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Contact: Carolyn Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969

Interactive map can help people stay cool and safe during this week's heat wave

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch which will be effective through the end of the week.

The heat index is expected to reach 105 to 110 degrees during afternoon hours.

Hennepin County Public Health has created an interactive map to help residents who don't have air conditioning at home or work to find public places to escape the summer heat. Young children, senior citizens and people who are sick or overweight are most vulnerable.

Maps are available for desktop and mobile devices.

The project is a collaboration between Hennepin County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Hennepin County Public Health. 

Find a way to keep cool

To assist in escaping the heat, a link to our mobile mapping application shows cool options throughout Hennepin County including locations to Salvation Army buildings, libraries, recreation centers, movie theaters, and shopping malls. 

People can make the map close and personal by zooming in on a specific neighborhood; users then can click on individual cooling locations for an address, days and hours of operation, contact information and a website link, when possible. 

Dig into mapping data

The application is only one part of a larger initiative to make public information more usable for Hennepin County residents. Other projects include park maps, public health information, construction, property values and taxation. Applications are scattered throughout the county website, but several additional maps can be found at www.hennepin.us/gis. Users familiar with GIS software can also download data directly.

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