Your quarterly news & updates March 2021 |
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- MDH added “Well-being” to the list of SHIP strategies and in Cass County we made the decision to pursue this strategy, based on input from our CLT Committee. Well-being includes mental, physical, social/emotional health and resiliency.
- Personal Well-being has taking on a new importance with the psychological toll that COVID 19 has on individual couple and families – isolation, disconnection, loneliness, depression and suicide having increased this year.
- In addition, the Well-being Strategy has also to be seen through the lens of Equity and Racism and we have to reflect on our past, current and future practices.
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Cass County Calling Tree
& Senior Bridges
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One of the biggest problems in 2020, and beyond, is the Isolation, and subsequent depression experienced by many seniors and homebound residents in Cass County. Other sub-groups were also identified as Farmers, Veterans, Tribal Members and Single Mothers. As a first step to counter this isolation, SHIP is working with Faith in Action, The Central Minnesota Council on Ageing, Cass County Veterans Services, Lutheran Social Services, and the Minnesota Indian Area Agency of Ageing, to collaborate in a Cass County Calling Tree. Postcards will be sent to targeted groups, and "reassurance and social calls" will be made to those who respond to the postcard invitation. This will greatly expand the programs that FIA and LSS are already operating and we hope to increase the pool of callers in the process. Callers will be "matched" to call recipients for life experience, interests and hobbies. Some residents may choose to be part of a Zoom Call, which we are calling SENIOR BRIDGES, and these will be held the second Wednesday of the month. Contact Faith in Action for more Details: 218-675-5435 |
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In working with our local area Schools, SHIP has found that there have been significant concern about the Mental Well-being of our students on their return to in-person classes - especially as they have been distance learning for so long. The Minnesota Department of Health has made available to schools "Kognito at Risk" an online learning tool for school staff and students. This state of the art program uses artificial intelligence to generate a potential conversation between, for example, a teacher who is concerned for the well-being of a student in their class. Kognito coaches the teacher in this conversation in order to establish trust, gather information, and link that student to the support services they need. SHIP is facilitating the use of this tool and assessing the future needs of schools in the Mental Health arena. Kognito also has a learning tool designed for students called "Friend2Friend". |
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Having won the battle in Minnesota for T21, we must now tackle the Tobacco Industry on Flavored Tobacco and Vapes, designed to entices young users. Flavored Vapes, such as Gummy Bar and Cotton Candy, still contain as much addictive Nicotine as regular cigarettes. SHIP is still working with Cass County Schools to combat tobacco and vaping. |
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Healthy Eating Initiatives
"make the Healthy Choice, the Easy Choice"
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COMMUNITY MEALS PROGRAM TOP 36,000 FREE Meals
IN PINE RIVER AND BACKUS
(including 550 Thanksgiving Meals - Thank you American Legion in Pine River!!)
All Meals since March 2020 have been served in "to go" boxes.
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PINE RIVER EVERY MONDAY RIVERVIEW FOOD HALL
from 4-6:00pm - ALL WELCOME
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BACKUS EVERY THURSDAY
PINE MOUNTAIN SENIOR CENTER
from 4-6:00pm Come One Come all
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In May 2020, The Pine River Backus Family Center, in cooperation with SHIP, was able to take advantage of the COVID Transportation Grant and purchase a Cargo Van from Kimber Creek Ford in Pine River. The Community Meals crew now have a reliable and spacious vehicle to pick up rescue food/purchased food and efficiently get the meals to Pine River and Backus community. |
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Cass County Food Shelf Coalition
Updates
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The Cass County Food Shelf continues to meet by Zoom every month. All the Food Shelf Directors were faced with enormous challenges when COVID 19 emerged a year ago. Having strived over recent years to move to "client choice" supermarket style service, they had to go back to Curbside Service delivered in bags to vehicles. This was, of course, accompanied by massive sanitation and cleaning efforts by Food Shelf Directors and their staff. To add to the challenge, many shelves lost trusted and reliable volunteers who were in that 65 plus age group that put them additional risk. Massive Kudos to our Food Shelves! |
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In December 2020, SHIP was asked to write a UCARE grant to address Health Equity in Cass County. In January 2021, The Cass Lake Area Food Shelf was awarded that grant which allowed then to purchase a delivery van, which once again was purchased from Kimber Creek Ford (keeping the money local!). This Van will allow Iris Sherer and her team to make deliveries of food to outlying communities of residents with no consistent way to get to the Food Shelf. They have already hired a driver and are making almost daily deliveries! Thank you UCARE. Two Cargo vans in Cass County in one year! |
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Community Garden Updates
Many of our wonderful Community Gardens were holding SHIP hosted Zoom meetings this winter. Most are planning on expanding or improving their Gardens in 2021 to make them more user friendly and to allow more residents to garden. Hackensack Community Garden is even planning a new way of bringing up well water....leg power via a recumbent bike and connected water pump! And the newly planned Garden in Longville will harvest rainwater from the Wabedo shed and deliver that water through underground pipes to each plot and raised bed for drip feeding irrigation! Cass County Gardens are all supported by SHIP and community partners that include, schools, churches, townships and Lion Clubs.
