County Health and Frazee-Vergas school to provide check-ups

By Robert Williams

Editor

Becker County Commissioner David Meyer gave an update on the future Heartland Trail continuation from the Becker County Highway 10 bridge to Frazee. Bids will be opened for the project in December with hopes for construction to begin next spring. The work was discussed at the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Community Health

The Frazee-Vergas School and Becker County Community Health entered into agreement for Becker County Community Health to provide Child nd Teen Check-Ups, specifically for children ages 3-6 at a rate of $70 per child that is not active on Medical Assistance.

Required paperwork will be given to Frazee-Vergas schools as check-ups are completed.

The school will send letters to the parents informing them their child/children’s Child and Teen Check-Up is due and the parent should contact Becker County Community Health to schedule.

Trafficking

For the past few years, Kelly Thelen has been creating public awareness of the issue of people who are convicted of possessing, distributing and producing child sexual abuse materials receiving extremely weak sentences. 

“Which does nothing to protect victims and prevent future victims of these heinous crimes,” Thelen said. 

According to Thelen, 90 percent of those convicted get little to no jail time and that probation does nothing to stop them from creating more victims.

Thelen encouraged the commissioners to join other Northland counties in adding this issue to legislative priorities. 

“This issue is inextricably linked to the sex trafficking industry,” she said. “Child sexual abuse materials are fuel for the traffickers to groom, abuse and desensitize their victims.”

Thelen also brought up a bill that will be introduced during the 2025 legislative session, by Rep. Krista Knutsen (HF 432) that has had bipartisan support in the past few years, but has been blocked by key opponents.

“Their main objections have been that they don’t want a mandatory minimum sentence, even for the worst of the worst offenders and that it would increase incarceration costs,” Thelen said. “Their objections ring hollow when you look into the face of a little child that’s been raped and tortured on camera for all the world to see and their lives literally shattered. The ripple effect of these crimes is widespread from the mental health of the law enforcement that rescues the victims and investigates these crimes to the current and future families of these children.”

Child sexual abuse has been reported in every Minnesota county, however, Becker County has not had any reported in the last four years, according to statistics provided by Thelen.

She also asked the board to support private organizations willing to provide services to victims to take pressure off the county services and save taxpayer money.

Comprehensive Plan

Biologist Willis Mattson speaking on behalf of the Isak Walton League, thanked the board for accepting public input on the upcoming comprehensive plan and reiterated the League’s stance on creating policy and procedures in regards, specifically, to wake boats. Mattson also complimented the board on revisions advancing shoreland development to de-emphasize further development of lakeshore property in order to protect the quality of life and lakes.

An issue Mattson believes needs to be addressed is how to deal with industrial agriculture. 

“The mapping is going to be critical to support the comp plan,” he said. “We’re hoping that there will be a definition of the sizes of operations that are allowed in each of the categories Ag 1 and Ag 2 to make that clear and the map reflects the area where those will be approved or not.”

The League would like to be involved in the development of the map and the criteria for deciding where those large ag facilities will or will not be allowed.