Britany A. is way off base and part of a smear campaign against Freedom Place. First she is…read morereferring to hearsay from problem former clients unable to stay sober or follow a strict sober lease. Mark Thisius has run Freedom Place since founding it in 1991. If her shocking and disturbing claims were true we would not be in business for nearly 28 years. We have helped many on their path to sobriety and yes we have helped others out the door if they can't follow rules. We're fair and don't discriminate and we serve a diverse clientele. The clients from correctional facilities often have a long history of crime They are in many cases enabled by diversion programs that avoid holding many of them accountable. Many abuse drugs like methadone and cyboxin along with street drugs and have long rap sheets. The former clients who Britanny may be referring to who are co-conspirators with her fall into that category. Britanny is engaging in slander and defamation and we will take whatever legal action necessary to uphold our reputation.

This is a really nice library ! Since my library in Hudson…read morehas been closed since a storm damaged it earlier this year, I've been going here. The Gallery has been a source of amazing exhibits over the years. I've visited a Space exhibit, a wedding dress exhibit ( dresses from the late 1800's to the mid 1900's) and in September, an exhibit about the immigrants in New York City's slums in the 1880's.

River Falls has a fairly good library. Like most libraries it has books, but here there is more…read morethan meets the eye. The whole downstairs is a goddamn art gallery! Given the works are almost all the time created by grade schoolers, sometimes you'll see something cool. I don't expect any art thieves to rob the library anytime soon, but I could believe that they'd visit to make use of the excellent resources and internet. One star off for the lack of hot librarians.

Five years ago we sold our large home in the suburbs where we had raised our two daughters. We…read moremoved to a lovely historic house with apartments by the river in downtown St Paul just blocks from this large 1960's Salvation Army. A year later my husband left to homestead his mother's inherited condo. Finding myself alone and unwilling to go to bars, I walked over and joined a women's and a senior's group at this Salvation Army. It was the BEST decision I could have made! Years ago I tutored junior high kids in East Harlem, taught camping hiking skills to inner city fresh air camp kids, was hired on an Antioch work study semester to be the first Spanish interpreter at age 19 at Jacobi ( welfare) municipal hospital in the Bronx, was the first college student hired by the Job Corps working in downtown LA teaching Chicanas how to read, then assisted the Exec Director Robert Coard at Boston's largest Community Action $20 million program ABCD right out of college. My last job in the public sector was as an EEO Officer for CETA under the Dept of Labor for 10 counties in Massachusetts. (James Q.Stevens, head of EEO for Region One for the Dept of Labor counseled me to strive to go " high" in the corporate private sector then later move to government at a more effective level. I did for 20 years.) I spent four wonderful years within the Salvation Army, participating in their programs, accepting some of their wonderful donated food from Lunds and Byerlys , and observing TWO citadels' ( other on Noble Parkway, minneapolis) staff and participant children, families. SO many social service programs allow their staff to help themselves FIRST to all donations given the program. This is WIDESPREAD in almost all food shelves.... Not here at Salvation Army. This is a church that does not aggressively prosytelize to participants. Instead they maintain order in the HUGE food give aways through more " Christian" philosophies in crowd control for the homeless and the low to middle income. ( They welcome and conduct Sunday church services for those interested.) These populations FILL this ( and other) Salvation Army 3-5 days a week waiting patiently for the LARGEST food giveaways ( almost a full grocery cart, folding style cart) I have ever seen in my life. All these people would be starving if it were not for the Salvation Army that DAILY send trucks to their local supermarkets to pick up almost expired food. So you find the homeless, students, seniors, immigrants and middle class folk that are unemployed altogether waiting for this food. This is a MAMMOTH undertaking. This Citadel and some others also run an official food shelf but only for qualified residents in their specific assigned region of care. These food banks help those who qualify with utility bills just before disconnect, sometimes a little for rent, finding housing, sometimes clothing/ warm jackets blankets, hats mittens gloves, and at this Citadel an Annual children's' NEW winter coat give away, etc. etc etc. TRULY AMAZING care. They have after school programs and day care at prices according to what people can afford. They have in EVERY major city the VERY BEST program in the country for SUCCESSFULLY helping folk quit drugs. I know, for in Virginia I would bring many inner city and other young people to their FULL year live-work-in programs. In Virginia ( and in every state), we had a brand new homeless shelter specifically for women and children. I would bring donations of food etc to this beautiful immaculate building. My four years in the Citadels of St Paul and Brooklyn Park, were wonderful. I developed lasting friendships with some women who had found themselves homeless and in their 70's ( now in public housing). I saw many homeless shelters and helped another young woman from Arkansas who had been to the Dignity Center in Minneapolis. My most favorite time was going on a women's Arts and Crafting weekend up north in the Salvation Army camp-- hadn't done this since my teens! Their only means of gaining income is through their Christmas Holiday Bell Ringing and some from donations through the year. ( I bell rang 3 years at Macy's in Roseville! COLD!). Donations have tragically substantially dropped in the last few years, so they had some staff layoffs and elimination of a few programs here at this Citadel. Salvation Army does back breaking work for the hundreds of suffering folk in downtown St Paul and spends EVERY cent on helping those in need. Their limited staffs live very frugally. I don't agree with some of their political views, but I deeply deeply respect their INTENSE HARD work in helping SO many impoverished frightened folk. Without all the back breaking work Salvation Army does nationally in ALL our communities, people would be suffering very very severely today.

