Your Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Your Bike Is Made For Drivin'

Did you check out re:TH!NK’s booth at Country USA? 
If you did not, then you missed out on a fun time!

Hello! I am a guest blogger for the next couple weeks. My name is Sarahjean and I am the AHEC intern working at the Health Department. My main focus for this internship is gathering data for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. AHEC is the Area Health Education Center and part of what they do is place college students that are interested in the public health field into an 8 week long internship at health departments and health clinics. As part of my internship I was able to go to CUSA and talk with people to gather information for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

At Country USA, over a thousand people took advantage of the opportunity to try a slushie that was made on the bike blender! We also had a Mad Libs Contest where people had the opportunity to win a gift card. All they had to do was fill in the blanks for this sentence:

I wish I could (bike/walk) to a (real place, location, destination) but I can’t because (barrier/reason why not…give examples). We had 100 people fill out a Mad Lib with some really great responses!  

We also had a survey, which was completed by over 200 people! The data collected from the survey will be used in the bicycle and pedestrian plan to make improvements for walkers/bicyclists. In addition to the survey, we also had a map that people could mark where they would like to see improvements and connecting routes. 

Winnebago County is in the beginning stages of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Part of the plan is to create safer routes for walkers/bicyclists as well as create connections between destinations. Our booth at CUSA was a great way to gather some helpful information from the people that will benefit from the plan! If you have not filled out a survey, we would greatly appreciate you spending a couple minutes and filling it out http://goo.gl/forms/I94G70Zv0s .

5th Year Anniversary of Wisconsin's Smoke Free Air Law!

Isn't Wisconsin better smoke free?

From 1993 to 2009, communities in Wisconsin passed local smoke free air policies with the support of local governments and hundreds of local advocates fighting for clean air in public places. The entire state then followed suit making smoke free public places for employees and patrons the norm.

On July 5, 2010 Wisconsin officially became a smoke free state. Governor Doyle and Wisconsin State Legislature deserve a huge thank you for creating and passing the state policy... Thank you!

Now, fast forward 5 years and we can all see the wonderful things smoke free air has done for Wisconsin's health. In addition to protecting Wisconsinites from secondhand smoke, the smoke free air law has normalized a smoke free lifestyle. In just 5 years, youth smoking rates have dropped from 1in 6 in 2005 to 1 in 10 in 2015. What a win!

To those who supported and advocated for smoke free air and those who continue supporting tobacco prevention... thank you!