News
Below is a list of news items for the City of Moorhead with the most recent items at the top. If you would like to see news for a certain category, you can select it from the the drop-down box labeled (All Categories). Any news older than 90 days is automatically archived and removed from this list.
You can also subscribe to our eNotifications to automatically receive emails as we post news to the site.
Musician, mental health advocate Pat Lenertz honored with MoorHeart award
Congratulations to Pat Lenertz! On June 12, the Moorhead City Council and Mayor Shelly Carlson presented him with the MoorHeart award.
Pat is committed to making his community better through his music and mental health advocacy work. Pat inspires others to give back by connecting them through music. Pat’s nomination includes the following statement:
“His dedication to his community, his strength of character, and his overwhelmingly big and open heart have yet to receive the public accolades that I believe he is due. During the pandemic, Pat enlisted the help of a friend with a flatbed truck, hooked up a PA system and drove to local elderly care facilities to provide them some music and a connection to the outside world when it was badly needed. To anyone who knows him, this was not surprising because both as a solo act and as a band leader, he has donated countless hours of performance time to various charity efforts throughout his career as a musician. What a lot of people might not know is that giving back to his community really begins every workday at CCRI, where Pat is a respected and treasured licensed Mental Health Practitioner and often performs for the staff and clients, which always brings them such joy. He has also used the connections he built as a local musician to launch the Hot Peppers for CCRI fundraiser in 2016. To date, those efforts have raised several thousand dollars to support CCRI. I proudly nominate this passionate and powerful force for good.”
For all Pat does for Moorhead – and especially for the way Pat goes above and beyond to bring people together through music and positive thought – the MoorHeart selection committee chose him to receive the MoorHeart award. Congratulations, Pat. The City of Moorhead and our community thank you.
The MoorHeart award is an opportunity to recognize individuals who go above and beyond to demonstrate community within our City by their actions and service. A team of volunteers from city boards and commissions selects award recipients. The MoorHeart award is commemorated with a piece of art commissioned from local artist Hudi Kobrinsky especially for this purpose.
It's easy to nominate individuals/organizations for the MoorHeart award. Contributions large and small are worthy of nomination!