Prioritize Health in 2023 - Tips from Mayor Jacob Frey

Article by Becky Fillinger

Mayor FreyIt’s the first week of a new year, and at this time we often start to ramp up our fitness regimen. One way to approach this is to get advice from the fittest among us. Our mayor, Jacob Frey, is frequently on the list of fittest mayors in the U.S. I put this question to him: What advice can you give us to get fitter in 2023? Not surprisingly, he had great advice to share: 

Before becoming mayor, I used to run for competition and passion. I now run for my physical and mental health. Running has always been a release for me. It helps me face difficult issues and allows me to think quicker. The absence of my routine runs is noticed not just by me, but by those around me. Prioritizing my health allows me to be the best version of myself, in and out of the office. 

Here are five tips I have for people looking to prioritize their physical health in 2023:    

1. Find a rhythm: The best way to get into a regular workout routine is to work out regularly. If you like to exercise in the morning, maybe that means not spending a ton of time on your phone while in bed. Instead, get up, put on your socks, and lace up those shoes. That first step alone will make it 10 times more likely you will get out the door and to your favorite workout activity.  
2. Frequency is more important than duration: Rather than crushing yourself once or twice a week during your workout, make a daily commitment to get some sort of exercise. Even if it’s a short walk during your lunch break, a little can go a long way. My favorite exercise is running along the Riverfront, which provides some of the best views in Minneapolis.
3. Listen to your body: Not every day is going to be your best. On days when you have a hop in your step, increase the intensity. On days when you’re tired, don’t be afraid to take what I call “active rest” - keep the body moving so you still benefit, but do so with a lower intensity.
4. Dress for the occasion: We live in Minneapolis, where a single-layer cotton shirt won’t be enough for many months of the year. But don’t let that deter you – throw on some layers, a hat, and some gloves, and find a way to get outside. Nothing cleanses the body and mind like some fresh air. Even a phenomenal workout inside usually can’t take the place of experiencing a breath of fresh air outside.
5. Go with a friend: If you are accountable to someone beyond yourself, you’re more likely to show up on time and get the job done. Not to mention, a little banter can make exercising more fun and go by quicker. In Minneapolis, we’re all in this together, especially during the winter, and there are plenty of workout groups and people there to help you stay motivated. On Wednesday mornings, check out November Project and on Friday mornings, check out Flapjack Friday at Mill City Running.

Thank you, Mayor Frey! 

Small Business Spotlight: chemin

Article by Becky Fillinger, photo provided

A Conversation with Death Doula, Wendy Brown

Wendy BrownWe typically associate the word doula with childbirth. But there is a growing movement of Death Doulas – those professionals who bridge the gap between the medical and emotional/spiritual aspects of death for patients and families. We talked to Wendy Brown, owner of chemin, a Minneapolis Death Doula. She told us about why she entered the profession, services provided and local events to learn more about the movement.

Q:  Why did you become a Death Doula? Why did this appeal to you as a career option? 

A:  My interest around end of life began during 2016 when I lost both my beloved Uncle Will as well as my sister's daughter in utero. I began to notice how difficult and seldom people talk about death, a clear fear when recognizing death is a part of life. I also began a Health Care Directive Workshop, Speaking of Dying MN, which opened my eyes to the many options while planning one’s end of life wishes. My sister Sarah Longacre, a Birth Doula, mentioned the idea of Death Doula work and I soon dove right into doula training research. Soon I discovered INLEDA, the International End of Life Doula Association, and picked up the book, Caring for the Dying: The Doula Approach to a Meaningful Death, written by Henry Fersko-Weiss, the founder of INELDA. I immediately felt if I did not pursue becoming a doula as a profession, which I indeed did, I would want to support my family and friends with finding deep meaning and comfort with care given at the end of life. 

Q:  How does a person train to be a Death Doula? Are there degrees or certifications available? 

A:  There are multiple Death Doula trainings offered all around the country. The most well known in my experience include:

• https://inelda.org       
• https://www.henryferskoweiss.com (He was the founder of INELDA, left last year to start his own program.)
• https://www.consciousdyinginstitute.com       
• https://goingwithgrace.com       
• University of Vermont 

NEDA, the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance also lists different trainings on their site: https://www.nedalliance.org/trainer-directory.html

Unlike Birth Doulas, there is no national certification to become a Death Doula. Each program is completely different from the others. I trained with INELDA and decided to become certified as the feedback around my hands on experience was valuable. All this said, there are those with no training or certification who are Death Doulas through their experiences around end of life and natural ease with death. 

Here's a bit more on the certification process that might be of interest: https://www.nedalliance.org/about_eold_certification.html. 

