Sanford Health Asks Beltrami Residents to Submit Ticks for Citizen Science Study

Tick season has returned to northern Minnesota, and Marshfield Clinic Research Institute is asking Beltrami County residents to do something most people wouldn't expect: save the ticks they find and mail them in for science.

The Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, part of the Marshfield Clinic region of Sanford Health, is now in its second year of the Tick Inventory via Citizen Science program, known as TICS, in Minnesota. Originally launched in 2024 in Wisconsin, TICS is an effort to identify ticks, assess risk of encountering a tickborne disease, and learn more about who is being exposed to and diagnosed with tickborne diseases.

The program's expansion into Minnesota is personal for Bemidji's top Sanford physician. "In Minnesota, spending time outdoors is part of who we are," said Daniel Hoody, MD, chief physician and chief medical officer for Sanford Health in Bemidji. "As tick activity increases, it's important that we stay informed and proactive. This study gives our communities a practical way to contribute to research that can ultimately protect the health of our families."

Hoody also flagged a specific concern driving the research. "With new tick species becoming more prevalent in Wisconsin and Minnesota, the risk for potential newly introduced diseases increases," Hoody said. "By joining this effort, we are trying to determine the extent and significance of this spread and the potential health effects." Alexandra Linz, a Marshfield Clinic Research Institute associate research scientist, noted that "some of these ticks are typically found in warmer climates are now appearing in the Midwest," raising the question of "are they breeding here or are they just catching a ride and we found it by chance?"

Beltrami County carries a high tickborne disease risk rating, making local participation especially valuable to researchers. In less than two months last fall, the Research Institute received about two dozen tick submissions, mostly from the Bemidji area, while nearly 6,000 ticks were submitted in Wisconsin. In both 2024 and 2025, nearly 6,000 ticks were collected annually from nearly every Wisconsin county.

Jennifer Meece, PhD, executive director of the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, said the Minnesota launch was a natural next step. "The citizen tick study was the first opportunity for Marshfield Clinic Research Institute to collaborate with our new Sanford colleagues in Minnesota," Meece said. "We had overwhelming support from people who are curious and invested in helping better identify the health threats associated with ticks. With Marshfield Clinic now part of Sanford Health, and the widespread population of ticks throughout the Midwest, it was natural to expand our study into Minnesota."

Participation is straightforward. Tick collection kits are available in the lobby of the Sanford Bemidji Walk-In Clinic at 1611 Anne St. NW, and no appointment is necessary to pick one up. Kits can also be mailed directly to participants: contact tics@marshfieldclinic.org or call (715) 389-7796 ext. 16462 to request a pre-paid collection kit. Once the tick, dead or alive, is placed in the collection kit, drop it in the mail. Any tick found on people or pets is accepted. Each kit comes with a unique identification number participants can use to look up, via an online dashboard, the species of ticks they submitted. Multiple ticks can be submitted, but identification is limited to 10 per kit.

This year, the research team added a personal stories component. At the end of last tick season, the Research Institute reached out to everyone who submitted a tick and asked if they would share their personal story with Lyme disease or other tick-borne disease. This year, anyone can share their story, and a tick submission is not required. The expanded component, called TICS-LENS, is "aimed at engaging individuals who have experienced Lyme or another tick-infection to tell their story," with responses kept anonymous unless participants choose to share their contact information.

Tick submissions from all over Minnesota are encouraged, regardless of whether the person is a Sanford Health or Marshfield Clinic patient. The TICS research team said that in the future, they would like to do other collaborations with medical centers, on walking trails, or other locations that get a lot of tick traffic. For media inquiries, contact Jillian Johnson, Sanford Health's Bemidji region media relations specialist, at (218) 333-6090 or jillian.johnson@sanfordhealth.org.