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Hardwick is one of six communities in southwest Minnesota selected for a $10,000 age-friendly community project grant.
The grants from Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging (MNRAAA) help to meet needs identified by the local leadership teams within each community.
Hardwick’s leadership team chose the city’s Milford Remme Memorial Park, which was an ideal grant recipient, according to Kris Hohensee, the region’s MNRAAA program developer.
“What I see in Hardwick is a close-knit community trying to stay here as their own community,” she said.
“They are not trying to blend in as a community to nearby towns. They are trying to maintain their identity and are pushing themselves forward to stay vibrant.”
Several park improvement efforts were already underway:
•American Legion members purchased supplies to construct a pickle ball court. They also purchased park benches.
•City officials already purchased materials to improve the existing picnic shelter.
•Received a $2,600 Prairie Rose Community Fund grant for playground improvements.
“I thought it was great that Hardwick was already moving forward with all these projects,” Hohensee said. “What we can do is come in and give a little boost to these.”
The age-friendly community grant will:
•finish enclosing the existing open-sided picnic shelter
•move the existing basketball hoops to make room for the pickle ball court.
•construct a sidewalk allowing more accessibility for strollers, walkers and wheelchairs.
•upgrade the existing bathrooms with improved flooring and fixtures.
•install more accessible playground equipment for all ages.
Hohensee said Hardwick stood out as an ideal age-friendly community candidate to the selection committee.
It was among five communities selected for the grant program. Also selected were Vesta, Lynd, Winsted, Bird Island and Maynard.
Other communities who have received age-friendly community grants include Adrian, which hired an intergenerational coordinator, and Pipestone to purchase benches for the downtown area.
MNRAAA partnered with the Southwest Initiative Foundation in 2017 to work with rural communities with populations under 2,000 in a shortened version of the AARP age-friendly designation community process. The process takes less than a year.
The process through AARP (Association of Retired Persons) focuses on eight common denominators which allow all ages of citizens to participate in community life.
The areas include transportation and mobility options, housing, inclusion, digital connections, community resilience, civic engagement and creation vibrant public places.
Shortly after Hardwick was selected and a local leadership team was formed, a community survey narrowed the group’s focus to the city park.
Project unveiling slated for June 24-26
All projects are expected to be complete in time for the Hardwick Jubilee Days scheduled for June 24-26.
Several activities are planned at the city park, with a special party planned to celebration Hardwick’s steps toward being an age-friendly community.
“When we look at age-friendly communities and how to make things more appealing to older adults, we don’t forget about other community members,” Hohensee said.
“The tagline for AARP says it best: ‘What’s good for an 8-year-old is good for an 80-year-old.’”