Winona State University welcomes new president

Posted at 7:32 AM on April 19, 2013 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Education, Southeast Minnesota

Scott Olson will officially be inaugurated as the president of Winona State University this afternoon.

Olson, who begins his tenure as the institution's 15th president, was appointed to the presidency on May 16, 2012, upon the retirement of Judith A. Ramaley.

Prior to joining WSU, he served as Provost, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, and Professor of Communication Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Olson has published numerous books and journal articles and served on various community boards in southern Minnesota. In 2004, he produced an award-winning documentary film about digital learning.

The inauguration takes place at 2 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium and will be followed by a reception at the Integrated Wellness Complex Gymnasium. Both are open to the public.

The university received more than 60 applications for the position, which became available when Ramaley announced last August it would be her final year with the university. Ramaley was the first female president at WSU.

(Photo courtesy of Winona State University)

Four candidates seek Red Wing mayoral seat

Posted at 2:01 PM on April 11, 2013 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Government, Politics, Southeast Minnesota

Four people want to to be Red Wing's next mayor, and chances are good that whoever wins will not have a connection to the frac sand mining industry.

Red Wing residents Dan Bender and Ernest W. Stone filed the necessary paperwork with the city clerk's office on April 2; John M. Sachen filed on April 4; and Christopher L. Nelson filed on April 9.

The filing period ends at 5 p.m. April 16 and the special election is scheduled for June 11.

Former Mayor Dennis Egan stepped down in February amid controversy after he became executive director of the Minnesota Industrial Sand Council.

(MPR Photo/ Elizabeth Baier)

At the time, Egan said his new job as a lobbyist was not a conflict of interest, but several members of the Red Wing City Council objected before he resigned from the position.

Red Wing is one of a number of Minnesota communities where silica sand mining has become a contentious issue. The silica sand is used to extract oil and natural gas through a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

City Clerk Kathy Johnson told the Rochester Post-Bulletin the special election will cost the city as much as $25,000.

Prolonged election cycle continues for Rochester voters

Posted at 12:45 PM on April 5, 2013 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Government, Politics, Southeast Minnesota

The city of Rochester may be a little closer to having a city council president.

Rochester City Councilman Michael Wojcik ended his campaign for the position this week, saying it was in the best interests of the community.

Wojcik and his opponent, interim City Council President Randy Staver, faced off in a primary election earlier this month, but neither obtained enough votes to win the seat.

"I am ending my campaign for City Council President to focus all of my energies towards working for Rochester," Wojcik said in a statement. "Continuing the campaign only serves to create divisiveness and reduce the availability of Randy Staver and I to work at this critical time on behalf of Rochester for over a month."

But Wojcik's departure from the race doesn't automatically mean Staver will remain in the seat. State law says it's too late for Wojcik to remove his name from the ballot so the general election set for May 7 must go ahead as scheduled.

City Clerk Judy Scherr told the Rochester Post-Bulletin Staver will still need votes to win over any possible write-in candidates.

"Elections have been won and lost because of write-in candidates," Scherr told the Rochester newspaper. "So it's up to the people to decide."

Wojcik and Staver were vying to fill the seat of Dennis Hanson, who won re-election in November, even though he had been dead for four months. Hanson died of a brain aneurysm in June but state law prohibited his name from being taken off the ballot.

(Photos courtesy of the City of Rochester)

Mayo Clinic releases Anxiety Coach app

Posted at 4:08 PM on October 5, 2012 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Healthcare, Southeast Minnesota

Do you suffer from extreme shyness? Or panic attacks?

Earlier this week, the Rochester-based Mayo Clinic released a new Anxiety Coach app, a self-help tool that aims to help people reduce a variety of fears and worries ranging from social anxiety to obsessions and compulsions.

Mayo officials say the Anxiety Coach helps people conquer their fears by guiding them through a series of confidence-building exercises while tracking anxiety levels in real time.

The strategies used in Anxiety Coach are based on cognitive behavioral therapy, a common type of health counseling that helps people increase their confidence by gradually confronting situations they have avoided out of fear.

The app was designed by two clinical psychologists -- Stephen Whiteside, director of the Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Program at Mayo, and Jonathan Abramowitz, an adult anxiety disorders specialist at the University of North Carolina.

"This app is based on a long history of clinical research of what is helpful in conquering anxiety," Whiteside said in a release. "It really challenges people to face their fears, as opposed to other apps that focus on relaxation strategy but don't get to the core of what is helpful in the long term."

