Month: December 2021

Testing for COVID-19 is a critical tool to help identify and reduce the spread of disease. Those infected with COVID-19 who are at high risk for serious illness may be eligible to receive monoclonal therapy. If COVID-19 is detected early, this therapy can help reduce serious illness and hospitalization. Because of this, Grand Forks Public Health (GFPH) will continue to operate its testing site on Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24, 2021.  

The UND Fritz Pollard Jr. Athletic Center COVID-19 testing site, located at 2419 2^nd Ave N, Grand Forks, will operate from 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. on December 24^th, with rapid antigen testing ending at 10:45 a.m. To pre-register for a PCR test, please call 701-780-6358. To pre-register for a rapid antigen test, please visit testreg.nd.gov. Testing is free and open to everyone. 

The vaccination site at the Grand Cities Mall will be closed Thursday, December 23, and Friday, December 24, 2021. The main office of Grand Forks Public Health will be closed Friday, December 24 in observance of the Christmas Holiday. 

The post GRAND FORKS PUBLIC HEALTH COVID-19 TESTING SITE TO REMAIN OPEN CHRISTMAS EVE appeared first on KROX.

Jason Brantner, recently retired from the Northwest Research and Outreach Center, The Frank W. Veden Charitable Trust, and Lyle Westrom, Ph.D. and faculty member emeriti were honored last month at the annual Torch & Shield recognition.

The Torch & Shield Recognition is an evening dedicated to honoring individuals and organizations who have provided leadership and who have aided in the development of the University of Minnesota Crookston, the Northwest Research and Outreach Center, and Extension. This year, two individuals and the Veden Trust received the prestigious award, November 3. The generous donors to the University of Minnesota Crookston were also recognized for their philanthropy and helped to celebrate the end of the Driven philanthropic campaign.

Hosting the evening’s event were Mary Holz-Clause, chancellor of the University of Minnesota Crookston, and Maureen Aubol, Director of Operations, Northwest Research and Outreach Center.

The recipients for 2021 Torch & Shield  are distinguished for their many contributions, including:

• Honors contributions of significance to higher education, the Crookston campus, and the region
• Recognizes champions of UMN Crookston, NWROC, and Extension for their impact on the region through teaching, research, and outreach.
• Distinguish both high profile individuals and those who have been “quiet” contributors to the success of UMN Crookston.

Jason Brantner has a long and significant connection to the Red River Valley through his extensive work on sugarbeets. He was hired by the Northwest Research and Outreach Center (NWROC) in 1995 and worked for 25 years on the sugarbeet plant pathology lab and field research.

Dr. Frank W. Veden was a graduate of Detroit Lake High School, and later, a 1936 graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. He was a life-long resident of Fergus Falls, Minn., dedicating his profession in dentistry to the area for 54 years. His practice and interest in the economic well-being of rural Minnesota led him to the establishment of the Dr. Frank W. Veden Charitable Trust which was created to benefit several diverse facets of education at the University. At his death, Dr. Veden left funds in the Veden Charitable Trust to be used for a wide variety of purposes but generally with a focus on the northwest quadrant of Minnesota including economic development for this region.

Lyle Westrom, Ph.D. was an integral part of the University of Minnesota Crookston for 31 years. His time at UMN Crookston was split between animal science and agricultural education. Professor Westrom’s tenure was highlighted by his role in starting the agricultural education degree program twice on campus. The first was a joint program with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and UMN Crookston (2000-2014). The second was a stand-alone program at UMN Crookston (2016-present) that reached its peak enrollment near the end of his career. There are numerous agricultural education graduates teaching in Minnesota and North Dakota that graduated from the two agricultural education programs led by Westrom.  

#td_uid_1_61c329d247bd7 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item1 {
background: url(https://www.kroxam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2021UMCTorchShield-103-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}

The post BRANTNER, WESTROM AND THE VEDEN TRUST ARE 2021 UMC TORCH & SHIELD AWARD RECIPIENTS appeared first on KROX.

The first construction phase on the Ag Innovation Campus in Crookston has been completed. The non-profit crush and research facility continues to stay on track and move closer to its 2022 production goal. Members of the Ag Innovation Campus board, along with project manager Jim Lambert, Chair of the Ag Innovation Campus Project Mike Skaug, and CEO of Ag Management Solutions Tom Slunecka, visited the Polk County Board of Commissioners this morning to discuss the purpose of the project, and brief the board of commissioners on the progress.

Tom Slunecka, CEO of Ag Management Solutions, discussed the progress and said he’s delighted with the work that’s been accomplished. “It’s been a blessing for us to get as far as we have with all the difficulties in the world today,” said Slunecka. “We couldn’t be more excited about having the dirt work completed, the building ordered, and all the equipment ready to go once the building is up.”

Slunecka was also able to discuss one of the biggest advantages of having the new facility. “In the world, being able to go in and see a crush facility run is extremely rare,” said Slunecka. “There are a lot of reasons for that. This plant will be custom-built specifically to serve that purpose, and it will drive international sales from soybeans from this region, and while it’s hard to see for sure what that impact will be, it will be big.”

The project’s first phase is dedicated to the crush plant, while phases two and three will focus on the office structure. Once completed, the facility will bring in 60 full-time jobs and create an estimated $27.8 million in revenue every year. When the entire project is finished, the facility’s square footage will be 165 feet wide by 430 feet long. According to Project Manager Jim Lambert, all the necessary permits have been completed to keep the project moving forward.

Chair of the project Mike Skaug discussed the primary goal and another reason the project is unlike any other in the world. “It’s going to be a non-profit project,” said Skaug. “With that, we will be able to return our profits into other research projects in the form of grants. By doing this will also be able to promote more things that can be made from plant oils. It will be a win for everyone involved.”

The facility is designed to crush 240 tons of soybeans per day. This is approximately seven trucks into the facility and seven trucks out of the facility each day. Project Manager Jim Lambert said the facility’s location has to do with Crookston being a part of a region that already produces specialty crops. “Crookston was selected for several reasons. The farming community in Polk County and this part of a state as a whole understands how to preserve their soybeans,” said Lambert. “So that was a big driving force of putting the Ag Innovation Campus here in Crookston.”

Due to Covid and the rising costs of materials and supplies, the project’s estimated cost has increased by over 50%. However, Skaug said this has not affected the timeline of operations. “We’re doing the project in three phases,” said Skaug. “The first phase is the construction of the processing plant, and as people are aware, we have done the groundwork for that phase and will get started on the construction of that in 2022.”

Another reason for the Ag Innovation Board of Directors to visit the Board of Commissioners was to see if money could be donated to help cover the project’s cost. Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting discussed how the county might be able to help. “They are looking for some financial help from us, but I asked them to make more of a formal request so that we can see what they’re asking for,” said Whiting. “That will help us determine if we have the money to spend on it, and we may even look at if the American Relief Funds could be used for that project. So will have to wait and see.”

The plan is to have phases two and three be completed sometime after the full completion of phase one, and the hope is to have the project wrapped up sometime in the next two to three years. Delivery times for materials continue to be a concern, as steel is roughly 8-9 months out from the time it is ordered.

To learn more about the Ag Innovation Campus vision, visit aginnovationcampus.org.

The post POLK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HEAR UPDATE ON CROOKSTON AG INNOVATION CAMPUS appeared first on KROX.