Public Notice Detail

ST. PAUL, MN. (Oct. 10, 2000) – Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen A. Blatz and Justice Joan Ericksen Lancaster will participate in a community round-table discussion about how Minnesota’s courts and communities can work to reduce domestic violence.  The program will begin at 7:30 p.m. October 12 in the Pelican Rapids High School auditorium.

Thursday’s program will help mark National Domestic Violence Month and will include information about the efforts of the Pelican Rapids Working Together Committee, which was started in fall 1999 by the Blandin Foundation’s Center for Reducing Rural Violence.  The committee, which includes local judges, elected officials, school officials and concerned citizens, is establishing an action plan to reduce domestic violence in Pelican Rapids and the surrounding community.

The committee’s work includes securing a domestic violence intervention worker for the Pelican Rapids area.  Vickie Peterson has been hired to give referrals, assist with orders for protection, increase community awareness of domestic violence and begin a support group for women.  Peterson will work at the Pelican Valley Clinic, 211 East Mill in Pelican Rapids.  For more information, call 1-500-435-0650.  Other elements of the action plan will be discussed during the round-table.

The October 12 event is part of the Chief Justice’s “Court Innovations Tour” through the Seventh Judicial District in Central Minnesota.  The tours, taken twice a year, give Chief Justice Blatz an opportunity to participate in community events, speak to local organizations and learn more about how Central Minnesota’s courts and communities are working to improve the justice system.

The Minnesota cities of St. Cloud, Long Prairie, Alexandria, Fergus Falls, Pelican Rapids, Detroit Lakes and Moorhead are among the stops scheduled for the October 11-13 tour. The justices will attend a community taco supper in Long Prairie and honor Todd County residents for their support of a Hispanic liaison program.  The justices will speak to Fergus Falls women’s business and professional groups, and they will meet with first-time juvenile offenders who are involved in a Otter Tail County program called “Keys to Innervisions.”

“For the last 150 years, the court system has been working to become more efficient. Now it’s time to focus on being more effective,” said Chief Justice Blatz. “These tours give us a chance to learn from the experiences of jurors, litigants, victims and concerned citizens throughout the state.”

This week’s sweep through the Seventh District is the Chief Justice’s third “Court Innovations Tour.” She visited the Ninth District in Northwest Minnesota last fall and Southwest Minnesota’s Fifth District last summer.

Media is invited to attend all events this week.  The full schedule is as follows:

Long Prairie, MN

• Todd County Community Hispanic Liaison Program Celebration, 5 p.m., October 11 at the Long Prairie Middle School Cafeteria, Long Prairie, MN. The Liaison Program, which works to integrate and promote understanding amongst the community’s Hispanic and other populations, will sponsor a free taco supper and cultural awareness program. The public is invited to attend.

Alexandria, MN

• Chief Justice Blatz pitches in to help Douglas County by covering a juvenile court calendar in Alexandria, 9 a.m., October 12.
• Justice Joan Lancaster will tour the law enforcement training program, 9:15 a.m., October 12 at Alexandria Technical College.

Fergus Falls, MN

• American Association of University Women, National Organization for Women and the Business and Professional Women’s groups luncheon, noon, October 12 at the Fergus Falls YMCA. Chief Justice Blatz and Justice Lancaster will be the featured speakers.
•  “Keys to Innervisions” class for first-time juvenile offenders, 2:30 p.m., October 12 at the Lakeland Mental Health Center.  The justices will watch and participate in the class.  Media is welcome, but must ensure the confidentiality of teen and parent participants.

Pelican Rapids, MN

• Citizenship class visit, 6:30 p.m., Oct. 12 at the Pelican Rapids High School.  Recent alums and current students of the citizenship classes will be present.
• “An evening with the Chief Justice: Our Courts Working with Violence” community-wide roundtable discussion, 7:30 p.m., October 12 at Pelican Rapids High School.  Members of the Pelican Rapids Center for Rural Violence committee will discuss their plan to prevent domestic violence and initiate a community roundtable discussion. The public is invited.

Detroit Lakes, MN

• Seventh Judicial District Judges’ Meeting, 9:30 a.m., October 13 at the Courthouse in Detroit Lakes.

Moorhead, MN

• Constitution Day “Back to School” program, noon, October 13, at Moorhead High School.  The justices will join more than 200 judges and attorneys who are visiting middle and high schools across the state, showing a new educational videotape called “Inside Straight: The Third Branch,” and teaching students about the court system.  The program is expected to reach 5,000 to 6,000 students statewide.