Diabetes Support Group meets monthly in Longfellow

Living with diabetes can be discouraging, but a support group can provide an encouraging community

The Longfellow Support Group is led by four women: (left to right) Bev Young, Anita Martinez, Mary Ann Crolley and Carol Engelhart. It meets monthly at the Hiawatha School Park building from 6:30 to 8 p.m. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

 

by Tesha M. Christensen

Living with diabetes can be very discouraging, according to Longfellow resident Mary Ellen Crolley. She should know. She’s had type 1 diabetes for 37 years. For the last three, she’s had an insulin pump and continuous blood glucose monitor.

“To stay healthy with this disease requires more effort than most diseases, more self-care,” Crolley explained. “It's hard work, and you have to keep it up year after year, so it's easy to get discouraged.”

Three and a half years ago, Crolley began helping co-lead a Diabetes Support Group that meets on the second Wednesday of each month at Hiawatha School Park from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

“It's helpful to share encouragement with taking care of diabetes,” observed Crolley. 

“We encourage each other to exercise and eat healthy. Also, it's good to see the same people every month; it feels like community.”

Crolley was asked to help lead the group by Carol Engelhart, a certified diabetes nurse specialist who works at Health Partners – Riverside. “I started the group with Mary Ann Crolley, Anita Martinez and Bev Young because I saw a need for a continual monthly support group in the South Minneapolis neighborhood,” explained Engelhart. “I am passionate about people getting the help they need to stay healthy with diabetes.”

She added, “I asked people who have had leadership experience in community groups, teaching community education classes, church or their work to be co-leaders. A support group does not work well unless there is a core group of leaders who have the disease assisting in leading it. It also really helps to have a diabetes expert.”

WHAT A MEETING LOOKS LIKE

The group is for those with diabetes and also for their loved ones. Attendees range from pre-diabetes, gestational diabetes, types 1 and 2.

Each meeting starts with a check-in time that includes both an introduction and something of interest. “Attendees can share what is going well or not going well in their daily lives with diabetes in a confidential group experience,” said Engelhart.

She stressed, “Everybody’s journey is their own.”

During check-in time in July, she reminded attendees to listen and accept each other’s stories. “We are all listening to each other. We are all there for each other,” Engelhart remarked.

The group frequently has professional guest speakers, including a dietician and an endocrinologist. Currently, Engelhart, a diabetes nurse specialist, is in the middle of a two-part educational series on “Juggling It All.” The July meeting focused on “How Your Body Metabolism” works normally and how it works with diabetes. It included information on the body, food, monitoring targets, and more.

The second meeting on Aug. 13 will include information on the latest medications, the standard medications, an emergency plan and a circle of support to stay healthy. 

Other topics at meetings have included:

-        How do you eat or pack a healthy lunch?

-        What would you do to treat a low blood sugar?

Anybody can suggest or request topics.

“The educational meetings are top-notch,” stated Crolley. “I recently learned from an endocrinologist why some foods raise my blood sugars more than expected.”

 “We have speakers and Q&A time, and we have time to talk amongst ourselves,” observed Anita Martinez. “Often we divide up into smaller discussions groups according to how we treat our diabetes; for example, a small group using insulin pumps or insulin injections, one using various oral medications, and one focused on diet/exercise.”

When her blood sugar is high, Trisha VanErt’s 18-month-old Black Labrador Faith alerts her by nuzzling her chest. It’s one of the ways VanErt is managing her diabetes. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

INSPIRATIONAL AND HELPFUL

Martinez was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 38 years ago. When the group began, she lived in the Minnehaha neighborhood of Nokomis East. 

“It helps me to know that there are others facing the same and similar challenges as I am. It's interesting and inspiring to hear how others handle things,” Martinez observed.

TOWARDS GREATER HEALTH

 “It takes commitment and usually support of others to stay on track with a healthy lifestyle for diabetes,” said Engelhart.

