Nash part of Minnesota delegation to Croatia

Former and current members of the Minnesota National Guard, Gov. Mark Dayton and the St. Paul civic group "Serving Our Troops" visited Croatia to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the State Partnership Program July 2.

During the trip Governor Dayton, the Minnesota National Guard Adjutant General and New Prague resident, Maj. Gen. Rick Nash, and current and former Minnesota National Guard leadership visited the Dubovac Primary School in Karlovac, Croatia. The elementary school just finished being refurbished by the Croatian Army Engineering Regiment, the Minnesota Army National Guard’s 851st Vertical Engineer Company, and Civil Engineer Squadron members from the 133rd Airlift Wing and the 148th Fighter Wing. The engineers worked together to build a state of the art kitchen, locker room and restrooms in the aging school.

“The partnership between Minnesota and Croatia is strong, and I am very honored to be here to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of our State Partnership Program,” said Nash. “This simple gesture of cooperation on making sure that the future of Croatia – the nation’s youth – have the necessary facilities to learn, grow and prosper is emblematic of our partnership.”

Minnesota and Croatia have been state partners since 1996. Since Minnesota and Croatia partnered under the State Partnership Program, Minnesota and Croatia have participated in more than one-hundred bilateral military and civilian engagements. The program has created partnerships that include the efforts of many organizations and individuals such as private firms, civic organizations and non-profit agencies to name a few.

The state partnership is a mutual alliance with....

To see more on this story pick up the July 28,, 2016 print edition of The New Prague Times.