Yesterday, the Today Show ran a segment on indoor air quality in ice arenas. While the goal of the story was to address a serious issue, the segment left many viewers with concerns regarding the air quality of the Osseo Ice Arena. Based upon the number of calls, emails and concerns I have received over the past 24 hours, I felt it important to provide members of OMGHA with the details regarding the team they discussed and information regarding our Osseo Ice Arena.

Three years ago, an OMGHA Peewee team was competing at the Minnesota Hockey Regional Tournament in Morris, Minnesota. Members of the team suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, from exposure in the Morris Ice Arena. Their experience has led to a major legislative initiative regarding ice arena air quality and a renewed focus by the Minnesota Department of Health regarding air quality and arena air monitoring. Over the past three years, a number of local media outlets have run segments on the experiences of this team and some of their players. For some reason, the media continues to fail to mention, while this was an OMGHA team, the exposure did not take place at the Osseo Ice Arena. While we appreciate their use of video footage from the Osseo Ice Arena, their irresponsible reporting of the incident has led to a great deal of concern and fear about the air quality at the Osseo Ice Arena.

I want to assure the members of our organization that the Osseo School District, operators of the arena and our Board of Directors take the quality of the air in our arenas very seriously. We have never had an issue at the Osseo Ice Arena regarding air quality and it is my understanding the testing practices at the arena exceeds those recommended by the State of Minnesota. I have inserted below a release from the Osseo School District and you will see further information posted throughout the Osseo Ice Arena regarding this issue.

Osseo Ice Arena not involved in “Today Show” segment about indoor air quality
An NBC “Today Show” segment that aired Thursday, February 10, included an interview with a family whose son fell ill while playing hockey three years ago at an arena in Morris, Minnesota. Due to visuals used in the story, some local viewers may have mistakenly assumed that the incident occurred at the Osseo Ice Arena. The incident featured in the segment did not take place at the Osseo Ice Arena. The School District uses aggressive safety measures to help ensure that air quality will never be a concern at the ice arena.

The following facts provide additional information that may be helpful.

The incident occurred three years ago at an arena in Morris, Minnesota. It did not occur in the Osseo Ice Arena.

Records show that there has never been an issue with air quality at the Osseo Ice Arena.
District staff monitors air quality in the ice arena more frequently than the state requires, and reports are filed quarterly with the Minnesota Department of Health. (The “Today Show” segment showed that Minnesota is one of only a few states that regulate air quality in ice arenas). The records show that there has never been a concern about air quality in the Osseo Ice Arena. The School District’s monitoring practices exceed the state’s requirements, and air quality tests are done on the ice to get the most accurate reading on air quality for players.

The team that was involved was an Osseo Maple Grove Hockey Association team, not a District 279 school-sponsored hockey team.

While the TV segment failed to provide sufficient local context, the School District wants to reassure students, staff, parents, and other community members that the incident was not related to the Osseo Ice Arena, and that aggressive measures are in place to help ensure that air quality will never be an issue in the Osseo Ice Arena.