Public invited to fill out community wellness center survey

The Cambridge Regional Wellness Center Task Force has moved forward to the next — and possibly most important — step in its process for determining the feasibility of opening a community wellness center in the area.

The task force was created in December 2022, following a series of informal meetings between representatives of the City of Cambridge, Isanti County, Cambridge-Isanti Schools, Allina Health Cambridge Medical Center, the East Central Ministerial organizations, and a community-based investment company. Those meetings were the beginnings of research into the feasibility of a community center in the area, along with what such a center would look like.

Following its formal formation, the group arranged for the acceptance of a pair of grants to be exclusively used for gathering feedback on the feasibility of such a project.

Beginning last week, an online survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/CambridgeWellnessCenter was created to receive feedback from not only residents of Cambridge, but all of Isanti County and anyone else who might have an interest in utilizing such a facility. The survey takes about three to five minutes to complete and includes questions such as how important people feel certain features are in a community center. Some of the options include an indoor fieldhouse, indoor gym space, a swimming pool, a walking/jogging track, etc. Each category is ranked between “very important,” “somewhat important,” “unimportant,” or “very unimportant.”

“This task force is committed to exploring a regional wellness center that would combine elements of a traditional ‘swim and gym’ space and provide intergenerational programming and childcare focused on community input,” read a press release announcing the survey. “Members of the task force are passionate about achieving the present and future needs of the community, ensuring this project is a collaborative effort, as well as pursuing diverse and creative funding strategies to minimize the impact on the local tax base.”