Privacy policy Ah-gwah-ching
www.ahgwahching.com

Here at Ah-gwah-ching we care about your privacy. We care so much we establised the following privacy policy to convey a passion we have for insuring the safe internet access to our users. The state of Minnesota at this time does not have a policy protecting citizens but much like Missouri, it will likely have one in the future. Our Privacy Pledge to you, our visitor:

Ah-gwah-ching and its affiliates will not sell or in any way knowingly pass any information from you to a 3rd party unless specifically stated and with your approval. We do not expressly or willfully seek to collect information. If there is a place to do so, use of this input space is strictly at your discretion. In the event we capture data it will remain with us and be used for only the intended purpose.

This notice provides the Ah-gwah-ching ’s (the Department) privacy policy regarding the nature, purpose, use, and sharing of any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) collected via this website. Our privacy policy explains our information practices when you provide PII to us, whether collected online or offline, or when you visit us online to browse, obtain information, or conduct a transaction. PII may include: your name, email, mailing and/or home address, phone numbers, or other information that identifies you personally. We do not require you to register or provide personal information to visit our website. The PII you provide on a Department website will be used only for its intended purpose. We will protect your information consistent with the principles of the Privacy Act of 1974, the E-Government Act of 2002, and the Federal Records Act. Personally Identifiable Information As a general rule, the Department does not collect PII about you when you visit our website, unless you choose to provide such information to us. Submitting PII through our website is voluntary. By doing so, you are giving the Department your permission to use the information for the stated purpose. However, not providing certain information may result in the Department’s inability to provide you with the service you desire. If you choose to provide us with PII on a Department website, through such methods as completing a web form or sending us an email, we will use that information to help us provide you the information or service you have requested or to respond to your message. The information we may receive from you varies based on what you do when visiting our site. Generally, the information requested by the Department will be used to respond to your inquiry or to provide you with the service you request. When this information is requested, the reasons for collecting it, a description of the Department’s intended use of the information, how to grant consent to use mandatorily provided information, and how to grant consent for other than statutorily mandated uses will be fully described in a separate customized “Privacy Notice.” This customized Privacy Notice will either appear on the web page collecting the information or be accessible through a hyperlink (link) prominently displayed immediately above or below the information request. Email Many of our programs and websites allow you to send us an email. We will use the information you provide to respond to your inquiry. We will only send you general information via email. You should be reminded that email may not necessarily be secure against interception. Therefore, we suggest that you do not send sensitive personal data (such as your Social Security number) to us via email. If your intended email communication is very sensitive, or includes information such as your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number, you should instead send it by U.S. mail. Another alternative may be submission of data through a secure web page, if available. Electronic mail messages that meet the definition of records in the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) are covered under the same disposition schedule as all other Federal records. This means that emails you send us will be preserved and maintained for varying periods of time if those emails meet the definition of Federal records. Electronic messages that are not records are deleted when no longer needed. Categories of information the Department collects on its websites are further described below. Automatically Collected Information We collect and temporarily store certain information about your visit for use in site management and security purposes only. We collect and analyze this information because it helps us to better design our website to suit your needs. We may also automatically collect information about the web content you view in the event of a known security or virus threat. This information includes: 1. The Internet domain from which you access our website (for example, “xcompany.com” if you use a private Internet access account, or “yourschool.edu” if you connect from an educational domain); 2. The Internet Protocol (IP) address (a unique number for each computer connected to the Internet) from which you access our website; 3. The type of browser (e.g., Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome) used to access our site; 4. The operating system (e.g., Windows, Mac OS, Unix) used to access our site; 5. The date and time you access our site; 6. The Universal Resource Locators (URLs), or addresses, of the pages you visit; 7. Your username, if it was used to log in to the website; and 8. If you visited this website from another website, the URL of the forwarding site. We may share the above information with our employees or representatives with a “need-to-know” in the performance of their official duties, other Federal agencies, or other named representatives as needed to quickly process your request or transaction. This information is only used to help us make our site more useful for you. Raw data logs are retained temporarily as required for security and site management purposes only. More information about how we share information can be found in our Privacy Act Systems of Records Notices. Third-Party Websites and Applications The Department uses social media websites and other kinds of third-party websites. The Department uses social media websites to interact with foreign constituencies and engage in public diplomacy worldwide. Social media websites are used to publicize embassy and Department events, and engage with members of the public in foreign countries. The Department also uses web measurement and customization technologies to measure the number of visitors to our websites and their various sections and to help make our websites more useful to visitors. In such cases, the third-party application may request an email address, username, password, and geographic location (e.g., State, region, or ZIP code) for account registration purposes. The Ah-gwah-ching does not use third-party websites to solicit and collect PII from individuals. Any PII passively collected (i.e., not solicited) by the third-party website will not be transmitted or stored by the Department; no PII will be disclosed, sold or transferred to any other entity outside the Department, unless required for law enforcement purposes or by statute. The Department uses various types of online surveys to collect opinions and feedback from a random sample of visitors. Primarily, state.gov uses the ForeSee Results’ American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) online survey on an ongoing basis to obtain feedback and data on visitors’ satisfaction with the state.gov website. This survey does not collect PII. Although the survey invitation pops up for a random sample of visitors, it is optional. If you decline the survey, you will still have access to the identical information and resources at the state.gov site as those who do take the survey. The survey reports are available only to state.gov managers and other designated staff who require this information to perform their duties. The Department may use other limited-time surveys for specific purposes, which are explained at the time they are posted. The Department retains the data from the ACSI survey results as long as needed to support the mission of the state.gov website. Information Collected for Tracking and Customization (Cookies) A cookie is a small file that a website transfers to your computer to allow it to remember specific information about your session while you are connected. Your computer will only share the information in the cookie with the website that provided it, and no other website can request it. There are two types of cookies: Session: Session cookies last only as long as your web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie is deleted. Websites may use session cookies for technical purposes such as to enable better navigation through the site, or to allow you to customize your preferences for interacting with the site. Persistent: Persistent cookies are saved on a user’s hard drive in order to determine which users are new to the site or are returning, and for repeat visitors, to block recurring invitations to take the ForeSee satisfaction survey. If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies stored on your machine, you can turn cookies off in your browser. You will still have access to all information and resources at Department websites. However, turning off cookies may affect the functioning of some Department websites. Be aware that disabling cookies in your browser will affect cookie usage at all other websites you visit as well. Security The Department takes the security of all PII very seriously. We take precautions to maintain the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the information we collect at this site. Such measures include access controls designed to limit access to the information to the extent necessary to accomplish our mission. We also employ various security technologies to protect the information stored on our systems. We routinely test our security measures to ensure that they remain operational and effective. We take the following steps to secure the information we collect: Employ internal access controls to ensure that only personnel who have access to your information are those with a need to do so to perform their official duties. Train appropriate personnel on our privacy and security policies and compliance requirements. Secure the areas where we retain paper copies of the information we collect online. Perform regular backups of the information we collect online to ensure against loss. Use technical controls to secure the information we collect online including, but not limited to: Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Encryption Firewalls Password protections Periodically test our security procedures to ensure personnel and technical compliance. Employ external access safeguards to identify and prevent unauthorized access by outsiders that attempt to “hack” into, or cause harm to, the information contained in our systems. We hold our contractors and other third-party providers to the same high standards that we use to ensure the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personal information they may have access to in the course of their work completed on behalf of the Department. Interaction With Children Online The Department is committed to the protection of children’s online privacy. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) governs information gathered online from or about children under the age of 13. Verifiable consent from a child’s parent or guardian is required before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from a child under age 13. If a Department website intends to collect information about children under 13 years old, COPPA-required information and instructions will be provided by the specific web page that collects information about the child. The web page will specify exactly what the information will be used for, who will see it, and how long it will be kept. Visiting Other Websites Our website contains links to international agencies, private organizations, and some commercial entities. These websites are not within our control and may not follow the same privacy, security, or accessibility polices. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the policies of that site. All Federal websites, however, are subject to the same Federal policy, security, and accessibility mandates. Privacy Policy Contact Information We welcome feedback if you have any questions regarding our privacy policy or the use of your information. The Department’s privacy compliance materials are available at Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) and Systems of Records Notices (SORN). For additional information about our Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@state.gov or mail us at: Office of Global Information Services Privacy Office - A/GIS/PRV State Annex 2 U.S. Ah-gwah-ching Minnesota, DC 20522-8100 Updated May 4, 2017

