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Insight News

January 4, 2021 - January 10, 2021

Vol. 48 No. 1• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

VISIONARY

As a special presentation of the Sally Awards, “Visionaries Who Matter” a video project, highlights the work of three artists whose commitment to racial and social justice and healing has been further inspired by recent events and whose artistry has made a significant impact locally, nationally and globally: Lou Bellamy, 1994 Sally Award Winner and Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Penumbra Theatre Company; Gary Hines, 2004 Sally Award Winner and Music Director and Producer of the three-time Grammy Award-winning Sounds of Blackness; and Seitu Jones, 2005 Sally Award Winner and multi-disciplinary public artist and Co-Founder of Frogtown Farm. In a video commissioned for the Ordway, all three artists are interviewed about their work, legacies and involvement in the movement for racial and social justice.

Visionaries Who Matter is directed and executive produced by Robin Hickman-Winfield, Ordway Organizational and Community Partnership Strategist, director of Taking Our Place Centerstage, and executive producer of SoulTouch Productions.Minnesota Public Radio President Duchesne Drew serves as narrator.

Roosevelt Mansfield STORY ON PAGE

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Insight News • January 4, 2021 - January 10, 2021 • Page 3 WINNER: 2020 T YPOGRAPHY & DESIGN, 1ST PLACE, PHOTOGRAPHY (PORTRAIT & PERSONALIT Y), 1ST PLACE, WEBSITE, 3RD PLACE

Insight News January 4, 2021 - January 10, 2021

Vol. 48 No. 1• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

COVID-19 A public safety priority

By Brenda Lyle-Gray Columnist

Roosevelt Mansfield

Lou Bellamy, Seitu Jones and Gary Hines

For such a time as this

Visionaries Who Matter Every year for the past 27 years, the Ordway has honored members of Minnesota’s artistic community with Sally Awards, which recognize and celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of artists, educators, volunteers, philanthropists, and leaders who strengthen and enrich our state with their commitment to the arts. This year we are unable to gather in person to recognize another group of outstanding Minnesota artists, but at this particular moment in time, we feel the celebration of the arts have never been more vital to the health of our community.

The global health

crisis and societal awakening to racial injustice has been a catalyst for artistic expression, inspiring new works that open our eyes to things we may not have seen before. Some of the most profound creative work has emerged from Black artists in Minnesota. This year we want to reintroduce the work of Black men, past Sally Award recipients, whose artistry has made an impact locally, across the country, and around the world. In this special presentation narrated

by Minnesota Public Radio President Duchesne Drew, we highlight the work of three artists whose commitment

to racial and social justice, and healing has been further inspired by recent events. We honor Lou Bellamy, 1994 Sally Award Winner and Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Penumbra Theatre Company; Gary Hines, 2004 Sally Award Winner and Music Director and Producer of the threetime Grammy Award-winning Sounds of Blackness; and Seitu Jones, 2005 Sally Award Winner and multi-disciplinary public artist and Co-Founder of Frogtown Farm.

For such a time as this, we look to artists for understanding and healing. We look to artists to remind us of

Melvin Carter

By Irma McClaurin, PhD By Irma McClaurin, PhD https://corporate. target.com/article/2020/09/lakestreet-letter

Andrea Jenkins

Commentary by Dr. By Aarohi Narain By Mecca Dan Dana Randall Alexa Harry Maya Holly Starks Colbert, Beecham Spencer, Bos Bradley Jr. Josie Johnson

By Global Latisha Information Townsend Contributing Architect Howard Mayo Urban Managing Clinic News University Editor Staff Writer Contributing Network (GIN)Writer News Service Service harry@insightnews.com

our common humanity, even when there is division all around us. Some of the most profound artistic work and meaningful community contributions have emerged from these three men, right here in Minnesota. Let’s listen to their stories.

Visionaries Who Matter is directed and executive produced by Robin Hickman-Winfield, Ordway Organizational and Community Partnership Strategist, director of Taking Our Place Centerstage, and executive producer of SoulTouch Productions.

Watch now premiered December 26, 2020, http://bit. ly/ordwaysallyawards

Fauci lawds Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, who developed the scientific approach to the coronavirus vaccine

leg.state.mn.us

John Mark Harrington, Commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) Yet, there is a lot of hesitation and skepticism. But here’s the reality. 32,000 Black folks in Minnesota, a disproportionate number, have had COVID19.

