YMCA News Archive

Sandwich Generation: MN Octogenarians living their best

jeffrey.needham — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Sandwich Generation: MN Octogenarians living their best jeffrey.needham Tue, 10/30/2018 - 00:00

Experts say staying active is key to living longer as we age.

The YMCA of the North offers a variety of classes that include physical fitness, social activities and more. All are free for YMCA members. Classes include aerobics, strength training, balance, yoga, dance, group cycle, water exercise and much more. Experts say seniors should get medical clearance from their doctors before starting any fitness program.

YMCA senior director of Health and Well-being, Jennifer Menk, appeared on KARE TV along with Octogenarians Dee Sundem and Carol Skarr. Both seniors are members of YMCA Southdale and stressed the importance of exercise in their daily lives.

For more information, about the YMCA’s “ForeverWell Program” and classes for ages 55+, contact our neighborhood YMCA.

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Surprise national recognition for Marine Ken Johnson Jr. receiving Series Honorman Award 41 years later for his 60th birthday at YMCA in Hudson

jeffrey.needham — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Surprise national recognition for Marine Ken Johnson Jr. receiving Series Honorman Award 41 years later for his 60th birthday at YMCA in Hudson jeffrey.needham Sun, 10/28/2018 - 00:00

Surprise national recognition for Marine Ken Johnson Jr. receiving Series Honorman Award 41 years later for his 60th birthday at YMCA in Hudson.

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Marine Corps Veteran Receives Ultimate Birthday Surprise

jeffrey.needham — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Marine Corps Veteran Receives Ultimate Birthday Surprise jeffrey.needham Sat, 10/27/2018 - 00:00

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — It took more than 40 years, but a veteran finally received an award he earned. It came together Saturday because of a class he teaches at the YMCA in Hudson, Wisconsin.

Ken Johnson teaches a workout class called R.I.P.P.E.D. at the YMCA every Saturday morning.

This Saturday, the end of his class was different – it was Ken’s Birthday, and the YMCA threw him a party after class.

But Marines in dress blues don’t just show up to any old birthday party. Ken is a retired marine.

When he was in boot camp 41 years ago, he was a standout.

“For 13 1/2 weeks of thousands of marines who are on recruit depot, there is one person who receives the title series honor man. He was that series honor man in 1977. So it was extremely rare,” said Joe Schmit, who is also a retired marine.

Schmit takes Ken’s class every week. When he found out that Ken had never actually received his certificate, he did some research and was able to bring Ken’s award home.

“I never expected it in the world, I just happened to find the right person who made something happen and here we are today,” Ken said. “I would have never imagined that this would have happened.”

Ken is in shape now, but he broke Marine Corps records in boot camp. He ran three miles in 15 minutes, which was unheard of at that time.

But you ask him about it?

“I did alright. My dad was a military guy, so I came in with a mindset already, but I actually enjoyed boot camp,” he said.

Ken said the event brought together three important parts of his life: his family, his time in the Marines, and his work at the YMCA.

“I am so grateful for this to happen,” Ken said. “It’s just the greatest experience ever.”

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YMCA Out-of-School Time Programs Support Youth to Grow and Thrive

jeffrey.needham — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 17:23:04 +0000

YMCA Out-of-School Time Programs Support Youth to Grow and Thrive jeffrey.needham Tue, 10/23/2018 - 12:23

According to the Afterschool Alliance, one in five children do not have someone to care for them after school.
The Afterschool Alliance also reports for every child in an afterschool program, approximately two more children would be enrolled if a program were available to them.
By 2017 Minneapolis high school seniors who participated in Beacons programming were more likely to graduate high school than their similar peers. Of the 152 seniors who attended Beacons at least 30 days during the 2016-2017 school year, 91 percent graduated.
At the University YMCA, programs are offered where students become cause-driven leaders in their community. Students who did community engagement through the University YMCA earn higher GPAs, have a higher graduation rate and complete more credits than their peers.
A University of Minnesota study found the University YMCA serves a higher proportion of students who are the first in their family to attend college and/or are from a vulnerable group on campus.

The YMCA of the North, a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, provides out-of-school time programs and activities that nurture the potential of every child and teen, supporting their social-emotional, cognitive and physical development in order for them to thrive.

