Key Youth Board Receives Alliance Award
Sep 14, 2009 News
Wed. Sept. 9th members of the Northfield Union of Youth (The Key) board received a Lt. Governor Red Wagon Group Award in recognition of their community leadership in establishing local govt. election debates. Sophomore, Masie Ebert, Junior, Audrey Hamann and senior, Josh Wood were accompanied by Union of Youth staffer Amy Merritt.
The awards recognize youth initiative and involvement in civic engagement and are chosen by the Minnesota Alliance with Youth Board, which includes the Lt. Governor. Northfielder Zach Pruitt is also a member of the board.
As a member of the Adult board for the union of youth and a member of the Serve Minnesota Board which oversees Americorps in Minnesota I (Rep. David Bly) attended the event and took the pictures.
A Constitutional Amendment that Affects Us All, and the Importance of the Middle Class
Sep 5, 2009 Economy, Middle Class Amendment
Minnesota Rep. David Bly discusses the importance of the middle class and introduces an amendment that protects our economic vitality.
We all do better when we all do better.
updated at 4:00 pm on 9/5/09
Tags: David Bly, Middle Class Amendment, Minnesota
President talks to students
On Tuesday, September 8, President Barack Obama will address school children across the country on the importance of education. It will be broadcast live 1:00 p.m. eastern standard time on the White House website. All are invited to watch.
Classrooms are encouraged to tune in and to select from a series of activities that the U.S. Dept of Education has prepared with teachers to use with the broadcast.
According to U.S. Sec’y of Education Arne Duncan, the President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.
President Obama believes that educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures. This is the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation’s school children about persisting and succeeding in school.
SMIF News
Sep 3, 2009 News
Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation is one of six Minnesota regional foundations established by the Minneapolis-based McKnight Foundation and regional citizens in 1986. Leaders in each region establish priorities and work plans. Initiatives are funded by regional donors and The McKnight Foundation.
SMIF is looking for applications that are focused on one of the following two areas:
To engage immigrants in the workforce to maximize the potential of their diverse assets
To create minority entrepreneur success to support prosperity
An example of a successful grant application is Faribault’s United For Kids Committee. They received a two-year $15,000 grant to encourage businesses to have a “Little Red Bookcase” area in places where parents shop or attend appointments and where their pre-school children wait.
SMIF and IBM To Award 19 Young Explorer™ Computer Systems: Information about the success of this program can be found in their annual report dated December, 2008. According to the report, an average of 850 children per week used 36 Young Explorer Systems which were located in libraries and placed among the picture books. Early childhood partners in our 20-county region may apply to receive a “kid friendly” early learning computer station with science-, math-, reading- and literacy-focused software. Applications are due October 1, 2009.
A $10,000 grant for Home Visiting awarded by SMIF in 2008 resulted in nutritional know-how for families in Faribault and Martin counties. The Human Services departments in these counties under the Healthy Families organization used the funds to develop a ‘Cooking Club’ meant to improve parenting through good nutrition.
The Center for Rural Policy and Development is pleased to be serving as coordinator of the Southern Minnesota Regional Competitiveness Project, a partnership of businesses, nonprofit organizations and government agencies working together to create a strategic economic development plan for southern Minnesota. (Read more here.)
LESSARD-SAMS COUNCIL Invites Public Input to the Outdoor Heritage Fund
Sep 3, 2009 Environment, News
Minnesota’s Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund was created by the Minnesota legislature to receive 33 percent of the sales tax revenues resulting from the constitutional amendment passed by the voters in the November 2008 election.
In the month of August the Lessard-Sams Council held a series of planning meeting throughout the state. The results of are meant to provide the Council with direction on the regional conservation needs of the state over the next 25 years.
The Council would like public input on the priorities and targets developed at those meetings.
Each meeting considered a unique natural area of the state. The results and a description of the section of the state covered are available at the Council’s Website, and can be accessed by the following links:
Prairie
Metropolitan-Urbanizing
Southeast Forest
Northern Forest
Forest/Prairie Transition
The Council encourages all citizens to review the results prior to their presentation to the Council in mid-September.
Comments can be sent to the Council at LSOHCplanning@state.mn.us. The public is asked to please state in the subject line which section of the draft their comments pertain to.
If preferred, the public may submit comments via mail or fax. Contact information is below.
L-SOHC planning, C/O Management Analysis & Development
Minnesota Management & Budget
203 Administration Building
50 Sherburne Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55155
FAX: 651-297-1117
“This effort is fundamental to the Council’s work to develop priorities for the use of the Outdoor Heritage Fund” said Bill Becker, Executive Director of the Council. “Conservation practitioners in each part of the state, identified by conservation leaders, gave their opinion of what needs to be done to protect, restore, and enhance the state’s habitat. The next step is for the Lessard-Sams Council to evaluate that work and decide how to use the Outdoor Heritage Fund. What portion of the effort should the Outdoor Heritage Funds support? What can we expect from our investment?”
The results of the meetings and related public input will be reviewed by the Council at its meeting scheduled for September 15 and 16, 2009, in Saint Paul. After reviewing the input, the council will develop its 25-year framework for the use of the Outdoor Heritage Fund and priorities for the Council’s Call for Funding Requests for state fiscal year 2011. The recommendations for fiscal year 2011 are due to the Minnesota Legislature no later than January 15, 2010, for review and action in the 2010 legislative session.