According to Engelhart, a healthy lifestyle includes choosing activities that decrease stress, such as yoga, reading, and quiet music. Daily movement such as walking, swimming, biking, chair exercises, and gym classes are also important. There are free or low-cost senior classes available through Longfellow Seniors, Nokomis Seniors and the Minneapolis Community Education Department. One of the most important lifestyle choices you can make for healthy living with diabetes is eating natural, healthy foods from the farmers market and the grocery produce aisle, she pointed out. Portion control is critical. Avoiding regular pop with high fructose corn syrup, baked goods, deep fat fried foods, candy and chips is equally important.  

“What is truly contributing to diabetes today is high fructose corn syrup,” said Engelhart. For many years, people thought that low-fat diets were the answer, but then everyone ate too many carbohydrates and put on weight. “Weight is the issue,” said Engelhart. That makes the amount a person eats very important.

She pointed out that if a diabetic ate a controlled diet, their own body might be able to handle the sugar they take in and they might not need as much medication.

Regular meals are important, a way to avoid the “glucoaster,” as Martinez labeled it.

Engelhart pointed out that there are two common symptoms of undiagnosed diabetes: thirst and lack of energy.

“We are here for you if you have diabetes and want help to live healthy!” said Engelhart.

To learn more, contact sponsor Longfellow Healthy Seniors at 612-729-5799 or email carolengelhart@gmail.com.

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TIPS FOR DIABETICS

• Carol Engelhart: Juggling it all is hard on your own. Find the help you need to live a life in healthy balance of exercising, health eating, and reducing your stress in addition to the help from your medical clinic.

• Anita Martinez: Keep on trying to do the best you can. If you think you are too much or too many carbs, just try again at the next meal. Move as much as possible throughout the day, and remember that house and yard chores and playing with the kids count as exercise, too. During any and all holidays, remember that it's a holiDAY, not a holiWEEK or a holiMONTH!!!

• Mary Ellen Crolley: Find a way to exercise that you enjoy. Find a buddy to go on walks with, or bike or swim, or take a movement class, or try a competitive sport. It doesn't matter what, it matters that you do something to get your heart rate up.  Scary movies don't count.

Urban CSA in Standish provides neighborhood with locally-grown food

Urban farm movement growing in Twin Cities

by Tesha M. Christensen

The number of urban farms is rapidly growing. Corinne Bruning, who runs an urban farm with her partner Justin Wells at the corner of Standish Ave. and 38^th St., estimates that there are between 15-20 urban farms in the Twin Cities area.

“I think a lot of people look at vacant space in the city and say there could be something beautiful and abundant in this space,” Bruning said.

The size of these urban farms runs the gamut, from people providing shares to two friends to those who have lots of space and sell to 60 people.

With the economic downtown, Bruning saw a growing movement of young people who decided to re-school and learn about farming. “A lot of us have a pretty large disconnect with food,” said the 30-year-old. “The local food movement is all about reconnecting with food and growing food for survival. I think that people don’t want to be so distant from that anymore.”

People want to know what’s in their food, as well. When they buy a jar of strawberries in the grocery store, they want it to be just strawberries without additives. To get that much control over their food, people are growing and canning their own, pointed out Bruning. “I know everything that comes into my body,” said Bruning.

It’s a marked change from her parent’s generation. With the rise in supermarkets, the generation ahead of her decided it was easier to shop for food than to grow it, Bruning observed. They had been forced to work the farms of their parents, and they decided they didn’t want that anymore.

Bruning experienced that disconnect with her food until her family moved back to South Dakota when her dad retired from the military.  Up until then, they had moved around too much to plant a garden. However, she did plant her first seeds – morning glories – while they lived in Japan. In eighth grade, she became close to her grandma, a woman who had grown up on a farm, slaughtered her own animals, and always had a garden.

“When I moved to the Midwest, everyone had rhubarb in their yard. It was a whole new thing,” stated Bruning.

A NEIGHBORHOOD FARM

Brunings, who has a background in community organizing, and Wells, who has a background in the restaurant industry, began Jack Dog Farms last year on land they lease from acupuncturist Sabrina Miller. In 2013, Jack Dog Farms provided 12 CSA shares. This year, it doubled to 24. More than 70% of the shares go to people who live in the area. In 2015, they hope to add two dropsites, one in St. Paul and another in Apple Valley.

