Health notes: Walk for suicide awareness

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In a county with one of Minnesota’s highest suicide rates, family and friends of victims will gather for the fourth straight year for a Suicide Awareness Memorial Walk this Saturday.

The event will take place from 9:30 to 11:15 a.m., starting and finishing at Bethesda Evangelical Lutheran Church, 204 Fifth St. N. in Carlton.

“We are aware that Carlton County and many other counties in northern Minnesota have some of the highest rates of suicide in the state,” said Meghann Condit, health educator for Carlton County Public Health and Human Services, in a news release.

Dave Lee, the department’s director, has said that Carlton County’s suicide rate is increasing at nearly four times the national average.

The event will include a walk of about 30 minutes followed by refreshments and a short educational/remembrance presentation. Claudia Weber, a psychologist with the University of Minnesota Medical School at Duluth, will be the featured speaker.

The event is not a fundraiser, and participation is free. No preregistration is required. Participants are welcome to wear something with the name or picture of the person they are honoring.

Last year’s event drew 150 walkers, the news release said.

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