Serving older adults through healthcare, housing, and community-based services.
04/06/2026
Are you looking for a rewarding career where you'll make a difference in the lives of older adults? Check out opportunities with Lyngblomsten, a senior services nonprofit with campuses in the Como Park neighborhood of St. Paul and in Lino Lakes. Visit https://bit.ly/4qBoFLs to view a list of openings and submit your online application!
04/05/2026
Happy Easter from all of us at Lyngblomsten to you and your loved ones!
04/04/2026
04/03/2026
Today on Good Friday Christians remember Christ's sacrifice of love on the cross. We wish those who celebrate a blessed commemoration.
04/02/2026
In honor of Easter this weekend, employees at our Como Park campus celebrated with a festive giveaway. Based on the kind of candy hiding inside the plastic Easter egg they picked out of the basket, they walked away from the table with a ham, rolls, pie, or another key ingredient of the holiday meal. Bon appétit!
04/01/2026
The Spring 2026 edition of “Lyngblomsten Lifestyle” is here! This edition marks the beginning of the celebrations for Lyngblomsten’s 120th anniversary year, including stories of the lives of some of its founding women. The issue also includes a look at the Lyngblomsten Board of Directors through the decades as well as reflections from two recent board chairs about their service and the board’s role. Pick up a copy when you're next on campus or read it online at www.Lyngblomsten.org/Publications.
03/31/2026
Thank you to the local Minnesota band The Squires for visiting our campus and bringing the joy of music to our community! Our residents enjoyed an afternoon of lively polka and folk favorites, brought to life with the fun sounds of drums, guitar, and accordion. Their music had toes tapping, hands clapping, and smiles all around!
We love providing opportunities like this to our residents—music truly brings people together!
03/27/2026
Youth volunteers are tremendously important to Lyngblomsten's work of caring for older adults. High school- and college-aged young people have a chance to spend time and talk with our residents, helping out with games like bingo or activities like manicures. We work to tailor opportunities to the interests and schedules of our volunteers, including for those who need to complete volunteer hours for a class at school. Bring a spark of joy to the day of an older adult at Lyngblomsten this summer!
If this sounds like a good fit for you or someone you know, reach out to Volunteer Coordinator David Maeda at (651) 632-5406 or dmaeda@lyngblomsten.org. You can also learn more by visiting our website: bit.ly/4bLzaHf.
03/26/2026
The day outside might have been gloomy, but it was fun in the sun as care center residents visited our casino in paradise. They enjoyed tropical beverages and took turns at the roulette wheel and racetrack while others visited the blackjack table. Many thanks to corporate volunteers from Target for helping with the day's festivities!🌺🍹🎲
03/21/2026
Participants of The Gathering, Lyngblomsten's respite program for older adults with early- to mid-stage memory loss, had a festive week celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! They enjoyed a wide variety of activities inspired by Ireland and “all things green.” They took an armchair‑travel tour of Ireland, reminiscing and learning about St. Patrick’s Day history and traditions. There was singing along to favorite Irish tunes, creating green collages, making mint Oreo parfaits, and playing St. Patrick’s Day–themed bingo as well as “Truth or Blarney!” And of course, everyone wore plenty of fun green accessories to keep the celebration going all week long!
03/20/2026
Minnesota was the star of the show for residents of The Heritage at Lyngblomsten this week. They enjoyed a lively trip to the Minnesota Historical Society to learn more about the state's past and culture, including World War II, indigenous life, and technology of the 1950s.
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In 1903, Anna Quale Fergstad gathered together several Norwegian women to form a literary club. Near the end of that year, Mrs. Fergstad expressed her desire for the club to take up charitable work of some sort. Thinking of a vivid picture of the snug little huts along the coast of Norway that sheltered the wives of fishermen who had lost their lives at sea, she realized that, in America, there were many older people without family or friends to care for them. They were in need of some shelter and care. How splendid and useful an undertaking for their club to give at least a few of these deserving kinsfolk a home in which they could spend their last years.
The idea took form on October 19, 1903, when the group formed an organization, the Lyngblomsten Society, dedicated toward that goal. Mrs. Fergstad was named president. The group selected the name Lyngblomsten to commemorate the national flower of Norway, the lyng.
The organization began to grow by establishing "branches" around the Upper Midwest. On February 17, 1906, they incorporated and began fund raising. In 1911 they bought land midway between Minneapolis and St. Paul. In 1912 construction of the home began at Midway Parkway and Pascal Avenue. The home opened in December of that year with 34 older Norwegians moving in.
The home operated on the concept of residents helping with chores as they were able, and receiving help at the level each person needed—very similar to how our continuing care campus works today. It is important to note, then, that Lyngblomsten did not begin as a “nursing home,” but rather as “assisted living”—a term that didn’t exist until decades later.
The Winds of Change
For several decades, the women, their daughters and granddaughters ran the Lyngblomsten Home through the sponsorship of member branches. But as women entered the workforce and had less time for volunteer work, along with increasing government regulations for board and care being established, it was no longer a feasible method.
In 1960, Lyngblomsten was reincorporated and its grounds and assets were gifted to what was then the St. Paul Conference of the American Lutheran Church. The members of the Board of Directors began coming from the churches (instead of from the branches) and staff were hired to handle the day-to-day operations. The branches were transitioned into the new Lyngblomsten Auxiliary.
Today Lyngblomsten is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and partnered in ministry with Twin Cities-area Christian churches. Lyngblomsten welcomes older adults of all faiths and nationalities.
Growing & Changing
In the early 1960s, the skilled nursing facility was added (a requirement given by the churches as a condition of forming the partnership). The next decade saw the addition of the Lyngblomsten Apartments and the Lyngblomsten Community Senior Center (known today as 2nd Half with Lyngblomsten). With heavy hearts, in 1993 the original building that housed the Lyngblomsten Home for the Aged was demolished to make way for the Heritage Apartments (market rate).
In the 1990s Lyngblomsten began developing community outreach programs (Care Team Ministry and Parish Nurse Ministry, specifically), known today as Home- and Community-Based Services. Work also began on adopting the Swedish model of care, known as “service houses,” a concept that would be modified a decade later, ushering in the neighborhood model of person-centered care. Superior Street Cottages located off campus opened in 1999.
In the early 2000s, major fundraising made way for the massive remodeling of the care center, readying the facility for “neighborhoods” and person-centered care. The shift in how care was provided took several years to fully integrate, but as an early adopter and embracing our call to innovation, Lyngblomsten soon became known as a leader in the Culture Change movement—the terminology used to describe a new era in skilled nursing care.
In 2005, our first transitional care unit opened, serving those who needed a place to recuperate between hospital and home. On the community side, our outreach programs were expanded to help support the growing number of older adults, including the launch of The Gathering. In 2006, with much fanfare, Lyngblomsten celebrated the 100th anniversary of its incorporation.