In Minnesota, 25 percent of school-age children are alone unsupervised during the hours after school. As families and youth transition into fall and winter, the YMCA offers programs to youth from school-aged to college to keep them active, busy and engaged during out-of-school time. Through a well-rounded approach to youth development, the Y’s programs, such as Beacons, School Success and the University YMCA, nurture the potential of youth throughout the school year.

“The YMCA is committed to expanding outside its four walls to reach young people where they are,” said Glen Gunderson, president and CEO of the YMCA of the North. “Out-of-school time at the Y is an opportunity for families to ensure their kids are receiving additional support, continued learning and opportunities to participate in meaningful activities that can inspire their future goals and help them reach their potential.”

Gunderson added that the Y team designs programs that are flexible and can meet the needs of specific communities. YMCA out-of-school education and enrichment programs are found in Y facilities, schools, apartment complexes, mobile home communities and more, and include the following opportunities:

Educational support, including homework help and targeted reading, math or science activities to increase achievement and confidence
Enrichment activities like art, dance, music and more
Career pathways and leadership development opportunities through YMCA Teen Thrive programming
Programs like Beacons in Minneapolis or School Success in St. Paul that bring before and after school programs directly to students’ schools, free of charge
The Y provides college programming through its branch at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities. University YMCA students become uniquely prepared to lead in a global world and be socially responsible leaders at home and in the workforce. Through immersive experiences and intentional reflection, students take on the most pressing challenges facing communities and deepen their sense of themselves in the process.

Tips for parents and guardians when selecting before/after care and extra-curricular activities for children and youth:

Consider a child’s unique needs and interests
Select a program that provides an enriching place to explore a spark or passion, and that can be flexible in accommodating any unique needs a child may have. If a child needs academic support for example, seek a program that intentionally builds this into the programming.
Consider the family’s needs
Of course considerations such as cost, location, time and convenience matter for today’s busy families. The Y and other nonprofits provide scholarships to help keep costs down for families that need it. Remember to leave time in the week for activities everyone can do together as a family!
Choose high quality programs
Be informed by using data and resources that can inform choices. Childcare programs have the Parent Aware rating system and afterschool programs can use www.igniteafterschool.org as a resource for understanding more about high quality afterschool programs. Always visit the program site if possible and watch for positive relationships and interactions. Ask about safety procedures and training of staff.
Keep kids healthy
Engage a child in programs and places where healthy activity and nourishing foods are encouraged, and where a child’s social-emotional wellbeing is promoted as well.
Don’t forget the teens and young adults!
Oftentimes people think of care for the youngest Minnesotans, but opportunities outside of school are critical for youth and young adults to stay connected to positive peers and adults, build leadership skills, and contribute to their communities. The Y has Youth In Government, Beacons, Teen Thrive, a Campus Y, and so much more to explore.
Make a donation so ALL kids can thrive
Consider making a donation to a nonprofit such as the Y that closes gaps in access to quality out-of-school activities for young people. Over 219,000 youth are alone and unsupervised afterschool. In many cases this is due to lack of access to a safe, quality program. Support youth in the neighborhood by making philanthropic donations to close this gap.

Learn about the Anne Sullivan/Anishinabe Beacons Center in South Minneapolis and how the program ensures kids are receiving additional support to help them reach their potential and thrive in all stages of life– Beacons Engages Kids as Leaders, Learners

Discover how four students at the University YMCA develop skills to become socially responsible, workforce ready leaders and changemakers in their community – Creating Cause-Driven Leaders

Because the YMCA is a leading nonprofit committed to helping youth thrive, financial assistance is available to those in need. To learn more about the Y’s programs, please visit ymcamn.org.

YMCA CycleHealth Hosts Fall Resilinator Adventure Race On October 28

jeffrey.needham — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 16:52:26 +0000

YMCA CycleHealth Hosts Fall Resilinator Adventure Race On October 28 jeffrey.needham Mon, 10/22/2018 - 11:52

Bloomington, MN – CycleHealth, a division of the YMCA of the North which is a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, will host its Resilinator Adventure Race for buddy pairs on Sunday, October 28, at Hyland Lake Park Reserve in partnership with the Three Rivers Park District.

