Month: June 2021

The Crookston Firefighters Association will be holding an informational open house on Wednesday, June 9, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the North Fire Station at 1921 Sahlstrom Drive for motivated candidates interested in Fire and rescue while serving the Crookston community.

Matt Johnson, vice president of the Crookston Firefighter Association, said they are looking to get some interest in the fire department. “We have seen applications dwindle over the years,” said Johnson. “Less and less people are applying, so we are trying to rekindle some interest in the fire department and get some information out there, what we are about, what we do, and try to get some more interest.”

Being part of the Crookston Firefighters Association is the volunteer arm of the fire department. “We have training once a month at 6:30 p.m., we respond to a variety of different calls including rescue calls, fire calls, car accidents, grass fires, you name it,” said Johnson. “We provide pretty extensive training, especially through the first few years once you get on, so your set up to respond to those calls.  We will take anybody from greener than green that has never been involved to experienced people.”

The Crookston Firefighters are actually two separate entities. “There are technically two departments in the city,” said Johnson. “The first is the City of Crookston Fire Department which consists of six full-time guys and the fire chief.  And there is our Crookston Firefighters Association, which I am a part of, that has 25 members, and we share the same chief as the full-time department.  We operate on our own, we’re not under the city, and we are looking to hire right now.”

Johnson said they suggest new “volunteer” firefighters make it to 25 percent of the calls and at least 60 percent of the training. “We respond to anywhere from 30 to 50 calls per year depending on the year,” said Johnson. “We train once a month for three to four hours, and we have a business meeting after the training for one to two hours.  A few state schools do training, and several departments, including ours, offer training so you can get your Firefighter 1, which is required within the first three years of service.  It is a fair amount of training, but it is a good experience for sure.”

Being part of the Crookston Firefighters Association is a good way to give back to the community. “You do get paid a little bit.  It’s not much, and you’re not going to make a living wage off of it, but you get a retirement fund put together, and you partially vested after five years and fully vested after 20 years,” said Johnson. “You get a little extra there, which is nice.”

Johnson said he has been part of the Crookston Firefighters Association for seven years, and he has enjoyed the experience. “It has been a great experience for me.  I would have never thought I would have been on the fire department. I would never have guessed it,” said Johnson. “Things worked out, and it has been a great experience.  We have a great group of guys. We have guys from 33 years of experience down to six months, so we have a good range of guys.” 

The post CROOKSTON FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION LOOKING FOR FIREFIGHTERS, WILL HOLD OPEN HOUSE ON JUNE 9 appeared first on KROX.

A former third-party vendor for Altru Health System, CaptureRX, has provided notice that an incident involving data received from healthcare providers, including Altru, occurred in February of 2021.

On or around February 19, 2021, CaptureRX became aware of unusual activity involving certain electronic files. CaptureRx immediately launched an investigation into this activity and determined that certain files were accessed and acquired on February 6, 2021 without authorization. On or around March 19, 2021, CaptureRx completed a full review of the files and determined that the impacted individuals included individuals receiving drugs prescribed through Altru’s 340B pharmacy program through CVS and Thrifty White Drug. CaptureRx’s investigation determined that the affected files contained first name, last name, date of birth and prescription information. No financial information was affected or compromised.

After learning of this incident, CaptureRx moved quickly to investigate and respond. This investigation and response included confirming the security of CaptureRx’s systems, reviewing the contents of the relevant files for sensitive information, and notifying covered entities associated with that sensitive information. As part of CaptureRx’s ongoing commitment to the security of information, all policies and procedures are being reviewed and enhanced and additional workforce training is being conducted to reduce the likelihood of a similar future event.

Upon notification of this data incident by Capture Rx in May 2021, Altru has supported CaptureRx’s investigation and the notification to all individuals whose information was contained in the files as well as the appropriate regulatory authorities. Individuals whose information was impacted will receive notification via mail. CaptureRx has established a dedicated assistance line at (855) 654.0919 (tollfree), Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. CST for any questions from affected individuals.

Data privacy is of the utmost importance to Altru Health System. Altru abides by the privacy and security standards that protect Patient Health Information (“PHI”) as set forth in the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”), and other federal and state statutes, regulations. Altru also ensures secure and encrypted transfer of all PHI to Business Associates. Altru will complete its own investigation of this incident. Altru will continue to prioritize the privacy and security of all PHI and to apply the same standards to its vendors who have access to individually identifiable information.

While there was no financial information compromised, Altru and CaptureRx encourage individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements and explanation of benefits forms, and to monitor free credit reports for suspicious activity, and to detect errors.

The post ALTRU WARNS OF THIRD PARTY VENDOR (CAPTURERX) DATA BREACH appeared first on KROX.

Are you wondering what to do with those old paints and chemicals in your home?  If so, bring them to one of Polk County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection events. 

The first collection event will be held at the Fertile Fairgrounds on Friday, June 4 from 3-6:00 pm.

The second collection will be at the East Shore Beach Area of Maple Lake off County Highway 10 on Saturday, June 5 from 9:00 am-Noon.  

This year to alleviate any COVID-19 spread we ask participants to stay in their vehicles and simply pop their trunk or allow staff to open tailgates/lift-gates to remove the HHW items.  This will ensure that public health and safety is followed during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, bring all those paints, cleaners and automotive supplies that you’ve kept for years and Polk County will dispose of them properly.
Remember, the Polk County Transfer Station and Fosston Incinerator accepts household hazardous waste Monday – Friday from 7 am-5:30 pm year-round.  For more information on what will be accepted and how to package your wastes for safe transport, please call either Polk County Environmental Services at 1-800-482-6804 or the Northwest Minnesota Household Hazardous Waste facility at 1-800-637-2090.  We’ll see you there!

The post POLK COUNTY TO HOLD HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION JUNE 4 & 5 appeared first on KROX.