South news briefs: Dakota, Scott see upticks in poverty

Dakota, Scott see upticks in povertyScott and Dakota counties both have made a new list of 36 Minnesota counties that have seen an increase in poverty since 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But the two counties also made the bureau's list of the 30 lowest poverty rates for the 1,055 Midwest counties. Scott was listed as the tenth lowest, at 5.8 percent, and Dakota as the 27th lowest, at 7.0 percent.

The findings come from the U.S. Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates program. The data is used to identify areas of need for purposes of federal and other government funding.

Across the nation between 2007 and 2011, the school-age poverty rate -- covering children aged 5 to 17 living in families -- rose in 832 counties, or 26 percent of the nation's total.

In Minnesota, essentially all of the metro and exurban counties experienced statistically significant increases since the recession and no Minnesota counties had decreases, the bureau said.

The rest of the state's 87 counties were able to remain stable.

Detailed data can be found at www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/data/highlights/2011.html.

St. Mary's Health Clinic, a service of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, serves such patients two days a week. It offers lab tests, x-rays, diagnostic tests and medications, and it serves persons of all faiths.

The clinic is staffed by licensed doctors and nurses, plus admissions personnel and interpreters, all volunteering their services.

Exhibit deals with history of treatiesA traveling exhibit with historic photos, maps, a video and other displays is being offered by the Shakopee tribe.

It's called "Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations," and it explores the history of treaty-making between the United States and tribal groups in Minnesota.

It's up through Thursday at the tribe's community center, and can be viewed during business hours. It then moves to the lobby of the tribe's Mystic Lake Casino, open around-the-clock, from Friday through Jan. 31.

The 10-minute video, "A Day in the Life of the Minnesota Tribal Nations," captured on film the now-deceased Shakopee tribal Chairman Stanley Crooks, among others.