Meet Leo Leo grew up on a dairy farm in Sartell with his five brothers and three sisters. Going to country school until 8th grade, he jokes that one day he walked in the front door and out the back. He loved everything about farm life; even picking rocks. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and playing softball with the neighbors. He

Meet Chyrel Chyrel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. She grew up near Como Lake and Zoo where her dad owned a trucking company and her mom stayed at home to tend to the children and the house. The youngest of four, Chyrel liked to play outside with her sisters and brother and the neighbor kids. After graduating from high

Meet Marlys – Marlys grew up on a farm in Menomonie, Wisconsin with one brother and one sister. She helped with the crops, driving horses and with housework…really, a little bit of everything. She attended a one room school house up to the 8th grade. She then went to Menomonie High School. While in school she worked at the bakery

Meet Muriel. Muriel is a delightful lady with a constant smile on her face. She can be heard singing a joyful tune while walking through the halls. Born in the small town of Ormsby, Minnesota, Muriel was the youngest of four children. Being the only girl, her dad liked to take her along to grain conventions in the Twin Cities

Over the past 7 years I’ve continually informed you of the Legislature’s failure to provide adequate reimbursement for Older Adult Services in Minnesota.  In the last Legislative Session that all changed. As part of bold reform package, the Legislature passed a new cost-based reimbursement system finally removing the antiquated COLA approach to paying for services in the Nursing Home.  The

Meet Kathleen – Kathleen was born in Alexandria and grew up in the Belgrade area. There were three boys and two girls in her family. After graduating from high school, she attended college in Marshall. In 1974 she got married. They settled in Villard, where she started her career in retail sales. Kathleen worked for Ben Franklin and also did

Meet Jerry & Sandra Heflin We’d like to introduce you to two of the nicest people you will ever meet. Their story is one of love, patience, perseverance and a couple miracles thrown in for good measure. Jerry was born in Avoca, Iowa. Through a terrible tragedy he lost his parents at the young age of 6. Thankfully, he was adopted

Erma was born in Minneapolis in 1918. After she graduated she worked for many years as a secretary for her father who owned an insurance agency. She met her husband who was a truck driver and together they had four children. She quit working long enough to have kids and then continued working for her dad until she was 58.

Joan has been a seamstress most of her life. She started out at a bridal shop in St. Paul doing alterations on wedding gowns and later continued sewing out of her home. She really enjoyed getting to know the brides and hearing all of their stories. Her favorite was of a bride named June, who got married in June and

After receiving a four year degree as a paralegal, LaDawn found that her career choice wasn’t as fulfilling as she’d imagined. Her job tasks lacked the need for really helping people that she craved. When reflecting upon her childhood, she recalled pretending to be a nurse, so she chose to switch professions and nursing has been a natural fit. Helping