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Grace Grinager was surprised to learn that she had been selected to receive a “Going Viking Award”. Grace now joins the company of past award winners that includes Anne Bancroft, Jim Brandenburg, and Minnesota’s 35th Governor Al Quie. Submitted photo
Cook County Public Health Supervisor Grace Grinager was recently selected to receive the “Going Viking Award” which is given by the Norway House, the National Norwegian Center in America located in Minneapolis.
When she was notified, Grace said, “I was both surprised and honored to find out that I would be receiving the ‘Going Viking’ award this summer for my work in public health throughout the COVID- 19 pandemic. While I’ve never been to Norway myself, I did grow up with a strong Norwegian heritage, including the influence of my grandfather, Biorn Carson, who was born in Norway and immigrated to Minnesota as a child. I do believe that my family heritage has helped influence my desire to be creative, have integrity in my work, and to be motivated by a desire to support my community. This past year has been a challenge, both for myself as a public health professional and for our entire community. It’s been an honor to serve Cook County throughout the pandemic, and I am so incredibly proud of and grateful for the way that I’ve seen us stand up and support one another throughout the difficulties of living with COVID-19 in our midst.”
According to the Norway House website, “The Going Viking Awards celebrate individuals and organizations “who embody the adventurous and bold spirit of the Vikings by inspiring their communities to explore and discover new frontiers with courage and determination.”
Grinager has spent the past year delivering COVID-19 information to the public and elected officials about the pandemic.
She has also coordinated local contact tracing and vaccination efforts. Recently the Washington Post reported that Cook County was one of the top ten counties in the U.S. who has best handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, there have been no reported deaths from COVID-19 and Cook County has had by far the fewest reported cases of the coronavirus in Minnesota.
While you don’t have to be of Norwegian ancestry to receive the Going Viking Award, Grinager has a rich history that reaches back to the “Old Country”.
“Three of my grandparents were of Norwegian descent,” Grace said, adding with a laugh, “One of my grandmothers was Swedish and German but she too fully embraced things like traditional Norwegian baking over the Christmas season and passed that down to my generation.”
How traditional was your family?
“During the fourth of July my family would fly the American flag and a Norwegian flag. And one of my first jobs in Red Wing, Minnesota, was to work in the Uffda Shop. I would say we were pretty Norwegian.”
2021 marks the 14th year the awards have been presented. Past winners include Liv Arnesen and Ann Bankcroft, Jim Brandenburg, Tove Dahl, Representative Jim Ramstad, Betty McCollum, Roger Moe, Governor Al Quie, Janis Hardy and may other notable people and organizations.
Begun as a non-profit in 2004, Norway House is dedicated to establishing, renewing, and advancing connections between contemporary Norway and the United States through education and partnerships centered around the arts, business, and culture.
If all goes according to plan, Grace will receive her award at the Norway House Gala, which will be held June 22.
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