45 to 50% of the homeless are Blacks. Many of the infected were front line workers in lowpaying jobs, even in health and nursing home facilities,” the Commissioner said.

“If one lives in public housing, how can social distancing happen? The apartments have thin walls and narrow hallways. People are pretty much stacked up on top of each other. At least 50% of the residents are Black. How

HARRINGTON 4

People of color account for nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population.

Yet, Joint Center research found that people of color account for just 11 percent of Washington, D.C.-based senior staff in Senate personal offices.

OP-ED: Black voters should see themselves in Congressional staffs

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease doctor and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, addressed the African American community’s fears of accepting the new coronavirus vaccine.

“To my African American brothers and sisters … this vaccine that you’re gonna be taking was developed by an African American woman.

And that is just a fact,” Dr. Fauci proclaimed during a recent National Urban League event.

Dr. Fauci noted that Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a Black woman, has been at the forefront of the vaccine process.

He added that it is vital to recognize the U.S.’s history of racism that’s led to great mistrust from the Black community.

Dr. Fauci exclaimed that the vaccine is safe.

“The very vaccine that’s one of the two that has absolutely exquisite levels – 94 to 95 percent efficacy against clinical disease and almost 100 percent efficacy against serious disease that are shown

Crisis moments create opportunity. Problems and crisis ignite our greatest creativity and thought leadership as it forces us to focus on things outside the norm. Sam Cawthorn John Harrington will tell anyone what an honor it was to be appointed Commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) by Governor Tim Walz in 2019.

In this unprecedented year of 2020 . . . one that has shaken our world to its core with uncertainty still looming . . . he wears the role of Minnesota’s chief law enforcement officer and commands a portfolio of responsibility that is much, much more. COVID-19 is top of mind for the Commissioner.

And so is unrest in Twin Cities that made world news after millions witnessed the shocking murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“We are in a quandary,” Harrington said in a recent Zoom interview for the Conversations with Al McFarlane Town Hall series.

“With the deadly menace of COVID-19, if our citizens don’t act, it could be consequential to their health.

By Dr. LaShonda Brenson

“History books will celebrate the name and achievements of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, the Black Woman who was the leader in developing the COVID-19 Vaccine,” Barbara Arnwine, president and founder of Transformative Justice Coalition, wrote on Twitter. to be clearly safe – that vaccine was actually developed in my institute’s vaccine research center by a team of scientists led

by Dr. Barney Graham and his close colleague, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, or Kizzy Corbett,” Dr. Fauci stated.

Dr. Corbett, 34, is an accomplished research fellow and the scientific lead for

the Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Center (VRC).

According to her biography, Dr. Corbett received a B.S. in Biological Sciences, with a secondary major in

News

Historic first: Biden to select Deb Haaland to lead as Interior secretary

PAGE 5

Sociology, in 2008 from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County, where she was a Meyerhoff Scholar and an NIH undergraduate scholar.

She then enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she obtained her Ph.D. in

DR. CORBETT 4

As the new Congress prepares to take office and members of the U.S. House and Senate make key staff hires, it’s time for careful scrutiny of the diversity reflected within the ranks of congressional staff. This is particularly true following an election in which Black voters were critical to its outcome.

More than 70 civil rights groups, including African American Mayors Association, Black Futures Lab, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), have formally called on new members of Congress to increase the numbers of staff of color within the mid-level and senior ranks of congressional offices. Our advocacy is particularly important right now, in the period between Election Day and the formal start of the new Congress when most key staff are hired.

While we saw marginal improvement in senior staff diversity after the election in

2018, the lack of diversity among senior congressional staff of both parties is longstanding.

The data is sobering, if not surprising.

People of color account for nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population. Yet, Joint Center research found that people of color account for just 11 percent of Washington, D.C.-based senior staff in Senate personal offices. These include positions like chief of staff, legislative director, and communications director – the most influential staff positions in Congress.

Unfortunately, our 2018 report also found that the House was only narrowly more representative with staffers of color comprising just 13.7 percent of senior roles.

And this inequity remains true for Republicans who represent large numbers of Black voters and for Democratic members who often depend on Black voters as a critical component of their electorate.

