Kare11
Lawmakers push for bill requiring naloxone in Minnesota schools
Last year, the bill stalled due to partisan negotiations. This year, State Senator Kelly Morrison (DFL-Deephaven) is hopeful.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Colleen Ronnei of Chanhassen said her son Luke had a magnetic personality.
“Luke was a really gregarious, charming guy,” Ronnei said. “He was handsome and funny and he had a beautiful soul.”
Unfortunately, underneath his shining personality, Luke struggled with anxiety and depression. At age 17, he was prescribed painkillers when he had his wisdom teeth removed. Eventually, he became addicted.
“I still remember Luke saying to me, ‘Mom, you have no idea. You have no idea how many young people are struggling with this. If you knew… you would be absolutely blown away,'” Ronnei recalled.
In 2016, Luke died of an accidental overdose at home. Looking back at the painful loss of her son, Ronnei wonders if the outcome would have been different if she had known about Narcan, the opioid-reversal drug that can save a life during an overdose.
“When Luke died, we didn’t know what Narcan was. We had no information that it even existed. I think that was true and remains true for a lot of people.”
Now, through her nonprofit Change the Outcome, Ronnei visits Minnesota schools to educate students and staff about the opioid epidemic as well as preventative measures, sharing her personal story. Since 2018, she also has been working with Minnesota Sen. Kelly Morrison (DFL-Deephaven) on legislation that would require naloxone to be stored in Minnesota schools.
“Honestly, Colleen Ronnei was the first to bring this to my attention,” Sen. Morrison said.
Morrison said so far, there have been several iterations of the legislation. It was introduced and included in the education omnibus bill last session but stalled when negotiations broke down between the Republican-controlled Senate and Democrat-controlled House. Now that both chambers are controlled by one party, Morrison said she doesn’t anticipate partisan politics getting in the way.
“This really isn’t a partisan issue, but it got caught up in partisan politics,” she said. “Addiction and opioids… does not discriminate by party affiliation. This is something that impacts all Minnesotans, and so we’re actually feeling really optimistic that this is the year we can get this done.”
Meanwhile, Ronnei and Morrison say school districts like Bloomington are leading the way. Since 2016, the Bloomington school district has kept naloxone in its buildings. Now, there are two doses of Narcan in each AED box at the secondary and high schools and vials of intramuscular naloxone stored in health offices that nurses are trained to administer.
The district’s director of health services, Hannah Hatch, said Bloomington schools began storing naloxone not as a result of a problem within the district, but more as a preventative measure.
“For us, it was kind of a no-brainer,” Hatch said. “Because there was no harm by stocking it. We felt like it was something we could manage internally. We have registered nurses that would be able to administer, we have people who could train.”
While they’ve never had to use any of their doses, Hatch says their district has had some “close calls.”
“We’ve had a student that received it by emergency personnel,” she said, adding, “I think it gives our nurses ease knowing that there is something if an emergency like that arises. Every minute counts.”
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EDINA, Minn. — The Edina football team fell just a few yards short of winning the Minnesota State 6A Football Championship last season.
Coach Jason Potts and his team are off to a great start again this fall — and hoping to make it back to US Bank Stadium.
But at the end of the day, the Hornets said it’s the journey of one of their teammates that inspires them to keep moving forward.
“All of the doctors that I’ve had in the past doubted me a lot. It felt good to finally put on pads for the first time,” said Edina junior John Liddicoat.
Friday nights in the fall illuminate the beauty of a dream being achieved.
“I love the feeling of Friday night. Looking at the student section right before running out the tunnel, getting that adrenaline rush,” said Liddicoat.
For Liddicoat, Fridays at Kuhlman Stadium transform into a canvas of joy, inspiration and bravery.
“He’s one of the most brave guys that I’ve ever coached,” said Potts.
Pushing limits is something John has done since day one.
“John was diagnosed with Williams syndrome when he was 5 months old,” said Mary Liddicoat, John’s Mom.
“It was devastating. We were devastated. We’d never heard of the syndrome, and he was super little and it was super scary,” she added.
Williams syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that impacts many parts of the body, including cognitive delay, speech and motor skills.
“The day he was diagnosed, the geneticist said he’ll never ride a bike, and I think we both made a mental note: We’ll see,” said Liddicoat’s dad, also named John. “He can ride a bike; he didn’t learn at 3 like his brother, but he learned at 10 and he says it’s his mode of transportation now.”
John handled the handlebars… up next? A bigger challenge to tackle.
“It’s kind of a big dream of mine when I was younger to play football,” said John.
“More than any other sport, he’s always wanted to play football. Every year, when I would drive him to school, and the register for tackle football youth football signs would go up, and John would look at me in the car and say, ‘Mom, I want to play football!’ And I would say, ‘We’re not sure that’s a safe option for you,'” said Mary.
