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Jan Callison
Commissioner
6th District
612-348-7886
Allyson Sellwood
Policy Aide
612-348-6885
Christine Hoyles
Administrative Assistant
612-348-3168
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners consists of one commissioner from each of seven districts. I am proud to represent Deephaven, north Eden Prairie, Edina, Excelsior, Greenwood, Hopkins, Long Lake, Minnetonka, Minnetonka Beach, northern Mound, Orono, Shorewood, Spring Park, Tonka Bay, Wayzata and Woodland.
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Southwest light rail
Understanding your property tax
Bushaway Road opens on November 1.
 October 23-29 was National Lead Poisoning Prevention week.
Last year, 387 children in
Hennepin County were exposed to lead in levels high enough to cause potential
damage to their health.
Fortunately,
lead poisoning is 100 percent preventable. During Lead Poisoning Prevention
Week October 23–29, Hennepin County kicked off increased efforts to raise
awareness about the dangers of lead exposure.
When
young children are exposed to lead, they are at risk for developing brain and
nervous system damage, slowed growth and development, learning and behavior
problems and hearing and speech problems.
Sources of lead exposure
- Lead-based paint
- Drinking water
- Certain products, like
painted toys and toy jewelry
- Soils, yards and playgrounds
- Jobs and hobbies involving
lead-based products
Over
the years, we’ve helped more than 4,200 families replace windows and paint over
lead-based finishes. Visit http://www.hennepin.us/Leadcontrol to learn
more.
Did you know that Hennepin County Library's provide free homework help? Our K-12 Homework Help program provides free homework tutoring and resources at 12 library locations during the academic year.
Click here for more information.
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Greetings,
I hope you are enjoying my electronic newsletters, and find them interesting and informative about county activities. In addition to my monthly newsletter, the county sends various
newsletters and notifications available by email or text message. To explore the many opportunities to
subscribe or to change your preferences, visit the subscription webpage.
Please feel free to send me your comments through my feedback form on issues that concern you or you would like covered. I value your opinions.
Warm regards,
Jan Callison
October 4, 2016
Care program for homeless part of national research
The County Board voted to approve an agreement to work collaboratively
with the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Hennepin County’s
program providing medical care to people experiencing homelessness was one of
only six chosen to help evaluate the council’s model for providing a set of
services for individuals experiencing homelessness who are being discharged
from the hospital to shelters. The council provided $174,079 to fund the work.
This is the second year Hennepin County has received this funding. The county’s
Health Care for the Homeless respite program provides a 24/7 shelter bed and
care for people lacking stable housing who have been hospitalized for major
health problems.
Learn more about the agreement with the National Health
Care for the Homeless Council.
Incumbent reappointed to Nine Mile Creek board
The board voted to reappoint Steve Kloiber to the Nine Mile
Creek Board of Managers. There was only one candidate for two openings;
additional volunteers are encouraged to come forward.
Learn more about the Nine Mile Creek Board of Managers.
October 18, 2016
Project aims to stimulate growth at Hopkins Southwest Light Rail station
Photo credit: City of Hopkins
The board approved an agreement with the City of Hopkins for the
reconstruction of Blake Road (County Road 20) between Excelsior Boulevard
(County Road 3) and Minnesota Highway 7. The project meets a city vision to
stimulate redevelopment and interest in the area of the future Southwest Light
Rail station at Blake Road, and maximize pedestrian accommodations. The
agreement makes as much as $14.45 million of state funds available
for the reconstruction and transfers ownership of Blake Road to the city after
three years.
Learn more about the Blake Road project.
Cedar Riverside Opportunity Project moves forward
The board approved a request to transfer $250,000 in contingency
funds into the Cedar Riverside Opportunity Project to allow for construction of
a one-stop shop for education, training, skills development, workforce
resources and a pipeline to employment with identified public and private
sector employers. It will be an opportunity center for all, with special
outreach to the East African community.
Work by three anchor partners at the center will focus on
employment, skill building and access to education and credentialing. The
partners include Emerge Community Development, Minneapolis Community
Technical College (MCTC) and Hennepin County (Human Services and Public
Health Department, Library Department and Workforce Development).
The county’s share of the project is in addition to $700,000
contributed by the city of Minneapolis, the Otto Bremer Trust, the McKnight
Foundation, the Minneapolis Foundation, the Pohlad Foundation, Frana
Construction, the Pat and Tom Grossman Fund of the MN Community Foundation and
the Mortentson Foundation.
Read more about the Cedar Riverside Opportunity Project.
Sheriff's deputies to help with Inauguration Day security duties
 Photo credit: Hennepin County Sheriff's Office
The board voted to enter an agreement with the federal
government and the Washington, D.C., police department to send Hennepin County
Sheriff’s deputies to provide security during inauguration events in
Washington, D.C., in January. The Sheriff's Office has provided deputies for
the past three presidential inaugurations. The District of Columbia and the
U.S. government will reimburse the county for associated personnel costs.
The deputies will be federally deputized by the U.S. Marshals
Service to keep the peace, enforce federal and local laws and protect visiting
foreign officials and official guests. Deputies will work with uniformed
officers from the Washington, D.C., police to aid in crowd control along the
parade route, at inaugural balls and at other critical sites around the
city.
Read more about Hennepin County Sheriff's role at the
presidential inauguration.
Agendas and minutes of action taken by the Hennepin County Board are posted under Hennepin County meetings and agendas. For greater detail on the above agenda items and additional board actions, visit county news releases.
