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County applies for grant to improve health information
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
Houston County approved a request for the county to apply for a Federal American Recovery and Investment Act Grant that will improve communications between counties in Southeast Minnesota. Public Health Nursing Director Deb Rock brought the request before the board during the Jan. 26 meeting.
The grant would improve health information technologies between the various counties in this corner of the state. Mayo Clinic, Winona Healthcare and Olmsted Medical would all be participating in the cooperative program, that could involve up to $220 million in federal funds.
The program would update the medical infrastructure of the 11-county area and make improvements in the availability of patient health history information to health care providers.
In other board action:
Strategic planning proposal
Human Resources Director Tess Arrick-Kruger presented the board with a strategic planning proposal aimed at improving the operations of the various departments within the county.
Arrick-Kruger said she will be putting her own department through the planning process first and then moving on to include the other departments within the county.
Arrick-Kruger hopes to integrate the various resources, have the plan be an active learning model that will aid in leadership training but hopes to keep it simple.
Justice Center help?
Commissioner Larry Connery reported he, Finance Director Casey Bradley and Jail Administrator Mark Schiltz testified before the state bonding committee in St. Paul on Jan. 25. State Rep. Greg Davids is sponsoring a bill that would provide state bonding funds to help pay for the construction of the justice center, which is to be built in downtown Caledonia, beginning this spring.
State feedlot grant
Environmental Services Director Rick Frank requested the board approve the annual state “best management practices” loan program report and grant application. The grant is for $103,500, which will go into a revolving fund to help farmers in the county improve feedlot waste issues.
Money is made available to help pay for feedlot improvement projects through low-interest loans. The interest rate is 3.5 percent, with three percent going back to the state and .5 percent going to Merchants Bank of Caledonia and Eastwood Bank of Houston, which are the two banks in the county handling the paperwork for the program.
The board unanimously approved a motion to apply for the grant.
Voting booth application
County Auditor Char Meiners made a request to apply for a grant to purchase two more handicapped voting booths. She explained that many people in the county have been opting for voting early, which has created a real bottleneck in the courthouse.
The board approved the request.
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