There’s not a single Black senior staff member in the personal offices of the Republican Senators who

BLACK VOTERS 5

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How your family can adopt healthier digital habits in 2021

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Page 4 • January 4, 2021 - January 10, 2021 • Insight News

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Re-examine the HERC incinerator through the lens of environmental justice Guest Commentary by Corey Day, Minneapolis COVID-19 cases continue to spike across the United States and Minnesota has experienced one of the largest per capita increases among states. Earlier this year, COVID seemed a little distant – we’d hear about a friend of a friend or a distant relative who contracted the virus. With this recent spike, it’s hit much closer to home. Who doesn’t know someone close to them who has become sick with COVID? Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl Anthony Towns recently announced that he has lost seven family members, including his mother, to COVID. Data clearly shows that COVID has hit our communities of color at much greater rates than the general population.

Just blocks from Target Center where Towns plays in the NBA, the Hennepin

Energy Recovery Center (HERC) looms large over the landscape. Supporters of the HERC call it a “waste to energy” facility – but more accurately it is a trash-burning incinerator that for years has polluted the air we breathe. The HERC burns all types of trash, including plastics and metals, which release toxins into the air such as lead and mercury. Incinerators also emit carbon dioxide which can trigger asthma and also produce nitrogen oxide pollution, which is linked to respiratory ailments.

Recent studies have shown that those with underlying respiratory conditions are more susceptible to COVID and may experience lengthy recovery times.

At the local level, we need to ask hard questions of the Minneapolis City Council and the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. While the City Council is rightfully having discussions of redefining the role of police in Minneapolis, I urge

Just blocks from Target Center where Towns plays in the NBA, the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) looms large over the landscape.

City Council Members should re-examine the role the HERC plays in our community. With downtown office buildings nearly vacant, deserted skyways and no fans at sports venues, does the need for energy in downtown Minneapolis become significantly less?

At the Capitol, we should demand change too.

Thankfully, Democratic leaders

them to focus on other important issues like the trash-burning incinerator in our backyard.

For years, Hennepin County Commissioners have voted to provide millions in taxpayer dollars to subsidize the HERC. These large subsidies for the HERC have also led to increasing costs for garbage services for our residents. Our County Commissioners and

have taken some positive steps in the wake of the George Floyd killing to address these inequities including the creation of the Select Committee on Racial Justice. This committee has recently held a series of remote hearings on important issues. In addition, Members of the POCI (People of Color and Indigenous) Caucus are pushing for changes to address

systemic racism in Minnesota.

It is my hope that trash burning incinerators will be on their agenda in the next legislative session.

Including the HERC, six of seven trash incinerators in Minnesota are located in low-income communities and communities of color – known as environmental justice communities - this truly is a statewide issue that deserves attention at the state legislature.

Years ago, legislators bought into the “waste to energy” myth and now incinerators are classified as renewable energy, so they are treated like wind energy and other clean sources of power.

With COVID continuing to rage on, lives are truly at risk. Time is of the essence and our leaders must act now.

Corey Day served as a senior adviser to PresidentElect Joe Biden’s campaign in Minnesota and previously was Executive Director of the Minnesota DFL.

Obituary for David Neal Belton David Neal Belton died peacefully in his sleep from complications of Covid-19 on December 22, 2020, which was both poignant and ironic given the way he lived his life with the volume turned up. He was 66.

After graduating from Minneapolis South High in 1972, David worked a variety of jobs before landing a position with Minneapolis Public Works department. He loved that job because as a rookie in the department he would be laid off each winter, which left him free to collect unemployment while “looking for work” in the Caribbean. He loved to travel and would show up anywhere in the country (or Caribbean) where there was family or a friend to

offer free accommodation.

In the early 80’s, David was attracted to the oil boom in Texas and moved to Houston where he was hired as a roughneck on an oil rig, eventually moving up to the top position of driller.

David was a jackof-all-trades: paint contractor, general contractor, carpenter, pipe-fitter, and cabinet refinisher—these were a few of the skills and trades he practiced at different points in his life. He also was a faith leader, ordained by the Unity Christ Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. He served in clerical appointments in Metairie, Louisiana and in Minneapolis. David led a Youth of Unity group for several years

began to dabble in astronomy and hypothesized that his grandson was the center of the universe.

In his younger years, David was the life of the party.

He loved music, especially jazz and R&B, and was a good dancer. Friends and family knew it wasn’t a party until David arrived and got things started.

Without exception, he would be late, but worth waiting for because David brought the party with him.

David had many interests and avocations including bicycling and playing bid whist (although he rarely indulged both activities simultaneously). He was an avid reader. Ursula K. Le Guin,

and provided spiritual virtues training for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities.

