Pelican Rapids designated a ‘Governor’s Fit City’

Pelican Rapids earns recognition for promoting physical activity

Governor Tim Pawlenty and Commissioner of Health Dianne Mandernach announced today that Pelican Rapids has been designated a “Governor’s Fit City.” The city earned the recognition by making a commitment to support and encourage its residents to be more physically active and to improve the overall health of the community.

“The leaders of Pelican Rapids have made a strong commitment to provide physical activity opportunities for people in their city,” Governor Pawlenty said. “This commitment will help keep Pelican Rapids citizens healthy for years to come.”

Pelican Rapids achieved its designation by completing an application with the Minnesota Department of Health. The application asks cities to indicate their commitment to promoting physical activity, according to several criteria. Those criteria include whether a city has created inviting places to walk; whether a city has adopted a value statement affirming the importance of fitness; whether a city has sponsored at least one fitness activity; and whether a city has developed recreation areas that encourage fitness.

Pelican Rapids is committed to implementing a number of strategies for promoting physical activity, including:

Developing and maintaining a cohesive system of parks and trails, incorporating accessible neighborhood parks.
Requiring that neighborhood streets be designed with pedestrians and bicyclists in mind (e.g., by using design guidelines).
Supporting recreation programs that encourage active living.
Ensuring that physical activity facilities (youth/senior centers, trails, etc.) are accessible and affordable.
Locating schools in walkable neighborhoods or create walkable routes to existing schools.
Introducing active living issues, such as walkable communities, into public dialogue.
Increasing measures for pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
Building community awareness about locations, services and organizations dedicated to fitness/physical activity.

“Physical activity improves nearly every aspect of a person’s health and contributes to better health overall for communities,” Mandernach said. “We encourage all cities to become Governor’s Fit Cities.”

Pelican Rapids will receive a plaque from Governor Pawlenty and Commissioner Mandernach and may also choose to have “Governor’s Fit City” signs placed on roadways entering the city.

The “Governor’s Fit City” initiative is part of an overall push by Governor Pawlenty to encourage fitness. The governor declared 2005 “The Year of Fitness” in Minnesota and created the “Governor’s Fitness Challenge.” More information about the Governor’s Fit City program can be found at www.health.state.mn.us/fitcity.

Other Fit Cities in Minnesota. The rest must be unfit?