August 2019 Edition - Access Press

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TWIN CITIES, MN PERMIT NO. 4766

Volume 30, Number 8

August 10, 2019

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DHS turmoil scrutinized by lawmakers

"Systems of oppression persist."

Rebecca Lucero

TURMOIL To page 4

CHRIS JUHN

Noah McCourt speaks on the panel during the panel discussion at the 29th Anniversary Celebration of the ADA. The event was held at the Anderson Center in St. Paul on July 26.

Discrimination is main focus as Minnesota celebrates ADA

by Access Press staff Minnesota’s annual celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its focus on combatting discrimination drew a large and enthusiastic crowd to Hamline University in St. Paul July 26.

Event emcee Jeff Bangsberg said that while the celebration of 29 years of the ADA means looking back on many changes for the better, there is still much to be done. “We must keep moving forward,” he said. Achievements must be celebrated, but strides must be made toward a more equitable society.

That’s especially true in claims of

discrimination based upon disability.

Rebecca Lucero, Minnesota’s Commissioner of Human Rights, and a panel of speakers discussed issues of discrimination and ways that people with disabilities can fight back. The crowd also enjoyed an inspirational talk and music by composer and musician Gaelynn Lea. Lea and others at the event used the gathering as a call to action and to cite the power the disability community could have. “We’re not living in a world where we’re treated as equals,” she said. Lea spoke of how she found hope in advocacy and work on disability rights issues.

Panelists, in a discussion led by

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ADA To page 5

Accommodations aplenty at 2019 Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is always a mix of the old and the new. The 2019 fair, which runs from August 22 to Labor Day September 2, is no exception. A large new and accessible North End venue, more than 50 first-time vendors and exciting new attractions will be ready when the gates open.

The Minnesota State Fair is committed to providing equal access and a pleasant experience for all its guests. Services provided include electric mobility scooters, strollers, wagon and wheelchair rentals, accessible parking, a wheelchair accessible park and ride area, a passenger drop-off area, assistive listening devices, sign language interpreters, accessible seating at all entertainment venues, curb cuts throughout the fairgrounds and Care & Assistance, which provides a number of accessibility services.

Care & Assistance is located at 1338 Dan Patch Ave., across from West End Market.

Hours are 8 a.m.-11 p.m.

This edition of Access Press includes information on general fair accessibility, accessible dining venues and other attractions.

Take the newspaper along as a “fair” friend.

The Minnesota State Fair website, www. mnstatefair.org, has an accessibility guide

THANK YOU

ANDY BERNDT

July was a turbulent month at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). As interim Commissioner Pamela Wheelock works to right the ship, many in Minnesota’s disability community are wondering what’s going on.

Little is being said about why DHS has dealt with a flurry of resignations, two rescinded resignations and allegations on various fronts. Disability community leaders have said they don’t wish to speculate on what’s happening and are waiting for more information.

DHS has a budget of about $18 million. Its many programs include programs for people with disabilities. The first salvo came with the July 11 resignations of deputy commissioners Claire Wilson and Chuck Johnson. Wilson’s responsibilities include programs for Minnesotans with disabilities.

DHS Commissioner Tony Lourey then resigned July 15, after six months on the job. Chief of staff Stacie Week resigned a day later. Wilson and Johnson rescinded their resignations July 17, after Wheelock took over. Wheelock is a veteran public official, serving in administration in the City of St. Paul and as Gov. Jesse Ventura’s budget director.

Gov. Tim Walz told reporters that the deputy commissioners resigned over the direction DHS was taking.

No one is talking about why there was rift between DHS leadership or what it centered on, especially since Lourey had worked with department leadership during his years as a state senator. Lourey had a long history of championing human services legislation especially bills that focused on behavioral health.

The shakeup has drawn the attention of legislators and Jim Nobles, the legislative auditor. Nobles told the Pioneer Press that the shakeup has lacked an explanation that makes sense.

Senators Michelle Benson (R-Ham, Lake) and Julie Rosen (R-Truman) have acted, making records requests to DHS and to Minnesota Management and Budget Commission Myron Franz. The senators wish to see correspondence between top DHS officials. Benson and Rosen also want to see correspondence related to a 2016 outside study of DHS work culture issues.

“The flurry of resignations, appointments, and rescinded resignations has raised significant concerns from my office, from the press, and from the one million people served by DHS,” Benson, R-Ham Lake, said in a statement.

Legislators are also questioning high-profile issues raised by current and former DHS staff. Dr. Jeff Schiff, the longtime director of Minnesota’s Medicaid program, was ousted earlier this summer when his position was eliminated.

Schiff sent an open letter to Walz and

PARTNERS IN POLICYMAKING

by Access Press staff

The Minnesota State Fair provides accommodations for people with disabilities, when they are out horsing around. in pdf form that can be printed out. The New North End contact phone number of access quesVisit the redeveloped North End area to tions is 651-288-4448. Questions can be see a changing array of exhibits. The North emailed to accessibility@mnstatefair.org STATE FAIR To page 13

Access Press thanks this month's issue sponsor!

Pg 2 August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

EDITOR’S DESK

Tim Benjamin The end of July marked the 29th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This issue of Access Press has some great pictures of the ADA Celebration at Hamline University. We all acknowledge how much the ADA has changed our lives, but we all know how much more has to change, and that we have to stay active to protect our rights under the ADA. I didn’t get to attend this year’s celebration because I was on bed rest with a pressure sore that finally sent me to the hospital. I was lucky enough to get excellent care, but being in a hospital even with the best care is stressful. Like a lot of people in the community, I spend

regular time with doctors and other healthcare professionals, and feel like I have to do too much educating with some of them about how to treat people with disabilities as individuals with different needs.

Earlier this year there was a really good article in New Mobility (“the magazine for active wheelchair users”) about doctors with mobility disabilities.

It was interesting to read how, because of ADA educational accommodations, many have been able to attend medical school and go on to active practice as physicians. Others, who were already doctors but acquired disabilities, were able to use accommodations and their

"What John had in mind when he told people to trust the docs was that the medical system has amazing knowledge and skill that can get us through these crises that occur in our health."

"I knew they got it when one doctor said, “We’ve got to help you get well so you can get back to work and help other people through your paper and your activism.” new insights to become better doctors.

One doctor said that when he rolls into the room of a patient who has just had a life-changing diagnosis, “they instantly know I have been through what they are going through. It could be any of a host of things with life-changing consequences, cancer, trauma. I know they are in for hell, and I tell them ‘listen, you need to kick back and let the docs work — it will be tough … but you will get through it.’”

John Schatzlein wasn’t a doctor but he had that knack of rolling in to give many people that message, and I think of him whenever I am tempted to doubt how the docs work. I owe so much personally to John’s advice, and we at Access Press are also thankful to him for the bequest of so many gifts from his family and friends.

(Thank you!)

What John had in mind when he told people to trust the docs was that the medical system has amazing knowledge and skill that can get us through these crises that occur in our health.

But he would also say that a medical model has to work hand-in-hand with person-centered care, where the health professionals are interdependent with their patients to figure out what’s best.

We had to have a “care conference”

with several doctors and therapists during my hospital stay, because each one was making sure that their part of my body was working. But we had to talk together about how all their diagnoses and treatments would mean a combined plan for me to get better. We talked about how my wound care was interrelated with other aspects of my health, and how a treatment plan could support other aspects of my life. I knew they got it when one doctor said, “We’ve got to help you get well so you can get back to work and help other people through your paper and your activism.”

Everyone who depends on the healthcare system has people depending on them in turn. I’ve got my colleagues at the paper and on the Access Press board, as well as direct support professionals.

The more we all think about how interdependent we are, the better we can serve one another and keep the community healthy and moving forward.

I hope by next month to be talking about other issues in the community— like a new commissioner at DHS, and plans for action during the next legislative session. Meanwhile, have a cool and safe time at the State Fair, and stay out of the hospital! ■

HISTORY NOTE

Candy Land provided sweet times for children with polio Many of us who grew up with disabilities remember our hospital stays and the medical staff members who treated us with kindness. When possible, we might have gotten a special treat with a meal. A teddy bear or doll from home Or maybe we played a favorite game.

Most children remember playing the game Candy Land. Using candy-themed symbols and cards, players move their game pieces around a colorful track, with the winner reaching the end of the track first. About one million of the games are sold each year.

In a recent Atlantic magazine article, toy historian Tim Walsh notes that an amazing 94 percent of mothers are aware of Candy Land. More than 60 percent of households with a five-year-old child own the game.

Not only is Candy Land celebrating its 70-year anniversary in 2019, the game has a unique tie to the disability community. The Atlantic article originally

appeared in Object Lessons, an essay and book series about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Writer Alexander B. Joy describes how Candy Land was invented by schoolteacher Eleanor Abbott. Abbott created the game in a polio ward.

Today’s families have no idea of the fear sparked by the polio epidemic of the 1940s and 1950s. Polio, which mainly affected children, strikes suddenly and causes muscle weakness by attacking the nerve cells in the spinal cord. It causes lifelong muscle issues for some and is fatal to others. Patients were confined to hospital beds or iron lungs back in the day.

Baby boomers recall lining up in school gyms and community centers to get the polio vaccine. Events were cancelled to deter the spread of the disease. The Minnesota State Fair was cancelled in 1946 due to an outbreak of polio in the state.

Joy wrote, “The outbreak had forced children into extremely restrictive environments. Patients were confined by

Volume 30, Number 8 Periodicals Imprint: Pending ISSN

Co-Founder/Publisher............................................................................................................Wm. A. Smith, Jr. (1990-96) Co-Founder/Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief.............................................................................. Charles F. Smith (1990-2001) Board of Directors.......Mohamed Alfash, Brigid Alseth, Stephen Anderson, John Clark, Jane Larson, Julius Williams, .....................................................................................................................................................................Kay Willshire, Mark Zangara Advertising Sales......... Michelle Hegarty, 612-807-1078 Cartoonist......................................................Scott Adams Executive Director.....................................Tim Benjamin Production........................................................ In-Fin Tuan Managing Editor........................................ Jane McClure Distribution............................................ S. C. Distribution Business Manager/Webmaster......... Dawn Frederick EDITORIAL: Editorial submissions and news releases on topics of interest to persons with disabilities, or persons serving those with disabilities, are welcomed. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. Editorial material and advertising do not necessarily reflect the view of the editor/publisher of Access Press.

