Benton County Public Health wins $800,000 state grant, accepts Medica funding and plans outreach events

Benton County Public Health announced an $800,000 award from the Minnesota Department of Health and received board approval to accept the funds and move forward with planning.

The board approved initial acceptance of Minnesota Public Health State Infrastructure Funding totaling $800,000 to be used over two years ($400,000 per year) to support a regional community health assessment and community health improvement planning process within the Central Minnesota Alliance, county health staff said.

“I'm happy to report that we were selected. They approved our grant application, and awarded us an amount of $800,000 to use over the next 2 years,” a county public health staff member said during the meeting. Staff said the funds are intended to fund a regional data analyst and a regional program manager to manage the community health assessment and planning work.

Separately, the community health board accepted an additional $3,215 awarded through a Medica community grant the department had applied for in 2024. County public health staff described planned uses for the Medica funds, including continued outreach with Somali families on childhood vaccine conversations, additional community conversations about child development, and pilot dental events in partnership with Children’s Dental Services.

County staff also received board approval to submit an application for Medica’s Early Childhood Health Grant, which has a maximum award of $100,000. Staff said that if awarded, the county would use those funds to expand dental access and other early childhood health initiatives in rural areas; the application deadline noted by staff is April 4, with award notices in late June and final approvals by late September.

Public health staff described a second annual Foley Community Connect Expo planned for March 22 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Foley High School gym. The event will include health-plan representatives, mental-health resources, vision and blood-pressure checks, free children’s shoes, meal bags distributed by Brainerd Lakes Outreach Program, personal hygiene kits, and walk‑in children’s dental appointments provided by Children’s Dental Services. Staff said last year’s attendance was 219 and the county expects about 300 attendees this year with roughly 60 vendors signed up.

The health board approved all items by voice vote. Staff said they will return with a contract and staffing plan for the state infrastructure funding once the state issues a contract; the county also plans a sustainability discussion about how the positions would be funded after the two-year grant period.

County staff noted the public‑private nature of some grant funds and said they will follow up with additional details on Medica’s funding sources if requested by commissioners.