Serving older adults through healthcare, housing, and community-based services.
09/20/2025
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 www.Lyngblomsten.org/Work to view a list of openings and submit your online application!
09/18/2025
Today at Lyngblomsten, residents and guests enjoyed a beautiful afternoon concert featuring Finnish harp music with performer Diane Jarvi. Her soulful kantele played beautiful and heartfelt songs blended with folk, world, and Americana traditions, bringing stories and sounds from Finland to our Newman-Benson Chapel! We’re grateful to Diane for sharing her gift of music with our community.
09/16/2025
Are you caring for an older adult and feeling stressed or overwhelmed? You don’t have to do it alone. Schedule a one-on-one meeting with Lisa Brown, MSW, LISW, Caregiver Social Worker with Lyngblomsten Community Services. Lisa offers personalized support and resources to help you navigate caregiving challenges—whether that’s self-care, dementia communication strategies, family dynamics, respite care, or senior care options.
In-person appointments are available on Tuesdays, 8:30 AM–1:30 PM at Lyngblomsten at Lino Lakes (6070 Blanchard Blvd., Lino Lakes). Lisa also meets virtually, by phone, or in person at Lyngblomsten’s Como Park campus. To schedule, call (651) 632-5320 or email caregiving@lyngblomsten.org.
09/15/2025
The Summer–Fall 2025 edition of Lyngblomsten Lifestyle is here! This issue celebrates our incredible employees, whose dedication and compassion bring Lyngblomsten’s mission to life every day. From our Como Park and Lino Lakes campuses to our community-based services, employees make a lasting impact on residents, participants, and families.
After years of planning and a summer's worth of construction, the courtyard renovation project on Lyngblomsten's Como Park campus is complete (with just a few minor details yet to finish)! What was once just a vision has now come to life—a beautiful outdoor space where residents, families, volunteers, and friends can come together, connect, and bask in the simple joys of nature and each other's company. Check out these photos of the completed courtyard, including one of a ribbon-cutting ceremony held September 9, heralding the opening of the courtyard.
09/11/2025
We Remember. Today on the anniversary of September 11th, we pause to honor the lives lost, the heroes who ran toward danger, and the families forever changed.
It’s a day that reminds us of the power of unity, resilience, and compassion in the face of unimaginable tragedy. May we continue to carry forward the spirit of togetherness that shone through on that day.
We will never forget.
09/10/2025
Earlier this month, residents from the Lyngblomsten Apartments took a colorful trip to Raspberry Island in St. Paul. There they enjoyed the technicolor creatures of Alebrijes: Keepers of the Island, a vibrant exhibit of large-scale papier-mâché creations celebrating Mexican folk art, culture, and imagination.
09/08/2025
Registration for the Lyngblomsten Foundation Annual Gala closes in two days on September 10, so make your reservation today! At the Gala, you'll experience a night filled with laughter, music, art, and community—all while supporting something truly meaningful. See firsthand how creativity, learning, and the arts are bringing joy and inspiration to older adults every single day. From incredible artwork to moving stories and connections that last a lifetime, this Gala will warm your heart.
09/07/2025
Are you looking for a welcoming place with quality care to call home for yourself or a loved one? The Lyngblomsten Care Center has openings! Experience the difference of our person-centered approach and commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all those we serve. For more information, contact our admissions team at (651) 632-5301 or admissions@lyngblomsten.org or visit www.Lyngblomsten.org/CareCenter.
09/04/2025
The Heritage at Lyngblomsten is off to a creative start with its most recent Art with Heart class. Residents dove into a Botanical Monoprinting Project, which involved rolling ink onto flowers and leaves, pressing them between paper, and bringing their prints to life with touches of colored pencil.
The room was buzzing with laughter, conversation, and the joy of making something beautiful together. These classes are more than just art projects—they’re moments of connection, self-expression, and discovery. We can’t wait to see what else our residents create throughout the year!
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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.
