By Heather J. Carlson
A new youth mentoring program in Rochester cleared a key hurdle in the group's quest to get $100,000 in federal funding.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved funding Bolder Options, a program that encourages youths and their mentors to run together. The measure heads to the full Senate for approval.
U.S. Sen. Al Franken requested funding for the program as part of $3.1 million in requests for youth crime-prevention initiatives in Minnesota.
"We need to put programs in place that educate Minnesota's troubled youth on how to make good life choices. The approval of the Senate Appropriations Committee is a critical step in the process of securing these federal funds to achieve our goal of a safe Minnesota," Franken said in a written statement.
Bolder Options is backed by Rochester's famed running back Darrell Thompson, who played for the John Marshall Rockets, Minnesota Golden Gophers and Green Bay Packers before becoming executive director of Bolder Options in Minneapolis.