State briefs: Grant aims to prevent prenatal substance use in Beltrami County

Expectant mothers using drugs or alcohol in Beltrami County will get more help finding treatment and monitoring through a $1.6 million grant awarded to hospital and government services last week.

PrimeWest Health, a 13-county-owned health plan, awarded the grant to Beltrami County Health and Human Services, Red Lake Family and Children's Services and Sanford Bemidji Medical Center. Each will hire a case manager, among other steps.

"Really, it's a program that can last generations once it's in place," said PrimeWest's chief executive, Jim Przybilla. "You prevent one … complicated birth, and basically the $1.6 million has paid for itself."

Pam Louwagie @pamlouwagie

The state of Minnesota awarded half a million dollars in grants to Minnesota State University, Mankato this month to help the school train more than a thousand workers.

The grants, worth a total of $506,688, will help the university tailor workplace training programs for employers Firmenich, Michael Foods Inc. and Truck Bodies & Equipment International Inc. Almost $50,000 will go toward leadership training for 93 employees at Firmenich, a New Ulm-based company that manufactures perfume and flavorings. Another $300,000 will be used to train 771 workers at Michael Foods in agricultural food processing over the next three years. And $156,991 will train 145 current and 75 new employees at Truck Bodies & Equipment "to improve the company's efficiency and sustainability," according to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Jennifer Brooks @stribrooks

More than 200 Austin, Minn., residents gathered Thursday to brainstorm ways to save their Target store.

The Minneapolis-based retailer announced Tuesday that it would shutter 11 stores, including the one in Austin. They will close by Feb. 1.

Danielle Nesvold, who has lived in Austin for 10 years, helped organize Thursday's forum. She estimates that she spends $400 a month at Target, for diapers, snacks and other supplies for her three children.

"I'm a mom. I'm like every typical Midwestern mother," Nesvold said. "It's a crucial store for me."

In a letter to Target leaders, Mayor Tom Stiehm argued that the closing would be "a major setback to a town that is one of the few rural Minnesota cities that is growing in population."

Some people might think it's "a little pathetic" to fight for a Target store, Nesvold said. "But economically, this is huge to our area."

Jenna Ross @ByJenna