For the first time, kids have a shorter life expectancy than their parents due to factors such as a sedentary lifestyle and declining participation in organized sports. CycleHealth aims to change this with fun, challenging and unique activities like the Resilinator race. Buddy pairs race through fun and challenging obstacles to earn medals and prizes. Buddies can be friends, siblings or a child with a parent, mentor, grandparent or coach. Racing in a buddy pair provides the participants the opportunity to work together by developing trust and communicating to solve the challenges and obstacles they face throughout the course.

"The Resilinator was hard but also fun. After I crossed the finish line I felt a little tougher than before," said 11 year-old Owen, CycleHealth racer.

"CycleHealth makes sweating fun for kids. Once they get involved, they don't want to stop," said Dr. Tracy Hall from South Lake Pediatrics.

“Pediatricians across the Twin Cities prescribe CycleHealth programs and events, including the Resilinator, to help kids get active,” said Glen Gunderson, president and CEO of the Y. “The YMCA and CycleHealth are proud to provide unique wellness opportunities for kids with the support of partners across our community.”

WHO:
YMCA of the North CycleHealth and the Three River Parks District

WHAT:
Resilinator by CycleHealth

WHERE:
Hyland Lake Park Reserve at 10145 Bush Lake Road in Bloomington, MN 55438

WHEN:
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Race begins at 1:00 p.m.

About the YMCA of the North

The YMCA of the North is a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Established 161 years ago, the Ys provide life-strengthening services across the greater Twin Cities metro region, southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin communities. The 29 Y locations and program sites, eight overnight camps, 10 day camps, and more than 90 child care sites engage more than 350,000 men, women and children of all ages, incomes and backgrounds. To learn more about the Y’s mission and work, visit www.ymcamn.org.

Hy-Vee, pedestrian tunnel are next for West St. Paul’s South Robert Street — then housing

jeffrey.needham — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Hy-Vee, pedestrian tunnel are next for West St. Paul’s South Robert Street — then housing jeffrey.needham Fri, 10/12/2018 - 00:00

Pieces of a big South Robert Street redevelopment puzzle are fitting into place.

The West St. Paul City Council this week approved two development agreements — one with Hy-Vee for a grocery store on the YMCA property, the other with Dakota County for the River to River Greenway trail and a pedestrian tunnel underneath the retail-heavy street.

Meanwhile, the city’s economic development authority on Oct. 22 will review a housing plan — and possibly two others — for the city’s now-shuttered Thompson Oaks Golf Course, said Jim Hartshorn, the city’s community development director.

“There are still a lot of moving parts — it’s not entirely a done deal — but we’re as close as we’ve ever been to getting this (area) squared away,” he said.

The projects, pegged for contiguous land on the east side of Robert between Thompson and Wentworth avenues, have been several years in the making. However, deadlines have created a sense of urgency.

If the city fails to finalize a joint-powers agreement with the county by the end of the year, $2.2 million in state bonding money for the tunnel could go away, city manager Ryan Schroeder said.

“The concern at this point is that we’re running out of calendar,” he said.

The county board approved the agreement last month. But because council members requested changes to the agreement, the county must review it again before the agreement goes to the Metropolitan Council, which administers the funds.

Meanwhile, a purchase agreement the YMCA of the North and Iowa-based Hy-Vee signed in December for the Y’s 10-acre site also expires at the end of the year, Hartshorn said.

Finally, deadlines are approaching for grants a developer could request for affordable housing on the former golf course site.

“If they can do 20 percent affordable housing, there’s a good chance they’d qualify for Met Council funding, and those grants are due at the end of November,” Hartshorn said. “So that’s another push. Everything is due by the end of the year.”

BIKING, WALKING UNDER ROBERT

City officials have been throwing around the idea of a pedestrian bridge or tunnel on Robert Street since at least 2011, when the now-complete reconstruction of the road was being planned and the River to River Greenway went under a different name — the North Urban Regional Trail.

The greenway now runs nearly 8 miles from the Big Rivers Regional Trail in Lilydale through parks and residential and commercial areas in Mendota Heights, West St. Paul and South St. Paul, to the Mississippi River Regional Trail. The trail is in place, but no signs are up yet.

