Month: July 2020

The Crookston Airport Commission will meet Thursday, July 30 at 8 a.m. in the council chambers at city hall. The Commission will review the progress of the Airport Master Plan being completed by Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH.)  The meeting will begin with a recap of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) project meeting recap.

The Commission will then review facility recommendations, preliminary runway alternatives, and preliminary building area alternatives. The meeting will conclude by discussing the next steps in the project.

Crookston Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Terrie Heggie has penned a letter to the editor to let the Crookston community know that they are growing in their reach.  The letter is below – 

By the end of the first week working with then, new hire Antuan Brown, I knew the positive and energetic exposure of Crookston was going to take us to a whole new level. Antuan and I immediately focused on a clear vision utilizing our skills and creativity to highlight the long list of reasons to GROW  in Crookston. After rolling out our new logo this past January which sends a clear and simple message to GROW  with us in Crookston, we had a solid foundation to build upon. In addition, our new logo is a complementary addition to our mission to create an environment that encourages business success while enhancing the quality of life in Crookston and our surrounding region. Growing Crookston as a place to live, work, raise your family, play, visit, build your business, build your future, and even retire inputs our small-town feel on the map.  

You would be hard-pressed not see a creative image or a video on social media which wasn’t created from your Chamber office. Our digital ads not only showcase our businesses and community, they display all we have to offer in a  way to connect with you on a personal. We are pushing our marketing out constantly, not only locally but growing connections beyond Crookston by leaps and bounds. We want to leave an impression with all who view our website, social media, and advertisements that Crookston is in fact a place to GROW.

This past week Antuan gathered the data from the past 6 months detailing our solid efforts of engaging people with Crookston. I was pleasantly surprised and beyond excited. So much so I asked Antuan to run the numbers again. The proof is in the metrics.

Website Views:  550,000
Google Business: 7,700+ users
______——–=- 7,600 + new users
——————– 7,600 + users
———————22,800 + page views
———————46,500+ google photo views
Constant Contact Email Blasts – 19,000 sent
Facebook followers – grew by 312 to presently 1,800+

Top 14 Cities following your Crookston Area Chamber: Crookston, Grand Forks, Chicago, Omaha, Minneapolis, Fargo, Ashburn, Boardman, Grafton, Bagley, Sioux Falls, Thief River Falls, Saint Paul, Moorhead.

What does this marketing mean for our small Midwest town? It means we are proudly promoting the Crookston area with a clear goal of enhancing growth to take place. If you are growing your fun by visiting us, welcome to Crookston. If you are growing your career by working in Crookston, we thank you for serving our community. If you are growing your family in Crookston, thank you for choosing us. If you are growing your own business in Crookston, we thank you for building our economy. If you are retired in Crookston, we are grateful you call this home.

We wholeheartedly appreciate the honor of leading these efforts to GROW Crookston. To take a closer look please check out our website www.visitcrookston.com or find us on Facebook and Instagram. Want to become a Chamber member and find the support for your business needs please reach out at theggie@visitcrookston.com give us a call at 218-281-4320 or stop in and chat. We are located at 103 South Broadway.

Grow with Us In Crookston
Terri Heggie ~ Crookston Chamber Executive Director

Tens of thousands of children could miss out on healthy food if their families don’t apply for Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer, also referred to as P-EBT, benefits by July 31. About 350,000 Minnesota school children who qualify for the federal free and reduced-price meal program are eligible to receive $325 per child with an additional $100 per child for Summer P-EBT.

Twenty counties have particularly low participation rates (PDF), where the families of 31-52% of eligible children have not yet applied for P-EBT. The Minnesota Department of Human Services has not received applications for more than 50,000 children in 83 counties across the state who may be eligible to apply. All who apply and meet the criteria will receive the benefit. If families have already applied, the state is either processing their benefits or sending them an email to notify them they did not meet the criteria.

“During this pandemic, we want to ease families’ struggles as much as possible,” said Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead. “Feeding children is a basic need, and we want to ensure all families who need help putting healthy food on their tables receive this benefit. We urge families to apply by the deadline.”

The Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act allows children eligible for the school meal program to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This is in addition to any SNAP, Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), or Unemployment Insurance benefits their families may already receive.

Families must use the P-EBT benefit to purchase food only within a year of the date issued. Eligible families who have children, 5-18 years old as of Sept. 1, 2019, who were receiving free or reduced-price school meals and SNAP or MFIP benefits as of March 18, 2020, received P-EBT benefits automatically on their existing EBT cards and do not need to take any action. However, if these families had a 3-4-year-old child in a district-run pre-kindergarten program, they can apply for additional benefits for their pre-k child through the P-EBT application process.  Families can check their EBT card balance at EBTedge.com.

Families who were receiving free or reduced-price school meals for the 2019-2020 school year, but who were not also receiving SNAP or MFIP benefits on March 18, 2020, need to apply for a P-EBT card to receive these additional funds. The application can be accessed at mn.p-ebt.org. Not all children in pre-kindergarten programs qualify. Only children in school district-run pre-K programs qualify.

For assistance, click on the “Submit questions” button on the mn.gov/dhs/p-ebt webpage for the fastest response. Or, contact the P-EBT hotline through July 31, 2020, at 651-431-4050 or 800-657-3698, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but be prepared for long wait times. Families in need of additional assistance accessing healthy foods are urged to contact their county or tribal human services office, or the Minnesota Food Helpline at 888-711-1151 or www.hungersolutions.org.

Receiving P-EBT will not affect the public charge rule, which considers the receipt of some types of public assistance, among other factors, when the federal government reviews the immigration status of certain non-citizens who apply for legal permanent resident status (a green card) or renew or change their immigration status on or after Feb. 24, 2020.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services, Minnesota Department of Education and Code for America are working in partnership on this P-EBT benefit.

American Crystal Sugar is proud to award the Polk County Sheriff’s Office K9 Program a check for $5,000 to help with the training and equipment for this program.  It has been 9 years since the Sheriff’s Office has had a K9 program.  A canine’s nose is 50 times more sensitive than a human’s nose and can analyze 40 times faster.  This enables a K9 to be able to locate and find hidden/dangerous suspects in situations and in areas where officers entering would place their lives in danger. 

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has 32 full-time deputies and 10.5 dispatchers.  The addition of this K9 to the department will have the primary duties of tracking/searching for criminal suspects or a lost person(s), narcotics detection, evidence and building searches, and criminal apprehension/officer protection.  The K9 and its handler will be certified through the United States Police Canine Association standards. 

This addition will enhance officer safety and assist law enforcement in keeping our county a safe place to live and work.  American Crystal is proud to support the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and hopes this grant will help to assist with the K9 program.

The Crookston Eagles Auxiliary #873 awarded it’s 2020 scholarship to Gretchen Theis. She is the daughter of Mike and Amy Theis and will be attending North Dakota State University this fall.