As a NEDA member, a Death Doula can decide if they would like to earn a NEDA EOL Doula Proficiency Badge: https:www.nedalliance.org/proficiency-assessment.html.

Q: You're a founding member of the Minnesota Death Collaborative. Could you tell us more about this organization?

A: The Minnesota Death Collaborative is a resource for bridging the gap from life to death, for navigating the journey and reconnecting to the natural aspects of death. MNDC was created as a resource for those both in the death field as well as individuals searching for their own support around end of life. We embrace and honor death as a part of life.

You may sign up for our monthly newsletter here. Each month we welcome incredible, passionate speakers to our Community Call - these opportunities, as well as past recordings, are part of the MNDC membership. If you’re not sure about joining on one of our membership levels, we welcome you to attend a few community calls as our guest. Our January 11 Zoom meeting will feature local mortician Angela Woosley – bring your questions and learn more about natural burials, green cremation – she’ll answer any questions you have about working with morticians and funeral homes.

Q:  Do you help clients write legacy letters? Are there other legacy projects?  

A:  Yes, creating legacy letters is one form of a Legacy Project I focus on with my clients, as well as written stories, audio and video recordings, memory boxes and albums. It’s a profound experience to gather a person’s stories, be it at the final stages of life or with no diagnosis in view. My gift is to listen deeply to what each chapter has meant to my clients — the highs, the lows, and the turning points. The exercise is often more than simply chronicling one's history. For many, creating a Legacy Project can be a spiritual process as we look at the significant moments in a life, what one has learned, valued, and believed, as well as reflect on the impact one life has had on others and how others have impacted them. Legacy Projects provide an invaluable opportunity to find inner peace and control while deepening the exploration of one’s story. It also provides family and friends an ongoing relationship with their loved one, a touchstone of the most significant kind.

Q:  Are Death Doula services covered by Medicare or other insurance plans?

A:  Unlike Birth Doulas, currently Death Doula services are not covered by insurance. That said, many Death Doulas support families and their loved ones through pro bono action. Slowly we are seeing hospice homes and health care providers include Death Doulas as a part of their support system. As Death Doulas can provide a broad range of support, from spiritual and emotional help to physical comfort and logistical assistance, many people find Death Doulas an important service, along with hospice or palliative care.

Q:  How may we follow your news?  

A:  The MNDC newsletter and our Facebook page is a wonderful resource for local and national information around end-of-life support. Personally, you can follow me on my Instagram account and website: https://www.mychemin.com.

Stone Arch Bridge On Minneapolis by Ric Rosow

Submitted by Ric Rosow

Stone Arch Bridge on Minneapolis

I was working on a photograph of Downtown Minneapolis that I took New Year's Day. The sky was unremarkable, rather pale. There were no clouds, no blue or pink tones.The cityscape however looked good. The buildings were sharp and clear with a mixture of complimentary colors. I decided to combine the three images I had open at the time into one image. The other two images were close ups of the Stone Arch Bridge, images that contained very different colors from downtown. My end result is a digital version of a photomontage, a process that includes cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping several images. After overlapping the images I was able to modify the result to obtain a color balance and tone that I liked. Other artists in the Tres Leches Art Gallery physically combine different materials, textures, types of paint, resins and objects to create works of two or more dimensions. Photography is one dimensional. Creating the perception of dimension is a goal of almost all fine art photography.

You can view my work in person and the work of other Tres Leches artists, a number of whom create two and three dimensional works of art, this Thursday evening, January 5, at the Tres Leches Art Gallery, Studio 173, located in the Northrup King Building, 1500 Jackson Street NE from 5-9pm. On Saturday, January 21 from 5-9pm NKB will be open for you to browse works from hundreds of artists and shop multiple open creative studio. There is plenty of free Parking, a passenger elevator, and comfortable spaces for you to enjoy.

Meet Chief of Police, Brian O'Hara, at the Ukrainian Center, January 11

Message from Council Member Rainville

Greetings to all my Ward 3 neighbors,

I want to start by wishing all of you a Happy New Year. I'm looking forward to another great year of working for you all.

I want to invite you to the Ukrainian Event Center (301 NE Main St) on Wednesday, January 11 at 6pm to hear from our new Chief of Police, Brian O'Hara. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about Chief O'Hara's vision for MPD, and ask any questions you may have. 

I hope to see many of you there.

Your neighbor,

Michael

MacPhail Announces Free Family Event Saturday, January 21

MacPhail Center for Music has announced a free family event with a concert and activities for children Saturday, January 21, 2023.

