When COVID-19 first shut down in person learning, educators and parents got a glimpse into different digital challenges. Among them, kids aren’t immune to developing tired, dry eyes from concentrating on laptops and electronic tablets for extended periods of time. The discomfort drove some of them to their ophthalmologist, looking for relief. As students and…
Summer Recipe: “Party in Your Mouth Dip” This isn’t a dip so-to-speak, but more of an “enhanced” Pico de Gallo salsa. When Char’s sister first made it, her husband tasted it and said, “This is an explosion of flavor, like a party in your mouth,” and the name stuck. “Party in Your Mouth Dip” was…
Meet the Board: Kevin Lauwagie For Winthrop farmer Kevin Lauwagie, timing is everything. Around 2017, Lauwagie’s small group health policy was cancelled. At the same time, the Minnesota Legislature passed a bill allowing health care cooperatives to offer health plans to farmers, creating the need for 40 Square Cooperative Solutions. “The timing was great for…
Five years ago, exploding health insurance costs forced many employees at Minnesota Pork Inc. (MPI) Farms to forgo coverage. “Previously, we weren’t very capable of providing affordable health care for our employees,” says MPI Business Manager Ashley Winkelman. “A lot of them are 20 and 30 somethings who were going without health care because it…
Eyes on the road this spring April is National Distracted Driving Month. Distracted driving has become a deadly epidemic on our roads. And it involves more than just texting while driving. Distracted driving can include: adjusting the radio, applying makeup, drinking coffee and talking on your cell phone. From April 11 to 15, law enforcement…
Saving lives: What ag producers need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine With a single-dose vaccine now awaiting emergency approval, COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution is expected to increase in the coming months. The Biden administration also announced it will purchase 200 million more vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna by July, increasing the chances…
Meet the Board: Steve Hoffman Steve Hoffman has been interested in joining a health care cooperative for at least a decade, when he first met future 40 Square Executive Director Char Vrieze. “Char was with Cooperative Network at the time, and some part of a health care co-op was being discussed, which I was very…