The Minnesota Department of Health is honoring a slate of rural health care professionals for significant contributions to the health and well-being of their communities.
The recognitions coincide with National Rural Health Day, which is Thursday, Nov. 16.
Honorees include rural community health advocate Ann Bussey of Side Lake; family nurse practitioner Shannon Shaw of the Family Advocacy Center of Northern Minnesota in Bemidji; Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin; and Ted Matthews of Minnesota Rural Mental Health in Hutchinson.
Bussey’s advocacy work ensures the needs of older adults on the Iron Range and across rural America are reflected in policy decisions.
Shaw provides comprehensive, age-appropriate and culturally sensitive care for victims in her work at the Family Advocacy Center. This includes those who’ve experienced child abuse, sexual assault, neglect, trafficking and intimate partner violence in northern Minnesota.
Riverwood Healthcare Center is recognized for its work in identifying social determinants of health among their patients and creating community partnerships to address those needs.
Health Commissioner Dr. Brooke Cunningham said their accomplishments also serve as a reminder of critical care gaps in rural communities. And the need to work together to fund training and retaining health care workers in Greater Minnesota.
The recipients will be honored during the 2024 Minnesota Rural Health Conference in June in Duluth.
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Contributed/Alyssa Chen / Minnesota ReformerThe state abruptly paused payment to thousands of care providers in May in a rush to meet a federal deadline. -
Contributed/Lakers Girls Golf Instagram PageAlmost 90 Northland students competed at the state golf tournament June 9-10, 2026, around the Twin Cities. -
Contributed/Brian DowThe number of detainees has not been confirmed. Bemidji police and Beltrami sheriff's deputies did not take part, leaders say. Some community members gathered to protest. -
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Contributed/briandjan607 via FlickrThe Emergency Forest Order, which prohibited campfires and charcoal-fueled cookstoves, will be lifted on June 12, 2026. -
Contributed/Bemidji Fire DepartmentThe Bemidji Fire Department responded to the multi-family structure fire in the nearby city of Wilton on June 10, 2026. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEThe Paul Bunyan Playhouse is bringing back professional theater to the Historic Chief Theater for the first full season since 2023. -
Erin Bowman/KAXEChildren at the nature-based Roots and Wings Early Learning Center in southern Coleraine typically spend five to six hours outside each day on the 25-acre campus. -
Contributed/Minnesota Chippewa TribeMembers of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe bands cast ballots for secretary-treasurers and tribal council representatives on June 9, 2026. -
Plus: the Brainerd City Council is considering a plan to redevelop the City Hall parking lot into a four-story apartment complex.
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Chris Walker/KAXEThe Hibbing Gas Manufacturing Plant was torn down in 1980, but the industrial processes of the past left contamination in the soil, groundwater and nearby surface water.