November 8, 2016
Election Day
In Hennepin County we have had 93,000 early voters and more than 759,000 voters preregister.
Election day is your opportunity to take part in our democracy and have your voice heard.
Visit our election webpage to find out how to prepare for election day.
Fix-It Clinics
Get
free, guided assistance from handy volunteers on disassembling, troubleshooting
and repairing small household appliances, clothing, electronics, mobile devices
and more at a Fix-It Clinic. Upcoming Fix-It Clinics are
scheduled for the following dates and locations:
- Saturday,
November 12 from noon to 4 p.m. at Wayzata City Hall
- Sunday,
December 11 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Grace Center for Community Life in
northeast Minneapolis
- Saturday,
January 14 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Ridgedale Library in Minnetonka
Fix-It Clinics are now scheduled through June 2017. See the full schedule.
Volunteer fixers who have skills in electrical, mechanical or
electronics repair, wood working, sewing or general tinkering are essential to
making the clinics successful.
For more information or to volunteer, contact Nancy Lo at nancy.lo@hennepin.us
or 612-348-9195.
Upcoming 2017 budget dates
The board will decide on the 2017 budget and tax levy at 1:30
p.m. on December 13. Residents still have several opportunities to offer
feedback. Unless otherwise noted, the hearings are held on the 24th floor
of the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 South 6th Street, Minneapolis.
Hearings and other important dates include:
Truth-in-Taxation public meeting
Tuesday, November 29, 2016, 6 p.m. Participants can park for
free after 5 p.m. in the Government Center ramp. Enter on 3rd Avenue.
Administrator amendments
Wednesday, December 7, 2016, during Budget and Capital
Investment Committee meeting
Commissioner amendments
Monday, December 12, 2016, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Hennepin County elections officials will check-in voters using a
secure e-poll book system in all Hennepin County cities except Minneapolis. The
city of Minneapolis will change to an electronic check-in process in 2017.
Hennepin County is one of two counties in the state to use this
technology. E-poll books are iPads that have voter rolls electronically loaded
on them. They replace the paper check-in process. All election judges are
trained to use the new system and successfully used them during the primary
election on August 9.
Voters in 43 Hennepin County cities will experience the
following differences:
- Voters can choose any line to
check-in. They no longer need to find a specific line designated by their
last name.
- Election judges will check-in
registered voters via iPad, rather than paper binders.
- Election judges will register
new voters via iPad, rather than paper forms.
- Voters will sign their name on
a small slip of paper, rather than in the binder
E-poll books have been pilot tested in multiple past elections
in Hennepin County, including in Minnetonka, and other Minnesota counties
including Ramsey, Dakota, St. Louis, Crow Wing, and Blue Earth counties.
Benefits to voters:
- Increased voter privacy
- More accurate check-in process
- Efficient check-in and
registration
Benefits to elections officials:
- More accurate registration and
check-in – e-poll book system prevents voters accidentally signing in on
wrong line, election day registration information is captured electronically
- Helps election judges by
walking through each step of the check-in or registration process
- Decreased administrative work
after election is complete to transfer
- More efficient check-in – no
need to flip through pages of voter rosters
Paper records will be available at all polling places as
back-up. Election judges will only use the paper back-ups in the case of
technical difficulties.
The voter registration information in the e-poll books is never
connected to the ballot counting machines or results reporting process. The two
systems function independently and never transfer information among each
other.
On average, each polling place has four e-poll books, but that
varies by the size of the precinct.
Across the country, jurisdictions in 32 states currently
use e-poll books. Hennepin County’s specific e-poll book product, the KNOWiNK
Poll Pad, has been used in 12 states and over 60 counties across the
country.
In light of the situation currently taking place in North Dakota, I thought it would be appropriate to share the response that I have sent to individuals who have contacted me by email. Please see the below email:
"Thank you for contacting me regarding the presence of
Sheriff’s deputies and equipment in North Dakota. I’ve heard from a number of people sharing
their concern that Hennepin County resources be used to support just causes and
concluding that that is not the case here.
I’ve waited to respond until I understood more of the facts. I’ve also decided to provide this general
response to all those who emailed me so that everyone will receive the same
information.
Over the past several days, I’ve learned that the request to
the Sheriff’s office to provide support came via the State of Minnesota which
acted in response to a North Dakota request invoking a nation-wide mutual aid
agreement. This is the same mutual aid
agreement that permits Hennepin County resources to be sent out-of-state in
instances of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and for Hennepin
County to receive aid if we have an emergency here. I’ve also learned that a significant portion
of the policing in North Dakota had been left in the hands of private security
forces hired by the pipeline company.
That fact relates to concerns that have been raised about how protesters
have been treated.
I’ve taken seriously the issues that you have raised about
justice and fairness and your desire that Hennepin County actions support those
goals. But I have balanced them against
my belief that the presence of professional, highly trained law enforcement
officers can contribute to a peaceful resolution of highly inflamed situations
such as this, a resolution where the rights of all are respected. I think the right answer is to have the right
people present who will contribute positively to a fair resolution. And I believe that Sheriff Stanek understands
this responsibility. Moreover, I can’t distinguish
between this situation and the back-up support that was provided by Hennepin
County to Minneapolis and St. Paul/Ramsey County in recent similar cases.
The Sheriff is responsible for decisions about how he
deploys the resources under his control.
But I understand that it’s appropriate for me to share my thoughts with
him as I have done both verbally and through this email.
Again, thank you for contacting me."
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