Waste Collection Day set Aug. 1 in St. Stephen
The city of St. Stephen will host a household hazardous waste collection day from 8-11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1 at St. Stephen City Hall, 2 6th Ave. SE. For more information, contact Stearns County Environmental Services at 1-800-450-0852 or 320-656-3613.
Don’t forget to register for Bluegrass tickets
The Newsleaders has a limited amount of FREE one-day tickets to the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Fest, a four-day music and camping festival Thursday-Sunday, Aug. 6-9 at El Rancho Manana, Richmond. For tickets, please email [email protected] with your name, phone number, city and amount of tickets requested or like the Newsleaders on Facebook by noon Monday, Aug. 3. Your name will be placed in a drawing and winners will be notified via email.
Sartell police encourage neighbors to celebrate National Night Out
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, the Sartell Police Department is encouraging neighborhoods throughout the city to lock their doors and spend an evening outside with neighbors, Sartell police and firefighters. National Night Out is intended to promote involvement in police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. Thirteen neighborhoods participated in 2014, police are seeking to beat that number in 2015. Please contact Officer Lyon at 320-258-7360 or [email protected], if your neighborhood would like to host a gathering in this national annual celebration.
Sauk Rapids neighborhoods to celebrate National Night Out
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, neighborhoods throughout Sauk Rapids are encouraged to spend an evening outside with neighbors. National Night Out is intended to promote involvement in police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. Sauk Rapids police are available to stop by if a neighborhood requests it for their celebration. Police can be contacted at 320-251-9451.
Rice police encourage neighbors to celebrate National Night Out
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, the Rice Police Department is encouraging neighborhoods throughout the city to lock their doors and spend an evening outside with neighbors, Rice police and firefighters. National Night Out is intended to promote involvement in police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. The event will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the Lions Building in Lions Community Park.
St. Joseph neighborhoods to celebrate National Night Out
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, residents are encouraged to lock their doors and spend an evening outside with neighbors. National Night Out is intended to promote involvement in police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. Neighbors are urged to work together to create a safe and fun night out for everyone.
Rise Above Seizures Walk set Aug. 1 at Lake George
The Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota will host its annual Rise Above Seizures Walk at the Lake George Municipal Complex in St. Cloud. It’s the largest fundraising/awareness event in our community to benefit people with epilepsy. People with epilepsy are Big Ten coaches, marathon runners and CEOs – all of whom deserve to rise above seizures and achieve their dreams. The stories of people walking are inspiring. Visit efmn.org/walk for details or to make a donation.
CentraCare sets talk Aug. 4 on getting your bell rung
Project BrainSafe, a community concussion awareness initiative, invites everyone to a one-day conference from 7:45 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4 at the CentraCare Health Plaza Windfeldt Room, St. Cloud. Ben Utecht, a native Minnesotan and former NFL tight end and Super Bowl champion with the Indianapolis Colts, will speak about his experience of being forced into retirement after suffering his fifth diagnosed concussion. The course will provide attendees with up-to-date medical management, return-to-learn/return-to-play guidelines, and a better understanding of an active management approach to helping student athletes. Register today by visiting centracare.com and search “bell” under the “Classes and Events” tab.
Metro Bus seeks community input
What do you want bus service to look like in the St. Cloud area? What are your current transportation habits and needs? Metro Bus wants to know because it‘s in the process of updating its long-range transit plan to accommodate the community’s changing transportation needs.
“Because this is a long-range plan, input is needed from a variety of sources to forecast what this community will look like in 10 years,” said Tom Cruikshank, managing director of 0perations and planning, who is leading this project at Metro Bus. “We want to hear from local leaders as well as from those whose daily lives are affected by our transportation system.”
This spring, the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization hired consultants to assist Metro Bus with this project. The consultants and leadership from Metro Bus have met with local city officials and leadership from St. Cloud State University to learn about their immediate and long-term needs and plans. Additional community outreach activities are planned for this fall to get input from those who are current riders as well as the community at large.
“We anticipate receiving a lot of ideas and need feedback from the community to help us prioritize,” Cruikshank said. “For example, what’s more important to you: to change our routes to serve new areas, or to run our service later in the evening on the weekends?”
