long as Dale keeps bringing food."

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All Work and No Pay

Posted at 8:35 AM on March 15, 2010 by Jennifer Vogel (1 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Driving along County Road 11 on Sunday, I came across a fellow walking the ditches collecting cans in a plastic mesh bag that used to hold California oranges. Asking to be identified only as "Rapid Ron," the man, wearing bright yellow sunglasses, said he used to work at RR Donnelley printing in Long Prairie, but was laid off last year.

Employment woes are not uncommon in Todd County, where the January unemployment rate was 9.9 percent, compared to the state's 8.2 percent. Layoffs, closings, and cutbacks helped push the county's rate all the way up to 11.7 percent in February 2009. Even those with jobs sometimes don't earn enough: While the average weekly wage in Minnesota is $881, it's only $554 in Todd County.

Ron, who had the tanned hands and face of a man who's spent a lot of days recently combing the ditches for treasure, explained that, in fact, the cans weren't for him. They were for a friend who drives a school bus. "I just do it to keep out of trouble," he said.

Then he pulled a rusty horseshoe out of his pocket, probably from a horse belonging to a nearby Amish family. "I found three of these last week," he said. "I have about a dozen nailed to my garage."

Ron moved to Todd County 11 years ago from Bloomington after his uncle died and left behind a farm. "I've never been happier," he said. "But I'm not a farmer." He worked at RR Donnelley for three and a half years before being let go. "I'm fortunate that I don't have kids or a spouse. I know people who moved away because there are no jobs."

He's not sure what he'll do in the long run to make ends meet. He's considering applying for a position at one of the nearby meat processing plants. But in the meantime, he'll just keep costs down - he doesn't own a car or computer - and keep collecting cans.

What's been your experience working in Todd County? Do you earn enough to make ends meet? What type of employer would you like to see move into the county?

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Getting older in Todd County

Posted at 3:29 PM on March 11, 2010 by Dave Peters (5 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

Our Ground Level reporting project got going in earnest this week in Todd County, about 150 miles northwest of the Twin Cities. Nikki Tundel, Curtis Gilbert, Jennifer Vogel and I have hit every corner of the county, talking to retired folks, young folks, entrepreneurs, small-town mayors, volunteers, newspaper editors, truck drivers, musicians, health care providers and more.

Our reporting is only beginning so we won't know for sure for a while what we'll produce. But there's a strong chance our coverage will have something to do with the facts that Todd County has a higher than average proportion of elderly, and its residents over 65 tend to be poorer than their counterparts in the rest of Minnesota. As a result, the county finds itself on the leading edge of some troubling trends involving poor physical and mental health and deteriorating living conditions. What's more, given existing demographic trends, these conditions and the pressure they put on services to help the elderly will become more significant in the future.

At the same time, Todd County provides glimpses at ways some of these trends and pressures can perhaps be dealt with or at least recognized. The growing number of "younger" elderly can knit together to provide some community help in ways that perhaps are unique to rural life. A growing health care industry is focusing on the elderly. A sizable group of immigrants in part of the county can shore up schools and generate an economic base. In an uncertain national economy, the quest for more jobs can be a quixotic pursuit, yet even there, Todd County has some examples and potential avenues that seem worthwhile as residents try to maintain, or perhaps regain, a way of living that they value.

Do these ideas ring true? We're eager to use this blog to test our thoughts, seek suggestions for further reporting, look for people to talk to. Let us know by adding a comment or by emailing me.


Then watch for our coverage in April in a number of papers that serve the county -- the Staples World, the Long Prairie Leader, the Browerville Blade and the Clarissa Independent News Herald -- and online and in a public forum.

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Who tells the story of a place?

Posted at 2:03 PM on March 3, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Baldwin Township, Todd County

All over the country, local foundations are trying to help residents identify and deal with the challenges communities face -- school achievement gaps, the digital divide, desires to establish sustainable food networks, you name it. Many of these efforts have been in place for years, including the Initiative Foundation program that MPR News has become a partner of this year.

But in the past couple years, those foundations have been getting a harder and harder push by the Knight Foundation to think about providing information about their communities as a key activity if they want democracy to flourish locally. The "information ecosystem" has changed and Knight has been providing millions of dollars for experiments around the country.