The app is available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It features short self-tests to measure the severity of fears and worries, lets users design a personal plan to target individual fears and worries, and offers tools to help users determine when to seek medical treatment.

MnSCU board to announce new WSU president

Posted at 2:33 PM on May 14, 2012 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Education, Southeast Minnesota

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees and Chancellor Steven Rosenstone on Wednesday will announce the new president-elect and interim president of Winona State University.

The Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. An audio stream of the meeting will be available online.

The president-elect and interim president will then meet with the public at 2 p.m. at WSU's Science Lab Atrium in Winona; and a 5 p.m. at the University Center in Rochester.

One of the candidates is Anne Huot, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the College at Brockport, State University of New York (SUNY) since 2007.

The other candidate is Scott R. Olson, who has served as provost and vice president for academic and student affairs and professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato since 2003.

A third semifinalist, Jem Spectar of the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, withdrew his candidacy on April 20.

WSU's next president will earn at least $160,000 annually, according to MnSCU officials. The university received more than 60 applications for the position, which became available when Judith Ramaley announced last August this will be her final year with the university. Ramaley is the 14th president at WSU and the first female president.

The new president is expected to begin July 1.

(Photos courtesy of Winona State University)

Three semifinalists vie for top job at Winona State

Posted at 11:46 AM on April 19, 2012 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Education, Southeast Minnesota

Three semifinalists are competing to replace departing Winona State University President Judith Ramaley.

The candidates will visit Winona State University this week and next to meet faculty, staff, students and community members.

One of the three semifinalists is Anne Huot, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the College at Brockport, State University of New York (SUNY) since 2007.

Another candidate is Scott R. Olson, who has served as provost and vice president for academic and student affairs and professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato since 2003.

The third semifinalist is Jem Spectar, who has served as president and professor of the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown since 2007.

WSU's next president will earn at least $160,000 annually, according to MnSCU officials. The university received more than 60 applications for the position, which became available when Ramaley announced last August this will be her final year with the university. Ramaley is the 14th president at WSU and the first female president.

A special Search Advisory Committee chaired by St. Cloud State University President Earl Potter recommended the three candidates to MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone.

Rosenstone will select the final list and make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, who will make the final choice at the May 16 meeting. The new president is expected to begin July 1.

(Photos courtesy of Winona State University)

Continue reading "Three semifinalists vie for top job at Winona State"

Wildlife expert to manage hunter, landowner issues

Posted at 12:31 PM on March 28, 2012 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Environment, Southeast Minnesota

Photo by Rob Nopola

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has hired someone to to better work with deer hunters and landowners in southeastern Minnesota.

Since February, Clint Luedtke has met with farmers, recreational land owners and others to reduce deer-related crop damage and increase effective deer management strategies.

DNR officials describe southeast Minnesota as a "puzzle" when it comes to deer issues, since the region has many private farms, public forests, absentee landowners, crop depredation, and a growing interest in big buck hunting.

Some regional farmers say they lose thousands of dollars a year in crop damage because of deer.

DNR officials say hunting is the only tool for the agency to manage deer in some of these areas. But not all private landowners/farmers welcome hunters on their properties and DNR officials say many hunters sometimes focus only on catching big bucks.

Luedtke, a former wildlife biologist from Arizona, says many of the problems happen between farmers trying to raise crops near others trying to hunt larger bucks.

"We've got these pockets of deer that are persistently causing damage to crops," Luedtke said. "It has become such a big issue, so we're kind of under the hot seat to get something done."

Luedtke's region includes Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona counties.

Mayo researchers study cost of underage drinking

Posted at 5:22 PM on February 16, 2012 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Healthcare, Research, Southeast Minnesota

(Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)

Mayo Clinic researchers estimate the hospitalization costs for underage drinking in the United States is about $755 million a year, according to a study published this week in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Researchers found the largest part of this expense, or approximately $505 million, goes toward treatment. They also say underage drinking can also lead to other destructive behavior as well as a greater dependence on alcohol in adulthood.

"When teenagers drink, they tend to drink excessively, leading to many destructive consequences including motor vehicle accidents, injuries, homicides and suicides," said Dr. Terry Schneekloth, a Mayo Clinic addiction expert and psychiatrist, in a statement. "Harmful alcohol use in adolescence is a harbinger of alcohol abuse in adulthood."