The community is asked to give input about their transportation habits with an online survey found on ridemetrobus.com available until Friday, Aug. 21. The survey is intended for anyone who lives or travels in St. Cloud, Sartell and Sauk Rapids areas.
“It’s just as important for us to hear from people who don’t ride the bus as from those who do,” Cruikshank said. “Maybe in some ways more, because we want to attract new people to our system and current riders will also have a voice with an onboard survey slated for after Labor Day.”
Metro Bus has been asked to explore expanding service to St. Joseph. It would require the city joining the transit commission. To help city officials and residence make an informed decision, Metro Bus will have a special online survey for St. Joseph residents later this summer.
Learn to use Northstar Rail; free class offered Aug. 7
Learn how to use Northstar in the comfort of a guided field-trip. Staff from Metro Bus will lead a group from St. Cloud State University to Minneapolis using the Northstar Commuter Bus, Northstar Commuter Rail and METRO Green Line light rail services. The group will enjoy lunch in Minneapolis and then proceed back to St. Cloud using public transit. The class is free, but participants should bring money for lunch.
The class will be from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7 starting in the SCSU Miller Center lobby. Class size is limited to 20 adults.
This field-trip style class is sponsored by Northstar Link Commuter Bus operated by St. Cloud Metro Bus,
and Northstar Commuter Rail train operated by Metro Transit.
This training is provided by the Metro Bus Travel Training program. The Travel Training program offers free, personalized group and individual “How to Ride” training for youth and adults. Trainers specialize in teaching people with disabilities, seniors and those with limited English skills, as well as the general public. Reservations for this free class can be made online at ridemetrobus.com or by calling the Metro Bus Mobility Training Center at 320.529.4497.
United Way Volunteer Opportunities
School supplies needed
The school year is right around the corner and many local children are in need of supplies. Please donate school supplies to the following agencies by Saturday, Aug. 15 for distribution prior to the start of the school year. Supplies needed include: backpacks, dry erase and washable markers, colored pencils, Fiskars scissors, rulers, erasers, glue sticks, scientific calculators, head phones/earbuds for computer lab, flash drives, pens and pencils. Catholic Charities 320-650-1550, Place of Hope 320-203-7881 or the Salvation Army 320-252-2229.
Read to People Who are Blind
Minnesota Services for the Blind needs volunteers to read newspapers to blind people in the St Cloud area. Volunteers read the St Cloud Times and other community newspapers daily at the KVSC radio station at St Cloud State University. Volunteers should be able to commit to two evenings a month for two hours each. Volunteers must take an oral reading test. Contact Rita Woeste at 320-293-2273 or [email protected].
Engage. Connect. Involve.
The Greater St. Cloud Area RSVP engages men and women aged 55 or better in meaningful volunteer opportunities at more than 200 human-service agencies throughout the community. We are seeking compassionate volunteers in a variety of positions; including many roles with flexible commitments. RSVP staff will work with you to cater your volunteer schedule so it fulfills your needs and has a positive impact on your community. Contact RSVP at 320-255-7295 or [email protected].
Golf Fore Kids’ Sake
Golf Fore Kids’ Sake is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 17 at Territory Gold Course. More than 100 golfers will join together for a day of fun in the sun to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters and the children of Central Minnesota. Funds received from this event are used to match children in our program with a caring and carefully trained volunteer who becomes their mentor, friend and role model. Prizes and volunteers are still needed to make this event a success. For general inquires, contact Rachel Bogenrief at [email protected] or 320-253-1616.
Cat caretaker
Tri-County Humane Society is looking for volunteers to clean cages of Tri-County Humane society animals at Petco while they wait for their forever home. Volunteers will also watch for signs of illness and socialize with the animals. They ask for a once-a-week commitment of about one hour in the morning any day of the week. Contact Tri-County Humane Society at 320-252-0896 or visit www.tricountyhumanesociety.org.
For more information, contact Mary Krippner, United Way volunteer engagement coordinator, at 320-223-7991 or [email protected].