GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Did you enjoy a nice, juicy bird this Thanksgiving?

You can thank folks like Loren Brey.

“This is my 35th year working in the turkey business,” Brey said. “We sell just under 3 million fertile eggs a year, employ between 8 and 9 full time people.”

Last November –  almost a year ago to the day – the re-emergence of the bird flu threatened to bring down the whole thing.

“We lost probably about 15,000 breeder hens,” Brey said. “The first flock that broke here, we just started them, we had a handful of eggs. And I remember that morning when the USDA crew came to euthanize the rest of them he told me ‘You don’t have to be here, you don’t have to watch this.’ It was tough.”

With the outbreak growing, farmers were looking for anything to mitigate the spread. The Bird Control Group has come up with an idea straight out of a spy film: lasers.

Representative Craig Duhr said it all started with a simple idea in the Netherlands in 2012.

“Literally a guy messing around with a green laser light and moved it over some birds and the birds moved,” Duhr said. 

Since then, the company’s global reach has expanded, and the technology has evolved.

Duhr explained how it works.

“Green is the brightest spectrum of light the birds see in. So we as humans will see a green dot out there during the daytime hours. The birds see a whole beam – like a laser beam. And they perceive that as they move through the field or a rooftop or the vineyards as a threat. Something coming at them as a predator. So they want to take flight and get out of that area.”

The group has been working with Minnesota farmers to install the technology. The state meanwhile is offering grants – up to $10,000 per farming operation – to help with the cost.

“Right now, I have five lasers running at roughly $15,000 a laser,” he said. 

Brey said it’s working. In fact, he’s having more success with it than any other mitigation strategy he’s tried.

“I would say it’s keeping 70 plus percent of the local birds and migratory birds away from the farm,” Brey said. “In the past, what I’ve noticed is under my eaves or in the trees I would see bird nests. I don’t see any of that anymore. So in my mind it’s been a success.”

For now, there’s hope that these high-tech, laser-beam scarecrows continue to do their job.

“We’ve been seeing some good results with it. Is it 100% the answer? No, of course not. But it’s another tool in our toolbox that is helping us.”

MINNEAPOLIS — The Aliveness Project opened up a Thrive clinic and pharmacy on Sunday, which is World AIDS Day.

“The Aliveness Project is about helping people living with and at risk for HIV, live long and healthy lives,” said Aliveness Project Executive Director Matt Toburen.

Toburen said construction started eight months ago but the project has been in the works for two years.

“We’re really excited to have an inclusive space and an inclusive clinic pharmacy,” Toburen said. “Anyone from the community can feel welcomed … they’re not going to be stigmatized or turned away for who they are and who they love.”

Toburen said having an onsite pharmacy is important because some patients won’t pick up their prescribed medication after their appointment.

He said this type of clinic and pharmacy is needed in Minnesota.

“We’re failing the community, and people are falling through the cracks, people who are at risk of HIV are falling through the cracks, and so we’ve created the Thrive Clinic Pharmacy in order to end HIV in Minnesota,” he said. “In our neighboring states of Wisconsin, and Illinois, and Iowa, they’re seeing decreased HIV infections.”

According to the Minnesota Department of Health an HIV outbreak was declared in Hennepin and Ramsey counties in 2020, and in the Duluth area in 2021.

MDH reported 324 people were diagnosed with HIV last year, and 207 people have been diagnosed in Minnesota this year.

“We have to do something bold because it’s unacceptable,” Toburen said.

He said there are a number of factors that contributed to the outbreak like healthcare disparities, lack of protection, and lack of sexual healthcare. He also said the outbreaks have been tied to encampments and intravenous drug use.

Toburen said the center can be a one-stop shop for people to seek medical care, food, and other resources.

He said the pharmacy will also offer PrEP and PEP.

“PrEP is a medication that when taken regularly can prevent someone from contracting HIV. PEP is something that is post-exposure prophylactic, often used in the medical setting… kind of like the morning after pill, that when there is an exposure, when taken withing 72 hours can prevent contracting HIV,” he said.

Toburen said rapid access to these medications is really important for their effectiveness. Paying for these medications can be another barrier this pharmacy will work to address.

He’s also excited to see how the clinicians and pharmacists will work together as a team to help their patients.

“This can be really groundbreaking when it comes to work on gender medicine and hormone treatments and being able to modify and… adjust medications and treatments and working with the pharmacist whose working in collaboration with that provider,” he said.

Toburen said the clinic is open. Prospective patients can schedule an appointment online or stop by the Aliveness Project.

He said the pharmacy will open in early 2025. The pharmacy will also be available to people who need other medications.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Aliveness Project opened up a Thrive clinic and pharmacy on Sunday, which is World AIDS Day.

“The Aliveness Project is about helping people living with and at risk for HIV, live long and healthy lives,” said Aliveness Project Executive Director Matt Toburen.

Toburen said construction started eight months ago but the project has been in the works for two years.

“We’re really excited to have an inclusive space and an inclusive clinic pharmacy,” Toburen said. “Anyone from the community can feel welcomed … they’re not going to be stigmatized or turned away for who they are and who they love.”

Toburen said having an onsite pharmacy is important because some patients won’t pick up their prescribed medication after their appointment.

He said this type of clinic and pharmacy is needed in Minnesota.

“We’re failing the community, and people are falling through the cracks, people who are at risk of HIV are falling through the cracks, and so we’ve created the Thrive Clinic Pharmacy in order to end HIV in Minnesota,” he said. “In our neighboring states of Wisconsin, and Illinois, and Iowa, they’re seeing decreased HIV infections.”

According to the Minnesota Department of Health an HIV outbreak was declared in Hennepin and Ramsey counties in 2020, and in the Duluth area in 2021.

MDH reported 324 people were diagnosed with HIV last year, and 207 people have been diagnosed in Minnesota this year.

“We have to do something bold because it’s unacceptable,” Toburen said.

He said there are a number of factors that contributed to the outbreak like healthcare disparities, lack of protection, and lack of sexual healthcare. He also said the outbreaks have been tied to encampments and intravenous drug use.

Toburen said the center can be a one-stop shop for people to seek medical care, food, and other resources.

He said the pharmacy will also offer PrEP and PEP.

“PrEP is a medication that when taken regularly can prevent someone from contracting HIV. PEP is something that is post-exposure prophylactic, often used in the medical setting… kind of like the morning after pill, that when there is an exposure, when taken withing 72 hours can prevent contracting HIV,” he said.

Toburen said rapid access to these medications is really important for their effectiveness. Paying for these medications can be another barrier this pharmacy will work to address.

He’s also excited to see how the clinicians and pharmacists will work together as a team to help their patients.

“This can be really groundbreaking when it comes to work on gender medicine and hormone treatments and being able to modify and… adjust medications and treatments and working with the pharmacist whose working in collaboration with that provider,” he said.

Toburen said the clinic is open. Prospective patients can schedule an appointment online or stop by the Aliveness Project.

He said the pharmacy will open in early 2025. The pharmacy will also be available to people who need other medications.