I-35W Bridge to be Red and Yellow on October 24 to Honor 'End Polio Now'

Via an October 9 Press Release from Rotary District 5950:

I-35W Bridge and France Avenue Light Up to End Polio Now on October 24

Minneapolis—The I-35W Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis and France Avenue in Edina will be lit in shades of red and yellow on October 24 to honor Rotary International’s fight to end polio called End Polio Now.

Rotary International and the Rotary Clubs of District 5950 in the Minneapolis area and central Minnesota have been engaged in a 30-year campaign to eradicate polio worldwide. When Rotary launched its eradication effort in 1985, more than 350,000 children in 125 countries were stricken with polio every year. Since then, polio cases have dropped by 99% to 359 cases in 2014.  As of the end of September, 44 cases of wild poliovirus had been reported in 2015 in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Africa recently marked one year without wild polio.

Polio will be only the second disease after smallpox to be eradicated. The world is on the threshold of ending polio forever due to the efforts of Rotary and its partners, the World Health Organization, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF.

The Minneapolis City Council has declared October 24 as World Polio Day in Minneapolis. The I-35W Bridge will be lit in the End Polio Now branding colors of red and yellow that day to bring attention and awareness to the final push for polio eradication. Lights in the Southdale area of France Avenue in Edina will also be lit in red and yellow on October 24.

For more information, contact Rotary District 5950 End Polio Now Chair Tim Mulcrone at 952-239-1594 or timmulcrone@aol.com.