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equipment, and parents kept healthy children inside for fear they might catch the disease. Candy Land offered the kids in Abbott’s ward a welcome distraction— but it also gave immobilized patients a liberating fantasy of movement. That aspect of the game still resonates with children today.”

Joy noted that early versions of the game featured a drawing of a boy wearing a leg brace.

Little is known about the Candy Land inventor. Abbott lived in San Diego and taught school. Some accounts state that many of the royalties Abbott earned on Candy Land were donated to children’s charities.

Joy learned through his research that Abbott herself had a unique perspective on polio, as she contracted the disease in 1948 when she was in her late 30s. She spent her recovery time in a San Diego hospital, in a polio ward where most of the other patients were children.

“Seeing children suffer around her, Abbott set out to concoct some escapist entertainment for her young wardmates, a game that left behind the strictures of the hospital ward for an adventure that spoke to their wants: the desire to move freely in the pursuit of delights, an easy privilege polio had stolen from them,” Joy wrote.

Joy praises Candy Land for provided children with the ability to travel and see new destinations, allowing an escape from the boredom of the polio ward. Trips to the Molasses Swap, Gumdrop Mountains, Ice Cream Floats and Peppermint Stick Forest provided a delightful escape.

The History Note is a monthly column sponsored by the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, www.mnddc.org or www.mncdd.org and www.partnersinpolicymaking.com.

August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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UCare has health plans for everyone, no matter their age or health care needs. We serve individuals and families as well as those on Medicare or Medical Assistance (Medicaid). We’re also the first health plan in Minnesota to offer health coverage to people with disabilities. Today, we offer three options to serve this community: • UCare Connect Special Needs BasicCare (SNBC). in 62 Minnesota counties, this plan serves adults who are 18-64 years old and enrolled in Medical Assistance. Members receive benefits that go beyond Medical Assistance to support their health and wellbeing. Members enrolled in Medicare can keep their current plans.

• UCare Connect + Medicare Special Needs BasicCare (HMO SNP). This plan is available in 11 metro-area counties and serves adults who are 18-64 years old and enrolled in both Medical Assistance and Medicare Parts A and B (dual coverage).

• UCare’s Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO). Offered in 66 Minnesota counties, this coverage combines Medicare and Medical Assistance (dual) coverage for people who are 65 and older and may have disabilities. The State of Minnesota is now transitioning adults who are age 65 and older with SNBC coverage to Medical Assistance programs. For adults who choose UCare’s MSHO, this means they can keep many features of SNBC, including disability waiver services.

We’re more than a health plan.

We make health care simple.

• UCare employees understand the unique needs of the disabled community. We work hard to figure out the coverage that’s right for each individual. We put members first.

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Our Disability Advisory Council (DAC) is one of four UCare member groups that meet regularly with UCare leaders. The council includes SNBC members who serve as advocates for the disability community.

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Questions?

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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FROM OUR COMMUNITY

A timely reminder about why all of our lives have value

by Lilli Spritz I want to write about something that happened at the reception for my art show this summer. Something wonderful.

At one point, while people were gathered around that room, people whom some of us knew as great movers and shakers in the world, artists and dancers and singers and people who do change work, and me with my paintings who nearly became invisible in the world due to my disabilities and my fears … there was one person whom I knew, standing at the outskirts of everything, quietly, as if she didn’t quite belong. And I talked out loud about everyone who was there and what they

did in the world … but I got to this one woman, and I knew she did everything.

She is a bookkeeper, a computer technician, a walking encyclopedia who gathers information about science and people and economics and politics and knows about art and shares that information with anyone who will listen. And she can fly an airplane.

And she is a homemaker. A person who comes into our homes and helps us with things we can’t easily do any more like our laundry or our dishes or helps drive us to get out in the world. And sits and talks with us deeply, like OUR lives matter.

When we have lost the ability to some-

times matter to ourselves, we matter to her.

“Those people …” We … are often the people society would love to just forget, but J____ won’t let us not matter. She WANTS US TO MATTER. Even though to many other people, it’s easy to just let us disappear, SHE won’t let us.

And this woman who comes into our homes and has come into mine as well, I won’t allow her, as a raised-poor person, to be invisible, to not matter with what she does. Quietly does. To not have that same fanfare. For people to not know what she does simply because what she does is invisible. And because she does it quietly, simply because SHE has decided

she wants to, that people matter to HER. And I cried thinking about this, me as a poor person whose life almost didn’t matter anymore, I wasn’t going to let that happen to her. What she does for us. I won’t let poor people like us, or raisedpoor people like us, be invisible. I want people like her to be known as much as any politician, or artist, or writer, or changer-worker in the world, raised-poor or presently poor, I won’t allow her or us to be invisible. I refuse. And this letter is to you whoever you are, who have been there or not been there, reading this, that we matter. And we won’t go away, and we are going to be here. And she, and I, are going to stay. As I hope you all will too.

Crisis in direct support workforce is spotlighted in new film “Where it all comes together for people with disabilities is with their direct support professional [DSP],” said Ronnie Polaneczky. “DSPs are doing some of the hardest work ever and they’re being paid terribly.

How could we make the linchpin for all that so unstable? That’s insanity.”

Polaneczky is a reporter with the Philadelphia Daily News speaking in Invaluable: The Unrecognized Profession of Direct Support, a 44-minute film by ICI’s Research and Training Center on Community Living. Written by producer/director Jerry Smith and ICI director Amy Hewitt, the film documents the chronically low pay, high turnover, long hours, disrespect and high expectations for direct support professionals, the largely invisible staff who assist people with disabilities in living full, productive lives. The film’s focus is on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, although the staff shortage is a crisis for everyone.

In addition to providing physical assistance with daily living routines and ensuring the health and safety of individuals, many of whom have complex medical issues, DSPs connect people socially and ensure they are valued members of their communities.

Forty years ago, many people with developmental disabilities were confined to overcrowded and often squalid institutions before organized advocacy efforts led to community-based services and supports.

People with disabilities and their families praise DSPs for making community living viable, but this civil right success story came at the expense of the DSPs themselves who are paid about 25 percent less than institu-

TURMOIL

tional staff and nursing home workers. “We willingly planned and implemented community support with staff who were being paid less, who had access to less stability and fewer benefits,” Hewitt said in the film.

“We did that because of a good thing: We wanted people with disabilities to live in the community. But the way we could afford it was on the backs of the workers and we’ve never caught up.”

Low wages, lack of benefits, highly de-

From page 1 state lawmakers, in which he described DHS health care leadership as “hostile and dismissive.” He is urging state leaders to set up a means of ongoing oversight for DHS. Schiff had worked for DHS for 13 years before his post was eliminated. He contends that agency health care leadership ignorpioed advice from physicians in key areas including prior authorizations of drugs for Medicaid recipients. He also expressed concerns about the services people on Medicaid receive.

“Dedicated physicians and other clinical providers from the community are persistently stymied in their ability to meaningfully give input into policy decisions,” Schiff said. But Wheelock responded that DHS already

manding work, and little opportunity for advancement have led to a national turnover rate of about 45 percent and chronic staff shortages. And the problem is compounded by an increased demand for services. “Over the last two decades, just for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the service sector has grown by 290% already,” Hewitt said. “So we've just gotten to this place where demand is far greater than our ability to meet it.” One million new

DSPs are needed over the next 10 years.

The film explores a number of strategies addressing the workforce crisis, including professional development, credentialing opportunities, and the use of technology supports as an alternative to having the constant physical presence of staff in someone’s home. These approaches are necessary but not sufficient for bringing stability to the direct support workforce and continuity to the lives of the people receiving supports.

Even as organizations across the country employing direct support staff have lobbied legislators for pay increases, DSPs have seen their wages, adjusted for inflation, decrease over the past 10 years.

Mary Ann Allen, director of a disability services provider agency in New York, said the direct support system is collapsing.

“People with disabilities are already ending up in homeless shelters, hospitals, and institutions. We don’t have much time before the tipping point is crossed.”

Advocate Margaret Puddington, whose son Mark is featured in the film, believes the workforce crisis is in part one of perception. “I feel that if people understood what the work of direct support is, there would be no problem. They would be forced, ethically, morally, to give staff a decent wage, well above the minimum wage.”

Through public screenings and discussions across the country, Invaluable is being used to provide this understanding and raise the profile of an unrecognized labor force.

Invaluable is available for rental or purchase. Contact ici@umn.edu

“The flurry of resignations, appointments, and rescinded resignations has raised significant concerns from my office, from the press, and from the one million people served by DHS.” - Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake has several independent boards advising the state’s Medicaid program.

Another person raising red flags about DHS is Faye K. Bernstein, a DHS compliance officer. Bernstein has alleged retaliation after she reported serious non-compliance issues with state contracts.

“I am aware of substandard and noncompliant contracts approved by management to go out the door, putting DHS funds at risk,” she wrote in a July email to colleagues in the DHS division that oversees behavioral

health. “On a good day I am met with dismissiveness, on a bad day it feels to me to be intentionally punitive.”

The email went on to say that the atmosphere in the division had changed “dramatically and negatively” over the past six months.

In response, Walz said that he wants state employees to speak out, especially if they see problems. Wilson issued a statement saying that DHS is looking into the issues Bernstein has raised. ■

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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Birks an early advocate

Jane Wyman Donnelly Birks is remembered as a longtime advocate for people with developmental disabilities. Birks died last month after a brief illness.

She was 95 and lived in St. Paul.

During her adult life she was an advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities, taking on many roles in groups that are now part of The Arc Minnesota. Birks was the first parent advocate at the Minnesota Legislature, a capacity in which she volunteered for 15 years. She served as a board member, board president and spokesperson for ARC of Saint Paul, as chair of the boards of Minnesota Diversified Industries and Mental Health Resources, and as executive director of the Developmental Services Organization. She also served on numerous state committees, governors' commissions, and with many other community groups.

At age 50 she earned her pilot’s license and visited many countries. She was a highly competitive tennis player, an active swimmer, a voracious reader, an accomplished writer and artist, and an enthusiastic Vikings fan. She is survived by children, step-children, grandchildren, a great-grandchild, a sister and many other relatives and friends. Services have been held.

