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Marion Greene
Commissioner, 3rd District
612-348-7883
Ray Hoover
Principal Aide
612-348-7125
Pam Fahlstrom
Administrative Assistant
612-348-0863
Check me out on Twitter:
@MarionGreene
Or on Facebook:
MarionForHennepin
The 3rd District serves
the city of St.
Louis Park, and parts of west and downtown Minneapolis.
 View larger map
Southwest LRT Station Design Open Houses starting in April
Minneapolis Stations
Thursday, April 2, 2015, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Dunwoody College of Technology, 818 Dunwoody Blvd., Minneapolis
St. Louis Park Stations
Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
St. Louis Park City Hall, 5005 Minnetonka Blvd., St. Louis Park
For more information, click here.
April 21 public hearing on housing programs
There will be a public hearing on Tuesday, April 21 at 1:30 p.m.
about the 2015 -2019 Hennepin County Consortium Five Year Consolidated Plan and
the 2015 Hennepin County Consortium Annual Action Plan.
Public comment will be solicited on the draft 2015-2019 Hennepin
County Consortium Five Year Plan and the draft 2015 Hennepin County Consortium
Action Plan for 30 days beginning April 1, 2015. For more information click here.
Midtown Community Works 15th Annual Arbor Day Event
For the 15th annual Arbor Day on the Midtown Greenway, volunteers will celebrate by planting trees and shrubs along the Greenway between Nicollet Avenue and 35W.
Tree Trust staff, Master Gardeners and Tree Care Advisors will provide education on tree and shrub planting as well as plant maintenance that will ensure strong growth.'
For more information or to volunteer, please contact Janey at 612-879-0106 or janey@midtowngreenway.org.
County departments, agencies & other entities
Hennepin County libraries
Hennepin County Medical Center
Hennepin volunteers
Online services
Phone directory
Service Center information
Southwest Light Rail
Understanding your property tax
City of Minneapolis
City of St. Louis Park
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Greetings!
I hope the District 3 newsletter serves as a resource for connecting to Hennepin County activities and staying updated on county news and services. Visit our website to find more ways to connect with the county.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I value your opinions.
My best,
Marion
 Marion testifies at Senate hearing on Data Sharing
In March, I made the trip to St. Paul to
advocate for SF 1078, which provides for data sharing within human services and health care systems.
Restrictions on data sharing limit providers’ ability to
coordinate services, particularly in Hennepin Health, the county's accountable care organization that was the subject of a big story in the New York Times in March.
Hennepin Health's enrollees are complex patients. Almost half have some level of chemical dependency. A third
doesn’t have a stable place to live. More than 40 percent have mental health
needs. Thirty percent have more than one chronic disease; diabetes and heart
disease are the most common.
These multiple needs are addressed by multiple
service systems, some clients having as many as five different caseworkers.One of the
keys to bring down health care costs by our lowest income clients is
coordination of health care and social services. Since its launch in 2012, Hennepin Health's rate of emergency department visits per thousand have decreased an average
of 17.5% from year to year. The rate of inpatient admissions per thousand has
decreased an average of 16.5% from year to year.
I was excited to share this county success story with my former legislative colleagues, and to advocate for expanding this kind of care coordination.
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HCMC designated a baby-friendly birth facility
After
completing a comprehensive on-site survey, Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. recently
announced that Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) has been designated as a
Baby-Friendly Hospital.
Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. is the national authority for the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. For more information, click here.
30 Days of Biking start April 1
30 Days of Biking is a simple concept: to pledge to ride your bike for 30 days and share your experiences online. Biking in our county is a vital mode of transportation that is more efficient, affordable and equitable than driving. In April, the Hennepin County Board will consider the 2040 Bike Plan, and My staff and I will be participating- join me in the conversation on Twitter using @MarionGreene and the hashtag #30daysofbiking.
To learn more about 30 Days of Biking, check out this video, or to view a calendar of events, click here.
 It's NiceRide season!
Thanks to the lack of snow and a warmer than normal March, the expanded 2015 NiceRide season will start on April 1. Membership is $65 and in addition to the 30 minute rentals, this year they created a $15 monthly pay as you go plan.
To sign up, view a map of NiceRide stations, or to get a mobile app, click here.
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 To
share more about the work of Hennepin County, we profile
a county employee who live in District 3. Each month spotlights a person from varying departments and occupations.
