Jim Oberstar to speak at November active living event

Jim Oberstar

Members of Cook County’s Active Living Steering Committee (ALSC) are happy to announce that on Nov. 14, 2012, Jim Oberstar will be in Grand Marais to address community members, business leaders and policymakers at an event called Moving Forward: Working Together to Support Active Living in Cook County, to be held at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts.

In his role as a member of Congress from 1975-2011, Oberstar worked to expand the focus of federal transportation policy to include more than just highways and automobiles. Oberstar felt that when highways narrowed into cities, towns and neighborhoods, American citizens needed the opportunity to safely walk or bicycle as a form of transportation.

Oberstar was a pioneer in his creation of the national Safe Routes to School program. Oberstar recounts the story of a meeting in Washington in the 1990s where he first heard about the deteriorating health of Americans, particularly children, caused by inactivity and overweight. The trend of an increase in diabetes and other health problems among American’s children alarmed and concerned him.

At the same time, Oberstar was learning about programs across the country and the world that created safe and fun ways for children and adults to walk or bike instead of driving. Oberstar combined his concern about the health of the children of Minnesota and the nation, his knowledge and influence in national transportation policy, and his passion for bicycling, to create the national Safe Routes to School Program.

The Safe Routes to School program (SRTS) works to create neighborhoods in which it is safe for children to walk and bicycle; to decrease traffic congestion; and to ensure that kids have an opportunity to get physical activity on the way to and from school. Grand Marais’ Safe Routes to School Program began in 2009 and recently received a MNDOT grant to expand local SRTS work.

Oberstar will be a highlighted speaker at the event as he shares his experience on creating communities in which citizens of all ages and abilities are able to be safe and physically active. There is no charge to attend, but space is limited and you must pre-register.

This event is hosted by the Grand Marais Active Living Steering Committee with grant support from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, the Knight Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, and the Cook County Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP).

The exact time will be available at a later date. For more information about Moving Forward: Working Together to Support Active Living in Cook County, or to register, contact Kristin Wharton at the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic: 387-2330 ext. 150, or Kristin@sawtoothmountainclinic.org.