A Sweet Partnership with Clay County Public Health

Since last spring, MSUM has been working to make sure students can continue to have a safe and educational experience throughout the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ability to provide that has been heavily reliant on a partnership with Clay County Public Health.

Whether it's in weekly meetings, open forums, contact tracing, or even helping to create graphics for the campus community, members from the public health office have been a huge help to MSUM’s COVID-19 response.

MSUM’s pandemic response team, led by Director of Public Safety Ryan Nelson, connected with Clay County Public Health quickly as changes occurred last spring. Since then, the agency has offered direction and advice in planning for the fall and spring semesters, and guidance on all things COVID — like social distancing, masking and sharing general health information.

Even though higher education may not be their specific area of expertise, Clay County Public Health workers were willing to strategize with the MSUM response team and find ways to combat the many challenges faced by the community.

Kara Gravley-Stack, MSUM dean of students, along with Nelson and other members of the university, developed a close relationship with the officials, working hand-in-hand to adjust and evolve with the pandemic. 

“Their guidance and recommendations were critical to making sure that we had good, safe environments for our students, especially those who are living on campus,” Gravley-Stack said.

As a thank you to the Clay County workers, Nelson and Gravley-Stack made a Dragon Delivery of donuts and swag to the health office via the "Dragon Wagon." The aid these officials have provided the community deserves many thanks. This sweet surprise is but a small "thank you" to our hardworking community members, who demonstrate daily the grit, humility, and heart that live in the MSUM and Fargo-Moorhead communities.