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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carolyn
Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969
County board actions
Voting Thursday, the board approved funding to continue combatting youth sex trafficking, approved an agreement for an autonomous shuttle test, approved funding for free home health and safety inspections and more.
 Funding will expand team fighting youth
sex trafficking
The board accepted a $100,000 grant from the Women's Foundation of Minnesota to dedicate an additional staff member to a team investigating and prosecuting sex trafficking crimes.
This new position will join six other staff dedicated to the county's work on No Wrong Door and Safe Harbor initiatives. These initiatives focus on the principle that sexually exploited youth should be treated as survivors and victims, rather than criminals.
County staff work year-round to combat this persistent issue. The number of sex trafficking cases submitted to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office increased from 27 in 2015 to 95 in 2017.
Read
more about this action.
Learn more about
the county's work to help sexually exploited youth.
The board approved negotiation of an
agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation to lease an
autonomous shuttle for a demonstration along the Midtown Greenway.
Hennepin County will test the
electric-powered shuttle and offer free public rides along a two- to
three-block stretch of the Greenway during Earth Day weekend, April 20 - 22.
The shuttle, capable of operating safely in mixed traffic with pedestrians and
bicyclists, will travel for limited hours during the demonstration on one lane
of the existing bicycle and pedestrian trail. A human operator will be on
board the shuttle to take over, if needed. The shuttle will travel no more than
12 miles per hour.
The county is interested in studying how this
emerging technology can complement other multimodal forms of transportation and
enhance connections to major transitways.
The Greenway was acquired by Hennepin County
Regional Rail Authority in the early 1990s for future transit use and connects
the Blue Line, Orange Line and planned Green Line Extension.
Learn
more about the board action.
View
a PowerPoint presentation with more details on the demonstration.
Voting February 13 as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, the board approved a $60,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Health to assess as many as 110 homes in Hennepin County for safety and health hazards. Through the Healthy Homes program, residents can receive free help to reduce home health risks, such as asthma triggers and lead paint.
Learn more about this funding.
Learn more about the Healthy Homes
program.
The board appointed
the following candidates:
Adult Mental Health Local Advisory Council
- Barbara Kaiser
- Suzanne Bachman
- Kathleen Goldammer-Copeland
- Kathryn Walton
- Esther Muturi
- Will Hall
- Sankolo Dolo
Capital Budgeting Task Force
- Greg Sticha
- Heidi Hamilton
City Planning Commission (Minneapolis)
County Extension Committee (University of Minnesota Extension)
Library Board
- Adja Kaba Ann
- Rahfat Hussain
- Sheila Letscher
Mental Commitment Attorney Panel Advisory Board
Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act Board
- Anthony Scallon
- Thomas Adams
- Alexander Hanlon
- Andrea Ferstan
- Aaron Hill
Learn about Hennepin County's citizen advisory boards.
The board adopted the 2018
federal legislative platform asking Minnesota members of Congress
to support the county’s requests in the following areas:
- Transportation
- Health
and human services
- Safety-net
health services
- Taxes
- Criminal
justice
- Housing
and community development
- Workforce development
The board
established a public hearing on issuing debt to finance
new capital improvements included
in the county's 2018-2022 capital improvement program.
- Tuesday, March 20, 1:30 p.m.
- Board room (A-2400), Hennepin
County Government Center
- 300 South Sixth Street,
Minneapolis
Read
more about the public hearing.
Current and archival board meetings, agendas and minutes are available online. View at www.hennepin.us/boardmeetings.
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Look for more news on
the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
Discover how we're making a difference in our communities at www.hennepin.us/stories.
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