Minnesota loves its lakes, but not everyone gets an equal shot at learning to survive in one. That's the throughline of the latest episode of "In The Know," the Minnesota Daily podcast, which digs into who actually has access to swim lessons and water safety education around the Twin Cities.
Host Lucas Vasquez talked to Andrew DeMare, an assistant aquatic program manager at the Aquatic Center in the University's Recreation and Wellness Center, and Zoe Bel, a lifeguard there with six years of guarding experience, about what a Minnesota summer by the water looks like from behind the whistle. Bel described never fully relaxing at the lake anymore, always watching for someone in trouble out of the corner of her eye.
The heavier material comes from David Albornoz, St. Paul's aquatic director, who has spent 30 years in water safety. Albornoz told Vasquez that drowning disproportionately affects people of color, Black people and immigrant communities, who he said drown at three to four times the rate of people with regular access to swim lessons, according to the Minnesota Daily.
In 2021, Albornoz pitched St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and the city council on what he calls "priceless swim lessons" — free classes he says were the first program of their kind in Minnesota, and even the nation. Rather than open registration to whoever signs up first, which tends to fill with families who could already afford lessons, Albornoz built a system called Targeted Equity Recruitment, or TER: in any class of 10 kids, five slots are reserved for kids from underserved communities, requiring staff to actively recruit rather than just post a sign-up link, per the Minnesota Daily.
The cost gap is real — the podcast notes private lessons at Goldfish Swim School run about $30 a class, over $120 a month, versus roughly $20 at a local pool or the YMCA. Albornoz also recruits lifeguards through the same equity lens, training kids from communities that don't traditionally staff pool stands, and runs free Sunday swims. He argues the free lessons save money rather than cost it, given what a single drowning costs a city in both grief and dollars.
DeMare pointed to state codes governing lifeguard staffing by pool depth and square footage, and warned that lake days lack those same guardrails — breath-holding contests and overconfident swimmers are common ways "innocent fun" turns dangerous. Bel recounted a coworker pulling a girl out of the deep end after she tried to keep up with friends who could swim when she couldn't, and described a kid's inner tube flipping at a lake, a reminder that pool toys aren't life jackets.
The stakes are current: the podcast reports Minnesota saw four drownings over the Fourth of July weekend this year, none at facilities with active lifeguards or proper life jacket use, according to Albornoz. He told Vasquez he's working to replicate his equity-focused swim model through partnerships including the University's Aquatic Center. And for students who missed out on lessons as kids, DeMare noted the university offers private lessons for college-age adults to get comfortable in the water.
The episode was written and hosted by Vasquez and produced by Grace Aigner, per the Minnesota Daily.