THREE-YEAR BATTLE WITH LICE ENDS AT MINNESOTA LICE LADY SALON

Minnesota Lice Lady opens salon in Edina to serve Greater Metro area

EDINA, MINN -- Liz Ferron finally found peace of mind after visiting the Minnesota Lice Lady’s newly opened salon in Edina, Minn.

Ferron, a social worker from Minnetonka, and her 10-year-old daughter, Angela, had been battling lice off and on for three long years. “It’s very time consuming and stressful,” Ferron stated.

Ferron was relieved that someone else was handling her daughter’s latest lice infestation. When she walked out of the Minnesota Lice Lady’s salon after the follow-up treatment, she knew that her long ordeal with lice was over; her daughter’s head was clean and so was hers.

One of the things Ferron appreciates most about Minnesota Lice Lady Gonne Asser (it’s pronounced Honnah and reflects her Dutch ancestry) is that she not only eradicates lice in one treatment, but also is well educated about lice, and willingly shares her knowledge of the bugs. “I really like her thoroughness,” Ferron said. The Minnesota Lice Lady never asks clients to comb out at home and guarantees her service for 30 days.

"We are the experts and take on full responsibility to eradicate the infestation," said Asser, a St. Paul resident.

Asser wants parents to know they’re not in this fight alone.

There is a way to combat lice that doesn’t involve the use of harmful and dangerous chemicals.

There is a method out there that guarantees success. It’s the one the Minnesota Lice Lady uses. With the Shepherd Method of Strand by Strand Lice Removal, each head is first sprayed with enzymes and then combed out thoroughly with a professional grade nit comb.  A thorough nitpicking comes next as each strand of hair is examined one by one. Then, just to be sure the nits are gone, the Minnesota Lice Lady does a second visual check and a final comb-out. The four-step process with built-in safety nets typically takes one and a half hours for boys and two and half for girls, depending on how much hair a person has and the severity of the infestation. Within a week, clients return for a follow-up visit.

The Minnesota Lice Lady is so confident in her work that she offers a 30-day guarantee. If you get lice again within a month, treatment is free. “I couldn’t sleep if you had nits or lice on your head after seeing us,” said Asser, who treats clients throughout the Greater Metro area.

The Minnesota Lice Lady also works with clients to identify where the lice originated, and encourages friends, classmates, relatives and others to get their heads checked and treated if they have lice.

But don’t worry. She won’t be pushing any of her services on you or trying to get you to buy an armful of products that you don’t really need. Asser’s goal is to educate and to help parents -- not profit off their ignorance.

Her treatments are as much about helping families combat the myths around lice as they are about eradicating the lice itself.

“Our mission is to take responsibility for people’s lice infestations so that people can get on with their lives,” said Asser.

“After you come see us, you’ll be done with lice for good.”

ABOUT THE MINNESOTA LICE LADY

Let the Minnesota Lice Lady, Gonne Asser (it’s pronounced Honnah and reflects her Dutch ancestry), take those lousy worries away. She’s glad to help. In fact, she’s been aiding moms in the fight against lice for over eight years. After a friend helped her treat her children, Asser decided to pay it forward and help others. A year ago, the St. Paul resident launched into nitpicking full time to help as many families as she can. She continues to incorporate research and cutting-edge techniques. The Minnesota Lice Lady is the only company in Minnesota using the Shepherd Method of Strand by Strand Lice Removal, the most effective and thorough lice removal process available. The Minnesota Lice Lady has recently opened a salon at 3940 Sunnyside Road in Edina, and offers in-home visits throughout the Greater Metro Area. To schedule an appointment or get more information on natural treatment options, call 612-564-0678, email mnlicelady@gmail.com or browse mnlicelady.com.

SIDEBARS

LICE FACTS FROM THE MINNESOTA LICE LADY

• Head lice are completely dependent upon our heads in order to live. If they don’t get a blood meal within 24 hours (less for young lice), they will die.

• Lice do not live in the environment. In fact, they don’t want to leave your head. “It’s the perfect nest,” stated Asser that provides the right living conditions for lice. Once on your head, their legs lock onto a strand of hair. This makes it very unlikely that the lice will fall off in your house. “The bugs are not on the couch or the carpet or the American Girl dolls,” said Asser.

• Yes, you can have lice and not itch. Half of the people affected by lice show no outward signs, Asser noted.

• To eliminate lice, it is necessary to focus on the head, not on your environment.

• Most moms reach for the chemicals when they realize they need to treat a lice outbreak. “We’re so overwhelmed,” Asser observed. But what most moms don’t realize is that these chemicals can have many dangerous side effects, such as liver failure. Plus, lice are becoming resistant to these pesticides. Products such as Rid and Nix are only 44 to 46% effective. Even the home-remedies such as olive oil are only 60 to 70% effective.