Last year, they built a fence with a trellis around the edges of the yard, and worked to enrich the soil by adding 2 inches of compost across the entire ¼-acre lot. They continue to dig up a lot of garbage from the time the land was vacant – the primary source of pollution they deal with. Near the road, they grow sunflowers because they help to pull up heavy metals from the soil. In other areas of the yard, they have comfrey plants, a dynamic nutrient accumulator the cut down and till in because it helps enrich the soil. They filter the water they use, although this year they’ve been able to rely mostly on rainwater.

Bruning envisions a wall of raspberries along the road that neighbors can help themselves to. This year, they also plan to plant boulevard gardens to attract more pollinators.

Everyone who walks by their farm comments on the garden. “That’s really motivating,” said Bruning. “We really want to be a neighborhood farm,” she said.

RURAL VS. URBAN FARMING

Last year, Bruning and Wells earned the Urban Farming Certification from the Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate, a non-profit organization in Minneapolis. They were linked with a mentor, Courtney Tchida, who runs the Cornocopia Student Organic Farm at the University of Minnesota. “She helped us figure out our planting plan to have X amount of veggies by a certain week so that we would be able to provide for our CSA,” said Bruning.

Jack Dog Farms isn’t able to become organically certified because so much of their land is too close to the road. Bruning doesn’t want to see organic certification going down in quality, but she does think it’s not keeping in line with the urban farming movement. “What can we do differently so that we can organically certify urban spaces?” she asked. Until things change, they make sure they are as transparent as possible.

Urban farmers are more concerned about space than rural farmers, and because of that, Jack Dog Farms uses intensive spacing when they plant. There is a lot of interplay between different plants that are growing together. They don’t plant in straight lines or rectangles, either, but instead use curvilinear lines, which makes the garden more pleasing to look at and provides them with more space.

“Eventually we want to do some community art on the space to beautify it for ourselves and the neighborhood,” Bruning said.

EXPANSION

This year, they expanded at a second location in Prior Lake, leasing ¾ of an acre from their permaculture instructor. The land came with a hoop house that they used for most of their tomato plants this year. “We’re trying to see what it’s like,” said Bruning. “They’re huge and have tons of tomatoes on them already.”

Bruning and Wells hope to find more land to expand to in south Minneapolis, in part because they live in the Powderhorn neighborhood and appreciate being able to bike to the farm. While some people have offered their yards, they’ve found that most yards simply don’t have enough sunshine because of the number of trees in Minneapolis. Instead, they’re hoping to partner with a larger property owner, such as Standish Greens, and convert lawn to garden to create growing space for food for the community.

“This is a lot prettier than a swath of grass,” said Bruning.

Last month, Jack Dog Farms hosted a lacto-fermention skillshare. Bruning noted that they plan to continue offering informational classes like this. Check their web site (jackdogfarms.com) or their Facebook page for upcoming events. In August, they hope to open a farm stand on 38^th St.

In the long-term, Bruning dreams of living in an intentional community, a place where they grow enough food to feed those who live there, as well as visitors. She wants to homestead and be self-sufficient. She envisions hosting retreats and weddings.

“We want to be rural eventually,” said Bruning. “We’re hoping to connect with more people who are interested in doing that and bringing in more partners.”

Longfellow man missing

Community gathers to support family

by Tesha M. Christensen

The Longfellow community has rallied around the family of a missing Longfellow resident.

On Sunday, June 6, a vigil was held at Wabun for the family of Josef Zurnieden, 42, who was last seen by his family at 6 a.m. on July 1. His wife, who typically talks to him multiple times a day, last spoke with him two hours later.

His white van was found on July 3 in the area of 26th Avenue and Marshall Street in Northeast Minneapolis. His wife, Katy, is worried that he may have fallen into the river. Katy told Fox News that her husband takes walks in beautiful spots to clear his mind.

She also said that his disappearance is very out of character. In 13 years, he’s never missed dinner.

