The Cottage Grove Public Safety Board presented a check for $15,000 to Cottage Grove Police and Fire at the Sept. 6 city council meeting. The donation, accepted by the council, is meant specifically for fitness equipment for first responders, as well as K9 equipment that is due for replacement. The fitness equipment will be housed at the city’s Central Fire Department. 

Cottage Grove Community Engagement Officer Dan Schoen spoke at the meeting regarding the presentation. He explained that the K9 upgrades would be for a new collar and two tactical medic kits for K9 officers.  

“But the big presentation is for fitness equipment at Central Fire,” he said. “One of the reasons is that I think it’s important to understand that they operate out of two pieces of equipment each day. They have an engine or a fire truck, or the paramedics that need the ambulance. They’re not as portable as the rest of our employees, and they need to be at the station in between calls. 

“We know the health benefits of good fitness include a decrease in Type 2 diabetes and a decrease in several forms of cancer. There is a 30% lower risk of early death, depression, and dementia,” added Schoen. “Whole Health Chiropractic, with my friend Beth Catlin and her crew, started us off last year down this journey of fundraising for equipment at Central Fire in the form of health and wellness with a Patient Appreciation Day. They selected Cottage Grove Public Safety as their recipient. In that, they raised nearly a thousand dollars from their patients for health and wellness for Public Safety.” 

Schoen stressed a strong need for updated fitness facilities for the city’s first responders. Treadmills, rowers, and weights available to city employees have aged over the last few decades. “It is extremely important that all of our employees are healthy and well, and we thank our Public Safety Board, who has gone over and above on this particular donation, so that we can start to replace some very aging equipment in that facility that is usable by all employees in the City of Cottage Grove,” he said. 

Julie Rice, president of the Cottage Grove Public Safety Board, presented the donation to the council.  

“It’s not only us that are raising the money,” she said. “It’s the community that comes out and helps support our fundraising efforts. A lot of this money has come from our annual golf tournaments. So, next summer, look forward to coming to a golf tournament and helping support us. On Sept. 17 we’re going to do a tiny fundraiser. It’s a Bunco tournament at Park Place Bar & Restaurant in Saint Paul Park. Bunco is a fun game, on a Sunday without the Vikings playing, so we raise money and it goes directly into our fund to purchase equipment for police and fire and our new K9 friends.”