WHAT MAKES THE MINNESOTA LICE LADY DIFFERENT?

• 30-day guarantee -- The Minnesota Lice Lady promises that if you get lice again within 30 days, she’ll provide treatment for free.

• Shepherd Strand-by-Strand approach -- The Minnesota Lice Lady uses the most effective and thorough lice removal process available.

• Relaxing salon environment -- Once you step into the salon in Edina, you’ll immediately breath easier. Tomorrow, you can forget you ever had lice.

• No-push products policy -- The Minnesota Lice Lady doesn’t want to sell you a bunch of products you don’t need, such as a specific house cleaner or spray that is guaranteed to keep lice away. 

Addition to double Keewaydin School

See construction plans at Jan. 19 meeting

by Tesha M. Christensen

Keewaydin School, the upper campus of Lake Nokomis Community School, will double its space next year during a $16 million building project.

Between 39,000 to 45,000 square feet will be added, likely on the south side of the building. While the district has also considered building out on the east side, many community members have expressed concerns about losing the baseball fields there.

Building to the south will mean the playground, basketball courts and pool will need to be relocated; they are currently on Minneapolis Public School land, as is half of the Keewaydin community center building. There is empty space on the east side of the Minneapolis Parks building because the tennis courts were removed from there several years ago. The parks department plans to move the playground to that space.

Keewaydin Principal Jane Ellis wants community members to know that the school is trying to be respectful of their needs, as well as of parent’s and student’s. One of the items in the plan, bump-out curbs on 30th Avenue, is meant to ease a long-standing complaint by residents about congestion on that road when buses are picking up and dropping off students.

The details of the building project are still being worked out. Many focus group meetings were held in December, as was a community meeting on Dec. 15. Another community meeting is slated for Jan. 19 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Minutes of each meeting are posted on the school’s web site. For those that can’t attend the meetings, there is a form on the school’s web site to fill out.

At the meetings, parents, students, teachers and community members shared items to add to a wish list. From there, the ideas went to the construction site team, which then passed them onto the steering committee. The final decision on what the addition will look like rests with the school board, which will vote on the plan in March.

Right now, Ellis anticipates that the existing facility, built in 1928, will continue to house the classrooms while the new section will have the multi-use and arts space.

After evaluating the various wishes  of all stakeholders, the architects will create a plan. A tentative design will be presented to the community at the Jan. 19 meeting.

“It really is about matching needs with spaces,” Ellis stated.

The school district has identified the 83-year-old building as deficient in a number of areas according to state and national standards. At 2,500 square feet, the gymnasium is the smallest in the city, noted Ellis. The new space will be 7,000 square feet, not including gym storage and office space. (See sidebar for more details on what will be included in the building project.)

“I feel that a gymnasium for the middle-school grades is critical,” noted Jay Larson, a Nokomis East resident with two children at Lake Nokomis Community School. He is also a member of the construction site committee. “Students that are interested in high school sports (and beyond) must have the opportunity to prepare for these sports during middle school.  I also know that students who are interested in band, choir or symphony prepare for high school during these middle school years.  Currently, Keewaydin is unable to offer these opportunities due to the fact that these spaces do not exist.”

The goal six years ago was an addition that would incorporate a community center, Ellis noted. To provide additional multi-purpose and gymnasium space, as well as make renovations at Keewaydin’s sister school Wennonah, Keewaydin had asked the school board for $24 million.

Although the plan has changed, the building will be arranged in such a way that Minneapolis parks could opt to add on in the future. This is not currently in the parks department five-year plan, however.

“The idea is that much of the new space being built will also be available for evening and weekend for community education use and for park and recreation use,” noted Larson. “I feel strongly that my neighbors and area residents will benefit from the new spaces that are being built.”

Ellis pointed out that the district hasn’t invested in capital projects in the last nine years. The last big project was at Burroughs in 2002.

The district plans to solicit bids on the Keewaydin project in April, with construction commencing in June 2012. Most of the work will be done by August 2013. During the school year next year, Ellis anticipates that students will move around some in order to accommodate the building project. Some work, such as tearing out the wall between the old and the new, will be completed on the weekend.

-       30 –

-        

SIDEBAR

PIECES OF THE PROJECT

By remodeling the existing building (10% of project) and adding on (90% of project), Keewaydin will be brought up to state and national middle schools standards. The most critical Educational Index Improvements that are being addressed include:

• Gymnasium: 7,000 sf

• Gym storage and office: 800 sf

• Performance spaces: 4,600 sf

• Lumch room spaces: 5,817 sf

• 2 Science classrooms: 3,000 sf

• 2 Computer labs: 1,800 sf

• Vocal/music classroom: $1,500 sf

• Offices: 1,000 sf

• Estimated cost per square foot: $365-380

• Proposed project budget: $16 million

Story printed in the January 2012 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.