His true calling was as a family man. A middle child, born fourth of Ernestine and Ossie Belton’s eight children, David enjoyed close relations with his three older and four younger siblings. He was a peacemaker and purveyor of kindness to each of them and to scores of nieces, nephews and cousins.

He had four great loves in his life: Antuana, his wife of 35 years and their three daughters, Nedith (Nina), Taylor Michelle (deceased) and Aja, whose son Reece, 2, was David and Antuana’s only grandchild.

When Reece was born, David

David Neal Belton Anne McCaffery, Langston Hughes and Toni Morrison were among his favorite authors. He assiduously read Road and Track and Car and Driver magazines.

He had a passion for collecting and racing slot cars and spent many evenings and weekends dedicated to the hobby. He built a custom 54-foot, four-lane slot car racetrack in his brother’s

basement which he modestly dubbed Belton Brothers World Raceway.

David is loved and will be missed by his family, friends and all who knew him.

A Celebration of Life for David Belton is planned for 3:00 PM on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 via Zoom.

Contact Davidbeltonmemorial@ gmail.com to request the link.

Target’s Laysha Ward talks food, family and traditions with Marcus Samuelsson Target’s Chief External Engagement Officer Laysha Ward’s recent conversation with restaurateur, world-renowned chef and good friend Marcus Samuelsson for “Shared Stories”

is a perfect invitation to take a breakand relax. They discuss the impact of Black cuisine on America’s food and culture, fighting hunger and supporting restaurants during the pandemic

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and his latest cookbook “The Rise—Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food,” which is available at Target stores and online.

Visit https://corporate.

target.com/article/2020/12/sharedstories-marcus-samuelsson to listen in on this special conversation between friends, and read on for Laysha’s wish for you and yours this season.

and vaccine awareness in the community.

“History books will celebrate the name and achievements of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, the Black Woman who was the leader in developing the COVID-19 Vaccine,” Barbara Arnwine, president and founder of Transformative Justice Coalition, wrote on Twitter.

“She developed the specific scientific approach to mitigating the coronavirus.”

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected African Americans, who make up a large percentage of the more

than 290,000 U.S. residents to die from the virus.

One study released by the COVID Collaborative, the NAACP and UnidosUS revealed that 14 percent of Black Americans trust a vaccine will be safe, and 18 percent trust it will be effective.

Much of the concern stems from pervasive racism in medical research and healthcare, notably the 1932 Tuskegee experiment.

“I would say to people who are vaccine-hesitant that you’ve earned the right to ask the questions that you have

around these vaccines and this vaccine development process,” Dr. Corbett told CNN. “Trust, especially when it has been stripped from people, has to be rebuilt in a brick-by-brick fashion. And so, what I say to people first is that I empathize, and then secondly is that I’m going to do my part in laying those bricks. And I think that if everyone on our side, as physicians and scientists, went about it that way, then the trust would start to be rebuilt.”

and vandalism. We’ve got to get guns off the street. We’ve got to give kids places to be that are safe, productive, and rewarding.”

Harrington says that a lot of the crime is tied into children not being in school and some not having access to broadband in order to be able to complete daily on-line assignments. “Some parents have to work and cannot assist in monitoring their child’s academic needs,” he said.

“They are idle and need to gain the skills that will help prepare them to compete in the job market once it is safe to do so. It was reported that in one Minnesota school district, 50% of the seniors would not graduate, and of the 50%, 80% were African American. Many children feel there’s no place for them and that they are surplus.

Overdoses among teens have risen 30%.”

Harrington said the pandemic affects teachers too.

“They have frustrations in trying to reach out to their students on-line, making some kind of connection with what they are supposed to be learning. They too have families and worry about the unknown and what lies ahead. Somehow, they too must be convinced to be immunized.

Then it becomes a matter of public safety. We need young people to step into leadership roles. Maybe the good ole boys might consider mentoring them and then allowing them to take the reins,” he said.

Looking specifically at the spike in crime, Harrington said, “In Hennepin County, car jackings were up 250%.” “If you heard a helicopter hovering over South Minneapolis recently, that was the state police.”.

Public Safety consists of 14 departments including Homeland Security, the Emergency Management Department, and the Motor Vehicle Services. DPS’s service communities work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services in coordinating efforts to make sure front-line workers have enough masks and gloves and that hospitals have the respirators they need; whether there are enough refrigerators in the right places when the vaccines arrive; and vital security . . . the transporting of vaccines from one location to another - valuable cargo that could save lots of lives.

