February is American Heart Month

February is American Heart Month and the American Heart Association created a series of survivor videos to help raise awareness for heart disease. A Linn County employee had her story featured in the series and you can watch it on YouTube. 

Linn County Conservation Board Selects Dennis Goemaat as Executive Director

The Linn County Conservation Board selected Dennis Goemaat as its new Executive Director. Goemaat has served as Deputy Director of the department since 1992.

“Dennis was nominated as our top candidate given his extensive experience and knowledge working with the county conservation system, all of which has been in Linn County", said Hillary Hughes, Linn County Conservation Board President. “He is truly passionate for conservation, but also for Linn County. His experience as Deputy Director should provide a smooth transition for the many projects and initiatives that are underway.”

Goemaat is replacing Dan Biechler, who retired this month after 42 years with Conservation- 30 as Executive Director. Linn County Conservation manages 28 preserves, parks, trails, and natural areas.  For more information, go online to www.linncountyparks.com

Treasurer's Office Donates Holiday Meals to Veterans

The Linn County Treasurer’s Office and Linn County Veteran Affairs Office have been working together for more than a decade to present meals to local veterans every holiday.

The Treasurer’s Office started working in collaboration with Veteran Affairs back in 2002 when they designated Mondays as our “Veteran Day.” If an employee chooses to wear jeans on a Monday, they either had to donate $1 or bring in a food item requested by members of the Treasurer’s veteran committee.

Dawn Walker, Jan Aldrich and Nicki Finger are the employees from the Treasurer’s Office currently on the veteran committee. These three individuals coordinate everything and they deliver the bags to the Veteran Affairs Office for distribution for eight holidays throughout the year.

The Treasurer’s Office presented 17 bags to the VA this month for veterans to have meals for Valentine’s Day. The Cedar Rapids Gazette was present at the event and published a great story about the unique partnership.

Linn County Worksite Wellness Assessments Available

The workplace is an important partner to address chronic disease and promote healthy behaviors both on and off the job resulting in healthier employees, fewer injuries, less absenteeism, increased productivity, and reduced employee turnover.  Linn County Public Health and the Linn County Worksite Wellness Committee is offering free worksite wellness assessments to all employers in Linn County. 

Employers, especially smaller worksites and worksites that are just beginning their worksite wellness programs, are encouraged to participate and take advantage of the free assessment and technical assistance now through March 23, 2018.  Employers will complete an initial online assessment, followed by a 60 minute on-site follow-up. Awards will be presented to worksites who exemplify the true meaning of each dimension of wellness at the Linn County Worksite Wellness Summit on June 21, 2018.  

Join Us for the Linn County Rights-of-Way Workshop

Make plans to join the Linn County Secondary Roads – Roadside Department and Linn County Conservation for their 2018 workshop, “Rights-of-Way and Beyond.”

The workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 20 at Lowe Park in Marion. It will feature a variety of presentations from seven environmental experts, including topics such as management of invasive species, rights-of-way habitats, and 1,000 Acre Pollination Initiative.

Check out the brochure for the full workshop schedule and presenter biographies. 

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