 This week I had the pleasure of joining St. David's Center to celebrate the fifth Anniversary of the Harman Center for Child and Family Wellbeing, located in Minneapolis. With over 2 million dollars of funding annually from Hennepin County, the St. David's Center is a key county partner in advancing our work in mental health services and child and family wellbeing. Hennepin's partnership with St. David's center has existed almost as long as the organization itself, which has since expanded to two main centers and over 30 co-located partner sites.
This Minneapolis hub is deeply committed to early intervention for children, prenatal to five years of age, who have experienced trauma. CEO Julie Sjordal shared about the strength of Harman Center’s community-centered location and its impact on well over 500 families. I also heard from the esteemed Dr. Anne Gearity about the importance of a full, parent-child and multigenerational work, as well as the strong and integral legacy of Scott Harman on the center.
I couldn’t be more grateful for an organization that works to support children and parents as they invest in partnerships with schools, clinics, addiction treatment providers, and others. Thanks to Julie Sjordal for your dedication, advocacy, and leadership. My gratitude to all the staff, community members, and donors for your participation in and support of the Harman Center for Child & Family Wellbeing—your partnership is vital to the life-changing work this center is doing.
 On Tuesday I was thrilled to welcome Hopkins’s Advancing Careers and Employment program (ACE) to the Hennepin County Government Center for a chance to tour and to hear more from some key administrators and staff from the county.
Thanks to Christa Mims, Director of Education Support Services, Adesola Jaiyesimi, Human Services and Public Health, and May Xiong, Assistant County Administrator, Disparity Reductions for sharing your stories and your expertise. And of course, thanks to all of the wonderful young leaders for joining us, and good luck as you complete your summer internships!
 Hennepin County partners with schools on a wide range of projects, from school based mental health to tutoring to student support services. This week, for the first time since before the pandemic, Hennepin County re-established our annual meeting with superintendents from across the county. Historically, this meeting has been a forum for partnership, discovery, and closer collaboration between Hennepin and the 22 school districts that exist within the county.
At the meeting, county experts in both children's mental health and housing and homelessness discussed the expansion of school based mental health practices and presented a new program partnering with the schools on housing. Our teams received feedback from superintendents on these topics, and the robust discussion that followed will continue to strengthen and inform how these programs will better serve our schools in the future. I look forward to the continued conversation and collaboration with the schools as we expand access to these programs throughout the next year.
 I was thrilled to celebrate the official “sandbreaking” of Wayzata’s Panoway project on Wednesday. This project, set to take place on the downtown lakefront of Wayzata Bay, will give greater waterfront access to the public by adding a 1,200 foot long lakeside boardwalk and renovating many other waterfront areas along the bay.
Thanks to everyone who has committed to seeing this project through—I can’t wait to take a visit to a favorite District 6 spot upon project completion!
See the renderings and learn more about the Panoway project below:
Panoway | Wayzata, MN - Official Website
 On Monday I was welcomed to Minnetonka Beach City Hall to provide my annual Hennepin County Update. Thank you to Mayor Joe Pagano and the entire Minnetonka Beach City Council for welcoming me to Monday’s meeting!
 Plans for a new Westonka Library building are currently in the schematic design phase. Join me as I attend the open house that will be held at the library on Tuesday, July 18, from 6:30-8 p.m.
The open house will feature a presentation of community survey and library highlights, design concepts, and a conversation with the architects. Following the presentation there will be opportunities for ongoing connection and feedback.
This event is open to all, we’d love to hear your feedback!
More details about the building project below:
Westonka Library building project | Hennepin County (hclib.org)
We will be postponing Saturday’s coffee to a later date in August.
A representative from Commissioner LaTondresse’s team will be available at Wayzata Library on Saturday from 10:00-10:30am.
More information to follow!
By: Richard Reeve, KSTP
July 5, 2023
“This is our first year with water patrol, yeah,” notes Becky Kopka, a paramedic with Hennepin EMS. “We can start care for somebody in an emergency. We can start care on traumatic emergencies.”
“Whether somebody’s bleeding really bad and it’s uncontrolled, or someone is in cardiac arrest, seconds do count,” adds Senior Deputy Mathias Weinzierl with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
Access the full story here.
By: WCCO Staff
July 11, 2023
"As the opioid and substance use crisis continues to mount, the Minnesota Electronic Health Record Consortium and Hennepin County have revealed their new, real-time substance use disorder dashboard."
Access the full story here.
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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Chris LaTondresse
Commissioner
6th District
612-348-7886
Ella Eliason
District Director
612-348-6885
Kyle Olson
Policy Director
612-348-3168
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