In recent years, a tunnel has been a hot topic with city councils, residents and county officials.

Current and former council members have questioned whether it is needed, contending that the street-level crossing at Wentworth Avenue is safe. Most have agreed that the city should wait to see how development along Robert Street shakes out.

That time appears to be now.

Development of Thompson Oaks is the big one, since the county’s preferred trail alignment is through the golf course property up to Thompson and Oakdale avenues.

Interested developers see the trail as a positive feature, even though it trims the amount of land that can be built out, Hartshorn said.

“Every developer that I talk to says the trail is a great amenity,” he said. “They’re happy that we’re doing this.”

The tunnel, pegged at costing $2.3 million, would be built almost smack dab between Wentworth and Thompson avenues. The western side would include part of the former Blockbuster site, which the city owns.

The eastern end would be what is now Crawford Drive, which would be realigned after an Auto Zone store is either purchased through ongoing negotiations or taken through eminent domain. The city has suggested several sites in the city where Auto Zone could relocate.

Dakota County would be responsible for all construction costs of the tunnel and trails leading to it.

Besides using the city’s $2.2 million in state bonding funds, the county plans to use a $650,000 federal transportation grant for trails to it and also chip in an additional $200,000. It would pay up to 75 percent of the cost to acquire the Auto Zone property, which in April was appraised at $1.55 million.

HIGH ON HY-VEE

Four years ago, Hy-Vee scouted the former Kmart site at Signal Hills Shopping Center, then backed off that plan in favor of pursuing the 10-acre YMCA site.

“They looked at the Y three years ago,” Hartshorn said.

The project was delayed partly because of the YMCA’s uncertainty about building a larger branch in the same spot or somewhere else, he said.

“They knew they wanted to do something, but nobody knew what that something was going to be,” he said. “So all we could do was sit and wait.”

Meanwhile, Hy-Vee reps initially told city officials that they had a shortfall of about $2.5 million for a proposed 100,000-square-foot store and were asking for a subsidy from the city to close the gap.

But in recent months, Hy-Vee submitted plans for a 68,400-square-foot store, which reduces their requested subsidy to $1.58 million.

The city intends to pay for about half of it by selling part of the Blockbuster site. The balance would be paid back over 20 years by Hy-Vee’s property taxes.

The store won’t work without the subsidy, said city manager Schroeder.

“If this was a greenfield site, just bare land of some sort, there wouldn’t be a need for any subsidy,” he said. “But it costs money to redevelop property.”

Hartshorn noted how 23 percent of the properties in West St. Paul are nontaxable, such as churches, parks and schools. That’s why it is important to get the city’s former golf course and the YMCA property on the tax rolls, he said.

Schroeder said he anticipates the planning commission will review a site plan for a Hy-Vee store in the next couple of months and that the earliest construction could start would be next fall.

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YMCA Hosts Flag Football Tournament on October 13 and Free Basketball Clinic on October 14

jeffrey.needham — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 16:07:12 +0000

YMCA Hosts Flag Football Tournament on October 13 and Free Basketball Clinic on October 14 jeffrey.needham Mon, 10/08/2018 - 11:07

Roseville, MN – The YMCA of the North, a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, will host the second annual all-city flag football tournament on Saturday, October 13 and a free basketball clinic on Sunday, October 14.

Studies show that youth in sports are more likely to succeed in school and develop important skills like goal-setting, self-esteem and leadership. The Y is committed to providing that opportunity to as many young people as possible by eliminating barriers to participation and creating an inviting environment that gives kids of all backgrounds and skill levels a safe place to play, grow and thrive.

“YMCA sports are built on the idea that everyone has an opportunity to play,” said Glen Gunderson, president and CEO of the YMCA of the North. “Sports are all about building positive relationships and participating in your community. Our athletes come from all backgrounds to unite as a team and develop lifelong friendships.”

Flag Football Tournament

Forty-five teams with players in grades 2 – 8 will compete in an all-city flag football tournament at Roseville High School on Saturday, October 13. The public is welcome to attend, and concessions will be available.

