Exploring new strategies around extreme heat

Hennepin County is taking numerous actions to make the county more resilient to climate change and we need your help.

Extreme heat is becoming more frequent and more dangerous. It affects health, work, housing, and daily life—especially for older adults, young children, outdoor workers, renters without air conditioning, and people with chronic conditions.

Hennepin County is addressing this challenge by building a Heat Resiliency Plan based on expert insight and the lived experience of residents. This plan will be unveiled to the public in June 2026. The plan includes mapping where heat is highest, expanding places to cool down, improving alerts and public information, and coordinating with libraries, clinics, schools, and community organizations. It is also aims to strengthen worker safety, making it easier to access weatherization and cooling help at home, and investing in shade, trees, and cooling features in public spaces.

You can help make Hennepin County develop this plan! Let us know which strategies are most important to you and what you would like to see from this investment from the county.

A wide range of extreme heat strategies

Hennepin County has identified potential strategies that can make the county more resilient to extreme heat. These strategies span all aspects of daily life and combined can keep people healthy, informed, and thriving.

Cooling access and operations

The county maintains a cooling options map to help residents find airconditioned spaces during hot weather. Potential strategies build on this capacity through various means.

Strategies include:

  • Expand the network of cooling centers and resilience hubs in the neighborhoods with the greatest need.
  • Use clear, standard terms so residents know what services each site offers.
  • Provide multilingual information and reduce barriers for residents without documentation by using trusted, easy-access locations.
  • Add mobile cooling where gaps exist (for example, buses).
  • Offer evening and overnight hours during high-risk heat periods and coordinate no-cost transit to-hubs on hot days.

Communication and alerts

County messages will be timed to nationally recognized HeatRisk levels (Yellow, Orange, Red, Magenta) so residents get clear, early guidance.

Strategies include:

  • Launch a plain language heat preparedness website with simple steps for each HeatRisk level.
  • Enroll residents in text and email alerts through County systems and disaster registries.
  • Use patient portals (for example, MyChart) and school/clinic channels to reach families before and during heat waves.
  • Partner with trusted community messengers for culturally informed outreach.

Health systems and EMS (data driven response)

Local data and recent hot summers help plan for surges in health needs and faster cooling care.

Strategies include:

  • Create a Heat Action Plan (SOP) with clear triggers tied to HeatRisk.
  • Build a real time dashboard to monitor heat related ER visits and EMS calls and to trigger staffing and equipment.
  • Update medical coding and training so heat impacts are tracked accurately.
  • Secure 24/7 ice and rapid cooling supplies through local business partners.
  • Offer EMS transport to cooling hubs for residents who don’t need the ER.

Housing, energy, and affordability

Heat maps show where cooling and shade investments can lower temperatures. New programming will focus first on renters and low-income households especially [link].

Strategies include:

  • Create a single entry point for weatherization, heat pumps, AC repair, and utility assistance.
  • Provide renter focused subsidies and landlord incentives to add cooling and ventilation.
  • Consider a “Right to Cool” policy and cool roof incentives or requirements.
  • Expand the contractor workforce for insulation, HVAC, and electrification.
  • Fund emergency AC repairs and create cool rooms in multifamily buildings.

Worker safety and county operations

Outdoor workers face higher risk during heat waves. Clear policies, gear, and scheduling protect health and keep services running. Hennepin County looks to further protect workers with a range of new strategies and policies.

Strategies include:

  • Adopt hydration, shade, rest breaks, acclimatization, PPE, and heat safety training across high‑risk industries.
  • Pilot local ordinances and strengthen oversight to ensure compliance.
  • Allow earlier or later shifts during heat waves; coordinate with neighborhoods when hours change.
  • Provide County crews with breathable uniforms and consistent, department‑wide rules.

Public health integration

Extreme heat increases health issues. Hennepin County is exploring steps to expand integration with the health system including clinics, schools, and homevisit programs.

Strategies include:

  • Add heat screening and education to clinic visits, home‑visits, WIC, Meals on Wheels, and school health.
  • Send timely patient messages through MyChart and include after-visit heat guidance.
  • Use culturally informed, multilingual materials for seniors, pregnant people, refugees, outdoor workers, and those with chronic conditions.
  • Track data to identify gaps, guide investments, and publish heat resilience scorecards over time.

Public spaces, shade, and water

Trees, shade structures, and water features cool streets, parks, and shared community spaces. Hennepin County looks to make further investments to mitigate extreme heat with infrastructure, especially in the most impacted areas in the Hennepin County heat map.

Strategies include:

  • Add built shade (sails, canopies, pavilions) in parks, schoolyards, and busy walking areas.
  • Plant and maintain street trees and expand green infrastructure, focusing on hotter neighborhoods.
  • Designate cooling corridors with trees, greenspace, and shade along key routes.
  • Use cool or permeable pavement where feasible.
  • Improve water quality testing and increase fountains and splash pads at community sites.

Let us know which strategies are most important to you and what you would like to see from this investment from the county.