Cover photo of city category winner, Rochester Public Library BookBike program, from University of Minnesota website
By MCKAYL BARROWS/Murphy News Service
Local governments that are making a positive impact on their communities through innovation and exemplary service were recognized Thursday during the University of Minnesota Local Government Innovation Award ceremony.
“Minnesota clearly has urgent public needs. New ideas are needed to respond to these needs,” said Jay Kiedrowski, judging chair and senior fellow in the Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
The Humphrey School of Public Affairs, in partnership with the Bush Foundation, presented awards for local innovation projects in four categories: Minnesota cities, counties, schools and towns.
More than 80 applications were reviewed and six winners were selected for each category. Out of the top six innovations, an overall winner was chosen in each category and was presented with a video highlighting their innovation and a $5,000 check from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Overall category winners included:
- City, Rochester Public Library BookBike;
- County, Wright Country wRight Choice;
- School, Intermediate District 287 Plymouth, Minnesota Partnership for Collaborative Curriculum;
- Town, Pine Island Township, Pine Island Community Planning Team.
“Local government employees work harder every day to ensure that we have the public services we need like policing, good student education, road maintenance, fair elections, public health, water treatment, quality parks and on and on, ” Kiedrowski said, “It’s hard to think of a day that goes by without some local government service touching our lives”.
“The work [local government entities] are doing, seen and unseen, makes our communities stronger,” said Duchesne Drew, community network vice president for the Bush Foundation.
Reporter McKayl Barrows is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota