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| Photograph of the Week The birds are migrating through my yard: Male Oriole on Orange. Female Oriole beside a Mountain Blue bird and Scarlett Tanager on rock. Downy Woodpecker on tree. Scarlett Tanager on feeder.- photo by Mike Schrom CLC announces new grant to expand student success effortsCentral Lakes College is thrilled to announce it was awarded a $3 million grant from the Department of Education to further its thriving student success efforts. The project funded by the grant focuses on using data to identify at-risk students and provide proactive support to increase CLC’s overall retention and completion rates. Spread over a five-year span, the grant funds will enable CLC to hire four Raider Connect Coaches. Following the popular Check and Connect Coach model, these coaches will provide school performance monitoring, mentoring and other supports to advocate for students through their educational journey. Full Story Foster Parents needed for kidsLutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) is seeking foster parents for children and youth in need. If you have a special heart for children, consider becoming a foster parent. Changes in child welfare practices and the rise of parental drug abuse have contributed to the increased need for foster families. According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, on an average day there were approximately 10,050 children in foster care in Minnesota in 2018, up from 9,900 the previous year. Children in foster care have experienced trauma. They need a safe home and supportive adult relationships to succeed, a key factor that helps children develop resiliency, according to Harvard University researchers. “Foster parents provide that stable, supportive home environment, teach life skills and model positive relationships with others. They recognize that children come from all different backgrounds and may have been raised with different values,” explained Tim Ollhoff, LSS Therapeutic Foster Care program director. Full Story Golden Horizon residents participate in the “Salad Days” presentation by Ideal Green Market CooperativeWhat could be better than a cool salad on a warm summer day?With the help of Ideal Green Market Cooperative board member, Bonnie Coffey, the residents of Golden Horizons Assisted Living in Crosslake made a delicious Pear and Blue Cheese Salad on greens grown by Eleanor Rice of Alder Song Gardens in Merrifield, one of the local farmers providing produce for the Ideal Green Market Cooperative (IGMC). Residents participating in the “Salad Days” presentation not only had a salad made with local and organic ingredients, but also shared their stories and experiences cooking favorite family foods. Full Story | Homeless and Wounded Warriors MN donate $5000 in scholarshipsHomeless and Wounded Warriors-MN, is a Crosslake headquartered 501c3 nonprofit assisting homeless and needy veterans. Their Executive Board, met on Sunday, May 8, 2019 and voted to make a $5000 donation to Central Lakes College veterans assistance program for 5 $1000 dollar scholarships to be disbursed one per year over the next 5 years. An interview process that will involve both a member of Homeless and Wounded Warriors-MN Board and the Director of Veterans Services at CLC along with the veteran will meet to determine eligibility and interview for need and suitability. Full Story Merrifield man wounded in motorcycle crashOn June 13th, at approximately 3:19 pm, the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an adult male involved in a motorcycle crash on County Rd 2 in St. Mathias Township. There were no other individuals or vehicles involved. The male was then flown by North Aircare to North Memorial Health Hospital for his injuries. The male was identified as 72 year old, Maynard James Woudsma of Merrifield, MN. Full Story Collaborative efforts improve water quality in Mississippi River watershedThere are simple things that can be done to keep the waters in Crow Wing County healthy. Projects range from something as simple as filtering rain by planting native grasses and shrubs on the shoreline or making a rain garden to absorb rain—to projects that are more involved and utilize the skills and resources of different organizations or agencies. As a part of the Mississippi River Brainerd Watershed, Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) provides programs that assist area residents as they seek ways to conserve and develop local soil, water, and related resources. The projects undertaken are as varied as the people who implement them. A recent water quality project at Mississippi Shores, a northeast Brainerd neighborhood, is an example of the SWCD assisting with a local project. The neighborhood layout was designed with a circle drive amid four-plexes and single family homes. The area in the center of the circle was intended to be green space to capture runoff and drain the water, but it wasn’t working effectively. Full Story | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