Jamie Zwilling
Jamie Zwilling is the Strategic Communications Officer at
Hennepin County Communications, which helps Hennepin County accomplish its goals and strategies
through the use of communications solutions. He is a resident of Loring Park, and has been with the county for a month. Welcome to Hennepin County, Jamie!
Click here to
find out more about how Jamie helps make Hennepin County tick.
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March 3
Improving services for children and youth
The county is engaged in a comprehensive review of children and youth services. Based on some of the early findings, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted to allocate more than $1.3 million to improve outcomes for children in
the county in these ways:
The Infant Court Model
($288,000)
- Specialists will work with parents of young children who are in the child
protection system because of allegations of abuse and neglect. The
services they offer will focus on repairing parents’ bond with their
children and on changing the parents’ behavior to prevent future
maltreatment. The county will contract with St. David’s Center for Child
and Family Development. Similar programs have been deployed in Miami, New
Orleans, Santa Fe and Des Moines.
Foster Care Child Care
($750,000)
- Many current and prospective foster parents need to work to support their
families. This increase in funding will support high quality child care
for all children ages 0-5 in the foster care system. This funding will be added to the $1 million in child
care funding approved by the board in the 2015 budget.
Community Specialists
($320,000)
- Five community specialists will work with the schools of children in the
foster care system, to ensure that children are achieving their education
goals. Specialists will identify barriers to educational success and find
sources of support for children and youth in foster care. Human services
and corrections staff will also track and report data related to
children’s progress related to educational and other goals, and will
identify their developmental and psychological needs.
These three investments are just the beginning of changes the county will be making sparked by the Comprehensive Review.
March 17
County to offer paid parental leave
The county board approved a policy to offer paid parental leave
to our employees who are new parents. The county policy will be implemented May 1, 2015 and provides
up to three weeks (120 hours) of 100 percent paid parental leave to eligible
parents following the birth or adoption of a child. The policy will be used as
a tool to attract and retain employees and give parents additional flexibility
and time to bond with their new children, adjust to their new family
situations, and balance their professional obligations.
According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, 12
percent of workers in the United States had access to paid family leave through
their employers in 2014. Over the past several years, Hennepin County has
experienced an increased number of retirements. Analysis of the new hire
demographic data shows 65 percent of all newly hired employees fall between the
ages of 20 and 39.
Board moves to buy land to improve public safety
The county board approved a $1.8 million land purchase in Crystal in order to maintain public safety standards which would be negatively impacted by a proposed rerouting of freight trains through Crystal, Robbinsdale, Golden Valley, and Minneapolis. The board’s purchase reflects the significant public safety concerns involved with the railroads’ proposal, including the simultaneous and disruptive closure of frequent grade crossings that will sever the east-west connection for police, fire and rescue teams attempting to help those in need. The purchase of the land located at 5170 West Broadway is an effort to prevent rail connection that would bring hazardous traffic through dense residential communities that have not previously been exposed to such traffic.
Youth sports equipment grants awarded
The board approved $124,956 for 25 small equipment grants via the Hennepin Youth Sports Program. Here are the awards given in District 3.
- City of St. Louis Park $2,380 for three pitching machines, eight sets of batting nets and tees for use at various sites
- Minneapolis Public Schools $8,000 for track and field hurdles at Southwest High School
- Minneapolis Parks and Rec $7,000 for high bar and gymnastics mats at Lynnhurst Park; $4,000 for volleyball net system at Kenwood Park
For more information, click here.
March 31
Contractor hired to evaluate staffing needs for Sheriff’s Office
The board approved a contract with KRW Associates LLC, based in Denver, Colorado, to evaluate staffing needs in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. The analysis will include recommendations on staffing levels and evaluation of the recruiting, hiring and retention of personnel. In December 2014, the board adopted a resolution that directed the county administrator to hire an outside expert to conduct a review of the Sheriff’s Office to gain a better understanding of staffing and overtime needs.
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You're invited! In addition to our regularly scheduled board
meetings, the County Board often meets for updates on Thursday mornings. These
are informal opportunities to discuss emerging issues. No decisions are made,
and the topics are subject to change. Board briefings occur in the board room
on the 24th floor of the Hennepin County Government Center and are open to the
public.
April 9
Recycling Update
April 23
HCGC North Plaza
Child Protection
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