Positive Thinking Day: Sept. 13, 2022
Amy Sanda
Geographic Information & Mapping (GIM), OTSM, MnDOT (Central Office)
Norman Vincent Peale wrote “The Power of Positive Thinking” in 1952. A few decades later, Positive Thinking Day began in 2003, due in part to Dr. Kirsten Harrell’s research on the effectiveness of positive thinking. She discovered how attitude can affect one’s health when she worked through handling her own chronic pain. When we are mindful, and build mental agility, we can put our life’s challenges in perspective.
It’s important to get enough rest, recognize when you feel stress, and to get support and communicate when you need to share your feelings. It also helps to take the time to do what you love, and be open to try new things or learn more skills. Do you enjoy puzzles, playing cards or photography? Do you enjoy sports, dancing, building or painting? Do you love music, and would you want to learn a new instrument or new language? Do what works for you as an individual.
On a personal note, I enjoy practicing yoga and Tai Chi, which are physically and emotionally beneficial. Several studies look at how gratitude, meditation and these exercises actually modify the function and structure of our brains. Each day, people can choose to transform a difficult or stressful situation, whether it’s quiet meditation, dancing to loud music or walking in nature. Take care of yourself, and help others find what brings them joy.
 POW/MIA Memorial Highways honor those who served and are still missing
By Bruce Tanquist
Office of Materials & Road Research, member of MnDOT’s Veterans Employee Resource Group
National POW/MIA Recognition Day is Sept. 16, 2022. After nearly 10 years of work by the National League of POW/MIA Families and others in the remembrance movement, the U.S. established July 18, 1979, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The proclamation has been repeated annually ever since. In 1986, in order to represent POWs and Americans still missing from all wars, the date was changed to the third Friday in September, a date not associated with any war.
Efforts continue across the country to honor those who served and are still missing. One of those ways is to designate freeways, highways, parkways and bridges as POW/MIA memorials.
Minnesota
In 1996, then-Gov. Arne Carlson signed bills designating two routes in Minnesota as POW/MIA Memorial Highways. The first extends through Sherburne, Mille Lacs and Crow Wing Counties, and includes Hwy 169 from Elk River to Garrison and Hwy 18 from Garrison to Brainerd. The second includes Anoka County State Aid Hwy 7 from Anoka to St. Francis.
Coast-to-Coast POW/MIA Memorial Highway
Oregon and Idaho have led a movement encouraging states to complete a coast-to-coast memorial highway. Both states have designated their portions of U.S. Route 26 as POW/MIA Memorial Highways.
POW/MIA Memorial Highway Designation Act
Florida Sen. Connie Mack III introduced bills (In 1992, 1993 and 1995) to have interstates from Florida to Washington State, and from Maine to California, designated as POW/MIA Memorial Highways. The bills were never enacted into law.
Transportation memorials in other states
- Colorado POW/MIA Memorial Highway (Hwy 67 from Divide to Cripple Creek)
- Delaware POW/MIA Memorial Parkway in Dover
- Florida POW/MIA Memorial Parkway in Jacksonville
- Michigan POW/MIA Memorial Freeway (M-53 in Macomb County)
- Montana POW/MIA Memorial Highway (Hwy 287 from Helena to West Yellowstone)
- New York POW/MIA Memorial Highway (Hwy 12 from Morristown to Chanango)
- Oklahoma POW/MIA Memorial Bridge (US 60 across the Arkansas River in Ponca City)
- Oklahoma POW/MIA Memorial Highway (US 62 in Cherokee County)
- Pennsylvania POW/MIA Memorial Bridge (US 6 over Potato Creek in Smethport)
- Pennsylvania POW/MIA Memorial Highway (Hwy 73 in Montgomery County)
- Wisconsin POW/MIA Memorial Highway (Hwy 13 from Wisconsin Dells to Superior)
Current numbers of service members who are still missing
As of Aug. 10, 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency reports that more than 81,500* Americans remain missing, including:
- 72,304* from World War II
- 7,534* from the Korean War
- 584 from the Vietnam War
- 126 from the Cold War
- 1 from Operation Eldorado Canyon in Libya
- 5 from the Gulf wars
*Numbers are lower than those reported last year due to ongoing verification and removal of duplicate entries.
