| Greetings, District 2!
As we approach the delightful Minnesota summer season, we're thrilled about the array of activities, meetings, festivals, parades, and more that await us! Our first Holiday and celebration I look forward to is Juneteenth.
Juneteenth commemorates an effective end of slavery in the United States.
Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed.
The City of Roseville is a proud sponsor of the 6th Annual Juneteenth Celebration presented by the nonprofit Do Good Roseville. Festivities run from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 15 at Roseville’s Central Park, 2540 Lexington Ave. N.
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As you know, I am a Co-Chair of Active Living Ramsey Communities (ALRC). We have an ALRC Quarterly Meeting coming up on Thursday, June 17th from 2:30-4:30pm. Active Living Ramsey Communities was launched in 2004, as an initiative designed to encourage and support active living by creating and promoting environments where people can be physically active in their daily routines! Join us to be a part of Ramsey County's All-Abilities 2050 Transportation Plan project update. Ramsey County Public Works will provide an update of the project as a whole with focus on the multimodal components of the plan and the multimodal system improvements/project recommendations.
Another one of my favorite Summer festivals, Rosefest, is on the horizon! The city’s signature celebration will run from June 24-30 and will include the Rose Parade, Run for the Roses, Taste of Rosefest, theatrical and musical entertainment, and much more!
We will be spotlighting more activities as they come up over the summer including, Lauderdale Day in the Park, New Brighton Stockyard Days, Little Canada - Canadian Days, and the St. Anthony Villagefest! In the meantime, take advantage of all of the beautiful parks and trails throughout the district that our Cities and County work so hard to maintain.
Parks & Trails - Little Canada, Roseville Parks & Places,City Parks - Lauderdale,Parks and Rec - New Brighton,and Parks - St. Anthony!
We are thrilled to announce our second train service from Minnesota to Chicago, the Borealis, a collaborative effort among Minnesota, Chicago, and Wisconsin. For additional details, please continue reading below.
My office is always available to serve constituent needs via phone (651-266-8359) or email (maryjo.mcguire@co.ramsey.mn.us). Please reach out if you have any questions or requests!
Have a great summer,
Mary Jo
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Most weeks, our County Board meets to discuss specific policy issues and receive updates from County Departments and Service Teams in our Board Workshops.
Workshops and discussions are held on Tuesdays and are open to the public. These take place at the Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse in Suite 220 (2nd floor). You can find the schedule for all upcoming board meetings, workshops, and discussions sessions here.
Recent workshops include:
- County Manager Search
- Cannabis Legislative Action Team Finding
- EGCI - Leveraging Inclusive Strategies
- Recycling & Energy Board Joint Activity
- Chaired by Commissioner McGuire
- Appropriate Responses Initiative
- American Indian Economic Mobility Hub
You can access video recordings of the meetings as well as the materials shared by clicking here.
You can watch upcoming workshops live by clicking here
Tickets are now available for a second daily Amtrak service between the Twin Cities and Chicago, via Milwaukee: new state-sponsored Borealis trains originate from St. Paul at midday and from Chicago in the late morning. Travelers seeking a more comfortable, sustainable and productive choice than driving will have double the current rail options, starting May 21, 2024.
Amtrak Borealis coach fares start at $41 each way between St. Paul and Chicago for adults, with everyday discounts for children ages 2-12, students, seniors, veterans, military personnel and families, groups, and others.
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Resident Experience Advisory Council Hub (REACH): Opportunity
Residents Experience Advisory Council will prioritize projects and identify challenges that residents experience. The goal of the Council is to guide the county in making county services better and improving resident and employee experiences countywide. Ramsey County residents will provide recommendations in service delivery and facilities to make it easier to get county services and resources needed to thrive. The Advisory Council will ensure that resident perspectives lead countywide decisions and make recommendations in improvements that provide greater accessibility, efficiency, and service delivery to residents and clients that Ramsey County serve.
To learn more: REACH Advisory Council
Innovation in Equity Award
The National Recreation and Park Association has announced that Ramsey County Parks & Recreation is a recipient of this year's Innovation in Equity Award for its "Signs of Belonging" project. Congratulations!
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Appropriate Response Initiative
Ramsey County is currently working closely with community members and agency leaders to transform and co-design our 911 response. The initiative will help build safer communities, prevent violence and reduce disparities by investing in a wider range of response options for people in need. Expanded response options will include additional social services crisis response, public health response and new community responders.
“We heard from community members that the current traditional responses that we had of police, fire and emergency medical services weren’t meeting all of the needs that they were seeing. We’re creating new resources to be able to provide support to people when they call 911 to meet the complex needs we know people have.” - Integrated Health and Justice Administrator Jenn Hamrick.
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Emergency Communications
Today, Ramsey County welcomed the media to tour the newly remodeled Emergency Communications Center with embedded social workers.
The county offers an enhanced Mental Health Crisis Response and Public Health Response in addition to traditional law enforcement and emergency medical responses to 911 callers. The Mental Health Crisis Response includes four embedded social workers in the Emergency Communications Center, collaborating with call takers and dispatchers. Non-emergency and 911 calls that are mental health or substance use-related are transferred to the Embedded Social Work team so that callers can be provided with appropriate resources.
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National Association of Social Workers MN Chapter - Social Worker of the Year Award
Sophia Thompson is the recipient of the National Association of Social Workers Minnesota Chapter - Social Worker of the Year Award. Thompson is the Deputy Director of Social Services in Ramsey County and oversees the Mental Health division. She has been a strong leader in building transformational work at the intersection of mental health and the justice system. Congratulations!
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Deputy County Manager Scott Williams to retire after 19 years!
The Board of Commissioners thanked Deputy County Manager Scott Williams for his dedicated service to Ramsey County. DCM Williams is retiring after 19 years with the county and a total of 36 years in local government. Throughout his tenure, he led transformative initiatives within the Safety and Justice Service Team, particularly in implementing alternative responses to 9-1-1 calls and other initiatives.
The county extends its best wishes to him in his retirement.
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 Roseville Visitors Association week. Shout out to Visit Roseville, headed by Executive Director Julie Wearn
 Ken Peterson, Project Executive McGough Construction presenting with Ling Becker at the Board Workshop on Leveraging Inclusive Strategies for Construction Projects..
 Commissioner McGuire and Megan Gunnar, American child psychologist, McKnight Universithy Profesor at University of Minnesota. Sponsored by National Association of Counties (NACo), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), National League of Cities (NLC) and Pritzker Foundation. Speaking at the Prenatal to 3 Symposium. Where Commissioner McGuire did a welcome and spoke on a panel.
 Commissioner McGuire with Roseville Mayor Dan Roe, Morgan Hill from Greater MSP, John Connelly from Twin Cities North, and Jancie Gundlach from City of Roseville, Economic Development Director all at the Roseville Business Council meeting.
 Apple Talks at Applewood Pointe of Roseville: Presentation from Commissioner McGuire on "Your County governement at Work Locally and Nationally"
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