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The Ah-Gwah-Ching regional treatment center near Walker, Minnesota, opened in 1907, primarily as a TB facility. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (MPR Photo/Tom Robertson).

The Ah-Gwah-Ching Center, located about two miles south of downtown Walker, Minnesota, once was home to hundreds of tuberculosis patients who lived and worked on the property. Now a state-run psychiatric nursing home, the center faces closure and an uncertain future. The center opened in December 1907. Known then as the Minnesota Sanitorium for Consumptives, its primary purpose was to treat cases of tuberculosis. The facility was designed by state architect Clarence H. Johnston Sr., who also is known for creating the plans for many homes along St. Paul's historic Summit Ave. Originally meant to house 65 patients, by 1927 the facility had 300 patients, according to an article in the Walker Pilot newspaper. The facility still is licensed for 343 beds, but only staffs 155, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. In June, says a DHS report, just 105 patients were housed at Aw-Gwah-Ching. In its early years, Aw-Gwah-Ching had its own post office, its own railroad depot and other facilities that helped it be self-sufficient, said Renee Geving, director of the Cass County Historical Museum. "They had their own farm, they had their own dairy herd," Geving said. A community hall in the 1920s served as a venue for skits and plays performed by staff and patients of the facility. Aw-Gwah-Ching also had its own newspaper, The Pine Knot, published from 1913-1924. During a three-year period beginning in 1928, Aw-Gwah-Ching participated in a bird-banding project, tagging 3,625 birds, Geving said, reading from a history of the facility. And in 1935, a prison camp was established there to handle overflow from the reformatory at St. Cloud. But perhaps the most impressive part of the center's history is its art collection. During the Depression, Geving said, lithographs, watercolors, wood sculptures and other art forms were created and put on display at Aw-Gwah-Ching as part of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Arts Project. "It's the largest WPA art collection in the state," Geving said. But the collection today is stored away. In 1962, Aw-Gwah-Ching was converted to a state-owned nursing home for people with "challenging behaviors," says the DHS. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, Aw-Gwah-Ching along with the state-owned treatment facilities in Fergus Falls and Willmar are among historic properties the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota says are most endangered. A total of 22 buildings are found on Aw-Gwah-Ching's 175 acres. Part of the property is along Leech Lake, which some preservationists have said might make the facility of interest to developers.