Her family requests that memorials be sent to her son's sheltered workshop at Merrick Inc., 3210 Labore Rd, Vadnais Heights, MN 55110 or to ARC Minnesota, 2446 University Ave. W., St. Paul, MN 55114.

Hetterick led in community John F. Hetterick was a high-profile executive who became an equally high-profile disability advocate during retirement. Hetterick died earlier this summer. He was 74 and lived in Plymouth.

Hetterick was best known as the CEO of Rollerblade.

He held marketing and executive jobs at PepsiCo International, Tonka International, General Mills and elsewhere over the years.

In his later years, Hetterick was known for his advocacy for people affected by disabilities and social disparities. He led development of housing in Robbinsdale that combined Section 8 housing with owner-occupied condos. He got involved with a variety of disability-rights organizations and helped spur the creation of the Able Act, a federal law that allows

ADA

From page 1 Minnesota Department of Human Services Deputy Commissioner Claire Wilson, also talked about battling discrimination.

Panelists urged those present to speak up against discrimination and top use available laws to protect their rights. “Don’t let them pacify you,” said activist Noah McCourt. He has successfully challenged municipal social media policies and has used litigation as a tool.

“The only way of enforcing the ADA is through litigation,” he said.

Sue Abderholden of NAMI Minnesota pointed that litigation isn’t for everyone. People need to find their own comfort level in advocating for themselves.

In her talk, Lucero spoke of her vision for everyone to live lives full of dignity and joy. She explained how her department handles complaints of discrimination. People with disabilities are in a protected class, so claims on unfair or unequal treatment need to be considered carefully.

“Systems of oppression persist,” Lucero said. While some situations have improved for people with disabilities, others such as employment have not.

Employers may think they are doing a good job but that is not always the case.

But Lucero also cautioned that Human Rights has a very small staff. Complaints can take a year or longer to resolve.

She is a strong advocate of mediation process prior to a complaint going through the state investigation process.

Some cities have their own human rights departments, so complaints can be directed to those agencies.

As an attorney, Lucero has worked as an administrative law judge for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, at the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis, and in private practice as a plaintiff-side employment lawyer. She draws on those experiences when leading the Human Rights department.

Another highlight was recognition of VSA Minnesota staff, Craig Dunn and Jon Skaalen, and a thank you for their years of work, VSA Minnesota will close its doors in September, and the two arts community leaders will retire.

The event had many sponsors. They included Access Press, ADA Minnesota, City of Duluth Commission on Disabilities, City of Minneapolis, Hamline University Office of Disability Resources, Hennepin County, Metropolitan Center for Independent Living, Minnesota Council on Disability, Minnesota Department of Human Rights Minnesota Department of Human Services, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Minnesota Disability Law Center and VSA Minnesota. ■

In Memoriam f∏∏

parents of children with disabilities to set aside money tax-free for their future needs. The idea for the program came to Hetterick while he was working in Washington, as a 2004 recipient of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation's Public Policy Fellowship. President Barack Obama signed the Able Act into law in 2014.

He co-founded the not-for-profit No Place Like Home Communities Inc. and served on the boards of charities including Opportunity Partners in Minnetonka, Minneapolis' Project for Pride in Living, the National Disability Institute in Washington and The ARC Greater Twin Cities.

His advocacy was motivated partly by personal experience. He and wife Kathe adopted two children from Colombia, a daughter with a learning disability and a son who works with people transitioning out of homelessness.

Hetterick is survived by his wife, a sister, his son and daughter, and four grandchildren. A celebration of life will be held at 6 p.m. October 11 at the Theodore Wirth Pavilion in Minneapolis.

Severance sued for rights

Pg 5

Rozanne Keister Severance is recalled for her pioneering advocacy for people who use wheelchairs.

Severance died in July. She was 75 and lived in Minneapolis.

The Elmore native attended Concordia College in Moorhead and Mankato State University, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She worked at Northwest Airlines as a flight attendant and at the University of Minnesota.

After an auto accident, Severance used a wheelchair and became a disability rights advocate. She chaired a Metropolitan Council committee for people with disabilities. Severance sued Mankato State and the State of Minnesota over access issues for public buildings and transportation in Minnesota under the Americans with Disabilities Act and won.

She also served as president for Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

She is survived by brothers and sisters-in-law, and many nieces and nephews. Services have been held. ■

August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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REGIONAL NEWS Ex-Viking’s claim is denied

A former Vikings defensive lineman who claims his dementia is related to multiple concussions during his years on the gridiron had his permanent total workers’ compensation award thrown out by the Minnesota Supreme Court July 31. The claim was made by Alapati “Al” Noga.

Noga and his advocates have contended that his injuries weren’t treated properly. But the court agreed that the Vikings’ treatment of Noga’s headaches with over-the-counter medicines was sufficient. The court also agreed, in a 6-0 decision, that the claim filed in 2015 is too late.

Noga’s lawyers, John Lorentz and Ray Peterson, issued a statement, saying they’re disappointed and concerned about retired athletes in Al Noga Minnesota who suffer Noga’s fate: slow, progressive dementia caused by work-related concussions that occurred decades ago.

“The workers’ compensation system was adopted to provide compensation and care for injured workers,” they wrote. “Under today’s decision, many professional athletes in this situation will not receive that compensation and care.”

Noga had been awarded disability by a lower court.

St. Louis County scrutinizes sidewalks

Fifty-three miles of St. Louis County sidewalks aren’t in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) A new county plan released for public review is calling for more than $25 million worth of compliance improvements to sidewalks, traffic signals and curb ramps.

After an unflattering portrait of its pedestrian facilities showed numerous instances of non-compliance with federal disability law, St. Louis County set forth the draft of a plan this week outlining an estimated $25.4 million worth of compliance updates.

The plan features an 87-page inventory of county pedestrian facilities categorized by curb ramps, traffic signals and sidewalks. The ratio of noncompliance-tocompliance is not an appealing balance. An estimated 76 percent of county sidewalks (53.2 miles) and 951 curb ramps failed to fully meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

“My initial reaction was, ‘Gee, I didn’t know we had that much non-compliant stuff,” St. Louis County traffic engineer Vic Lund said. “That was a surprise.”

County Board Chair Patrick Boyle praised the plan for outlining a path to compliance.

"I am pleased to present this ADA Transition Plan as the guiding document to ensure county roads are accessible for all residents," Boyle said in a documentopening statement.

A four-month self-evaluation in 2018 of county pedestrian facilities yielded the following results: 24 percent of sidewalks met accessibility criteria, 37 percent of curb ramps met accessibility criteria and 38 percent of traffic-control signals aligned with current standards for push-button technology.

Duluth-based county facilities were by and large more compliant, Lund explained, while places in the northern part of the county, Eveleth and Ely, for instance, showed numerous county pedestrian features dinged

He played for the Vikings from 1988-1992 and tackled with a “head-first style” that he carried over from prep playing days.

When he played in the NFL, Noga continued to lead with his head, something the league has since banned as awareness of the longterm impact of concussions has grown in recent years.

While playing with the Vikings, Noga suffered “a number of orthopedic injuries that kept him from playing games periodically,” and also experienced head injuries and headaches, the court said.

When Noga had a headache after a hit, team trainers and doctors would give him Advil or Tylenol.

Through weighing of multiple factors, the court determined that the Vikings didn’t have “a conscious sense of obligation” for Noga’s later dementia.

The court also said he should have filed his claim for dementia compensation no later than 2010 to stay within the statute of limitations.

“Medical awareness of the connection between and among head injuries, possible concussions, and the potential long-term neurological effects of those events had not yet developed” at the time Noga played for the Vikings, the court ruling stated.

(Source: Star Tribune) for non-compliance. Towns under 5,000 residents don’t qualify for state-aid highways, meaning more roads, and subsequently sidewalks, in smaller towns fall under county jurisdiction.

(Source: Duluth News-Tribune)

Housing options are scarce

The mostly poor, disabled or elderly tenants of a nearly 50-year-old Fairmont apartment building are reeling from a steep rent increase that they fear will force them to move in a region with few affordable housing options.

The 64-unit, three-story building known as Fairmont Square was built in 1972. Four partners bought it several years ago. In June, partner David N. Olshansky, a Twin Cities businessman, bought out the remaining partners and began a long-overdue rehabilitation project, tearing off the old cedar siding with plans to replace it along with the windows.

On July 9, the property manager slipped a letter under tenants’ doors notifying them that for many, rents would more than double when they renew their leases. For those on monthly contracts, that could mean as soon as September.

“There’s nothing in town that’s within the price range of most of the residents here,” said Brandon White, a longtime tenant. “We are in the middle of nowhere.”

Today, one in four households across Minnesota pays more than they can afford for shelter, forcing them to cut back on necessities such as food, education and medicines, according to a recent assessment by the Minnesota Housing Partnership. That problem is exacerbated in southern Minnesota, an area with the second-largest number of renters and where wage depreciation has made housing even harder to afford.

In Martin County, where Fairmont is located, median rents increased 22 percent from 2000 to 2017 while renter income increased just 8 percent.

Olshansky, a Russian immigrant and former dentist

who owns Home Health Care Inc. in Golden Valley, among other investments, declined to comment on Fairmont Square.

Several Fairmont Square residents, meanwhile, are rallying tenants to see if the rent hike can be softened.

They’ve counted 67 to 70 residents in the building, including about 20 children. Some residents have lived there for decades. They said at least 20 have home health care or personal care attendants, and 26 get Section 8 rental assistance.

(Source: Star Tribune)

Metro Mobility drives to Lakeville

Gov. Tim Walz in July signed a ceremonial bill bringing Metro Mobility to Lakeville starting in January 2020.

A provision in the transportation budget omnibus bill allocates nearly $2 million for the low cost, door-to-door transportation service in Lakeville, according to a news release from Rep. Alice Mann, DFL-Lakeville.

Metro Mobility serves riders who can’t use regular buses because of disability or health conditions.

State Sen. Matt Little, DFL-Lakeville, said he’s been working on getting Metro Mobility to Lakeville for six years, since he was the city’s mayor. He said Lakeville was successful because it has 65,000 people and is located off Interstate 35.

“I want people to be able to live in Lakeville,” he said.

“If you have a disability where you can’t drive, you don’t really have any options in Lakeville.”

