public health

Counties maintain rough COVID-19 parity

Aug 12, 2020

After a surge in COVID-19 cases beginning in mid-July that brought its per capita caseload to a level comparable to neighboring Goodhue County, Wabasha County has been staying roughly aligned with Goodhue County in terms of cases per capita. As of Aug. 11, Goodhue County had 199 total cases....

Goodhue County: Contact tracing and COVID-19

Aug 12, 2020

During a global pandemic, it is expected to hear many terms or phrases that we are not very familiar with. One of those words that we have been hearing quite a bit lately is contact tracing. Many people have questions about contact tracing, from how it works, to how the data is used. Contact...

Wabasha County matches Goodhue  in per-capita COVID-19 infection rate

Aug 5, 2020

After months of a relatively low per-capita COVID-19 infection rate compared to its northern neighbor, reported infections in Wabasha County have risen more quickly since about mid-July, leaving the counties with a comparable per-capita rates as August begins. As of Aug. 4, both counties had a per-...

Charts shed light on COVID-19 infections in Wabasha County

Jul 22, 2020

To help ensure patient privacy, Wabasha County Public Health waited until there were at least 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county before releasing more specific data on where infected people live in the county, according to Wabasha County Public Health Director Tammy Fiedler. Last week the...

From the Graphic archives: Sontag honored at nursing school’s centennial

May 13, 2020

Editor’s note: The Graphic published this story about Lucy Sontag’s contributions to Lake City and public health in Minnesota in November of 2009. Recently the Lake City Historical Society honored Sontag with a lifetime membership for “for her significant contributions to Lake City history.” A...

County issues coronovirus advice for individuals, communities

Mar 19, 2020

When a novel (new) virus emerges, community mitigation or community level strategies are often the most readily available interventions to help slow transmission of the virus in communities. Community level strategies are a set of actions that persons and communities can take to help slow the...

Groundwater presentation on Feb. 13 follows news of local well contamination

Feb 5, 2020

To the editor: If you own a well and care about the safety of your drinking water you might be interested in attending the Lake City Public Library presentation on Groundwater Issues in Southeast Minnesota. Because of our karst geology, Southeastern Minnesota is particularly susceptible to...

Stopping for a school bus is the law

Aug 28, 2019

In Minnesota, school is getting in full swing and everyone needs a few school bus safety reminders.In Minnesota, motorists must stop at least 20 feet from a school bus that is displaying red flashing lights or a stop arm when approaching from the rear and from the opposite direction on undivided...

Goodhue County issues 2019 report card

Jul 3, 2019

Goodhue County regularly reports results and performance measures for services that the county provides, from the Sheriff’s Office to Public Works. Here is a look at Goodhue County by the numbers. County crime rates fluctuated between 2013 and 2017. In 2017 there were 225 fewer crimes reported in...

Members sought for Goodhue County community health committee

Jun 19, 2019

The Community Health Assessment Committee (CHA Committee) is looking for new members. The group, which meets quarterly, is now beginning to implement the 2018-2023 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). The new health improvement plan is based on the health issues identified in the group’s...