Department of Commerce secures $98.7 million in funding for the Energy Assistance Program

SAINT PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Department of Commerce announced today that Minnesota will receive $98,726,312 in federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds for Minnesota’s Energy Assistance Program (EAP). LIHEAP helps low-income homeowners and renters pay heating bills through grant money paid directly to utility companies and heating fuel vendors on behalf of customers.

“Year after year, the LIHEAP program has helped keep Minnesotans who struggle to pay for home heating stay warm throughout the winter,” said Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman.  “These important federal funds keep thousands of homes from losing heat and protect our neighbors from being out in the cold.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce administers the LIHEAP in partnership with 32 local service providers throughout the state. LIHEAP is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program helps renters and homeowners earning less than 50 percent of the state’s median income ($43,642 for a family of four) obtain grant money to help pay their heating bills.

“Energy bills during long winters with subzero temperatures can take a large bite out of household budgets and  have left many Minnesotans stretching every dollar and struggling to make ends meet,” said Commissioner Rothman. “We encourage all Minnesotans who may have difficulty paying their heating bills to apply for LIHEAP assistance. Households that include children under the age of six, people with disabilities, veterans and seniors are especially encouraged to apply.”

Last year, Minnesota served 147,636 households and renters with $109.6 million in federal funds. The average household income of those receiving LIHEAP funds was $16,422. Approximately 73% of the homes included at least one senior, person with a disability, or a child under the age of 18. This year, the average grant per household will be $500.

Qualifying families must apply for assistance at the local service provider in their area. Funding is limited and is administered on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested households should contact their local service provider by calling 1-800-657-3710 or visiting the Energy Assistance section of the Commerce Department’s website (http://mn.gov/commerce/energy). The Minnesota EAP is supported by federal LIHEAP funding and administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

Mahnomen Area Assisted Living Receives Funds

The Mahnomen Area Assisted Living Inc, Board of Directors received notification on Monday, April 22^nd, that the application for loan funding from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Program to build a 14-unit Assisted Living facility was approved. The facility will be a 2-story building adjacent to the Mahnomen Health Center Nursing Home at 414 West Jefferson Avenue, Mahnomen, MN.
   

There will be a ground breaking event this spring with construction starting this summer. The units will be open and operational in early spring 2014. MAALC Directors are Karen Ahmann, Chair; Harley Hanson, Sec/Treas, Mary Nell Preisler, Lori Handyside and Ethel Hanson. Wally Eid served as Board Chair when Mahnomen Area Assisted Living Center, Inc, was created.

Grant funds now available for sustainable farming innovations

ST. PAUL, Minn.  – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant Program will award up to $100,000 in 2013 for on-farm sustainable agriculture research or demonstration projects.

The MDA is now accepting applications for the grant program which promotes environmental stewardship and conservation of resources and strives to improve profitability and quality of life on farms and in rural areas.

Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson says the MDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant Program has helped move new ideas and concepts into viable production practices.

“With these grants, farmers and researchers have the opportunity to pursue their ideas, track the results and then share this valuable information with others,” said Frederickson. “For example, we’ve seen the development of high tunnel systems to increase fruit production and new successes with cover crops.”

Grant applications are available on the MDA website at http://go.usa.gov/YBSj or by contacting the Agricultural Marketing and Development Division at 651-201-6012. Completed applications must be received by MDA no later than January 11, 2013.

Since 1989, the MDA Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant Program has awarded 281 grants. Examples of eligible projects include fruit and vegetable production, conservation tillage and weed management, integrated pest management, livestock production, organic farming, alternative energy crop production, and use of cover crops.

These and other grant projects are highlighted in the Greenbook, which is free and available at www.mda.state.mn.us/greenbook.

Projects funded to help older Minnesotans stay at home

Strategies to help Minnesotans stay in their homes and remain vital members of their communities as they grow old will be employed this year with a total of $2,296,787 in funding appropriated by the Minnesota Legislature. Helping Minnesotans stay in their homes and communities also saves the state dollars by making sure that nursing home care is reserved for those who need more intensive services.

Among projects being awarded through the Minnesota Department of Human Services Community Service/Community Services Development Grants are several that support informal caregivers, friends and family members whose help is critical to supporting people 65 and older to remain in their homes and communities.

“Providing older Minnesotans the support they need to stay in their homes and communities is good   all-around for the state,” said Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson. “It enhances freedom of choice for individuals, strengthens communities and saves taxpayer dollars.”

The 14 projects being funded are the following:

• Knute Nelson Home Care, based in Alexandria, is receiving $59,311 to introduce in-home monitoring and sensor technology to promote aging in place for older adults in Douglas, Traverse, Grant and Stevens counties.
• Duluth Lighthouse for the Blind is receiving $160,000 to provide services and assistive technology to help older Minnesotans with vision loss who are at higher risk for nursing home placement  remain safe and independent in their own homes.
• The Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging, based in Mankato, is awarded $177,634 to improve access to transportation for veterans, older adults and people with disabilities by connecting consumers to rides and other transportation options from a variety of providers and programs in a 27-county area in southwestern Minnesota.
• MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, based in Detroit Lakes, will use $188,000 to make affordable chore and homemaker services available to older adults as well as complete home modifications, including building accessible ramps, in Otter Tail and Wadena counties.
• Jewish Community Center of the Greater St. Paul Area will receive $99,999 to improve services to people with early memory loss and their caregivers over two years.
• Volunteer Services of Carlton County is awarded $204,778 to deliver chore, transportation, caregiver respite and caregiver counseling services to people in Carlton and Aitkin counties.
• Amherst H. Wilder Foundation of St. Paul is receiving $259,992 over three years to expand a chronic disease self-management program and to develop neighborhood-based Caregiver Cafés and a volunteer caregiver mentor program in Ramsey County.
• Chatfield Lutheran Church is awarded $180,008 to develop and provide chore and homemaker services, transportation, chronic disease and falls prevention care, caregiver support and companion services to residents of Fillmore County over three years.
• Pioneer Care of Fergus Falls is receiving $116,297 to assemble a community collaborative to use and study electronically monitored medication management in people’s homes in West Central Minnesota.
• Vine Faith in Action of Mankato is awarded $244,595 to provide services such as caregiver support, respite, chore and home modification services to about 900 elders in Blue Earth, Nicollet, Brown, Sibley, Le Sueur, Watonwan and Waseca counties.
• ANGELS, a Living at Home/Block Nurse program based in McGregor, will receive $50,000 to assess the home modification needs of older adults in Aitkin County and build a database of volunteers to perform the needed home modifications so older adults may continue to live at home.
• Great River Area Faith in Action, based in Becker, is awarded $293,998 over a three-year period to expand its Living Well at Home program into Princeton and St. Cloud, implement a respite program in Becker and begin a chronic care management services program in Sherburne and Wright County.
• Oromo Community Inc. of Minneapolis and St. Paul is awarded $150,000 to employ coordinators to recruit, train, deploy and support 34 Oromo and Somali community volunteers to conduct weekly check-ins with elders in their community and perform chore and homemaker tasks as needed.
• Network Therapy Services of Ramsey County is awarded $112,175 over a two-year period to provide home modification services to older adults in St. Anthony and Roseville to facilitate and promote aging in place.

More information on Community Service/Community Services Development Grants is available at www.dhs.state.mn.us/cssd.

DNR seeks public comments

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invites public review and comment on a proposal to authorize state Grant-in-Aid (GIA) funding for the approximately 45-mile Huntersville West Off-Highway Motorcycle (OHM) Trail in Wadena County.

The majority of the trail is currently open to OHM use. Approximately one mile of new trail will be developed to circumvent planned timber harvesting activities on private land and to connect this trail with the existing Huntersville East OHM GIA Trail system.

Huntersville Township will sponsor the proposal, provide trail monitoring, development and maintenance in cooperation with the Twin Cities Trail Riders OHM Club. The trail primarily runs through the Huntersville State Forest in Huntersville Township of Wadena County, with some segments located on private land and county road right-of-way.

Bringing the existing trail into the GIA system would provide additional resources and funding for trail signing, maintenance, monitoring and repair. The trail will be designated for OHM use, but will be open to nonmotorized uses such as hiking and horseback riding where located on state land. All-terrain vehicles are authorized on a portion of the trail; this use will continue where authorized.

The DNR welcomes public input on the trail proposal. Copies of the proposal and a project map are available for review at www.mndnr.gov/input (http://www.mndnr.gov/input/mgmtplans/ohv/plans/huntersville.html).

The deadline for comments is 4:30 p.m. July 20.

Requests for printed copies of the proposal, or written comments on the proposal, should be directed to: Dave Schotzko, Area Supervisor, DNR Parks and Trails, 3296 State Park Rd. NE, Bemidji, MN 56601; phone 218-308-2367 or toll-free 888-646-6367. Comments also may be sent by email to david.schotzko@state.mn.us  or by fax to 218-755-4063.

MN Legacy Destination Weekends

Five Minnesota communities are holding Legacy Destination Weekends, one each in May through September, featuring arts, history and outdoors activities to showcase projects funded through the Legacy Amendment.  In 2008, Minnesota’s voters passed the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment that provides funding to natural resources, arts and culture, and parks and trails projects across the state.  The Legacy Destination program is a collaboration of Explore Minnesota Tourism, Conservation Minnesota, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and the host communities.

The events include an eclectic mix of activities, such as art exhibits, concerts or theater performances, naturalist programs, historic site events and exhibits, or guided hikes, bike rides or canoe trips.  Each Legacy Destination has designed its own weekend to highlight local cultural and outdoors assets, including those that received Legacy Amendment support. 

“Legacy Destination Weekends are a fun, creative way to show Minnesotans the results of their support,” said John Edman, director of Explore Minnesota Tourism. “The events are designed to draw visitors to communities, as well as engage area residents.”

This is the second year of the Legacy Destination program.  The participating communities applied to participate in the program, which required that at least three Legacy Amendment funded projects be included in the weekend event.  Funding through the Legacy Amendment has been awarded statewide to clean up rivers and lakes, create trails, protect historical items, and fund art and history projects across the state.

“Minnesotans voted to dedicate funds to our state’s great resources,” said Paul Austin, executive director of Conservation Minnesota, “and they can see the results first-hand at these Legacy Destinations.”

“These five fun weekends let Minnesotans enjoy the great things that are happening in the arts and outdoors because of the Legacy Amendment,” said Sheila Smith, executive director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts.

The 2012 schedule for Legacy Destination Weekends:

May 17-19, Detroit Lakes

June 11-15, Bemidji

July 19-22, St. Cloud

August 17-19, Willmar Lakes Area (New London, Spicer, Willmar)

September 8-16, Cook County (Grand Marais, Gunflint Trail and area).

For more details on the Legacy Weekends, check out www.exploreminnesota.com/legacy. 

Clean Water Fund investments on track according to state report

Minnesota agencies that receive Clean Water Fund dollars released their first collaborative report today, indicating the state is on track with its investments so far, although many challenges remain. The report helps Minnesotans understand connections between Clean Water funds invested, actions taken, and outcomes achieved in 2010-2011.

The eighteen measures in the report provide a snapshot of how CWF dollars are being spent and the progress that's been made. Of those eighteen, status and trends vary; however, six measures showed improving trends, seven were too early to assess, and one showed a declining trend.

To view the 2012 Clean Water Performance Report on the Internet, go to . legacy.leg.mn