Metro Mobility is a shared public transportation service for certified riders who are unable to use regular fixedroute buses due to a disability or health condition. Rides are provided for any purpose.

(Source: Star Tribune)

Man turned away from ride

A young man from Wright County who uses a prosthetic device is pushing for ValleyFair amusement park to change its policies on rides. According to KMSPTV, Juan Cambara was told he could not ride the “Delirious” ride. He and his girlfriend were visiting the Shakopee amusement park when told they could not board the ride due to security reason.

ValleyFair’s website indicates that the amusement park doesn’t allow prosthetics on certain rides, unless riders can assume that a device is properly secured and will remain in place during the ride. Some ride manufacturers, including the maker of the Delirious ride, call for no one with a prosthetic device to ride their rides.

Cambara has an artificial arm. He said it is secure and wouldn’t come off. He objected to being banned from the ride.

The amputee group Wiggle Your Toes is calling for ValleyFair to use the experience as a teaching moment, and for park staff to educate themselves about today’s prosthetics. The group’s founder said that prosthetics that are properly used don’t provide a danger.

ValleyFair has responded by saying that it will provide a personalized experience plan for guests with disabilities. Its ride operators go through training and have a focus on safety.

(Source: KMSP-TV)

Opioids prescriptions are eyed

More than 16,000 Minnesota health care providers serving Minnesotans on Medicaid and MinnesotaCare will receive reports in coming weeks comparing their opioid prescribing rates to those of their peers as part of a quality improvement effort led by the Department of Human Services in collaboration with the medical community.

The first-ever reports in Minnesota aim to create awareness among providers about their individual prescribing behavior. That knowledge can signal a dramatic turning point, as evidenced in this short video about how one

REGIONAL NEWS To page 13

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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ADA 29th Anniversary Celebration a huge success Photos by Chris Juhn Photography

Attendees of the celebration hang out in the lobby where there was snacks and drinks served during the break of the ADA celebration at the Anderson Center in St. Paul on July 26.

Gaelynn Lea, a violinist and songwriter performs during the 29th anniversary celebration of the ADA at the Anderson Center in St. Paul. (top) Jon Skaalen (left) and Craig Dunn (right) pose for a photo before they receive their awards at the Anderson Center in St. Paul during the ADA 29th Anniversary Celebration.

The panelists sit on stage during the ADA 29th Anniversary Celebration at the Anderson Center in St. Paul.

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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ADA 29th Anniversary Celebration Photos by Chris Juhn Photography

Canoeing at Vinland’s main campus in Loretto, Minnesota

Vinland Center provides drug and alcohol treatment for adults with cognitive disabilities. We make all possible accommodations for cognitive deficits and individual learning styles.

Located in Loretto, Minnesota — just 20 miles west of Minneapolis.

866.956.7612 • VinlandCenter.org

One of the volunteers of the ADA celebration holds the awards out for a photo that Jon Skaalen and Craig Dunn were to receive for the dedicated service they put forth at VSA MN.

Barb Edine (left) and Patricia Anita (right) talk during the break. Patricia came to the celebration because she wanted to connect with the disability center.

...because everyone has a right to lead their life.

Attendees for the 29th Anniversary Celebration of the ADA listen as the panelists for the event answer questions asked by the moderator. (left) Attendees of the event listen as Gaelynn Lea perform and sing with her.

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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OPPORTUNITIES

Disability issues take on urgency CHILDREN AND FAMILIES Family courses on mental illnesses offered NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness) offers a free educational course that helps families gain a greater understanding of mental illness, discuss resources, build communication skills, reduce stress and find support. More than 4,000 Minnesota families have benefited from this course. Join others for this series taught by family members who have walked the walk. Two courses are offered soon.

The Family-to-Family course meets weekly for 12 weeks on Mondays starting 6:30-9 p.m. Sept. 23 at NAMI Minnesota, 1919 University Ave. W., Suite 400, St. Paul and on Wednesdays starting 6-8:30 p.m. Sept.

18 at Canvas Health, 7066 Stillwater Blvd. N., Oakdale. FFI: Dinah, 651238-6110 (St. Paul) or Marilyn, 651-497-6858 (Oakdale).

PACER workshop sampling PACER Center offers many useful free or low-cost workshops and other resources for families of children with any disabilities.

Workshops are at PACER Center, 8161 Normandale Blvd., Bloomington, unless specified. Workshops are offered throughout the state, with some workshops available online. Advance registration is required for all workshops. At least 48 hours’ notice is needed for interpretation. Many workshops are live-streamed. Check out PACER’s website and link to the newsletter of statewide workshops that allows participants to pick and choose sessions designed for their needs. Workshops are free but advance registration required. FFI: PACER, 952-838-9000, 800-537-2237, www.pacer.org

INFO & ASSISTANCE MCIL hosts classes and activities The Metropolitan Center for Independent Living provides many life skills classes as well as fun outings and events for people with disabilities.

MCIL is at 530 N. Robert Street, St Paul and most activities are there or start there. Classes and events are listed on the website, www.mcil-mn. org. Click on “Classes Groups and Sessions” for updated information or to print their calendar. Please give two weeks’ notice if the alternative format or other accommodations are needed. Events are free, accessible and mostly scent-free. The People of Color with disabilities group meets 5:30-8 p.m. the third Thu of each month. FFI: 651-603-2030 Classes and support in Sauk Rapids Independent Lifestyles, Inc., 215 North Benton Dr., Sauk Rapids, offers many groups and classes, for free or a small fee. Advocates for Independence meet 2-4 p.m. first and third Wed, for persons with disabilities who wish to increase leadership and assertiveness skills. No classes on holidays. Free.

Learn self-dense and improve fitness with a free one-month introductory classes, for both adapted martial arts and Tae Guk Known Do. Wear loose clothing and bring a bottle of water. The classes are on Fridays unless there is a holiday. Scott Ridlon is instructor. FFI: 320-267-7717, 320-281-2042 Vision loss group offers activities Vision Loss Resources provides free and low-cost activities in the Twin Cities for people who are blind or visually impaired. Life skills classes for those with low vision; card games, craft classes, book clubs, walking groups, dinners out, special outings and technology classes are among the offerings. Participants need to RVSP to participate, at least three working days prior to an event. The calendar is also available on the Vision Loss Resources website and as a printable large-print PDF document for those who wish to print their own or additional copies. A new policies handbook will be introduced in February. It has been developed to help everyone understand VLR policies, practices and eligibility requirements. Copies will be available in both the St. Paul and Minneapolis locations. All participants attending Community Center activities will need to sign the one-page summary and community center participation agreement form. FFI: RSVP hotline, 612-843-3439; activity line and audio calendar, 612253-5155, www.visionlossresources.org

anxiety support groups, groups for veterans and other groups. Led by trained facilitators, groups provide help and support. Parent resource groups are facilitated by a parent who has a child with a mental illness and who has been trained to lead support groups. A group meets 6:30-8 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday at Eagle Brook Church, 2401 East Buffalo St., White Bear Lake. FFI: Jody Lyons 651-645-2948 x109.

Family support groups help families who have a relative with a mental illness. A group meets at 6:30 p.m. the second and fourth Wed at Centennial United Methodist Church, 1524 Co. Rd. C-2 West, Roseville. FFI: Anne Mae. 651-484-0599.

Open Door Anxiety and Panic support groups help people cope with anxiety disorders. One group meets 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. the second and fourth Thu in Room 104, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 700 Snelling Ave. S., St. Paul. Another group meets 6:30-8 p.m. the first and third Thu at Woodland Hills Church, 1740 Van Dyke St., St. Paul.

A peer support group is offered for LGBTQ adults living with a mental illness. The group meets 1-2:30 p.m. Sat, Living Table United Church of Christ, 3805 E. 40th St, Mpls. FFI: David, 612-920-3925, 651-645-2948.

Young Adult NAMI Connection is a free support group for persons ages 16-20. One group meets 7-8:30 the first and third Thu at Friends Meeting House, 1725 Grand Ave., St. Paul. A group also meets 7-8:30 p.m. on the first and third Thu at Dental Office of Dr. Crandall & Associates, 2300 East Highway 96, White Bear Lake.

The group is facilitated by young adults who live with mental illnesses and are doing well in recovery. A full calendar of all events is offered online. FFI: 651-645-2948, www.namihelps.org Hope for Recovery workshop NAMI Minnesota offers Hope for Recovery workshops, six hours of resources and help for family and friends of a teen or adult living with a mental illness. Next workshop is 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat, April 13 in St. Paul. The workshops are also helpful for people living with a mental illness who are doing well in their recovery. Obtain information about mental illnesses, treatments, crisis management, suicide prevention, the mental health system and local resources along with practical strategies for helping a loved one or friend. This includes learning the LEAP strategy for improving communication: Listen, Empathize, Agree-on what you can, and Partner.

Preregistration required. Bring a bag lunch. FFI: www.namihelps.org Adult support groups offered AuSM offers free support groups for adults with autism spectrum disorder. Groups include those for adult family members, women with autism spectrum disorders and independent adults with autism. Check the website for upcoming groups. Groups meet at the AuSM offices at 2380 Wycliff St. FFI: 651-647-1083 ext. 10, www.ausm.org St. Cloud Area Parkinson's Disease group St. Could Area Parkinson’s Disease Support Group typically meets 1-2 p.m. third Mon of each month at ILICIL Independent Lifestyles, 215 N.

Benton Dr., Sauk Rapids. Next meetings are Mon, May 20 and June 17.

Meetings are open to those diagnosed with Parkinson’s, their families, caregivers and the general public. The free group provides support, education, and awareness about the disease. FFI: 320-529-9000

VOLUNTEER Book readers sought Volunteers are a valuable resource at Radio Talking Book, broadcasting local news and information programs to blind and print-impaired listeners from sites around the state and at the Communication Center in St. Paul. The goal is to provide accurate and timely information to our thousands of listeners throughout Minnesota and across the nation. FFI: Roberta Kitlinski, 651-539-1423 Be a tutor Minnesota Reading Corps and Minnesota Math Corps are seeking 1,700 tutors for the 2019-20 school year by asking residents to Help Minnesota Be More. Give Your Time As A Tutor. Both full- and part-time tutors are being recruited to begin a year of paid service this fall. By joining Reading Corps or Math Corps, individuals will be helping more than 35,000 students statewide. Reading Corps and Math Corps are statewide initiatives to help every Minnesota student become a successful reader by the end of third grade, and proficient in math by the end of eighth grade. Tutors are being sought for three different levels of commitment: 35, 25 or 18 hours a week. Tutors receive a stipend every two weeks and can earn up to an additional $4,200 for student loans or tuition, which can be gifted to a family member if the tutor is 55 or older. Many tutors also qualify for additional benefits like free health insurance and child care assistance. Sign up soon as tutors start work in August.