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Cass County Master Gardener Program |
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Cass County now has a Master Gardener Program again! Nine new Master Gardener candidates were recruited and are currently going through the core program. Five other existing Master Gardeners are also volunteering in Cass County. In addition to the volunteer hours that Master Gardeners will put in with various gardening projects, we hope that the quality of our gardens and the resulting produce will increase. Master Gardeners will be available to work with gardeners managers, beginning gardeners, and youth.
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One of the bonuses of being associated with the University of Minnesota Master Gardener Program, is Education. SHIP had the opportunity to purchased U of M outdoor educational signs which will be posted at all of our Community Gardens.
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Walker Hackensack Akeley School food service will soon receive some much needed extra equipment from SHIP. Due to COVID, they have been delivering meals to classrooms for ALL students, and that means extra Carts, Food Containers, Lids and Shelves to dry off said equipment. |
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Pretty soon the City of Hackensack will be getting a new SHIP funded Crosswalk System. This will be a solar powered, flashing 36 inch sign activated by push button and equipped with a verbal announcement to cross. The probable site will be state 371 and Lake Street. The system will also come with a newly painted crosswalk, and will be installed by Dana Stano and his crew. Hackensack is one of the only communities on 371 without a traffic light or Flashing Crosswalk. We hope that this will facilitate more walking and biking in the city as well as provide a safer place to cross this increasingly busy highway. |
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There is a wonderful little recreational reserve behind the baseball field on the east side of 371 in Hackensack. It encompasses hiking trails, or snow shoeing trails, the new Community Garden, a picnic area and a proposed dog park. However, very few Cass County residents even know about Bonna Paulson's reserve and that she donated it to the City of Hackensack. That may soon change with the SHIP funded sign that will stand on 371 directing folks to this hidden treasure. Kudos to the Hackensack Gamechangers, Linnea Dietrich, Melinda Hed and husband, and of course the late Bonna Paulson. The sign at the bottom will be at the actual entrance to the reserve and gives us hint of Bonna's zest for life and nature. |
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Fitness Events coming up in 2020 |
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- Longville - May 22nd 2021
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June 17-22 2021 VIRTUAL EVENT
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IS ON for 2021!
Saturday August 14h 2021
NEVIS MN
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More Fitness Opportunities in Cass County
Did you know that the Following Fitness Centers in the Cass County Region are ready and waiting for for you to go work out?
Walker, Longville, Pine River, Remer, Park Rapids, Nisswa, Bemidji, Baxter, Brainerd, Staples, Crosslake
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Cass County Memory Cafe's Continue
in 2021 by Zoom
2nd Tuesday of the Month Caregivers and Care Receivers: 10:30am
4th Tuesday of the month Caregivers only: 10:30am
The Memory Cafe in Cass County are looking to add participants. A Memory Cafe is a great place for folks living with Memory Loss or caring for some one with Memory Loss, including Dementia and Alzheimer's disease, to meet and socialize and take a trip down Memory Lane.
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Later in 2021 we hope to be meeting in person again! |
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Our Memory Cafe Community Partners
Faith in Action - Lifehouse Cafe - Calvary Church - ACT - Lutheran Social Services
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Cycling Without Age in Walker
The Walker Lions have Purchased a Trishaw and it was given several test rides in the fall of 2020. We will be resuming rides this spring at five locations in Walker. If you wish either to be a pilot or go for a ride contact Simon at the number below.
For information or future donations, Contact Simon Whitehead at 952-220-1060
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Art and Health Festival
Next Innovations, supported by The Leech lake Chamber of Commerce and Cass County SHIP is hosting an Arts and Health Fair July 10/11. If you are interested in becoming a Vendor or a Presenter, please contact Next Innovations or email Simon at swhitehe@umn.edu
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Tobacco Cessation for Youth and Adults |
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LiveHealthy Cass County | Statewide Health Improvement Partnership
Cass County Health Human and Veteran's Services 218-547-1340
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