Morning – In The Community

LIVE: Long-Term Care Center Task Force

The coronavirus ravaged the centers. Now loneliness is doing its part.

North Dakota task force leaders are looking for your help crafting a strategy to help families get back together with their loved ones in long-term care facilities across the state. Nursing homes and other facilities across the country have been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. That prompted Governor Doug Burgum to close long-term care facilities off to visitors on April…

Social Distancing: A Big Birthday Gesture

A Grandma Gets A Loving Birthday Tribute From A Safe Social Distance

  There are some silver linings to this pandemic. It’s a lot harder to get together in person for things like birthdays, but that means we’re getting to see fun displays that let everyone around know there’s a reason to celebrate. One of my neighbors turned 87 on Monday. Her name is Dorothy and she is just the the sweetest….

Demonstrators Hold Funeral Procession For Local Restaurants In MN

Part Of Restaurant Rally To Reopen In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, MINN. – Demonstrators in Alexandria are mourning the death of local restaurants if they’re not allowed to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re mourning quite literally with a funeral procession, complete with a hearse. Copper Trail Brewing Company in Alexandria shared video on Facebook of what they call the Restaurant Rally to Reopen. The brewery says just about every…

Social Distancing: Remembering What We Have

Plus, A New Memorial Tradition May Have Started

  We took time to honor our military service members who gave their lives serving this country this week. Things looked different because of the pandemic. In-person memorial services were cancelled or cut way back, but with the change we could see the birth of a new tradition to honor those service members this morning. Peter Thiel is a band…

LIVE: Senior Volunteer and Companion Program

Staying home is keeping them safe from the virus. It's also putting them at risk for depression and loneliness.

As we spend this Memorial Day with our family members, thanking our lucky stars we’ve made it through lockdown and into the first big holiday since the coronavirus struck, you might not realize not everyone in our community is seeing much change. Those are some of our seniors, who are in the highest-risk categories and who often don’t have family…

Social Distancing: The Big Flower Fight

Watching A Floral Design Show With A Florist Is Entertaining

  This long weekend is a good chance to catch up on some shows. Even if you’ve already went though your queue, streaming services aren’t out of new stuff to drop. Which brings me to what I did most of the weekend. Netflix dropped a new floral design competition show called “The Big Flower Fight” last week. Teams of amateur…

Social Distancing In The Great Outdoors

Tips On How To Stay Safe As People Flock To Outdoor Spaces After Months Of Social Distancing

  People who have been cooped up inside social distancing might be itching to get out during the long weekend. But if you’re heading for the great outdoors, you still have to pay attention to social distancing. The USDA Forest Service says they expect a lot of people to head to outdoor spaces. If you do, there are some tips…

LIVE: Socially-Distant CPR and First Aid Training

You can still get training, and now that summer's starting, it's time you did.

It’s the unofficial weekend that kicks off the summer season, and a lot of people are going to hightail it for the lakes and prairies of the region to get away for the first time since lockdown ended nationwide. But when you’re heading out to remote areas, it’s always better to take some freshly-sharpened lifesaving skills with you — for…

Social Distancing: Watch Where You Order Delivery From

Plus, A High School Mascot Throwdown

  If you’re social distancing and want to avoid crowds at restaurants, ordering food seems like a good way to go. But be careful who your order from. They may not be who they seem. A couple big restaurant chains are selling food on delivery apps under different names. In some places, if your order “Pasqually’s Pizza”, you’re actually getting…

Social Distancing: Balancing Life When You’re Working From Home

Tips On Keeping Your Work And Home Lives Separate If You Work From Home During COVID-19

  It can be a challenge keeping your job stress from coming home with you if you’re working at home due to COVID-19. Counselor Rachel Blumhardt with The Village Family Service Center says it’s important to make clear lines between work life and home life when you’re working from home. She recommends people set up home offices separate from their…