FFI: www.minnesotareadingcorps.org, www.minnesotamathcorps.org Help with Tapemark tournament The Tapemark golf tournament has a change in date, moving from June to Sept. 20-22 at Southview Country Club, West St. Paul. The event, which raises money for people with disabilities, relies on many volunteers to make the tournament a success. Spots are available for volunteers with disabilities. Be a start assistant, help with registration or do other tasks. Volunteers get a food and beverage voucher and a T-shirt. There is a dress code for volunteers, who need to be ready to help, rain or shine. FFI: Michelle Theisen, The Arc Minnesota at 952915-3670 or michelle@tapemarkgolf.org Open the door to education Help adults reach their educational goals and earn their GED. Tutor, teach or assist in a classroom with the Minnesota Literacy Council.

Give 2-3 hours a week and help people expand their opportunities and change their lives through education. Provides training and support and accommodations for volunteers with disabilities. FFI: Allison, 651-2519110, volunteer@mnliteracy.org, http://tinyurl.com/adult-opportunities

Mental health support offered NAMI Minnesota offers more than 500 free educational classes and presentations statewide each year, along with help in navigating the mental health system. NAMI also has more than 70 free support groups for people living with a mental illness and their families.

In the Twin Cities NAMI has about two dozen family support groups, more than 20 support groups for people living with a mental illness,

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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ENJOY! That’s a wrap for VSA Minnesota

VSA Minnesota is moving ahead toward its Sept. 27 shutdown.

Before then, celebrate with Minnesota’s longtime organization for the arts and disability, and plan for its transition.

The farewell celebration is 6-9 p.m. Wed, Sept. 19 at Mixed Blood Theatre, 1501 S. 4th St., Mpls. ASL, AD and OC offered. The event is free, and all are welcome. FFI: 612-332-3888, access@vsamn.org One more round of Accessibility in the Arts workshops is planned, 1-4 p.m. Tue, Aug. 13 in Detroit Lakes at the Historic Holmes Theatre, 806 Summit Ave. and Tue, Aug. 20 in Grand Rapids at the Reif Arts Center, 720 NW Conifer Drive. Request any needed accommodations in advance.

The workshops are free, but preregister, by calling 612-3323888 or 800-801-3883 or emailing info@vsamn.org. List name and organization, any need for accommodations and which workshop will be attended.

Learn about accommodations for people with disabilities, disability etiquette and emerging trends in the field of arts access.

Electronic resource lists, internet links and suggested contacts will be provided along with refreshments. The sessions target arts administrators, board members and anyone interested in access to the arts for people with disabilities.

Rent A touring company presents the rock musical about struggling artists, at Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. OC offered 7:30 p.m. Thu, Aug. 15. ASL offered 1 p.m. Sun, Aug. 18. AD offered 6:30 p.m. Sun, Aug. 18. Tickets $40-136. Limited seats are available at the lowest price level to patrons using ASL interpreting or captioning on a first-come, first-served basis. Prices apply for up to two tickets for each patron requiring ASL interpretation or captioning. Additional seats may be sold separately and at regular price. Audio description receivers may be used in any price level. To order, email accessible@broadwayacrossamerica.com. FFI: 612-3397007, www.hennepintheatretrust.org Floyd's Guthrie Theater presents the world premiere of a tale about a truck stop and the tough-as-nails owner, at Guthrie Theater, McGuire Proscenium, 818 2nd St. S., Mpls. AD and ASL offered 1 p.m. Sat, Aug. 17. Free sensory tour available at 10:30 a.m. AD, ASL and OC offered 7:30 p.m. Fri, Aug. 23. OC offered 1 p.m. Wed, Aug. 21; Sat, Aug. 24 and Sun, Aug. 25. Tickets reduced to $20 for AD/ASL, $25 for OC (regular $15-93). FFI: 612-377-2224, www.guthrietheater.org Planetarium Show: One Giant Leap Bell Museum presents a limited run show about the 50-year anniversary of the first moonwalk, at the museum. 2088 Larpenteur Ave. W., St. Paul. OC offered 11:30 Sun, Aug. 25. Tickets $6-$8.

Planetarium tickets go on sale three weeks before the date of the show. Pre-purchasing is recommended because shows sell out.

Buy online at www.tickets.umn.edu/bell/online. FFI: 651-626-9660, bellaccess@umn.edu.

VSA Minnesota’s final Emerging Artists Exhibit and Reception is 6-8:30 p.m. Thu, Aug. 15 at Cowles Center for Dance & Performing Arts, 516 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. AD, ASL and OC offered. The event is free, and all are welcome.

Six Minnesota artists who received VSA/Jerome Emerging Artist Grants in 2018 will show their new work at a reception and program.

Meet the artists and participate in activities and refreshments that refreshments. Facilitators are Dan Reiva, Tara Innmon and Kip Shane.

Fully accessible, but anyone needing special accommodations should contact VSA Minnesota, 612-332-3888, jon@vsamn.org Sign Language Saturday Minnesota Renaissance Festival hosts Sign Language Saturday 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Sat, Sept. 7 at the festival grounds, 3525 145th St W (King's Gate, off Hwy 169, seven miles south of Shakopee). ASL offered all day. Free parking, with disability parking and portable toilets as well as a first aid station available. Motorized scooters available for rent, but not wheelchairs or strollers. Tickets $24.95 (advance $21.95), other discounts available. FFI: 952-445-7361, www.renaissancefest.com 11th Annual Mpls. Monarch Festival – Festival de la Monarca Celebrate the monarch butterflies’ 2300-mile migration from Minnesota to Mexico with good food, dance, music, live monarchs, migration games, art activities, native plant sales and information about creating monarch habitat at home, and more, at Lake Nokomis, 49th Street and Woodlawn Blvd. (east of the Lake Nokomis Community Center in the area bounded by E. Minnehaha Parkway, Woodlawn Boulevard, and E. Nokomis Parkway), Mpls. ASL offered 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat, Sept. 7. Costume parade at 11 a.m. Interpreters will be at the main stage, for puppet shows, and roving/on-demand for other activities with artists, monarch education and exhibitors.)

Free. FFI: 612-313-7784, www.monarchfestival.org

Tour for People with Memory Loss At 10 a.m. on the first Tue of every month the historic James J. Hill House, 240 Summit Ave., St. Paul, offers a sensory-based tour designed for people with memory loss and their caregivers. Each themed tour, usually an hour or less, highlights three rooms and is followed by an optional social time until 11:30 a.m. with pastries and coffee. Private group tours available for care facilities. Next tours Tue, Sept 3 and Oct. 1. Free but reservations required. FFI: 651297-2555, www.mnhs.org

Sensory Friendly Sunday at the Walker Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Place, Mpls, hosts Sensory Friendly Sundays, 8-11 a.m. Sun, Sept. 8 and Oct. 13. It is a monthly, free event for kids, teens and adults with autism spectrum disorder or sensory sensitivities and their families, offering the opportunity to make art together, explore the galleries, watch a short film, or just hang out in a different setting. The galleries will be closed to all other visitors, allowing guests to enjoy the museum in a safe environment where accommodations such as quiet spaces, headphones and fidgets can be provided. In order to ensure an optimal experience and avoid crowds, reserve space ahead of time online. This program was created in consultation with AuSM and the University of Minnesota’s Occupational Therapy Program. FFI: 612-375-7610, www.walkerart.org

Open Flow Forum The Artists with Disabilities Alliance meets the first Thu of the month, 7-9 p.m. at Walker Community Church, 3104 16th Ave. S., Mpls.

Upcoming dates Thu, Sept. 5 and Oct. 3. Join artists with disabilities and supporters to share visual art, writing, music, theater and artistic efforts or disability concerns. Informal, fragrance-free, with shared

Bakken Museum Sensory Friendly Sunday Bakken Museum, 3537 Zenith Ave S, Mpls. offers Sensory Friendly Sundays, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. the second Sun of every month.

Next date is Sept. 8. The days allow people with autism spectrum disorders and sensory processing differences to have an enjoyable and interactive learning experience in a comfortable and accepting

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evening. A 7 p.m. program will feature poetry, spoken word and comments by the artists. The exhibit will run through Thu, Aug. 22.

Artists whose works will be featured are D. Allen, Minneapolis — poetry, essay; John Lee Clark, Hopkins — poetry; Mike Harris, Jr., Minneapolis — painting; Harrison Halker Heinks, Edina — photography; Chris Juhn, Burnsville — photography and Shelia D. Nelson, St. Paul — photography.

Juhn has photos in this month’s issue of Access Press.

VSA Minnesota administered these annual grants for 23 years to enable Minnesota VSA Minnesota staff members have worked for several months to rehome the organization’s programs. Minnesota Access Alliance is taking over the arts calendar. More information about that transition will be available in late August. The alliance also plans to add VSA resources to its website.

Springboard for the Arts will take on some services for artists with disabilities. COMPAS will add students with disabilities to its school residencies.

The Metropolitan Regional Arts Council is taking on the ADA Access Improvement Grant program for metro area arts organizations.

The Guthrie Theater accessibility office will loan out VSA’s caption display (as the theater does now with audio description equipment.

VSA Minnesota furniture, equipment and supplies will be made available to other nonprofits. environment. Events will include modified programming for diverse sensory needs and specialized staff training. Bakken Museum is the world's only library and museum devoted to medical electricity. Its SF program was developed in consultation with AuSM. The museum will continue be open to the general public from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sun. Activities are free with museum admission, which starts at $10 for adults and includes discounts for children and seniors. FFI: www. thebakken.org Bright Star Lyric Arts Company of Anoka presents a true story of love and redemption in the American South, at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage, 420 E. Main St., Anoka. ASL offered 2 p.m. Sun, Sept. 8. Reserve by Aug. 16. Lyric Arts reserves seats in Row I for parties including persons using wheelchairs or with limited mobility. ASL interpreters are provided at the first Sun performance of each regular season production if a reservation is made three weeks before the show (reserve by Aug. 16). If no ASL seating has been reserved, the ASL interpretation will be canceled and seats will be released to the general public. When ordering tickets, please indicate the need for seating in this section.

Assisted listening devices are available on request. Tickets $30-35; $5 discount for ASL seats. FFI: 763-422-1838, www.lyricarts.org Smokey Joe's Café A touring company presents the songs of Leiber and Stoller, at Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington, St. Paul. ASL and AD offered 2 p.m. Sat, Sept. 14. OC offered 7:30 p.m. Thu, Sept. 19.

Tickets $51-$122; Braille, large-print programs and infrared listening systems available at Patron Services in Ordway’s first level lobby.

If using ASL or OC, recommended seating locations (subject to availability) are: ORCH-RGT G 307-310, ORCH-RGT H 308-311, ORCH-RGT J 309-312. FFI: 651-224-4222, www.ordway.org Bone Mother Sandbox Theatre presents the world premiere of folklore and femininity come to life, at the Museum of Russian Art, 5500 Stevens Ave., Mpls.

ASL offered 7:30 p.m. Sat, Sept. 21 and Thu, Sept. 26. Tickets reserved $24; discounts available. Brown Paper Tickets: 1-800-838-3006. FFI: 612584-1815, info@sandboxtheatreonline.com

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

Pg 12

PEOPLE & PLACES

Minnesotan advances in team trials

The National Wheelchair team selection trials have been underway this summer at the Denver Curling Club in Golden, Colo and the Four Seasons Curling Club in Blaine. Further competition this fall will determine the final five athletes selected to be Team USA at the 2020 World Wheelchair B Championship in November. There the U.S. will fight for a berth to the 2020 World Wheelchair Championship.

One team member is Batoyuna Uranchimeg of Burnsville.

Photo, from left, Lynn Noren, Pamela Satek, Nancy Delaske, DJ Preiner, Amanda Olson and MOHR President Julie Johnson

MOHR

Outstanding direct support professionals and a longtime disability community leader were honored at the MOHR summer conference in St. Cloud. The 2019 Direct Support Professionals (DSP) Awards honor those who demonstrate exceptional performance in serving individuals with disabilities. Also selected was a Tip of the Spear award for an individual who inspires others to take action benefiting people with disabilities.

Five DSPs were feted. A follow-up specialist with Rise in Coon Rapids, Pamela Satek leads with her heart, is person-centered and believes in each and every person she serves. As a job coach, Satek gives one-on-one assistance to people with disabilities who work competitively in the community. A job coach who provides supports, she makes regular visits and offers soft skills training, as well as motivation.

At CHOICE, Inc., David "DJ" Preiner is the lead fitness instructor for the SHAPE Program.

Preiner leads onsite educational programs, job coaches at work sites, does case management and facilitates community integration opportunities. He has Sue Houghton led fun health and fitness challenges, used a community garden plot to create meal kits for group homes, partnered with a transition program and initiated a mentorship program to build leadership skills.

Nancy Delaske has been a valued DSP with LeSueur County Developmental Services (LCDS) since 1995.

She has an ability to foster the very best from each individual she works with. Known as a loyal supporter of the people LCDS serves, Delaske does an outstanding job of teaching individuals how to do their jobs well, both those working in the community and people who work in an LCDS facility. She shares successful approaches for working with crews while maintaining a consistent work ethic.

Sue Houghton has served people with disabilities for 27 years at Partnership Resources, Inc. (PRI), which is in Minneapolis and the western suburbs. As a job coach, she's worked with PRI participants at Target stores since 2000. Her passion for people with disabilities began as a playground supervisor in high school, where she served a boy with Down's Syndrome.

MOHR

MOHR presents awards at summer conference

Amanda Olson with Cokato’s Functional Industries is a case manager for a location serving 36 individuals with disabilities. An Army veteran mental health specialist, she grew up with a brother with developmental disabilities.

She started as a job coach, became an assistant case manager and then a shipping and receiving coordinator. She has the ability to work with individuals who cannot verbalize their needs.

Tip of the Spear winner Lynn Noren is an extremely thoughtful and effective communicator and collaborator who has accomplished a great deal in her more than 40 years of service to the industry, explains MOHR President Julie Johnson, who nominated Noren for the award. The president of Rise, a large MOHR member provider, Noren has served on numerous industry advisory boards, committees, taskforces and leadership groups. "I can't imagine a better thing to do than to work in an organization where you can have an impact on people every single day," said Noren, who credited her great team of leaders and staff at Amanda Olson and Lynn Megan Rise. She said the field requires constant learning, services, breaking down complex concepts and language relearning and rethinking to come up with new ideas. in "nuanced and digestible ways," said Johnson.

"But, at the very core, our work is all about supporting The awards were presented at the MOHR Summer people to live their very best lives." Noren is a sought Conference in St. Cloud. MOHR serves more than after presenter and has served in multiple leadership 110 adult day, day training and habilitation, extended roles for MOHR and the organizations that preceded it. employment and supported employment service She is highly reliable as an expert in her field and helps providers across the state. others to understand the inner workings of disability disabilities and their supports, the center has educated and trained thousands. Its work to change perceptions about guardianship and to promote person-centered decision-making practices continues.

Other winners are Raj Chaudhary, founder and chief operating officer of SEWA-AIFW (Asian Indian Family Wellness); Northland Foundation’s AGE to age Program; and the Hennepin County Homeless Access team.

The awards are a highlight of the Odyssey conference, the largest joint event sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Board on Aging. The training and development conference is held every two years. Those who attend include government workers, providers and other stakeholders.

“Our mission is to support choice and quality in long-term services and supports,” said Kari Benson, executive director of the Minnesota Board on Aging.

“The conference is a great opportunity to recognize people who are excelling in this work.”

Kennedy said. “Expanding our clinic is a big step toward addressing the shortage of mental health services currently available for all children, teens and their families in the Twin Cities, specifically the East Metro.”

Since 2011, Aris Clinic has specialized in outpatient psychiatric services and full-day pediatric intensive outpatient programs (IOP) at its first site on Currell Boulevard in Woodbury. The new 15,000-squarefoot building on a natural 20-acre site, will allow the provider to further tailor a personalized care model for IOP programming and customize its treatment approach and interiors to two separate age groups.

Aris Clinic – Woodwinds will focus on youth in grades 7–12. The clinic’s existing site, to be called Aris Clinic – Currell, will focus on youth in grades K–6 and be led

by Tamera Tew, a certified nurse practitioner.

Awards given at conference

The 2019 Age & Disabilities Odyssey Conference, held in early August in Duluth, included presentations of the Age & Disabilities Odyssey Awards. The awards are for those who make outstanding efforts to bring possibilities to life for older adults and people with disabilities.

“The work of these advocates make real and lasting differences in the lives of people with disabilities and older adults,” said Claire Wilson, Human Services deputy commissioner. Forty-four nominations were received this year.

One winner is the Center for Excellence in Supported Decision Making, a program of Volunteers of America Minnesota and Wisconsin. The center works to shift Minnesota away from one-size-fits-all reliance on court-appointed guardianships and toward supported decision-making, an approach where people make their own decisions with the support of a trusted team. By bringing together professionals, people with

New clinic hosts open house

Aris Clinic, a pediatric behavioral health clinic is opening a second behavior health clinic in Woodbury.

The private clinic is expanding to help meet the shortage of critical behavioral health care services for children and youth ages 5–18 in the five-county metro area and western Wisconsin. An open house will be held at the clinic in September, at 2040 Woodwinds Drive, Woodbury. This event is free and open to the public.

Refreshments will be served.

Both sites will advance Aris Clinic’s mission to treat and help more kids transition back to healthy, stable and productive lives in their homes and schools. According to Aris Clinic founder, Shalene Kennedy, the demand for youth and supportive family services is growing.

“Many people are surprised that our program treats kids as young as five years old. But there’s great need,”

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

REGIONAL NEWS From page 6

Greater Minnesota doctor reframed the conversation about pain management and opioids with his patients after learning how his opioid prescribing rates compared to his peers.

The reports were announced last month by Tony Lourey, before he stepped down as DHS commissioner, “The health care community plays an important role in addressing the opioid crisis, and these opioid reports give health care providers invaluable insight and information into how their prescribing stacks up against others in their specialty,” said Lourey. “Such awareness is always the first step toward change.”

Minnesota law requires DHS to share the individualized, anonymous opioid prescribing reports annually and manage a quality improvement program for providers whose reports show they continue to prescribe outside of community standards.

Health care providers who prescribed at least one opioid to a Medicaid or MinnesotaCare enrollee in 2018 will receive their report over the coming weeks. This includes physicians, dentists, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. The reports assess prescribing behavior based on seven key measures using claims data, excluding data on opioids used to treat opioid use disorder and those pre-

STATE FAIR

From page 1 End is located north of Murphy Avenue at the north end of the fairgrounds.

A 12,000-square-foot state-of-the-art exhibit hall will provide fairgoers with a new exhibit every year during the fair. The exhibits take flight with Angry Birds Universe: The Exhibition. Visitors can also see the Minnesota Corn Fairstalk, a 24-foot-tall art installation celebrating Minnesota agriculture and Minnesota Marquees, three shade structures on the plaza, which feature exhibit panels showcasing iconic, innovative and influential people, institutions and events from around the state.

While visiting, take the chance to pose for photos with prominent Minnesota artist Adam Turman’s six-foot figures, including State Fair mascot Fairchild, Paul Bunyan, Babe the Blue Ox and Hotdish Girl.

The new venue will also have Minnesota-based specialty merchants and several rotating exhibits and events. This area will also have guest services such as wheelchair and electric scooter rental, an information booth, State FairWear Gift Shop, Minnesota State Fair Foundation booth, the North End gate, and drop-off/pick-up locations for appbased ride services and Metro Mobility.

This year’s fair has many other new attractions, ranging from honoring the Giant Slide on its 50-year anniversary, to an 18,000-pound block of ice in the center of the Eco Experience exhibit. The ice block will melt away during the fair, raising awareness of how climate change is shortening Minnesota’s lake ice season and the implications for our economy and ecology. Sign up to be a citizen volunteer and help collect lake ice data.