Roseville High School at 1240 County Road B2 W in Roseville, MN 55113
Saturday, October 13 from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Free Basketball Clinic

Free basketball clinics for kids ages 4 and up will be held at YMCAs across the Twin Cities. Participants will learn the basic skills of basketball from trained YMCA staff and can register for upcoming classes or leagues. No prior registration is required to attend.

YMCA locations across the Twin Cities – visit ymcamn.org/locations
Sunday, October 14 from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

About the YMCA of the North

The YMCA of the North is a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Established 162 years ago, the Ys provide life-strengthening services across 12 counties of the greater Twin Cities metro region, southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin communities. The 28 Y locations and program sites, eight overnight camps, 10 day camps, and more than 90 child care sites engage more than 350,000 men, women and children of all ages, incomes and backgrounds. To learn more about the Y’s mission and work, visit www.ymcamn.org.

Rochester sauna evangelists say steamy Finnish tradition saved their marriage

jeffrey.needham — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Rochester sauna evangelists say steamy Finnish tradition saved their marriage jeffrey.needham Sun, 10/07/2018 - 00:00

Christopher and Julie Rice sat naked in the sauna, sweating in its 180-degree heat. In the crisp air outside, they then played a few hands of cribbage and noshed on pickles and smoked fish. Steam rose from their wet hair.

The details, three years later, seem etched in their minds.

It was the night they fell in love with sauna. The night, they say, sauna saved their marriage.

“It was nice to be unplugged, nice to be together and to talk,” Julie said recently. “We put all our worries, all our grudges aside. We were able to say, ‘What’s going on? How can we move forward?’ ”

Nakedness bred vulnerability, opening up something in the Rochester couple’s marriage, which was then marked by resentment. Their first sauna-destination trip — inspired by a chance steam a month before — led to another, then another. Between watching YouTube videos on sauna methods and reading old tomes on sauna culture, the couple started a Facebook group to share their new obsession and a website to tell their story. Clicks came, at first, from curious friends and family, but with each trip and each post, the Rices discovered — and helped build — a sauna-loving community.

Today, some 2,300 people subscribe to their private Facebook group, dedicated to wood-burning sauna. More than a few have invited the Rices to sweat alongside them.

The ancient Finnish tradition of sauna is trendy these days, as millennials have embraced its ritual. Mobile saunas, with their rent-a-session model, have popped up in Minneapolis and beyond. But the Rices, like the purists in their group, are anti-trend.

They celebrate the wood chopping and fire building required for a traditional sauna, praising the resulting scent and soft heat. Electric saunas don’t have the same effect, they argue.

Infrared saunas? Don’t get them started. Christopher, 40, refuses to call them saunas, referring to them instead as closets.

“A log sauna in a rustic, natural place — that’s what I love,” Christopher said. “I have yet to see an infrared closet set in the middle of the forest.”

The couple spoke at Camp du Nord’s first weekend for sauna enthusiasts last year, an event they helped inspire. This year, the gathering kicks off Oct. 11 near Ely, Minn. Its star: the YMCA camp’s legendary wood-burning sauna, built in 1933 by Finnish carpenters beside Burntside Lake. That’s where the Rices — quickly ticking off their bucket list — jumped into a hole in the ice, known in Finnish as avanto.

The couple’s Facebook page helped Emily Weise, a program director at Camp du Nord, realize “that there was this subculture of sauna lovers out there” who value the log sauna, “the oldest building here at camp.” Weise first took a sauna at Camp du Nord when she was a 5-year-old at the family camp.

But the Rices’ enthusiasm has given her a greater appreciation for the tradition, she said. Online and in person, Christopher is “so curious and interested and always keeping the conversation going.”

‘What’s this nakedness thing?’

The Rices, who were married in 2005, didn’t grow up with saunas. They claim no Finnish heritage. They didn’t even know much about starting fires.

Then there were cultural oddities. Nudity was one.

“There’s this aspect of being naked that was, even for us as a married couple, still kind of awkward,” said Julie, 38. “We have such an odd relationship with nakedness in the U.S. It took a little bit for me to relax.”

“We don’t come from some hippie background,” Christopher chimed in.

“We’re not free spirits,” Julie added.

“Both our families are like, ‘What’s this nakedness thing?’ ” Christopher said.

