After months of work in partnership with the Southwest Regional Development Commission, we are excited to announce that our strategic plan is live! The document addresses housing and services needed in the Slayton community. This project was championed and funded by the City of Slayton.
Download the Strategic Plan:
From the Strategic Plan Introduction:
"The sudden closure of the Slayton Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Slayton, Minnesota in May 2019 created the need to address housing and service needs for older adults in the area. As an initial response, a group of citizens, led by Slayton Attorney Lynn Johnson, held a listening session with state experts. The key takeaway from this meeting was that collaboration would be key to finding solutions to the community’s concerns.
Between August and December 2019, support and momentum began to build. Several concerned citizens and local groups reached out to Lynn Johnson to discuss ways to move forward, locally, with housing and service options for the community’s older adults.
In December 2019, Lynn Johnson organized a stakeholder meeting to discuss concerns and options. Represented at this meeting were: concerned citizens, religious leaders, the Center for Rural Affairs, the City of Slayton, Hospice of Murray County, Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging, Murray County Medical Center, Oasis Homecare, Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, Southwest Regional Development Commission, and Wonderworld Preschool.
Action steps from the December 2019 meeting were to complete a feasibility study of the vacant nursing home to determine whether the facility and/or grounds were an option for rehabilitation or reuse. The Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership hit obstacles in being able to complete that plan; thus, local stakeholders decided to pivot.
In February 2020, Lynn Johnson spoke to the Slayton City Council about ways to shift the feasibility funding the city had offered toward strategic planning efforts.
Lynn and several other concerned citizens decided the best way to organize activities was to establish a formal, 501 (c) (3) non-profit called Operation Prairie Venture (OPV). Four volunteers, including Cal Wurpts, Molly Malone, Leeny MaloneBeach, and Connie Humphrey Shaver joined Lynn Johnson on the board.
In March 2020, the City of Slayton provided funding for the Southwest Regional Development Commission (SRDC) to work on strategic planning efforts. This plan is one of the end results from that initiative.
In conjunction with the strategic planning efforts with the SRDC, Operation Prairie Venture received a project grant to work with the University of Minnesota Extension’s Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (RSDP) in June 2020. This grant supported a 13-week architecture and design internship for the development of a model intergenerational neighborhood that would provide housing options for older adults and childcare for young children."
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