According to recently released population projections, by the year 2020, there will be more adults age 65 or older than school age children in Minnesota.  How will this affect the Brainerd Lakes area?  How about the great and beautiful state of Minnesota?  What about the United States as a whole?

     The Central Minnesota Council on Aging has developed Communities for a Lifetime.  These are community coalitions consisting of senior service providers, older adults, law enforcement personnel, private businesses, elected officials and interested parties.

      The goal of Brainerd for a Lifetime is to inform and plan for how Brainerd can thrive and prosper in the coming Age Wave.

Brainerd City Council Presentation:                                                                       

Mr. Jon Knopik, Central Minnesota Council on Aging, discussed an initiative in the Brainerd area                            called “Brainerd for a Lifetime” that has been established as part the
Council on Aging “Communities for a Lifetime” program. He stated that the goal of these
programs is to make communities senior friendly as well as a place for all residents to
feel comfortable in “from cradle to grave,” and used the example of how “curb cuts” are
helpful for both a person pushing a stroller and someone in a wheelchair. He stated that
by 2010 it is predicted that there will be more retirees in Minnesota than school-age
children, and that by 2030 the ratio of people 65 and older will be 1 in 5. He stated that
when it comes to the subject of school support, this may not be a positive thing because
seniors, while wanting to support education, either do not want taxes raised or do not
want to pay for the schools because they no longer have any family attending.
Mr. Knopik stated that as a result of this development, there will be changes to
prepare for . He stated that in order to prepare for this meeting, a
study was done in 2007 in which a grant was approved by the Otto Bremer Foundation
to work with communities, which resulted in the creation of the “Brainerd for a Lifetime”
Committee. He stated that many different areas will be studied by this committee to
assess the Brainerd area from many perspectives to see how it fits the “Communities for
a Lifetime” initiative.

                                                                                            photo by TedsBlog