But they’ve learned, converting friends, relatives and Julie’s mother, who is from Cambodia, along the way. The Facebook group has helped. It’s a place where sauna lovers can share tips, photos and offers of saunas for sale. And they ask questions ranging from newbie to nerdy: What’s the best sauna temperature? Does anyone have a Harvia stove?

“What about sauna seat covers?” one member posted recently. “Do people use them? Just a towel? Decoration? Too fancy/urban? Just right?”

The most liked response: “Saunas are self-cleaning and one of the most sterile environments. Modern people are too squeamish. Sitting in others’ buttsweat? Yours is sweating, too.”

That online community has led to in-person meetups. Christopher and Julie have been invited to saunas in Wisconsin, northern Minnesota and Finland, partly because of the business they run: They take 360-degree photos of interiors, a sauna lover’s dream documentation. The couple used to travel for food — to Texas for barbecue, for example — but now plan trips around rentals with awesome saunas. They’ve trekked several times to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to an area where half the population boasts Finnish heritage.

Before, “if we ever stayed at a rental, we made sure it had a gas stove. We wouldn’t stay anywhere with a bad cooking setup,” Christopher said. “Now it doesn’t matter. Could be a dilapidated trailer somewhere, but if it has a nice sauna, we’re good.”

Like nakedness, meeting up with strangers felt new to the Rices.

But they’ve enjoyed friendly hosts and fascinating conversations with people who, like them, appreciate the rich tradition more than the health benefits. A recent study by the Mayo Clinic found that regular saunas could be as beneficial as exercise, reducing high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and other conditions.

That study, sauna purists point out, focused on folks sauna bathing in traditional ways.

“Once people figure out that something is healthy, that pretty much guarantees we’re going to ruin it,” Christopher said. Fish oil tablets are a great example, he continued. “We find some way to make a pill. Infrared is mostly that — it’s like the pill form of sauna.

“If we found out that sauna was just a little unhealthy, we’d still do it,” he added. “If we found out that people who do sauna, on average, live three years less, we would still do it.”

‘Good for their family’

On a chilly September morning, the Rices’ four children emerged, steaming, from a barrel sauna. They stood under the hose-turned-shower and then — one by one, noses pinched — submerged themselves in a 118-gallon stock tank filled with cool, clear water.

This sauna-loving couple have sauna-loving kids. Sauna-smart kids, too. “Afterward, you feel fresh, clean,” said Rebecca, 12, the oldest, wrapping herself in a towel. “And you feel like you want to take a nap!”

This sauna is not, technically, owned by the Rices. But it demonstrates the spread of their sauna evangelism. Last summer, Julie told her neighbor and friend Martha Rypstra about a barrel sauna one of their Facebook group friends had for sale. Rypstra and her husband had never taken saunas before. But they had heard their dear friends talking about them for two years.

A few weeks later, the friends were ripping apart the backyard, replacing an overgrown garden with a rock patio.

“Julie and I did everything with four kids each in tow,” Rypstra said, laughing. The first time the pair took a sauna, they didn’t have a shower or a tub. “We just sprayed each other with a hose.”

“I thought, ‘This is great. This is something I can do.’ ”

Rypstra also witnessed how sharing the sauna love had knitted the Rice family together. “I saw that it was good for their family, it was something that connected them,” she said. “It was something they could all enjoy together.”

Three years after their first sauna, Julie and Christopher are in a better place. A good enough place that they could write about how bad things were. In an essay on their website, Julie detailed how, to the outside, their family seemed perfect, but they were really “like two strangers living in the same house.” Sauna changed that.

“It’s hard to be defensive and cruel when you’re sitting naked next to someone, sweating profusely, feeling your heart pounding in your chest,” Julie wrote. “It’s hard to think about anything mean-spirited when the water hisses on the rocks and löyly dances through the sauna.

“It’s hard to hate someone when you’re cooling down next to the lake, drinking lemonade, watching the sunset, and feeling euphoric.”

In their friends’ backyard, the Rices swapped stories and stoked the fire. The first time the Rices’ oldest kids took a sauna, “I didn’t like it,” said Nahlah, 10. “It was too hot.”

“But now that heat would be cold to us,” Rebecca said. “Because we didn’t know what we were doing.” As their parents’ obsession swelled, taking them from one tiny Midwestern town to another, they’ve learned.