I spent a couple days this week at a conference Knight sponsored to keep shining a light on those efforts and to encourage foundations to figure out ways to provide residents the information they need.

Foundation CEO and president Alberto Ibarguen:

"The flow of local news is as important as the flow of jobs, or the flow of traffic, or electricity. It is a resource essential to a properly functioning community - a resource we can no longer take for granted."

There was a lot of talk about new technology tools, of course. But what struck me most is how the nature of a place's storytelling and who gets to provide it is changing.

A foundation in Colorado produced a slick magazine full of data and a narrative pointing readers to the persistent gap between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students. One in Florida created a forum for residents and got a big response from residents after the Haiti earthquake. These are new ventures that take the foundations to places they haven't been before.

Residents telling their own stories, or at least joining in the conversation over what stories should be told, is getting more important. Citizens and non-traditional media are getting into the act.

But even the people running experiments that seem promising worry about sustaining the effort.

This Ground Level project falls right into the middle of that conversation. We want to hold up a mirror where a place's residents are trying to figure out their future. We want to help residents determine and tell their stories. By connecting with the Initiative Foundation, we've been able to settle on Baldwin Township and Todd County as two places to focus for now, and the stories are robust.

Looking ahead, we want to enlarge our view -- to other communities, other organizations, other means of getting people involved in the storytelling. If you have ideas, let us know.

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Breakfast at Mikey's in Long Prairie

Posted at 8:43 AM on February 26, 2010 by Dave Peters (2 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

We got more than a dozen folks around the breakfast table at Mikey's on Long Prairie's Central Avenue Thursday morning to talk about Todd County, and it didn't take long for the stories to come tumbling out.

Harry Grammond said folks in Gray Eagle want someone to make use of a good, former grade school, closed because of declining enrollment.

Bob Krause said he'd drive a senior in need to North Dakota if he or she needed to get there, partly because he hopes a transportation program will still be around when he needs it.

Jim Gohman's son moved away from Gray Eagle but came back when he found a printing job, a job that has since disappeared.

Julie Baum has watched her kids move away from the rural county as they grew up. "I'm afraid we're going to run out of people," she said. She and her husband will stay because her parents are there.

Gladys Judes was a farmer who joined the Peace Corps as a dairy advisor in Central America. Now, as she fights to pass a school bond in Eagle Bend and Clarissa, the problems her community faces sometimes make her think she's back in the Peace Corps, she said.

Dan Rasmussen loves to tell the tale of the dirty looks he got for welcoming a Hispanic bowling team to the bowling alley he runs. Now, three years later, everybody wants the team members to bowl with them, he says.

Todd County is a place in some turmoil -- the economy is tough, farms and jobs have disappeared, the employment of many Hispanics in the past decade have caused tensions and given a glimpse of solutions. Increasingly, senior citizens are showing signs of desperation.

There were three of us from MPR News at the breakfast table yesterday -- Jennifer Vogel, Curtis Gilbert and me -- and we were beginning Ground Level's next reporting project. We want to hear what makes Todd County tick, so if you have a story, an anecdote, a name of somebody we should talk to, please let us know by posting a comment here or emailing me. We'll be back soon.

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Growing old in Todd County

Posted at 8:23 AM on February 18, 2010 by Dave Peters (1 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

The senior center in tiny Eagle Bend, Minnesota, delivered 10,000 meals last year to Todd County residents who needed them, the same number as the year before.

Verna Toenyan, who wrangles people and businesses into helping with that effort, worries that soon that won't be enough.

That's just one reason she got 60 or 70 people in a room for lunch in Browerville yesterday to start talking about how people in Todd County can figure out, with the help of the Initiative Foundation, how to deal with an aging population. There was a lot of gray hair in the room.

Todd County is on the front of the aging curve. About 16 percent of its 25,000 residents are over 65 and, as is true just about everywhere else in the United States, that percentage will rise in coming years.

As for the meals program, "We are dealing with the neediest of the needy," Toenyan says.