These procedures are activated by (SEOP) Minnesota’s State Emergency Operation Center. SEOP is a hub for state agencies and their partners

supporting local governments and coordinating response efforts. As Minnesota’s Chief law enforcement officer, there are also ‘law and order’ issues to address, many stemming from the devastating impact of COVID19, especially on the poor and ‘people of color’ communities.

DPS also drives state efforts in addressing the disparities that challenge vulnerable and marginalized populations brought to light by COVID19 and COVID1619 (systemic racism since the beginnings of slavery), especially in quality health care accessibility and affordability, criminal justice, small business resources, homelessness, and educational and technological training opportunities.

The department’s Office of Justice Program put out a call for proposals to hundreds of community organizations with the expertise and commitment to do the work.

It was imperative that Black and Brown ground navigators be in position to communicate to their diverse and underserved neighborhoods culturally framed factual information that could save lives. The

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By ByLee Harry H. Jordan Colbert, Jr. Minneapolis Juneteenth Managing Editor Committee - 2018 harry@insightnews.com National Juneteenth Film & Bicycling Commissions

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Laysha Ward and Marcus Samuelsson

Dr. Corbett From 3

Microbiology and Immunology in 2014.

A viral immunologist

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Insight News is published weekly, every Monday by McFarlane Media Interests.

Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Associate Editor Culture & Education Dr. Irma McClaurin Associate Editor Afrodescendientes Carmen Robles Associate Editor Nigeria & West Africa Chief Folarin Ero-Phillips Columnist Brenda Lyle-Gray Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Content & Production Coordinator Sunny Thongthi Yang Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Intern Kelvin Kuria

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by training, Dr. Corbett is known for using her expertise to propel novel vaccine development for pandemic preparedness.

Appointed to the VRC in 2014, her work focuses on developing novel coronavirus vaccines.

Dr. Corbett has 15 years of expertise studying dengue virus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, and coronaviruses.

Along with her research activities, Dr. Corbett is an active member of the NIH Fellows Committee and an avid advocator of STEM education

Harrington From 3 and where do we quarantine the people who test positive? How do we quarantine those who are homeless? Catholic Charities has been diligently working to find hotels for those who are affected. We’ve even hired folks to screen those coming in and out of the housing units to try and minimize traffic and crowds,” he said..

However, Harrington says, the unique challenges of the day create an opportunity for transformation. “This is a time where truth will lead to sustainable action and solutions.

Our children need caring adults, preferably their family, to guide and nurture them and to ultimately give them hope.

The vaccine brings hope in preserving health and life. But until it arrives, we still must stay the course and follow the CDC health protocols,” he said. “We must also embrace research and follow the science,” he said.

Harrington also addressed the spike in crime.

“In some cases,” he said, “culturally based prevention and intervention measures can help curb gang violence

HARRINGTON 5

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Insight News • January 4, 2021 - January 10, 2021 • Page 5

Historic first: Biden to select Deb Haaland to lead as Interior secretary President-elect Joe Biden is poised to name Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) as Interior secretary. The selection is historic as in Haaland, if confirmed, would be the first Native American to hold a top cabinet post that oversees the government’s relationship with the 567 federally-recognized tribes, 1.9 million American Indians and Alaskan Natives.

Along with Sharice Davids, Haaland is one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018. She is a member of the Laguna Pueblo people and a 35th-generation New Mexican. Her parents are military veterans. As a single mother, Haaland owned a salsa company that supported her daughter. Haaland earned a law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2006.

The selection would be a victory for Democratic progressives but it would narrow the House majority in the

Black Voters From 3 represent Mississippi and Louisiana, despite the fact that African Americans account for a third or more of the population in these states.

Similarly, though Black voters made up 37 percent of Democratic voters in Virginia in 2016, and 47 percent of Democratic voters in Maryland,

Harrington From 4

Deb Haaland

Deb Haaland

upcoming term. Nancy Pelosi supports the choice.

According to Axios, “Haaland represents a district that Democrats control by wide margins, and she can remain in her seat until confirmation.

Her seat could be filled faster than seats held by Reps. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Cedric Richmond (D-La.), who’ve already been tapped to serve in the incoming administration.”

The Interior Department also oversees public lands and waters. The Secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, leading such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Geological Survey, and the National Park Service.