The soulful sounds of Motown will combine with the power of the trombone as The Paper Clips provide an informative and engaging performance at Sing Play Learn with MacPhail®’s next Free Family Music Series. The Paper Clips will connect the sounds of “Hitsville” USA to its roots in Black American and popular music styles of the 20th century, a program for fans of all ages. The vibrancy of Minneapolis will set the stage in Antonello Hall at MacPhail’s downtown location. Members of The Paper Clips trombone quartet include Chris Allen, Brooklynne Audette, Lauren Husting and MacPhail’s very own Ben Bussey.

Activities Include:
•Free Family Concerts at 10:15am and 11:15am
•Instrument exploration
•Visual art station
•Snacks

Bussey, also MacPhail Faculty Member and K12 School Partnerships Development Representative, expressed his excitement about sharing this program with such a young audience. “We are thrilled to be able to bring some of our classic Motown program to the Free Family Music series. This is the music our parents played for us when we were kids, and we love sharing it with young people. The music of Motown is essential listening when considering the history and impact of Black American music in world popular culture. The blending of jazz and gospel in the city of Detroit birthed an unmistakable sound in the 1960s that continues to resonate with people today, and launched the careers of artists like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, and many more.” 

An Update on Bald Eagle Poisonings with Dr. Dana Franzen-Klein of The Raptor Center

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Dr. Dana Franzen-KleinOur majestic neighbors, the bald eagles, are a keystone species – vital to the health and well-being of its ecosystem (that includes all of us). In early in December, over a period of a few days, 11 bald eagles were found critically ill near a landfill. The birds were brought to The Raptor Center for diagnosis and treatment. We spoke to Dr. Dana Franzen-Klein, DVM, MS, Medical Director at The Raptor Center and Wildlife Veterinarian, to learn more about what turned out to be poisoning and how the eagles are faring now. One has fully recovered and been released back to the wild!

Q:  Can you please tell us what happened around the recent news about the poisoning of bald eagles in the area?

A:  At the start of December, The Raptor Center responded to nearly a dozen critically ill bald eagles found suffering from probable poisoning from pentobarbital. Pentobarbital is a drug that is found in euthanasia solution and eagles can get poisoned by this drug if they feed on the bodies of animals that have been euthanized with it. All of these birds were found in the same location next to a landfill, where it was confirmed that there were euthanized animals in the landfill that the eagles could have had access to. Of the 11 eagles that were rescued, one bird was also infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza and sadly did not survive. The remaining 10 were treated in intensive care for the suspected pentobarbital poisoning, as well as other poisonings or injuries found on exam including lead poisoning and injuries to their feet. We are excited to report that all 10 eagles survived the initial poisoning event, and one bird has even been released back to the wild (watch video of the release). We are hopeful that the remaining nine in our care will continue to recover and will once again fly free in the next month or two. As Bald Eagles are a federally protected species, this suspected poisoning incident is under active investigation by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

One of the eagles brought in for care.

These are the 10 eagles that survived the suspected pentobarbital poisoning, thanks to care at The Raptor Center. Some eagles have colored nontoxic stickers on their beaks to help with patient identification when they are housed with others. 

Q:  Do eagles typically eat items found within a certain range of their nests? 

A:  During the month of December in Minnesota when this poisoning occurred, eagles are not paired up to breed or sitting on nests and will often leave their nesting territories to look for food over a range of locations. Once breeding season starts, they often hunt or scavenge much closer to their nest sites.

Q:  What does rehab look like for the eagle patients? 

A:  Rehabilitation is a two-step process at The Raptor Center. Our specialized veterinary and rehab team first work to heal all of the medical issues in the patients - this includes giving intensive supportive care to the poisoned birds as many came in non-responsive - unable to sit up or stand on their own. They needed fluid therapy to help their bodies process the toxins, nutritional and vitamin support, nursing care, and antibiotics to treat the aspiration pneumonia that resulted from the birds being unable to protect their airways when they were sick. Additionally, a number were also experiencing lead poisoning, a poison that we sadly see in 80-90% of eagles that come into our center, and needed intensive treatment to help the birds bind and secrete the lead from their bodies. Finally, many birds also had additional physical injuries that might or might not have been related to the poisoning event. 

Once the birds have recovered from their medical problems and are determined to be healthy, they move to the second step of their recovery process and receive a test flight by our veterinarian technicians to ensure that they are strong and can fly well enough for release. If needed, they will enter a flight strengthening program where they build back the muscle and stamina needed to survive and thrive in the wild during a number of exercise flights by our flight crew volunteers. Once we determine they are strong, healthy, and have good flight, they are released back to the wild in neutral territory along one of the riverways in our area.

Q:  How can we support your efforts?  

A:  The Raptor Center’s specialized hospital for ill and injured raptors runs almost 100% on donations from the community. Because of the support of the public, we are able to treat over 1,000 sick eagles, hawks, owls, falcons, and vultures a year and give them a second chance at life. To help support birds like these eagles, please visit z.umn.edu/raptorgive and join our team to help protect birds and the world we all share.

