Healthy Community Initiative

06/19/2026

HCI offices are closed today, Friday, 6/19, in honor of Juneteenth. We hope to see you at the Northfield High School auditorium at 11:30 a.m. to commemorate the day and hear from a wonderful panel of educational leaders. See our previous post for more details on the event.

06/17/2026

HCI offices will be closed on Friday, June 19, in honor of Juneteenth. We hope to see you at the Northfield High School on Friday at 11:30 a.m. to commemorate the day and hear from an incredible panel of educational leaders featuring Nancy Antoine, Dr. Quenell Cooper, Akram Osman, Dr. Stacie Stanley, and panel facilitator Rich Torres.

Friday, June 19, 2026, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Northfield High School auditorium
Lunch will be provided to the first 75 attendees starting at 11:30 a.m. The program will begin at 12:15 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and is paid for by grants and private donations.

06/16/2026

Karra Howles spent her senior year of college working as an intern at HCI as part of St. Olaf College's community-based work study program. She shared about the impact of this experience in a column she wrote for the Northfield News:

“Before starting my position at HCI, I had heard of the organization in passing but did not realize its full impact until joining the team through St. Olaf’s community-based work study program. I was drawn to HCI because of its emphasis on partnering with various health organizations, and its principles of community collaboration, youth engagement and equity — values that aligned with my own.

For many college students, it is challenging to gain real-world experience and skills that set us apart for our future careers after college. Several times, I found myself in classes where I was not sure how to apply my learning in future health careers. I was unsure of what kind of career I wanted to pursue after college. However, I now have greater clarity surrounding the values and work I seek at future health organizations. Most of all, my community-based work study allowed me to apply my knowledge and skills in work that directly impacted the Northfield and Faribault communities.”

Read the full article: https://hci-mn.org/2026/06/a-college-interns-experience-at-hci/

06/16/2026

Meet Nicole, a current student at the NCCC!

Nicole is pursuing an associate of science in accounting degree through NCCC’s partnership with Riverland Community College.

As a student parent, Nicole shared that the available childcare makes a huge impact on her: “I think if I did not have that help, I would not have continued in college. I appreciate it a lot because taking care of 1-4 years old is a lot of work. Their patience is awesome!”

Find out more about the types of support the NCCC has to offer people (including student parents) on their post-secondary education journey at northfieldccc.org!

06/15/2026

The Rice County Area United Way is hosting their second annual Pickle Paddle event on Saturday, July 11! All proceeds will go directly to local partner agencies, with a specific focus on health. Come to play or show your support by sponsoring a player or purchasing a raffle ticket!

Registration is open! Join us for the most JOYFUL tournament ever! ❤️💪🏽💙🏓 https://onecau.se/_kchmr1

06/12/2026

RISE staff, students, and family members gathered at Alexander Park in Faribault on May 28 to enjoy games, tacos, and sambusas, and to celebrate the end of another successful year. In the 2025-26 school year, the ten RISE mentors served 300+ Faribault High School students (about one-third of the school’s population!) and on May 31, 34 RISE seniors graduated with the Class of 2026. Congratulations to all the 2026 graduates and cheers to the incredible work the RISE team does each year!

Faribault Public Schools

06/10/2026

TORCH middle school staff took 16 eighth grade students on a field trip to Carleton College on May 21. Students toured the campus, visited the TRIO House, and heard from a panel of current first-generation and students of color. The event was a collaboration with Carleton’s Latin American Student Organization (LASO). After the field trip one student noted she had never thought about the significance of cords at graduation, but now it's something she wants to work toward. Thanks to Carleton for hosting the students, and to the Dean’s Office for providing pizza!

06/09/2026

Meet Dom Venzant! Dom has been teaching at the college level since 2005 and at the NCCC since 2023. He chooses to teach at the NCCC because he believes in community-centered education and loves to witness the growth of the NCCC-supported students. “Art has a way of teaching patience, resilience, and adaptability,” he said. “I enjoy helping students realize that the creative process is not about perfection; it is about learning how to respond, problem-solve, and remain curious.”

Dom is teaching Drawing I this summer and students absolutely love his classes.

“I especially enjoy teaching art because it gives students permission to experiment, slow down, and discover what they are capable of with their own hands.”

06/05/2026

More accessible playgrounds for kids in wheelchairs. More trees and places to play sports. More chain restaurants. Fewer bike lanes. Fifth graders had numerous suggestions for how to improve the City of Northfield when given the chance to speak at a mock city council public comment session on Tuesday at Greenvale Park Elementary School.

Four members of the Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC) led the session after coaching the fifth graders in how to write and present a comment on a public issue. The high school students also explained how city government works and fielded questions about the Mayor’s Youth Council, which provides youth input into civic affairs and is part of HCI’s Youth on Boards program.

Read more about the MYC visit on our website: https://hci-mn.org/2026/06/fifth-graders-practice-civics-with-youth-leaders/

06/03/2026

It’s graduation season! Last week the NCCC held a celebration for all of the 2025-26 graduates staff have supported through their postsecondary education journeys. This spring, the NCCC celebrates seven students graduating with associate degrees from Riverland Community College and three students graduating with bachelor’s degrees from other schools (Metro State, Mankato, and Bellin).

Of these graduates
⭐️ 1 will pursue a bachelor’s this fall
⭐️ 2 took several years off from school
⭐️ 3 are parents
⭐️ and 4 are working on applications for their next steps