Check the fair website for information on this year’s many other new features.

Visit service organizations, attend events

Many disability service organizations will have a presence at the state fair. The Education Building booth area typically features several groups with free information and giveaway items. Visit the state Council on Disability booth to get a wide array of items, including free posters.

A day to promote mental health awareness is 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, August 26 at Dan Patch Park, presented by the Minnesota State Advisory Council on Mental Health, Subcommittee on Children’s Mental Health, National Alliance on Mental Illness Minnesota and many other organizations.

Learn about the far-reaching mental health and wellness topics that affect all Minnesotans. Visitors can learn about mental health resources and wellness through games and activities as well as inspiring stage acts including music, youth performances, yoga, and more. More than 50 awareness-raising activities, many of them geared for children and teens, will be offered.

Featured guests include Minneapolis hip-hop and spoken word artist Desdamona, KARE11 multimedia journalist Bryan Piatt, the Fidgety Fairytales performers, Minnesota musician Mark Mallman, The Renovators, and others. The event is free with fair admission. Led by the MN State Advisory Council on Mental Health & Subcommittee on Children's Mental Health and NAMI Minnesota, over 50 health organizations will participate in the day's activities. Learn more about this important and fun event at www.namimn. org or call 651-645-2948.

Like therapy animals? The Pet Pavilions’ “Read to a Breed” joins Read & Ride Day at the fair, giving children the opportunity to read to attentive dogs, cats, rabbits and other breeds of North Star Therapy Animals. This event is 9 a.m.2 p.m. Wednesday, August 28.

Check the fair schedule online for other disability group events and exhibits.

Getting to the fair Anyone driving to the fairgrounds can seek accessible parking, which is offered on a first-come, first-served basis, at a cost of $15 per day, cash only. Fairgrounds parking is open 6 a.m.-midnight every day except Labor Day, when the lots close at 10 p.m. Go to the fair website for information on accessible parking spaces, in the Rooster Lot at Hoyt Avenue and Underwood Street, and in the Robin Lot on Randall Avenue by the transit hub.

There is also accessible parking in two Como Avenue lots south of the fairgrounds.

But why not use a park and ride lot? One close-in free

Pg 13

scribed to individuals in inpatient settings, with cancer, or who receive hospice or palliative care services.

About a quarter of Medicaid- and MinnesotaCare-enrolled providers who wrote at least 10 opioid prescriptions in 2018 are above the quality improvement threshold for at least one of the measures. See a sample opioid prescribing report and a guide to understanding the reports.

DHS and the Opioid Prescribing Work Group developed the prescribing measures used in the reports in collaboration with the medical community. The measures are supported by clinical recommendations in the Minnesota Opioid Prescribing Guidelines.

This first set of prescribing reports serve as baseline information only. A quality improvement program begins next year based on the release of a follow-up set of opioid prescribing reports.

Starting in 2020, providers required to participate in the quality improvement program will submit improvement plans to DHS for review. State law permits DHS to terminate providers from serving Medicaid and MinnesotaCare enrollees if they fail to demonstrate improvement in opioid prescribing behavior over time. Disenrollment will occur in 2021 or subsequent years only for those whose prescribing is considered unsafe.

The need to improve opioid prescribing behavior and reduce overprescribing is demonstrated in the wide varia-

tion in the state’s opioid prescribing rates, which cannot be fully explained by differences in patient demographics or geography. For example: • County-based opioid prescribing rates in Minnesota varied from 27.4 prescriptions to 98.6 prescriptions per 100 residents in 2017.

• In emergency medicine, the top quartile of opioid prescribers has a prescribing rate 2.8 times higher than the median of their peers.

• In family medicine, the top quartile of opioid prescribers has a prescribing rate 3.8 times higher than the median of their peers.

The good news is that a culture shift has already begun in opioid prescribing behavior, as health care professionals weigh the risks and benefits of opioids for each individual patient. DHS launched an education campaign in March to help medical providers weigh the appropriateness of opioid therapy, determine if tapering should be discussed, have conversations with their patients about opioid therapy and pain management, and answer difficult questions. See the Flip the Script campaign. The state also previously released opioid prescribing guidelines to provide a framework for safe and judicious opioid prescribing for pain management.

(Source: DHS)

park and ride lot with free wheelchair-accessible bus service is offered exclusively for people with disabilities and their companions. The lot is located on the north side of the Oscar Johnson Arena, 1039 De Courcy Circle, south of the fairgrounds. Exit from Snelling Avenue at Energy Park Drive; travel east to the first left past Snelling east of the Merrill Corporation office building and go to the north side (rear side) of Oscar Johnson Arena. Passengers travel nonstop to the fairgrounds and are dropped off at the Como Loop Gate #9. Buses run continuously, from 8 a.m. to midnight daily.

Other outlying park and ride lots have limited accessible bus availability. Note that the Roseville Area High School lot isn’t available this year. The lots at St. Rose of Lima in Roseville (Monday-Saturday and Sunday after 1 p.m.) and University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus (daily except August 30) are wheelchair-accessible, as is Grace Church, 1310 County Road B2, Roseville.

Go to www.metrotransit.org for details.

Fairgoers can also use regular Metro Transit service. The A Line buses on Snelling Avenue are accessible, as are regular route buses 960, 84, 61 and 3. Metro Transit offers State Fair Express Bus service, for a $5 round trip, with locations throughout the Twin Cities area. All express service is accessible.

For regular route and fair express information call 612- 3733333 or go to www.metrotransit.org Metro Mobility riders have pickup and drop-off at Taking Metro Mobility? The paratransit service uses two locations for drop-offs and pickups. These are at Como Loop Gate #9 and North End Gate #2 on Hoyt Avenue. These points can also be used by people dropping off or picking up a person with disabilities. Both are close to Hometown Mobility stands.

and Dan Patch avenues, on the southwest corner of Cooper Street and the service road (Gate #2), the West End (Gate #16) and on the southwest corner of Randall Avenue and Underwood Street (Gate #18).

Electric mobility scooters, strollers, wagons and wheelchairs

HomeTown Mobility is an independent vendor that provides electric mobility scooters, strollers, wagons and wheelchairs for rent at five locations on the fairgrounds. If rented on-site, all equipment is available on a first-come basis with no guarantee of availability. Hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Cash, credit cards and debit cards are accepted forms of payment.

Reservations are now open for the 2019 fair, for full-day rentals only. Reserve online or call HomeTown Mobility’s home office at 877-928-5388 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and on weekends during the fair. Reservations made by phone are subject to a $5 call-in fee. Reservations must be made 24 hours in advance. Cancellation must be made 48 hours in advance to receive a refund, less a $5 cancellation fee per rental unit.

Electric mobility scooters are $65 per day or $45 for halfday rentals (hours for half-day rentals are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 3-11 p.m.) Wheelchairs rent for $25 per day. Wagons rent for $17 per day. Single strollers are $15 per day and double strollers are $17 per day. Hometown Mobility locations are at the north side of Como Avenue inside the Loop Gate (Gate #9), the west side of Cosgrove Street between Wright

Recharging an electric scooter battery

Regular electrical outlet plug-ins for charging electric mobility scooter batteries can be found in two places. Care & Assistance south of West End Market is open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The other location is on the south side of the grandstand outside between the entrance doors, where outlets are designated with disability signs.

ASL interpreters, interpreted shows and rides

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are scheduled between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Special requests for interpreter services are scheduled depending on availability and should be directed to 651-288-4448 or the Admin Too Building on Cosgrove Street. (See related story of St. Catherine University and its interpreter program.)

Shows with ASL interpretation are offered daily. The West End Market’s Schell’s Stage History On-A-Schtick show is at 9:30 a.m. The All-Star Stunt Dog Splash at 11 a.m. at North Woods on Cooper Street between Randall and Lee avenues. See performer Sean Emery at 12:30 p.m. on the Family Fair Stage in Baldwin Park.

ASL is also offered at 2 p.m. at the Pet Pavilion demonstrations, at Murphy Avenue and Underwood Street.

Another new ASL offering, Thank a Farmer, is 4 p.m. August 22 until September 1 at the Christensen Farms stage at Miracle of Birth Center. On Labor Day, there will be a magic show at 3 p.m.

Receivers and headsets are available at the guest services desk on the east side of the Grandstand Plaza. A valid driver’s license or state ID and a credit card are required for a deposit, which is refunded when the devices are returned.

All of the fair’s entertainment venues, including the Grandstand, have accessible seating. It is available on a firstcome basis. Plan to arrive early for shows and events.

Grandstand show tickets for people with disabilities can be purchased through the fair’s ticket office or through Etix, for additional information, call 651-288-4427. Grandstand shows also offer assistive listening devices, free of charge.

Headed to the Midway or Kidway for rides? Attraction ac-

August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

Polar Plungers start time of chills, thrills

Pg 14

RADIO TALKING BOOK

Be aware of schedule changes As of Aug. 5, Radio Talking Book will make changes to its schedule, with new times and program names. All changes are Mon-Fri. Chautauqua will air at 6 a.m. Past Is Prologue will air at 11 a.m. Bookworm will air at noon.

The Writer’s Voice will air at 1 p.m. Choice Reading will air at 2 p.m. Report will become Afternoon Report, and air at 4 p.m. Night Journey will air at 7 p.m. Off The Shelf will air at 8 p.m. Potpourri will air at 9 p.m. Good Night Owl will air at 10 p.m. After Midnight will become RTB After Hours, and air at 11 p.m.

To find out more about other RTB line-up changes, call Scott McKinney at 651-539-2316.

Books Available Through library services Books broadcast on the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network are available through the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library in Faribault. The catalog is online at www.mnbtbl.org, click on the link Search the Library Catalog. Persons living outside of Minnesota may obtain copies of books via an inter-library loan by contacting their home state’s Network Library for the National Library Service.

Listen to the Minnesota Radio Talking Book, either live or archived programs, on the Internet at www.mnssb.org/rtb or on handheld devices via the SERO app (iOS or Android).

Call the Talking Book Library for a password to the site. To find more information about Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network events go to the Facebook site, Minnesota Radio Talking Book. Call 1-800-722-0550, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon through Fri with questions.

Audio information about the daily book listings is also on the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) Newsline.

Register for the NFB Newsline by calling 651-539-1424.

