Northwest elects O.J. Peyton 2006-07 president

MnSF-Northwest Region met at Warren Senior Center July 21. Present were Winton and Claudette Forsberg, Myra Nesland, Doris Dahle, Ed and Judith Johnson, O.J. Peyton and Joye Olson. The meeting was called to order by Winton Forsberg, president. The secretary’s report was read by Olson. Johnson made the motion to accept the  $1 raise for per person membership dues making a single person $12 and a couple $24. The motion was seconded by Olson and carried.

We have 149 members as of July 1.

Raffle tickets have been mailed and Christmas ads are now ready for mailing.

Northwest changed its telephone service to Qwest and will receive a half-price special for six months.

Our next meeting will be the Annual Convention in April 2007.

New officers for 2006-07 are:

president - O.J. Peyton (Warren);
vice president - Judith Johnson (Middle River);
secretary - Joye Olson (Warren); and 
treasurer - Winton Forsberg (Thief River Falls).

Special thanks to Helen Wysoski for the many years she helped us. She will be stepping down due to illness.

Joye Olson, secretary

Heartland Region explores Metro Strategic Plan

MnSF Heartland board and area reps meet monthly in the conference room at the Brainerd Senior Center. We have been busy studying the Metro Strategic Plan, realizing that the Minnesota Senior Federation has spoken about carrying out a similar study.

Heartland is a member of Crow Wing County Council on Aging. This year we have taken an active role in the search for the Crow Wing County Senior of 2006. A program was held at the annual senior picnic and the winner announced. Crow Wing County has so many wonderful senior volunteers, it was not easy to select one.

At the county fair, the winner was honored again with a plaque and with cake and lemonade. Dorothy Louis, this year’s winner, will go to the State Fair to participate in state competition. Our hopes go with her.

We continue to benefit from the help of senior advocates Stan Wagner and Al Doty. They have spent hours, days and weeks helping seniors and others with Medicare Part D and other problems and issues. We’re hoping a state grant will enable Heartland to continue to have Stan and Al’s great help.

Eileen Iverson, president

North Star Region looking for Rx Express riders

Another month has come and gone. Trees are starting to turn and leaves are coming down. Can snowflakes be far behind?

It seems that many who signed up for Medicare Part D are now reaching the “donut hole” and paying more for medications. Many Federation members are now resorting back to getting drugs from Canada. Bus trips are still being made to Winnipeg. There are several of our members in our region who would like to make this trip. If you are interested in taking a bus trip to Canada to purchase medications, call me at 218/749-2912 (800/662-5711) ext. 202. The MnSF state office is trying to arrange for a bus out of Duluth or the Virginia area to accommodate your needs. For more information on our Canadian drug partners, call the office and I can try to help you.

Legislative Day is about to happen as we go to press - 75 invitations were sent to those who applied for candidacy in government positions. As of this date, we have only heard back from approximately 25 with 15 of those being affirmative. I look forward to reporting next month about the good turnout of members at the afternoon meeting.

Our September meeting will be in Pengilly with Swan Lake Golden Agers hosting. Try to join us and learn of the plans for the MnSF state convention.

Muriel Pehle, office manager

Buffalo Ridge to explore priority issues for three regions to work on together

The next meeting for Minnesota Valley, Midwest and Southwest regions will be the combined Buffalo Ridge Partners meeting Sept. 7 in Montevideo beginning at 10:30 a.m. We will discuss our budget, membership and issues.

The three regions making up the Buffalo Ridge Partners continue to work on priority issues such as health care, property taxes and locally, the issue of available transportation services. We are compiling a list of providers and costs to distribute to our members and the public. We will be setting goals as to who we need to talk to regarding expansion and continuation of services. This issue is a major problem in rural Minnesota. We can have all the medical services possible, but if people can’t get to the provider, the services could just as well be unavailable. There are a number of providers that have either scaled back their programs, or increased costs to a prohibitive amount. In the Morris area for example, a round trip from Morris to Fergus Falls would cost $104. This, along with the price of health care, makes most services unreachable. 

We will be gearing up for the sale of our Christmas ads. This is our major fundraising activity as well as a way for local business to say a special thank you to all Federation members and communities. We hope for another successful year. 

Remember, our membership has to increase, so ask a friend to join. We need all the participation we can get to improve quality of life for all citizens of minnesota.

Minnesota Valley, Midwest and Southwest region members