Wentworth and Kaposia libraries awarded
for community health initiative

By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | September 2026

Out of more than 3,000 counties nationwide, Dakota County recently won Best-in-Category for Health by the National Association of Counties for its work on bringing public health services to all 10 branches of the Dakota County Library system. The goal of the initiative is to reduce opioid overdoses, improve breastfeeding support and expand access to mental health resources. Due to libraries’ widespread locations and broad service hours, they were deemed ideal spaces to meet residents needing these health services.

“The library is a great place where people feel welcome,” said Dakota County Library director Jennifer Reichert Simpson. “We have strong connections to residents, lots of visitors, and we have really knowledgeable and friendly staff that people feel comfortable talking to, so it’s a great place for the community to learn and read a book and get connected to resources, but it’s also a great place for the county departments to bring their services to residents…. these things coalesced and amounted to so much partnership with public health that we felt like we were becoming positive health hubs in the community.” Altogether, Dakota County libraries saw 1.5 million visits last year.

A free naloxone distribution program began last fall at several libraries, including Wentworth and Kaposia, and the library system has since distributed more than 2,000 opioid-related education materials in English, Spanish and Somali, 300 free fentanyl test strip kits, and 1,200 free naloxone kits. Naloxone is given to revive people who have overdosed on opioids. Additionally, in the past year, more than 1,000 residents have been connected to mental health resources through a free digital well-being platform called CredibleMind, and the Heritage (Lakeville) and Wescott (Eagan) libraries have hosted more than 80 “Feeding Your Baby” breastfeeding support groups. Dakota County Public Health has provided training and resources, including staffing the libraries’ lactation support groups with public health nurses and lactation consultants.

Funding for the health programming comes from more than $16.5 million in settlement money Dakota County is receiving through 2038 from multi-state lawsuits against opioid manufacturers totaling $46 billion. Some of the funds are also going to Minnesota cities as well, including approximately $6.2 million to the City of St. Paul.

Opioid crisis
According to a 2023 Community Health Assessment, there have been more than 500 opioid-related deaths in Dakota County since 2015, and 5,992 in the 7-county metro. Also, 31% of adults in Dakota County reported needing mental health care in the past year, and more than half experienced treatment delays or were unable to receive care.

Naloxone kits include doses of nasal naloxone or intramuscular naloxone, fentanyl test strips, an instruction card in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong, a rescue breath barrier and rubber gloves. A two-dose pack of nasal naloxone currently costs about $45 at pharmacies.

“A lot of the efforts that we’ve been doing the past few months, and will do in the upcoming 12 months, is because we haven’t seen much of a move in the death rate of fatal overdoses in Dakota County,” said Dakota County opioid prevention coordinator James Johnson. “The number of non-fatal overdoses have also increased, which is a good sign that we’re reaching people, but our fatal overdoses seem to have plateaued, and the number of people under age 25 who are involved has grown a little bit. We’ve seen this trend happening and we’re starting to identify hot spots or warm spots where we can intervene closely and soon.”

Family services
The Feeding Your Baby workshops are held on Tuesdays right after Storytime for Babies events. Simpson said the story times, as well as the libraries’ children’s spaces in general, have become more popular in recent years as parents and caregivers are looking for places to teach and entertain kids without technology. Simpson has been Dakota County Library director for about 9 months, following the retirement of longtime director Margaret Stone last fall. She was previously deputy director for nearly 10 years.

“Those children’s spaces are so popular,” she said. “We have play [equipment] and toys because that’s the way little ones learn. It’s the pre-steps before you go to school and learn and increase your literacy.”

Vaccine services are also offered by appointment at the Dakota County Northern Service Center, 1 Mendota Road W., West St. Paul.

Earlier this year, the libraries partnered with public health to begin offering Alzheimer’s kits tailored to Somali, Hmong and Latino populations. The kits feature cultural items designed to trigger memories and conversations, as well as headphones that play therapeutic music.

More awards
Dakota County has now received five Best in Category awards from the National Association of Counties in the last decade, more than any other county in the nation and more than all other Minnesota counties combined. The other four have come in the areas of public safety, public information, county resiliency, and children & youth.

Dakota County libraries are renovated about every 10 years and Simpson said libraries these days have become more of a community gathering space compared to a decade ago. In addition to countless books and educational materials, they offer meeting and conference rooms, children’s and teen spaces, free computers with internet, printers and 3D printers, events and more.

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