Currently, Haaland serves on the following Congressional committees: Armed Forces, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Reform.

there’s not a single Black person holding a senior staff position within the offices of the Democratic Senators who represent these states.

Meanwhile, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is leading by example among congressional Democrats, with Black staff representing just over 53 percent of CBC top staff – compared to just 2.1 percent of the senior staff of White Democratic members of the U.S. House. Only 35 percent of African Americans in

the United States live in districts represented by CBC Members, but 78.5 percent of the Black top staff in the U.S. House are employed by CBC Members.

This data is particularly troubling at a time when we desperately need more, not fewer, Black staff who can advise Members of Congress in better understanding and responding robustly to structural inequality, racism, and antiBlackness.

Yet, there is an opportunity for change.

There will soon be at least 60 new members of the U.S. House and there could be as many as nine new Senators.

With each appointing a chief of staff, legislative director, and communications director, that amounts to 207 senior positions.

Far more of them should be filled by talented African Americans.

Continued progress will require that congressional leadership bring real resources to bear. More Congressional offices should formalize diversity and inclusion plans and measure

progress. And all offices should focus on diversifying mid-level positions like press secretary and legislative assistant to further bolster the pool of talent that can eventually step into top positions.

Without question, some members can rightfully point to Black staff serving as state or district directors, or to improvements in the diversity of non-senior staff.

But at a time when the pandemic and economic turmoil has fallen disproportionally

on Black people, robust representation of Black Americans in senior roles matters now more than ever.

Real progress is possible, but it will require that Members of Congress choose action over the status quo. And it demands that we hold them accountable for doing so.

Dr. LaShonda Brenson is the Senior Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

program distributed $7 million of state grant money to recipient agencies who are now working to get the word out about the virus and offer resource contacts who can assist in a variety of ways.

Harrington said an important role of community partners is to facilitate awareness about the benefit of vaccines now being introduced nationwide.

To slow the pandemic and eventually

eradicate it, each of us has to consider the consequence of not being vaccinated and how that decision might adversely affect others and especially the ones closest to them.

Prior to his current

appointment as Commissioner of the MN Department of Public Safety, John Harrington served as Chief of Police in St. Paul and Chief of the Metro Transit Police in Minneapolis overseeing significant growth

in department diversity and developing successful programs reducing gang and domestic violence.

He served one term in the Minnesota Senate representing District 67 in St. Paul and Ramsey County.

WE WANT TO H E AR FR O M YO U A B O U T THE UPPER HARBOR REDEVELOPMENT

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Page 6 • January 4, 2021 - January 10, 2021 • Insight News

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Insight 2 Health

Prepare your family for winter weather

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How your family can adopt healthier digital habits in 2021 (StatePoint) As we head into 2021, adults and kids alike may still be enjoying the excitement of digital devices received as gifts over the holidays.

However, the new year is always a great time for a reset, so alongside those new devices, consider adopting some new digital habits.

Here are some great ideas for helping your family build healthier relationships with their digital devices: • Get healthy: Not all screen time is wasted time. You can use your device in positive, productive ways that help your family work toward improved physical health. For example, a steps counter might encourage your family to move more or even take up running, while a yoga app can help guide your family through quick routines you can practice from the comfort of home.

• Get smart: Likewise, the members of your family can use their devices to exercise their minds.

Encourage everyone to let their smartphones and tablets double function as e-readers, and to download apps that teach new skills and build knowledge. You can even try setting a goal as a family, such as learning a new language using the same app.

• Schedule digital downtime: Too much screen time is associated with poor quality sleep, increased anxiety and a range of other physical and mental health concerns, so be sure each day includes digital downtime. This is especially important if your family is working and learning from home right now. Make the most of these screen-free blocks by engaging in active play, moving, getting fresh air or spending quality time together.

• Get assistance: Making sure every member of the family is using their device only in safe and healthy ways is easier said than done, however, a parental guidance app can help. Using OurPact for example, the most comprehensive parental control app, you can remotely establish automated schedules for when internet, apps and the device itself are unavailable. Features include URL whitelisting and blacklisting, daily screen time allowances and iMessage/SMS blocking, helping ensure device usage passes your approval.

Available at the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, parents can also sign up for an account at www.ourpact.com.

For better overall health and wellness, make 2021 the year your family adopts great digital habits.