“Basically everywhere we go,” Rebecca said, “my dad’s like, ‘Is there a sauna in the area?’ ”

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Hy-Vee wants to buy West St. Paul YMCA

jeffrey.needham — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Hy-Vee wants to buy West St. Paul YMCA jeffrey.needham Fri, 10/05/2018 - 00:00

Grocery chain Hy-Vee Stores Inc. has plans to open a West St. Paul store on a site now owned by the YMCA of the North.

The Pioneer Press reports on the confirmation of something long suspected by many since last winter — that the Iowa-based grocery chain, currently making an aggressive expansion into the Twin Cities market, was the unidentified retailer that had approached the YMCA about its location at 150 Thompson Ave. E.

Neither Hy-Vee nor YMCA officials would confirm anything until this week, when the nonprofit disclosed Hy-Vee's interest in an email to members.

The Y is interested in selling and is seeking another location, but plans to keep the current facility open through mid-2019.

City officials will discuss a development agreement with Hy-Vee at a Monday meeting.

The sale also affected the adjacent Thompson Oaks Golf Course. West St. Paul moved to close the nine-hole course earlier this year after the YMCA announced it planned to sell its facility because the 10-acre property includes two of Thompson Oaks' nine holes. The Y leases them to the city.

Hy-Vee, which entered the already competitive Twin Cities market in 2015 with a New Hope location, has since opened eight more stores and has several others in the works.

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New YMCA Lakeville Early Childhood Learning Center Celebrates Grand Opening on October 10

jeffrey.needham — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 15:34:57 +0000

New YMCA Lakeville Early Childhood Learning Center Celebrates Grand Opening on October 10 jeffrey.needham Thu, 10/04/2018 - 10:34

Minneapolis, MN – The YMCA of the North, a leading nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, will celebrate the grand opening of a new Early Childhood Learning Center in Lakeville on October 10.

This new YMCA Early Childhood Learning Center is located on 16331 Kenrick Avenue in Lakeville, MN, and will serve 150 children in the south metro community. There are currently 10 other Y Early Childhood Learning Centers in the greater Twin Cities where 98 percent of graduating YMCA Preschool & Pre-K students surpass local school district Kindergarten readiness requirements.

“We are excited to be opening an Early Childhood Learning Center that will support families in Lakeville and surrounding communities,” said Glen Gunderson, president and CEO of the YMCA of the North. “Children are the future and the YMCA is committed to investing in them by providing experiences that help youth grow and develop into confident, caring, happy and healthy individuals.”

The YMCA Early Childhood Learning programs are rooted in the Y’s core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. From those basic values comes a child care experience designed to develop a child’s potential through creative, intellectual, emotional, social and physical skills while they grow. They Y’s Learn Through Play is based on children learning a lot through interaction and exploration because playing is learning. For example, tea time builds organizational skills, playing with blocks teaches innovation and so on.

The Y’s early childhood learning programs, which have earned national accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and 4 Star Aware and licensed by the State of Minnesota, give kids the chance to explore freely through:

sensory activities that help with math and science comprehension
arts and humanities projects that develop fine motor skills
physical activities and nutritious food to encourage healthy habits
swimming and water safety classes in a safe aquatic environment
enrichment opportunities, including music & movement classes and an introduction to languages like Spanish or American Sign Language

These activities help to develop skills like critical thinking, communication and creativity. The Y offers a warm and welcoming environment in which every child can thrive. Most importantly, children have a place to grow with the guidance of caring adults while their parents are at work.

Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the new Early Childhood Learning Center, hear from YMCA and community leaders on the importance of this new Center serving families and enjoy special entertainment by the youth participating at the Center.

WHO:
YMCA of the North

WHAT:
YMCA Lakeville Early Childhood Learning Center Ribbon Cutting Celebration

WHERE:
YMCA Lakeville Early Childhood Learning Center
16331 Kenrick Avenue in Lakeville, MN, 55044

WHEN:
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
4:00 Program and Ribbon Cutting Celebration
Tours and Open House to follow

For more information on the Lakeville Early Childhood Learning Center, visit www.ymcamn.org/lakevilleeclc.

About the YMCA of the North