Ridgewater College is proud to announce that its Peace Officer program recently received reaccreditation from the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training. The accreditation process requires nearly a year of intensive evaluation of courses, curriculum, and processes of the two-year associate of applied science degree formerly known as Law Enforcement.
Granite Falls Police Department Chase, Garrick Matthew, Granite Falls; Offense date 5/1/21 Traffic – DWI – Operate Motor Vehicle – Alcohol Concentration 0.08 within 2 hours (Misdemeanor); Plea 9/7/21 Guilty; Disposition 9/7/21 Convicted; Amended Court Decision 3/30/22 Sentenced Local Confinement (90 Days, Stay 0 Yr 0 Mo 88 Days for 1 Yr Credit for Time Served: 2 Days); $400 Fine. Blomquist, Michael Eric, Waldorf; Offense date 7/13/20 Theft of Motor Fuel From Retailer (Misdemeanor); Plea 4/4/22 Guilty; Disposition 4/4/22 Convicted; Court Decision 4/4/22 Sentenced Local Confinement 30 Days, Credit for Time Served: 30 days; $75 Fine.
Avera recently announced an anonymous philanthropic gift of $11 million to be used for capital improvements and building updates across the Avera system. In the Marshall region, a portion of this gift will be used toward the purchase of a new ambulance at Avera Tyler Hospital and a new ambulance and Special Transportation Service (STS) van at Avera Granite Falls Health Center. All three are replacements for existing vehicles with high miles. “Keeping ambulances and patient transport vehicles up-to-date is important to ensure we are able to respond to emergency needs and provide safe, reliable transportation for patients,” said Debbie Streier, Avera Marshall Regional President and CEO.
On March 30th, Governor Tim Walz along with Senator Dave Tomassoni and family, a bipartisan group of legislators, and amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) advocates signed into law $25 million for ALS research and caregiver support programs.
Every winter, I forget what a fan I am of the sporadically-gorgeous nature of spring. One day, it’s blizzarding sideways and I’ve shifted my college students to Zoom; literally the next, it’s sixty degrees and sunny, the cats watching us with tentative gratitude as they paw at the screens of our open windows. If April showers bring May flowers, what do April blizzards bring?
Much of the central, west central, and northern Minnesota saw temperatures into the upper 40s and low to mid 50s on Sunday. Portions of southern and eastern Minnesota, however, even saw some 60s! Minneapolis hit 61 degrees, while Jackson, Windom, and Austin all topped out at 63 degrees.
In my last article, I touched briefly on holding family meetings. As I mentioned, I often encourage caregivers to hold a family meeting to increase communication and to let their families help them bridge gaps and find solutions. Yet, as my last article explained, sometimes the caregiver themselves are not able to see that there are needs and concerns. Sometimes family members, neighbors, friends, etc. of the caregivers need to initiate that action.
Great turnout for Mark Laechelt’s funeral last Saturday at Zion Lutheran Church. The Clarkfield Assembly of God marched around the sanctuary waving palm branches sing Hosanna on Palm Sunday.
With the rising demand for healthcare workers throughout the nation, Minnesota West Community & Technical College has been collaborating with our local healthcare partners to expand some of our Allied Health programs to the Granite Falls campus to meet those needs. “We started looking at expanding a couple programs to our Granite Falls location because of the shortage in our northern service area. With the local support from Avera Granite Falls, we can make this happen as soon as fall 2022,” says Dean of Allied Health Jackie Otkin. “Once the college determined which programs to offer first, we submitted our request to Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for approval to replicate a program including exploring the accreditation requirements. For this to happen so quickly, the college leaned heavily on our local partners to assist in providing equipment, supplies, and hopefully provide some adjunct faculty.” The two programs that
We are nearing the Sunday of the Passion or Palm Sunday; we know the story—we know it well. But each year, we are in a little different place in our lives, and we often hear a little nugget in these wonderful stories that means something new to us.