The Initiative Foundation's goal is to help residents come up with a strategy, and IF's Dan Frank made two interesting points in Browerville. One is that the issues involved with an aging population aren't simply those of health care. Recreation, the business climate, arts and culture, education and more are all part of the equation, too. And second, it's useful to think about people who are aging (i.e. all of us) as, not simply a suck on the system, but as assets that can be brought to bear to find solutions.

In the coming weeks, MPR News will start a more organized reporting effort in Todd County to start painting the contours of the issue. I hope we can provide some insight to residents there, but I also think it will be helpful to others around the state. It's a place we're all going to get to someday.

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Initiative Foundation kicks off in Todd County next week

Posted at 3:41 PM on February 12, 2010 by Dave Peters (0 Comments)
Filed under: Todd County

I mentioned a couple days ago that our Ground Level project is starting to broaden out to take a look at Todd County, and I'll be at an Initiative Foundation kickoff session in Browerville on Wednesday.

Folks there are particularly interested in facing the challenges brought about by the rising proportion of elderly people. They've noted that the social structure in a rural county like Todd has changed as small farms disappear, young people leave for the city, people live longer and have higher health care bills. They've also noted the added complexities and opportunities posed by recent immigrants from other countries. How to build something that works?

Todd County is not unique, but it's leading the way up a demographic curve much of the rest of Minnesota is climbing, too.

The Initiative Foundation's Healthy Communities Partnership is a 10-year-old effort to lend expertise and organizing help for residents who want to take on an issue like that. Wednesday's session is the beginning of a months- or even years-long process of getting people in the community together, marshaling resources and building on the strengths they have.

As I've said before, MPR's role is to shed some light and provide information in hopes of fostering that engagement.

While MPR tries out our sea legs in Baldwin Township and Todd County, the Initiative Foundation is also dealing with a couple other communities this winter and spring. In the next week or so, I'll touch on what's going on in Brainerd and Eden Valley.

If you know of Minnesota communities where residents are trying to organize to make their futures more rewarding, let me know.

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We're starting to look at Todd County, too

Posted at 9:40 AM on February 5, 2010 by Dave Peters (15 Comments)
Filed under: Baldwin Township, Todd County

In the first post on this blog a few days ago, I mentioned the experimental nature of what Minnesota Public Radio News is trying to do here. For starters, we're zeroing in on the people and issues of Baldwin Township, and it's been fun to hear from Baldwin residents both in the comments and via email.

Next week, the Princeton Union-Eagle will start publishing a series of stories by MPR reporter Jennifer Vogel about what Baldwin Township residents are facing as they look to the future. We'll post that and more material on a separate Baldwin web page within MPRNewsQ. As always, tell us what you think.

At the same time, we're broadening our view and starting to look at a second community, Todd County, about 100 miles to the northwest.

As in Baldwin Township, residents in Todd County have asked for help from the Initiative Foundation in order to address some concerns, and MPR aims to do reporting and writing that will shed light and make it easier for folks to get engaged.

Just as we did in Baldwin Township, where housing development, planning and a skepticism of government are on front burners, we've started by asking what's on the minds of people in Todd County, tapping MPR's Public Insight Network.

And we're getting answers: Jobs topped early responses, but demographic changes are clearly on people's minds as well.

Nancy Leasman of Long Prairie pointed to the "empty storefronts" in that city and the loss of jobs in the last year at one of the county's largest employers, RR Donnelley.

"Though the city has built an incubator building with the hopes of attracting new industry, it hasn't happened, yet," Leasman wrote to us.

The mayor of Long Prairie (and the owner of the local bowling alley) Don Rasmussen told us that his city has become quite diverse, and poses a challenge to long-time residents.

"About 1/2 of the current Kindergarten class is of Latino descent. We have people from the Island of Palau, Pakistan, India, and other countries as well as a growing Amish community. The European flavor of our city has changed. Citizens do not understand it and have trouble with the immigration."

"Our county social services are strapped financially and unfortunately the very old are the last to receive help as a result," wrote Corrina Brown who works for the county.

We're planning to ramp up our listening in Todd County in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you live in Todd County, tell us what you think are issues facing your community.

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