National Coming Out Day
By Jen Parshley
Commissioner’s Office
Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day. Psychologist Richard Eichberg and gay rights activist Jean O-Leary founded the day in 1988 to raise awareness of the LGBT community and its civil rights movement. They chose Oct. 11 to mark the anniversary of the second major National Washington March for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987.
I’ll share my own coming out story.
During a workshop at the Lesbian Lives Conference in Dublin in 2006, where I was presenting a paper, we were asked to share something about ourselves that we were scared to say. For the first time out loud, I said I am queer. I openly wept in a room full of people. Since then, I’ve come out to my friends, my family, my health care providers and my coworkers. Each time I had to evaluate my safety of sharing my story and consider the emotional impact of sharing it. I share my story with MnDOT because I want other employees who are in the LBGTQIA2S (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Two Spirit) community to know that they are not alone, and that they have someone they can talk to about their identity and about their relationships. I want people to feel welcomed at MnDOT.
Coming out is a continuous process. It’s important to remember it’s not our place to tell someone to come out or to judge someone for not coming out. If someone chooses to come out to you, acknowledge the trust that person has in you to be that vulnerable. Let them know you are an ally. Ask if they are widely sharing their story or if they are only sharing it with a few people. It’s important to not out someone without their consent, as you don’t know how that might impact that person’s level of safety.
If you’re not part of the LTBTQIA2S community, you can come out as an ally. Being a visible and active ally lets people know they can feel safe around you. Think about how you can be an active ally in the workplace. Do you share your pronouns when you introduce yourself and in your email signature? Do you attend Q&A ERG Lunch and Learn Workshops? Do you share with your team what you learned in those workshops? Have you thought about joining Q&A as an ally?
To those who choose to come out, thank you for sharing your story with us. To those who choose to keep private, know we are still here for you too. Whether you are out or not, or whether you are an ally, we welcome you to be part of our Q&A Employees Resource Group, a safe place where we can share our stories, advocate for the community, and learn to grow.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
By Parker White
Office of Freight & Commercial Vehicles Ops
National Disability Employment Awareness Month returns this October. Many Employee Resource Groups recognize this time to appreciate what employees with disabilities offer to the workplace. At MnDOT, the Employee Resource Group SPECTRUM takes time to recognize all neurodiverse conditions, not only autism.
October is also ADHD Awareness Month and SPECTRUM is planning a poster event revolving around ADHD. MnDOT employees may view posters detailing notable individuals with ADHD and how they have progressed through life. Employees will have the option to view posters virtually but may also have the benefit of viewing printed posters placed in the office.
Another great resource is the annual conference hosted by the Autism Society of Minnesota during the month of April. For more information, please visit https://ausm.org/.
Book Recommendation
Our recommendation for this issue is “Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design,” by Bess Williamson. In this book, Williamson chronicles the origins of universal design principles and shares the history of disability rights through the lenses of advocacy and activism.
This book can be found in your local library and wherever books are sold. We’re also partnering with the MnDOT Library to make our book recommendations available. MnDOT employees interested in reading “Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design” can contact the MnDOT library through the Ask a Librarian form.
As you read the book consider the following questions:
- Were you aware that people with disabilities were excluded from public design considerations until the 1980s and 90s?
- Did you know that designs which included accessible ramps, textured sidewalk surfaces, and curb cut-outs were only implemented after significant activism and protest?
- Is Universal Design a “special consideration” for people with disabilities or something that is a benefit to all?
We Heard You!
Do you have a comment, a question or feedback about this issue of the newsletter? Please contact Gina Kundan at gina.kundan@state.mn.us.
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