(Family Features) While the impact of winter weather varies across the country, nearly all Americans are affected in some capacity each year as temperatures drop, from freezing rain to severe blizzards.

One of the key dangers when severe weather strikes is the potential loss of heat, power and communication services.

Making a portable generator part of your family’s emergency plan can help keep your loved ones safe and warm in the event of an unexpected power outage.

While they can provide reliable back-up energy for portable heaters, help prevent food spoilage and allow for access to radio or television for news and weather updates, portable generators must be used properly to avoid carbon monoxide risks. Newer generator models that comply with the American National Standards Institute/Portable Generator Manufacturers’ Association (PGMA) G300 Standard include carbon monoxide sensors and shutdown features to help protect your family from dangerous carbon monoxide buildup and poisoning, which can cause extreme illness and even death.

Before severe weather hits, PGMA recommends educating yourself on safe use and keeping these portable generator safety precautions in mind to help ensure your family is ready for whatever winter may bring: Read the operator’s manual first and follow the manufacturer’s recommended precautions and procedures, as well as instructions on safe

Photo courtesy of Getty Images/ EBMarketa

operation and potential hazards.

Remember you cannot smell, see or taste carbon monoxide, so proper use of portable generators is crucial.

To avoid dangerous carbon monoxide accumulation, always “Take It Outside.” This means you should never run a portable generator indoors in areas such as garages, basements, crawl spaces, breezeways, sheds or other partially enclosed spaces.

Always place portable generators downwind and point engine exhaust away from occupied spaces.

Only use portable generators outside and never place a portable generator near windows, doors or vents,

as carbon monoxide gas can accumulate and potentially be drawn indoors.

Learn to recognize the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning: headache, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, weakness and fainting.

If you feel sick, dizzy or weak while using a portable generator, get to fresh air immediately and call 911 for emergency medical attention.

Install carbon monoxide alarms inside your home.

Learn more about safely operating a portable generator during winter weather at pgmaonline.com and takeyourgeneratoroutside.com.

Need money for a down payment to buy a home?

By Kim Smith-Moore, Senior Vice President and LIFT programs national manager, Wells Fargo

B

efore the economic fallout caused by COVID-19, homeownership among people of color in Minneapolis and St. Paul showed the highest homeownership isparity in the entire U.S. To help change this problem, the NeighborhoodLIFT program is coming to Minneapolis and St. Paul to assist hundreds of people with $15,000 in down payment assistance to buy a home.

Why homeownership is important Homeownership is a key foundation to wellness, dignity, and economic opportunity.

Yet, far too many families face uncertainty of rising rents because they struggle with overcoming the barrier of coming up with a down payment to buy a home.

Kim Smith-Moore

With a commitment to create positive change, the Wells Fargo Foundation, NeighborWorks® America, and NeighborWorks Home Partners are teaming up to provide $15,000 in down payment assistance to 425 eligible homebuyers in Minneapolis or St. Paul.

Interested homebuyers can get a home loan with any NeighborhoodLIFT-approved lender.

Who is eligible for NeighborhoodLIFT? Beginning Jan. 11, NeighborhoodLIFT will provide $15,000 in down payment assistance to eligible homebuyers.

Interested homebuyers must meet eligibility requirements including earning 80% or less of the local family median income, which is $77,840 in the Twin Cities.

Need money to buy a home?

The NeighborhoodLIFT® program for Minneapolis and St. Paul will help 425 people buy homes with $15,000 in down payment assistance.

How to prepare to apply on Jan. 11 for NeighborhoodLIFT? • Complete eight hours of HUD-approved homebuyer education • Get a mortgage pre-approval from an eligible NeighborhoodLIFT lender

FREE NeighborhoodLIFT Home Ownership Counseling also available to help people prepare for homeownership. ÄÏàâ×Ñ×ÞÏâ×ÜÕ ÂÓ×ÕÖÐÝàÖÝÝÒÀ½ºÈ ÜÝÜÞàÝùâá ÏÜÒ ÚÓÜÒÓàá ÏàÓ available at https://nwhomepartners.org/neighborhoodlift/

Minneapolis and St. Paul NeighborhoodLIFT program What is NeighborhoodLIFT? $15,000 down payment assistance to buy a home

When to apply: January 11

Local NeighborhoodLIFT homeowners assisted to date: 875

LIFT program homeowners assisted in U.S.:24,500+ since 2012

Learn more at: www.wellsfargo.com/lift or 866-858-2151

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