BLEND

Your kid can turn their excess candy they collected Tuesday night into cash.

Your favorite foods will soon be equipped with new and possibly easier to follow nutrition facts labels.

BLEND (Better Living: Exercise and Nutrition Daily) released their schedule for the 2016 Fit Kids Club Series. -- featuring 31 races, walks and other outdoor activities coming up this year around central Minnesota.

Childhood obesity numbers have risen nationally, but a local initiative is working to keep that from happening in central Minnesota.

This week in our "Fitness Friday" series on WJON, we help keep kids active with the BLEND Fit Kids Club Series. BLEND (Better Living: Exercise and Nutrition Daily) has been fighting to reduce childhood obesity in the St. Cloud area since 2006 and today (Friday) kicks off a series of fun runs.

A handful of local schools have been awarded grant money for their "Safe Routes To Schools" program. MnDOT made the announcement today (Tuesday) that awarded $2,500 each to Rice Elementary, Pleasantview in Sauk Rapids, Sartell police department, and Melrose police department.

Sartell Pediatrics is teaming up with Blend to host their second annual Sweet Candy Buy-Back event tomorrow (Friday).

Nearly 55 percent of Minnesota's adults could be obese by 2030. That's according national report released today (Tuesday) by the organization Trust for America's Health. Right now nearly 26 percent of Minnesotans are considered obese.

U.S. Senator Al Franken will stop in St. Cloud on Tuesday. He plans to visit the Mid-Minnesota Family Medicine Center. He will also check out the mobile science lab at St. Cloud State University.