Safety concerns gave way to John’s bravery and a coach who refused to say “no” to a kid’s dream.
“One of my goals is to have access to a football program for everybody, and I didn’t want any excuses for someone to not play football, and that’s why I’m here at Edina, is to help young people chase their greatest potential,” said Potts.
“Putting on pads for the first time. Putting on a helmet for the first time. Just getting on the field, seeing my buddies, it was just a wow moment. Like, wow, I’m in pads and cleats, I’m playing football!” said John.
For the past three years, John has played football alongside his brothers, like QB Mason West.
“I’ve known him since probably first grade, and ever since, he’s just been a really smiley and happy dude. It’s honestly really fun to be around him. All of my friends love him, and it’s so good having him as part of this team,” said West.
“Just to have him on the field in the program is something special, and what he accomplishes, I don’t think he understands what he brings to the program,” said Potts.
John’s enthusiasm radiates along the sidelines every Friday night, starring in his role, encouraging teammates and coaches alike.
“You know, I might get down on myself and maybe I made a bad play call or geez, it’s raining — what do we do? And all of the sudden, you bump into John, and he just kind of flips you. And he does that to other players as well. When things get tough, it’s like you bump into John, and he’s there to lift you,” said Potts.
Lifting and inspiring others to achieve their dreams as well.
“I like to play for the other kids with disabilities that can’t do much. For me, I see kids with worse disabilities than mine, and I always feel like I need to show the world that not only can kids with disabilities do stuff, but they can play high-impact sports like football or wrestling or whatever sport they want to do,” said John.
MINNEAPOLIS — There’s a new hi-tech way for visitors to learn about downtown Minneapolis.
City officials on Wednesday cut the ribbon on new kiosks called “IKE.” They’re loaded with information so users can search for restaurants, small businesses, bathrooms and events in the area.
Unlike using a major search engine like Google, this is all tailored for Minneapolis.
“Each kiosk is going to organize based on proximity. So unlike traditional search engines that you might work with, you can’t pay for optimization. So when you select eat and drink here, the businesses in the immediate proximity end up being featured. And we hope that this functions as a way to help people discover those businesses that make Minneapolis truly unique,” said Jibran Shermohammed of IKE Smart City.
Five kiosks are live now, including one on Nicollet Mall and 20 will go live will go live by spring next year.
More than 100,000 travelers will fly out of MSP Wednesday and Thursday, but thousands more are planning a ‘staycation’ over MEA break.
LAKEVILLE, Minn. — At MSP airport, officials say Wednesday and Thursday will be the two busiest days for departures during MEA break this year. More than 49,000 travelers are expected to fly out of MSP on Wednesday, and more than 52,000 are expected to depart on Thursday. Airport officials say Thursday could become the 5th busiest travel day ever.
Meanwhile, countless families in Minnesota are planning “staycations” closer to home. At Applewood Orchard in Lakeville, workers are preparing for a busy week.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing the turnout,” employee Jackson Cox said. “If the turnout is a little lower than we think it’s always better to be prepared for more.”
The Cox family recently acquired the apple orchard, so this will be their first time hosting visitors during an MEA break.
“We’re pretty much extending all of our weekend activities to every day this week. We’re selling mini donuts, tractor rides, and more food, because we are hoping a lot of people will stop by,” Cox said.
One visitor who stopped by Wednesday was Natasha Apple from Apple Valley. That’s right, the word apple is in her name, the city she lives in, and the place she visited Wednesday afternoon.
“You really can’t make that up,” Apple laughed. “Me and my husband get it all the time. We’re the Apples and we live in Apple Valley, and we love apple orchards.”
Apple was visiting the orchard with a mom’s group from Apple Valley.
“There are eight of us here I believe,” Apple said. “It’s still stinking beautiful out so we are taking full advantage of the weather.”
And they weren’t alone at the orchard. Jenny Yohnke from Lakeville stopped by the orchard with her three boys.
“With three boys they have a lot of energy, so I brought them to the corn pit to have some fun,” Yohnke said.
She has big plans for the rest of MEA break.
“We’re heading out to the zoo tomorrow and then we have some friends with school kids, my friend from work coming to visit on Friday. We have a busy week of fun,” Yohnke said.
Other parents at the orchard said they are planning to stop by a pumpkin patch later in the week to buy their Halloween pumpkins.
Another common “staycation” idea was to enjoy a nature hike to see the fall colors, or to go to the movie theater to see a movie, or stop by the local library.
So, if you’re looking for a fun and affordable activity to get your family out of the house there are several options to choose from.
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