Additionally, this incident shows the importance of recognizing that we as humans play a huge role in what goes into our ecosystem and chemicals or contaminants that we put out into the environment can have unintended consequences in our wild animals. Sadly, we see hundreds of poisonings every year ranging from lead poisoning to unintentional poisoning from rat bait, and from other drugs like pentobarbital in this case. These are all 100% preventable and we as humans have the power to help take actions to protect not just raptors, but the world we all share.

Please follow our news on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Dry January? Try These Non-Alcohol Beers from FINNEGANS

If your New Year's resolution pledge is to give up drinking alcohol for the month of January, that doesn’t mean giving up going out or having fun. FINNEGANS has three Non-Alcohol Hairless Dog beers for you to enjoy. Unlike many non-alcoholic beers, Hairless Dog is the first truly 0.0% craft beer in the U.S. Not a drop of alcohol has been produced during the making process, which is unique.

The Citra Lager and IPA are on tap in FINNEGANS' Taproom. Additionally, Hairless Dog is found in many retail outlets - consult the Beer Finder to locate one nearest to you. If you are new to the brand, FINNEGANS is also offering 25 store samplings across the metro area so you can try before you buy.

Magical Monochrome Morning With a Touch of Maroon and Gold

Thank you to Susan Schaefer for sharing this frosty photo overlooking the Mississippi River, taken December 31, 2022.

Small Business Spotlight: Trutech Wildlife Service

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Russell DepeuHome or business owners in Minneapolis may at some point experience animal pests in their structures. If that happens, it's best to not ignore the situation. Trutech Wildlife Service can remove the animals humanely and guarantee your peace of mind. We spoke to Russell Depeu, District Manager for Minneapolis, about common wildlife nuisances in our area and the services his company offers. Give them a call at 612-429-1110 to discuss your animal issues.

Q:  What services do Trutech Wildlife Services provide?

A:  Trutech offers humane wildlife removal and control for both residential and commercial customers. Our services include safe animal trapping and removal, remediation to clean up the mess left from the animals, and exclusion repairs to keep the animal from returning. I’m repeating myself, but I want to stress that we use humane wildlife handling techniques that go the extra mile to protect wild animals.

Q:  What makes the Minneapolis area such a good market for wildlife removal services?

A:  Minneapolis is one of the most populous cities in the U.S. One of the reasons people like to live here is the readily available access to the outdoors year-round. Minneapolis has over two hundred parks and an extensive biking infrastructure to access them. Located in the Eastern Broadleaf Forest, the area is full of deciduous trees and glacial lakes. Animals like raccoons, foxes, rabbits, squirrels, opossums, snakes, etc., also live in this area. Wildlife will enter homes and businesses through chimneys, roof vents, gaps, cracks, holes in shingles or siding or natural openings like doors and windows. The Twin Cities have cold, snowy winters and warm, humid summers – animals see your homes as a sanctuary from harsh weather conditions.

Q:  Trutech is in your company name - what technologies do you use in removing wildlife from homes?

A:  We use many innovative methods to remove wildlife from homes, starting with proper inspections on your whole house, up-to-date trapping, tentative timing, and special tools that allow us access to all heights on your roof.

A juvenile raccoon next to an excluder valve. A raccoon can get out, but the trap prevents them from returning.

Q:   What's the most unusual animal your team has removed from a Minneapolis home?

A:  We usually find squirrels, raccoons, and bats in attics. This year we have had several calls for nuisance foxes, and one squirrel managed to find its way into someone’s living room! A dear customer of mine had a fox burrowing under her house decking area as well as getting inside her attic. After thorough inspection from my wildlife specialist, we quickly discovered a whole family of foxes. We work closely with the Minneapolis Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. After we used various non-harming and humane trapping methods that were comfortable to the animal, they were all safely relocated to their natural habitat. After safely removing the family of foxes from the home, we were able to comfort the homeowner by ensuring that foxes would not re-enter her home by not only giving her a full year warranty but by completely repairing/sealing all around her decking as well as sealing all potential entry points accessed via the roof. The faces on the baby foxes face once they were warm and in proper shelter was priceless!

Q:  Do you offer warranties on your work?

A:  Yes, with Trutech, your satisfaction is guaranteed. Trutech technicians take great pride in providing quality workmanship to solve your wildlife needs. If you are not completely satisfied, we move to fix the issue at no additional charge, or offer a full refund.

Q:  How may we follow your news?

A:  You can follow our blog to learn more about wildlife. Our Instagram and YouTube channel shares photos and videos from the field. You can also follow our company’s news on Linkedin.