On Tuesday, July 8, community members gathered near the river to search. The search is also being treated as a possible recovery effort, but police do not suspect foul play. Groups of 6-10 people searched on both sides of the Mississippi River from Marshal Terrace Park at 27^th Ave. down to the Stone Arch Bridge. They were instructed to wear pants, long sleeves and sturdy footwear, and to bring along rope and life jackets. Bug repellant and water were provided by organizers.

“The Zurnieden family needs your help to bring Josef home! Thank you for the support, prayers, words of strength and comfort that you have provided to Katy, Grace and Veronica Zurnieden,” wrote Ruediger Held in a post on E-democracy.org.

Zurnieden is 6 feet tall, weighs 165 pounds and has dark receding hair. He has a rose tattoo on his arm.

Anyone with any information about this case is asked to send a text to 847 411 (tip 411), enter MPD and the tip or call the tipline at 612-692-TIPS (8477). All texts are anonymous.

Printed in the August 2014 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.

Behind the scenes with Powderhorn Art Fair organizer Dixie Treichel

Read full post: http://blog.redcurrent.com/2014/07/31/behind-the-scenes-with-powderhorn-art-fair-organizer-dixie-treichel/

Black Bear calls it quits at Como Pavilion

District Court rules that it was the city -- not Black Bear -- that breached agreement

by Tesha M. Christensen

Black Bear Crossings on the Lake at the Como Pavilion won the legal dispute between the restaurant and the city of St. Paul, but they’ve decided to close at the end of 2014 anyway.

Citing a breach of the management agreement, last fall St. Paul decided not to renew its contract with Black Bear Crossings. On May 15, 2014, the district court in Ramsey County ruled that it was the city that had breached the management agreement with Black Bear Crossings by denying Black Bear’s request for an extension to continue operating through 2018.

The court also ruled that the city “is liable to [Black Bear] for any money damages caused by its breach of the agreement.” Citing the “bitter dispute” over the city’s breach of the agreement, however, the court did not require the parties to continue doing business together.

The court found that the terms of the agreement were “clear and unambiguous” and that the city had “failed to come forward with evidence” that would justify its refusal to extend the agreement. In a previous ruling, the court found that statements the city made to the local media about Black Bear caused “irreparable harm” to Black Bear’s business.

Specifically, the city had alleged that Black Bear paid its rent late for the past four years; did not provide the city with three bids for each project it undertook; and submitted receipts two years late. Additionally, the city had said that Black Bear did not submit its financial records to the city for review in a timely manner. The city requested the records on May 15, 2013 and expected them within 15 days. They were provided in August 2013.

The city had also pointed out that there are almost 4.4 million visitors at Como each year, and expressed concern that the cafe had not shown the level of sales that would be expected from a successful establishment in that location.

Pamela and David Glass (a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe) opened Black Bear Crossings in 1997 and moved to the Como Pavilion in 2000. During the Glasses’ tenure, a patio was built on the lakeside of the pavilion, and two perennial gardens created. A concession stand was added on the lower lever of the pavilion, and the cafe also handles paddleboats and canoe rentals.

 “For 17 years, Pam and I poured our heart and soul into Black Bear to make it a destination for the community worthy of Como Park’s rich heritage. We received countless awards and accolades for our service and now a court of law also recognized our contributions,” said David Glass.

“The Glasses will pursue damage claims against the city to compensate them for the irreparable harm that the city caused to their business both in breaching the contract and making erroneous statements to the media that their breach was justified, which a court has now found to be without merit,” said Black Bear’s lawyer Jan Conlin of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.

City Park and Recreation staff opted not to comment on this issue, citing the city’s policy of not commenting on pending litigation due to legal constraints.

MOVING FORWARD

Events can still be booked with Black Bear Crossings through the end of 2014; however, no new bookings will be accepted for dates after Jan. 4, 2015. All event already booked for 2015 or 2016 will continue to be honored by the city (and the new partner). Customers may also elect to cancel their event and request a full refund.

Over the next several months, the city will complete a competitive selection process for finding a new vendor for the management of the Pavilion. In June, the city collected feedback and ideas via an online survey. Browse http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?nid=1146 to stay informed.