Otter Tail County Public Health receives national creative award for post-pandemic frontline worker diaries

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – Otter Tail County Public Health received a national creative work award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials for their collaborative art exhibit titled, “Return to Normal? COVID Diaries from Local Youth.” 

County health officials received the Promising Practices award from the organization, which is given to health departments nationwide that, quote, “demonstrate exemplary and replicable outcomes in response to an identified public health need.”

In a news release, Otter Tail County Public Health Director Jody Lien stated that partnerships are the core of public health.

Lien said: “This unique partnership opportunity and the learnings along the way from the artists and youth are a highlight of my career to date. The project was a true opportunity to see and hear a variety of perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19.”

The exhibit featured various multimedia artworks that were each youth created, including pieces from five area high school students: Holly Gutzmer, Aurora Lindahl, Maria Myrhe, Sylvia Pesch, and Alex Ramirez.

Local interdisciplinary artist Naomi Schliesman and multimedia artist Wesley Fawcett Creigh worked with the students to explore the emotional toll of the pandemic on frontline workers through testimonials and identifying common phrases.

The award-winning exhibit was crafted through a working partnership with: Springboard for the Arts, the Otter Tail County Historical Society and Otter Tail County Public Health.