Oct 12, 2011

Poverty forum

The Gordon Rosenmeier Center for State and Local Government at Central Lakes College, Brainerd, will host a fee, public forum with panelists discussing the role of government in poverty Monday, Oct. 17 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the Chalberg Theatre. The forum kicks off a week – Oct. 17-23 -- in which poverty in the area will be a focus of organizers who want to raise awareness, according to Taylor Stevenson, one of the coordinators. The scheduled panelists are Tim Houle, Crow Wing County administrator; Beth Wilms, Crow Wing County community services director; Troy Schreifels, Brainerd Police officer and ISD 181 liaison officer; Craig Nathan, area operations manager at Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program; and Jennifer Bergman, executive director of Brainerd Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Panelists will discuss the nature of the government’s involvement in combating poverty, the changing face of poverty in today’s society, and what more can and should be done to address poverty in the community, Stevenson said. The panel discussion will be followed by a brief question-and-answer session.