Togo CIP crew lends grateful hands to flood relief

COOK- Some would say that relief efforts in Cook didn’t begin after the June 19 flash flood, but actually began four years ago when a group of concerned Cook citizens took action in a completely unrelated area crisis.
In August 2020, the Minnesota Department of Corrections threatened to close the Togo Correctional Facility and its innovative Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP) for inmate rehabilitation. As former St. Louis County deputy sheriff and Morcom Township supervisor Dirk Davis said at the time, the impact on the region would have been devastating.
“The damage that the closure of these camps would cause to our local community is far out of proportion to the money that it will supposedly save the state of Minnesota, far out of proportion. The damage is just going to be tremendous,” Davis said.
But citizens in Cook and throughout the region hopped on the advocacy bandwagon, contacting legislators and other key state personnel in an effort to save Togo. The Legislature came through in a special session with $7.5 million to keep the Togo and Willow River facilities open.
Last week, participants in the CIP program, identifiable from the bright orange vests they wore, were in Cook for several days helping the community deal with the aftermath of the flood.
Sergeant Brenden Johnson, a restorative justice worker supervising the crew, said the CIP crew was eager to help.
“The community came out strong for us when we were facing those difficulties, and we’re proud to still be here and doing what we do to help out. These guys love coming out and giving back to the community and doing what they can to show that they’re making a change and becoming a better person,” Johnson said. “We’ve been out helping with cleanup and providing manpower to the community to help get all this stuff loaded in dumpsters, clean up the parks, and I’ve got a crew sweeping up the sidewalks now.”
The CIP crew was instrumental in providing the heavy lifting needed to collect and dispose of used sandbags and appliances that had been piled alongside curbs, and they also helped clean out numerous damaged buildings, including the new relief distribution center established by the Cook Lions Club in the former Franks Pharmacy building and the Cook Public Library.
The relief efforts were part of a much broader program of public service conducted by the CIP restorative justice program. This summer, participants have been engaged in house building for Habitat for Humanity, building accessibility ramps for Access North, and cleaning up parks, campgrounds, and cemeteries throughout the region.
Cook resident Carrolle Wood was among those expressing gratitude for the CIP’s help, referring to Togo by the name it had when it was first established, Thistledew Camp.
“This is so awesome,” she said. “Who knew the letters we all wrote and calls to our representatives to save Thistledew Camp would come back to bless this small town tenfold. They have been an amazing group of very hard workers. It’s true what they say – what goes around comes around. Thank you, Thistledew CIP crew.”