ClearWay Minnesota(SM) Board Approves $2.8 Million for Research Grants

At its Board Meeting on Wednesday, November 14, the Board of Directors of ClearWay Minnesota approved 11 grants for new research on topics ranging from the Freedom to Breathe Act's impact on young adults to interventions that reduce tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure among Chicano Latino youth and African immigrants. ClearWay Minnesota will award more than $2.8 million to Minnesota researchers through these grants, which bring ClearWay Minnesota's total expenditures on competitive research grants to more than $14.5 million since 1998.

"These new grant awards show our continuing commitment to innovative research that shapes our work to reduce tobacco's harm," said David Willoughby, ClearWay Minnesota's Chief Executive Officer. "This significant investment in research will pay healthy dividends for Minnesotans well into the future."

Eleven research grants, totaling $2,828,060, were awarded to:
-- The University of Minnesota Medical School, in collaboration with
Hennepin Family Care East Lake Clinic, to develop a tobacco
intervention for Chicano Latino youth by engaging parents ($89,776);

-- Wilder Research, in collaboration with the Minnesota African Women's
Association, to assess African immigrant women's and girls' exposure
to secondhand smoke by male relatives, and to raise awareness about
tobacco-related risks ($126,440);

-- The University of Minnesota Medical School, in collaboration with La
Creche, for a study on secondhand smoke exposure among lower income,
inner-city, African American parents of young children ($126,863);

-- The University of Minnesota School of Public Health, in collaboration
with Carver County Public Health, to develop and pilot-test a smoking
cessation/occupational health and safety program for manufacturing
worksites ($128,515);

-- Wilder Research, in collaboration with the Slavic Community Center, to
engage organizations serving Russian-speaking immigrants to develop a
pilot study to evaluate tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke and
health impacts ($129,318);

-- The Indigenous Peoples Task Force, to conduct a population-based
survey of Minnesotans to determine preferences for smoke-free gaming
in Minnesota ($244,962);

-- The University of Minnesota Medical School, to evaluate how different
segments of the young adult population are responding to Minnesota's
statewide smoke-free law ($145,260);

-- The Tobacco Law Center, to conduct legal research and a survey of
property owners on smoke-free residential options for condominiums
($309,452);

-- The University of Minnesota Medical School, to test the efficacy of a
Motivational Interviewing Intervention in driving smokers at clinics
to the QUITPLAN(R) Helpline ($493,922);

-- The Center for Energy and Environment, for a study on secondhand smoke
migration in apartment buildings ($516,171); and

-- The University of Minnesota School of Public Health, to measure the
effects of Minnesota's statewide smoke-free law on young adult tobacco
use through the Minnesota Adolescent Community Center Cohort study
($517,381).



Detailed information about these grant awards is available at http://www.clearwaymn.org/.

The November 14 Board Meeting also saw the introduction of three new Board Members:

-- James D. Deal, Chairman of NAU Country Insurance Company, Lightyear
NAU Acquisition Company and NAU Holding Company. Mr. Deal was
appointed to the Board by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson in
October, and his term on the Board begins immediately.

-- Larry Kryzaniak, F.H.F.M.A., Chief Financial Officer of Hennepin
County Medical Center (HCMC). Mr. Kryzaniak was elected as an at-large
Board Member, and his term begins immediately.

-- The Honorable Sheryl Ramstad, Minnesota Tax Court judge and former
Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Judge Ramstad
was elected as an at-large member of the Board; her term will begin on
September 29, 2008.



At its previous September 19 meeting, the ClearWay Minnesota Board reappointed Gary Eckenberg as Vice Chair, Colleen Aho as Secretary and Michael Scandrett as Treasurer. Chair Kirby J. Erickson and Board Members Fred Nobrega, Michael Paymar and Charlie Rounds were also reappointed to new terms on the Board.

ClearWay Minnesota(SM) is an independent, non-profit organization that improves the health of Minnesotans by reducing the harm caused by tobacco. ClearWay Minnesota serves Minnesota through its grant-making program, QUITPLAN(R) Services and statewide outreach activities. It is funded with 3 percent of the state's 1998 tobacco settlement.