ST PAUL, Minn. — At this year’s Minnesota Educators’ Academy (MEA), the main focus was how to better students’ mental health. MEA is the largest development opportunity for educators in Minnesota, and gives teachers the opportunity to learn ways to improve in the classroom and handle the forever-changing needs of students.

“We need more counselors, we need more social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, people who really know their stuff,” said Education Minnesota President Denise Specht. “There are some schools that only have a counselor one day a week. We simply need more teams to address the needs.”

Specht also said having smaller class sizes would help teachers build stronger relationships with their students, potentially bettering their mental health.

According to the CDC, 40% of students experience sadness and hopelessness on a regular basis. Student teacher Caitlin Efta feels social media is playing a large part. 

“There’s a lot of bullying and other things that happen online, and a lot of kids are just falling victim to that,” Efta said.

Minnesota’s 2024 teacher of the year Tracy Byrd says to improve students mental health, we need to take the stress off of them.

“Just by letting them know, relax, you are enough, you are okay,” Byrd said. “Don’t put too much pressure on this one assignment or this one test or this one book.”

ST PAUL, Minn. — Women’s Advocates is considered the first shelter in the nation for survivors of domestic assault. It opened in St. Paul in 1974 and on Thursday, it’s hosting its 50th anniversary gala at the Landmark Center.

The tickets are sold out.

The organization is in the midst of a campaign to raise $14.25 million to acquire and renovate two new facilities in St. Paul to better serve the public. It includes 19 new individual apartment-style units totaling 58 beds for adults and children. 

The space would also allow survivors to live with their pets 24/7, increase mental health support, and be ADA-compliant for all genders, sexualities, and abilities. 

“It’s hard because we want to work ourselves out of a job, we want to be in a scenario where there’s not violence present in our community, but until we get there, we’re here as a support system for folks needing that,” said Executive Director Holly Henning.

Women’s Advocates currently serves about 50 adults and children, sometimes for three months at a time. It offers services ranging from mental and chemical health to legal advice and financial support. 

The organization originally started as a hotline to guide people going through divorce. 

“What they were finding when those calls were coming in was much different than, I just need a divorce,” said Henning. “It was folks who were in immediate danger and really needed help beyond that.”

Nowadays, the organization often has to turn people away. Other organizations actively work to find empty beds across the city for survivors in need. But Henning says, that sometimes, the violence people are experiencing is also more severe. 

Violence Free Minnesota says that the 40 people killed in domestic violence situations last year is the most in more than three decades of record-keeping.

“It’s about compassion and empathy and I think it’s OK to have emotion, it’s OK to see people human to human and they’re continuously reminding you of why the work is so important,” said Henning.  

Henning is also hoping to raise $125,000 during October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you’d like to donate, you can find more information about the capital campaign here. 

There’s also more information about services and ways to connect with someone through the Women’s Advocates 24/7 crisis resource hotline here.

The marketing and tourism organization formerly known as Discover St. Louis Park has rebranded this fall with a bold, new name: 

The organization, which launched in 2011 and grew to also incorporate Golden Valley in 2017, began using the “Westopolis” name this month. According to Westopolis President and CEO Becky Bakken, the name is designed to highlight the vibrancy and urban character of St. Louis Park and Golden Valley, which both border Minneapolis and have a combined population of nearly 75,000.

“A lot is behind the name,” Bakken said. “Westopolis just kept speaking to us. In this process, we really leaned into the fact that we are the closest neighbor to downtown Minneapolis. To be honest, we are closer to downtown than parts of Minneapolis are. And it really felt like our primary differentiator.”

Bakken said the change to “Westopolis” is also meant to help the organization communicate better with event planners and out-of-town vendors, who sometimes confuse “St. Louis Park” with St. Louis, MO. Between St. Louis Park and Golden Valley, the cities boast nine hotels with nearly 1,500 combined rooms, and the tourism organization now known as Westopolis plays a key role in drawing visitors and filling those rooms.

“When people are looking for a place to go, that aren’t from this area, they know the big city. They know Minneapolis. We wanted to make sure they knew how close we were to that, and once they’re here they discover all the other things,” Bakken said. “The name is unique, it’s different. It’s not on a map, we understand that. We think the name is edgy, and when we’re working with planners, they’re gonna lean in and say, ‘tell me more about this place.'”

This week, Westopolis is enjoying a nice boost from the Twin Cities Film Fest, a staple of St. Louis Park that draws talent and crew members to the city’s West End from across the country. It’s the kind of annual event that Westopolis would love to see more of in the coming years.

“The West End was sort of the rationale for why Discover St. Louis Park — and now Westopolis — exists. It’s this great area that is a real driver for visitors,” Bakken said. “But both communities have their thing. Golden Valley has a big chunk of Theodore Wirth that we love to claim, and Brookview that has a lot of outdoor activities, so we really like to lean into this urban oasis.”

To unveil the new brand, Westopolis rolled out a website and held a launch party this fall.

“Change is change, and that’s always interesting,” Bakken said, “but mostly people are really excited about the new name and we’re ready to market the new name.”