Access Press is featured on It Makes a Difference, 9 p.m. Sun. The sampling published monthly in Access Press doesn’t represent the full array of programming. Many more programs and books are available.

Donate to the State Services for the Blind at mn.gov/ deed/ssbdonate Chautauqua* Monday – Friday 6 a.m.

Landfill, nonfiction by Tim Dee, 2018. While other bird species have hid from humanity, seagulls continue to show us how the wild can share our world. Read by Cintra Godfrey. Eight broadcasts; begins Mon, Aug. 19. - L Can’t Just Stop, nonfiction by Sharon Begley, 2017. An exploration of compulsive behavior, and the challenges it creates. Read by Jack Rossmann. 12 broadcasts; begins Thu, Aug. 29.

Past is Prologue* Monday – Friday 11 a.m.

Valley Forge, nonfiction by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, 2018. During the Revolutionary War at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the British faced a newly-organized Continental Army. Read by Roger Sheldon. 20 broadcasts; begins Mon, Aug. 12.

Off the Shelf* Monday – Friday 8 p.m.

Last Boat Out of Shanghai, nonfiction by Helen Zia, 2019. After Mao’s revolution, the citizens of Shanghai who could afford it fled around the globe in every direction. Read by Stevie Ray. 19 broadcasts; begins Wed, Aug. 14.

Bookworm* Monday – Friday noon The Memory Swindlers, fiction by Michael Giorgio, 2016. When scam artists descend on a Wisconsin town after World War II, the local police chief vows to stop them. Read by Neil Bright. 12 broadcasts; begins Thu, Aug. 15.

Potpourri* Monday – Friday 9 p.m.

A Man Called Destruction, nonfiction by Holly GeorgeWarren, 2015. Alex Chilton, influential songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, went from chart-topping pop success to the vanguard of alternative rock. Read by Tony Lopez. 17 broadcasts; begins Thu, Aug. 29. - L

The Writer’s Voice* Monday – Friday 1 p.m.

We Were Rich and We Didn’t Know It, nonfiction by Tom Phelan, 2019. Novelist Tom Phelan recounts stories of growing up in the rural Irish midlands of the 1940s.

Read by Isla Hejny. Seven broadcasts; begins Mon, Aug. 19. – L

Good Night Owl* Monday – Friday 10 p.m.

The Crooked Street, fiction by Brian Freeman, 2019.

Detective Frost Easton watches a friend die in front of him – one of a string of murders marked by a painting of a snake. Read by John Marsicano. 14 broadcasts; begins Mon, Aug. 12. – L, V

Shoot Like a Girl, nonfiction by Mary Jennings Hegar, 2017. A decorated Air Force veteran fights the military policy that keeps women out of combat roles. Read by Andrea Bell. Nine broadcasts; begins Wed, Aug. 28.

RTB After Hours* Tuesday – Saturday 11 p.m.

The Love Warrior, nonfiction by Glennon Doyle Melton, 2016. Writer and humorist Glennon Doyle Melton recounts her discovery that personal crisis can become an opportunity. Read by June Prange. Seven broadcasts; begins Wed, Aug. 28. – L, V, S

Choice Reading* Monday – Friday 2 p.m.

The Moment of Lift, nonfiction by Melinda Gates, 2019.

Philanthropist Melinda Gates discovers the courage to speak up for women’s issues. Read by Pat Muir. 10 broadcasts; begins Mon, Aug. 12.

Those People – Fiction by Louise Candlish, 2019. A new couple in a posh neighborhood creates havoc with an unconventional lifestyle. Tempers flare – and then there is a fatal accident. Read by Cintra Godfrey. 15 broadcasts; begins Mon, Aug. 26. - V Afternoon Report* Monday – Friday 4 p.m.

The Bible Cause, nonfiction by John Fea, 2016. Founded in 1816, the American Bible Society creates a profound effect on American life. Read by Chris Colestock. 18 broadcasts; begins Thu, Aug. 22.

Night Journey* Monday – Friday 7 p.m.

A Death in White Bear Lake, nonfiction by Barry Siegel, 1990. A Minnesota child was murdered by his adoptive mother, and the cover-up lasted for 20 years. Read by Jeffrey Weihe. 22 broadcasts; begins Tue, Aug. 13. – V, L, G

WEEKEND BOOKS Your Personal World, 1 p.m. Sat, presents The Compassionate Achiever by Dr. Christopher Kukk; followed by The Gift of Years by Sister Joan Chittister, read by Beverly Burchett.

For the Younger Set, 11 a.m. Sun, presents White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig, read by Peter Danbury. (V, S, L) Poetic Reflections, noon Sun, presents Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver, read by Myrna Smith; followed by Encantado by Pat Mora, read by Cintra Godfrey; followed by The Tiny Journalist by Naomi Shihab Nye, read by Tom Speich The Great North, 4 p.m. Sun, presents Wild and Rare

by Adam Regn Arvidson, read by Andrea Bell. All times listed are Central Standard Time.

Abbreviations: V – violent content, RE – racial epithets, L – strong language, G – gory descriptions, S – sexual situations

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August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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Accessible Dining Guide New foods are always part of Minnesota State Fair fun Trying all kinds of fun new foods is part of the Minnesota State Fair experience. People with disabilities don’t have to be left out of the fun, as many fair food venues offer spaces where guests can eat in comfort.

The annual Access Press Minnesota State Fair dining list outlines sit-down eating establishments at the fair that are accessible via curb cuts, have hard and sturdy floor surfaces and have places where a fairgoer can pull a wheelchair up to a table. In some places, a chair might have to be moved to make room for a wheelchair or scooter. Diners should always ask for accommodations.

One good place to take food to is the Mighty Midway, where there are several tables with shade.

The fair has plenty of drinking fountains, so bring a water bottle to fill for the day. Also, it is always a good idea to bring along a pack of wet wipes and a bottle of hand sanitizer. And of course, don’t forget any needed medications as well as sunscreen.

This year’s accessible dining options include: Blue Barn Breakfast Potato Skin Andy’s Grille, on the south side of Carnes between Liggett and Nelson Ball Park Café, on the east side of Underwood between Dan Patch and Carnes Blue Barn (limited general seating picnic tables), at West End Market, south of the History & Heritage Center Blue Moon Dine-In Theater, on the northeast corner of Carnes and Chambers Cafe Caribe, on the south side of Carnes between Liggett and Nelson Chicago Dogs, in the garden on the corner of Dan Patch and Underwood Shanghaied Henri's Charcoal Hut, on the east side of Judson between Giggles' Campfire Grill Carolina Pit-Smoked Underwood and Cooper, next to the International Bazaar Duck Drummies Brisket Taco Coasters, on the southeast corner of Carnes and Liggett Dino’s Gyros, on the north side of Carnes between Nelson and Underwood Farmers Union Coffee Shop, on the north side of Dan Patch between Cooper and Cosgrove. This building has just been renovated.

French Creperie, on the north side of Carnes between Nelson and Underwood French Meadow Bakery & Café, on the north side Blue Moon Dine-In Theater of Carnes between Nelson and Underwood Turkish Pizza Frontier Bar, on the south side of Carnes between Liggett and Nelson Giggles’ Campfire Grill, on the southeast corner of Lee and Cooper at the North Woods Hamline Church Dining Hall, on the north side of Dan Patch between Underwood and Cooper. The church has had Mancini's al Fresco Farmers Union Coffee a dining hall for more than 120 years and is the oldest food No Bolgna Coney Shop Blueberry Key Lime Pie establishment at the fair. When arriving with a diner using a wheelchair or scooter, ask to have a seat saved.

The Hangar, at the northeast corner of Murphy Avenue & Underwood Street. This building opened in 2018.

For more than 30 years, A total of 30 interpreters from St. Kate's will be on the fairgrounds over the 12 days of Italian Junction, on the south side of Dan Patch between Nelson and St. Catherine University in St. Paul has offered American Sign the event.

Underwood Language (ASL) and Interpreting Each day there will be two teams of programs. The program started three interpreters: one certified supervising LuLu’s Public House, with most accessible seating on the as an associate degree program in interpreter, one novice interpreter, and one second story via elevator, at West End Market, south of the Schilling 1983 before extending to include a 4th-year student (the students get their time Amphitheater bachelor’s degree in 2000. The university in 2016 counted toward the practicum hours required the first master’s degree in interpreting for their degree).

Mancini’s Al Fresco, on the north side of Carnes between Nelson launched studies and communication equity (MAISCE).

In addition to scheduled performance and Underwood St. Kate’s is one of 13 baccalaureate degree support, the teams will also be on-call to interpreter education programs in the nation support additional State Fair needs, such as Minnesota Wine Country, on the west side of Underwood accredited by the Commission on Collegiate interpreters requested for groups, or responding between Carnes and Judson Interpreter Education (CCIE) – the only program in to a medical situation or crisis. the state of Minnesota with that accreditation.

Mexican Hat, east of Chambers, south of the Grandstand O’Gara’s at the Fair, on the southwest corner of Dan Patch and FOR RENT Cosgrove Calvary Center Apts: 7650 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, MN. A Section 8 building RC’s BBQ, on the north side of Dan Patch between Liggett and Chambers now accepting applications for our waiting list. Call 9 am to 4 pm, Mon – Fri 763-546-4988 for an application. Equal Opportunity Housing.

Ragin Cajun, in the garden on the corner of Dan Patch and Underwood Find your new home with At Home Apartments. Call 651-224-1234 or visit AtHomeApartSalem Lutheran Church, on the north side of Randall south of ments.com for an apartment or town home. Equal Opportunity Housing. the Progress Center Legal Support Specialist Shanghaied Henri’s, at the International Bazaar, north wall Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. For details go to www.mylegalaid.org/jobs.

Tejas, in the garden on the corner of Dan Patch and Underwood Classified rates: $15 (first 18 words) and 65¢ per word thereafter. Classified ads prepaid. Mail to: Access The Peg, on the extreme southeast side of the Agriculture Press, Capitol Ridge Inn Offices; 161 St. Anthony Ave; #910; St. Paul, MN 55103; Phone: 651-644-2133; Horticulture Building Fax 651-644-2136; Email: access@accesspress.org

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St. Kate’s to assist with interpreting

August 10, 2019 Volume 30, Number 8

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