The patio here is amazing! With views of the river, the many steeples, and the building…read morearchitecture, it is a perfect place for conversation, reading or a sketchbook, like I did. The people working here were helpful and so friendly. They were curious to know about our sketching group and interested in seeing the finished sketches. Libraries have so many options for use. I saw kids playing, people on the computer, folks reading the paper, and of course, good old fashioned curling up with a book. Great place to spend the morning.

My favorite library, the upstairs is very beautiful and there is a terrace for the warmer months…read more Definitely recommend frequenting here if you live nearby and need a quiet workplace.

I have moved a lot. I have had to utilize many different postal offices and services over the…read moreyears in a variety of states and cities. Pleasant postal workers do exist and they are living and breathing right here in Afton, MN. They assisted me with my recent change of address and getting my mailbox ready for service. The carrier even knocked on my door and introduced himself. I am grateful to have a postal office that is customer service driven right in my small little dot on the map in the good old USA.

A few years ago Washington County opened a new service center in Cottage Grove. This is much more…read moreconvenient than the previous options. I used to have to drive up to Stillwater to get renew my notary When we needed pictures for our passport cards we needed to go to Walgreens to get the pictures. Now these service and many others are available at the new Washington County Service Center. Our most recent visit we needed to get pictures to order our passports. For those of you that have passports, you know there is more paperwork and information needed than there is for passport cards. The lady that helped was us was very helpful and friendly. She explained our paperwork to us, highlighted the important notes and packaged it up for us. She gave us some tips on having good pictures. This made the process efficient and stress free. My previous visit to renew my notary also was a good experience. The Washington County Service Center is easy to find and in a good location with plenty of parking. I'm sure we'll be back there again.

I will be first to review. There is a girl the DMV part that was so pleasant to work with. I did…read morenot catch her name but guessing she was 25-35 and blonde. It' can be a long wait and sometimes it's not a great experience but this girl went out of her way to make it not tragic. Super helpful and just nice at the end of a long Tuesday (Dec 30th). She was nice to everyone I saw her help during my wait. She sat at second station closest to window the leads to hallway. Totally nice!

This is a review for Health Partner Infant Seat Check Clinic. We booked through Health Partners…read morefor the Saturday clinic at 9 AM probably a month before. Also, note that these clinics fill up fast so check online and book in advance for spot in your area. The fire station is used so that you can pull your car inside the garage for the staff to check out your car. It was helpful that you can bring both cars and your car seats for staff. There is a bathroom as well for you while you wait. Once staff member available, you review your car manual as well as car seat instructions. They will assist with you finding the best position for your car seat. Also, it was very helpful that they tried out before teaching you. There is also a doll for your try to put into the seat to make sure all straps are secure. It was nice that there was reading material provided for you to review on your own. This was very educational and staff here are very helpful. I would highly recommend this for first-time parents since hospital will require this before discharging you after delivery.