2003 County Achievement Award Winners

 

  • Farmland and Natural Area Project
    Dakota County
    Dakota County started the Farmland and Natural Areas planning project in July of 1999, to address one of the goals in the newly adopted Dakota County 2020 Comprehensive Plan.  After the land protection plan was adopted in January 2002, the County Board authorized a non-binding $20 million bond referendum in November 2002 (which passed by a 57% - 43% margin and 88% voter turnout), and then adopted program implementation guidelines in June 2003.  This project demonstrates how Dakota County:

    • Gathered input on the concerns of residents through surveys and many meetings, and maintained contact with a mailing list of over 3,000 names.

    • Developed a County comprehensive plan with goals that supported the protection of farmland and natural areas, based on citizen input.

    • Applied for State funding to conduct a two-year study of the need for and citizen support for land protection, by meeting with landowners, business owners, realtors, developers, and local government officials to discuss what land should be protected.

    • Consulted with national land protection experts and citizens to develop strategies that were tailored to Dakota County and adopted a countywide land protection plan.

    • Held a non-binding referendum that allowed County voters to decide whether to support a $20 million tax levy for a countywide protection program (57% Yes).

    • Adopted guidelines and procedures for a new County land protection program, set up a citizen advisory committee to review and rank applications for conservation easements from willing landowners, and received $1.2 million in federal matching funds from the Minnesota Office of the National Resource Conservation Service.

 

  • The Community Café
    Itasca County
    The Community Café, Itasca County’s first and only soup kitchen, has served over 20,000 children, families and the elderly since it opened its doors in the Itasca Resource Center in 2001.  The Café’s mission is to feed the hungry and to build community.  This mission is accomplished through a unique partnership of volunteers from more that 50 community churches, civic clubs, schools and governmental units as well as financial assistance from more than 100 partners each year.  Meals are served twice each week by volunteers in space provided by Itasca County and the member agencies of the Itasca Resource Center.

 

  • Online Training and Resource Site
    Olmsted County
    Internet training or e-based training is truly the wave of the future.  As Olmsted County already illustrates its superiority with its ACA and NCCHC accreditation, this new concept will simply take its detention deputies to a whole new level.  In this day of time constraints, budget cuts, endless tasks, and over abundance of information, Internet training is the answer.  It will save time, conserve dollars, make jobs easer, and above all simplify and streamline information.  Along with a user-friendly calendar to outline the years training events and specific training outlines, deputies can access monthly training tests, training periodicals, policy updates, and proficiency exams with a click.  A person simply selects their name form a drop down window, complete the activity, and an e-mail attachment is sent indicating that the task was completed.  Laura Thimijan and Rick Freshwater not only came up with a great idea, but they made it a reality.  In March 2003, they implemented a useful and beneficial product for the staff of the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center and certainly other Counties can draw from it as well.  While it is still in its early stages, the options are endless.

 

  • The Habitat for Humanity “ReStore”
    Winona County
     This project is a successful collaboration between Winona County and Habitat for Humanity in the establishment of Minnesota’s very first Habitat ReStore.  This innovative project, in which Winona County played a vital liaison role between the local non-profit and key state agencies, fulfilled strategic goals of both organizers.  For Habitat for Humanity, Winona County profits from the ReStore will fund the construction of additional Habitat homes. For Winona County Environmental Services, the ReStore is a key component of the reuse infrastructure they are working to build within Winona County.