Young people who start drinking before the age of 15 years are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence or abuse later in life than those who begin drinking at or after age 21 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control, which describes underage alcohol use "a major public health problem."

Youth aged 12 to 20 years drink 11 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States, and more than 90 percent of this is consumed in the form of binge drinking, according to the CDC.

Mayo researchers also found geographic and demographic differences in the incidence of alcohol-related hospital admissions. The study shows the average age of alcohol-related hospitalization was 18 and 61 percent of those young people hospitalized were male.

Mayo's study also shows hospitalization is more common in the Northeast and Midwest and lowest in the South.

Bingo is back

Posted at 9:00 AM on February 17, 2012 by Dan Olson (1 Comments)
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

Bingo never really went away.

What was viewed as the retiree's, pensioner's and widow's past time swooned a bit a decade ago, but in Minnesota some easing of charitable gaming rules is bringing players back to the parlors.

Some of the fastest action is here at Flamingo Bingo in Rochester, Minnesota where the neon sign on the front desk greets the hundreds of players who visit during the week.

People play as many as twelve cards. They may also have rented a bingo tablet computer that basically does everything for them including alerting them to when they should shout, "bingo."

There are hundreds of bingo operations around Minnesota operated by all kinds of groups, but there are only 8 state licensed bingo parlors - places exclusively devoted to bingo.

The state keeps fairly meticulous records of the bingo goings-on. In fact according to state numbers bingo ranks second just behind "raffles" and ahead of pull-tabs for 2011 charitable gaming revenue. And the money adds up. About $590,000 in bingo profits (out of a total, by the way, of more than $18 million in charitable gaming profits last year - not exactly spare change.)

Last year's Flamingo Bingo contribution of $90,000 went to it's operator, the Rochester Senior Center Foundation.

Ok, that's about it - one can go on and on about bingo including memories of those first childhood games with the kernels of corn on bingo cards, the first bingo for money game, maternal and paternal grandmothers, aunts and others who are devoted to bingo and never miss an event, even one miles away from where they live.

Then there's "on-line" bingo - goodness, what an antiseptic experience that must be.

And according to various accounts on the world wide web the mania traces its roots to a middle ages lotto game in Italy, by way of Bavaria, brought to this country by immigrants and then things really took off when an enterprising bingo businessman hired a math professor to devise all kinds of number combinations.

Related
Minnesota Sounds and Voices: Flamingo Bingo in Rochester

Rochester tries again to oust crows

Posted at 10:43 AM on February 1, 2012 by Elizabeth Baier (2 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Southeast Minnesota

Crows fills the sky near the Trask Worship Center at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minn. Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. (MPR File Photo/Jeffrey Thompson)

The crows seem to really like Rochester.

For the last few months, thousands of crows have swarmed downtown Rochester, congregating in nearby parks, scavenging trash bins and leaving a blanket of droppings on sidewalks and parked cars near the Mayo Clinic.

Clinic officials covered some of the trees with nets to keep the birds away. And late last year, the City Council hired a bird abatement company to bring in "attack birds," including falcons and hawks, to scare off the crows.

The city took donations from downtown businesses to help cover the $25,000 cost, but the attack birds didn't seem to do the trick.

Now, city officials have given the bird abatement company the green light to try yet another plan to get the birds out of town.

The new plan, according to news reports, involves trapping and relocating the birds somewhere near Worthington in western Minnesota, even though it's unclear exactly where the birds would be released. The council says it'll pay the company $1,200 a day to proceed with the new plan.

Rochester is not alone in the great battle against crows.

Take a listen to MPR's recent coverage of the crow situation just 90 miles north in Minneapolis.

Belle Creek township to appeal wind farm decision

Posted at 3:21 PM on November 30, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier (4 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Government, Southeast Minnesota

Wind turbines dot a central Iowa field on May 23, 2011. (MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel)

Earlier this week, the Belle Creek township board in southeastern Minnesota voted to appeal a decision by the Public Utilities Commission that allows a developer to proceed with a $179 million wind project near Red Wing.

"People have not listened to us. Everybody's ignored us," Belle Creek Board Chair Chad Ryan said. "They're just plain ignoring what the people want."

Ryan said Belle Creek's decision comes after Goodhue County officials decided against filing an appeal of their own against the PUC.

The project, by developer AWA Goodhue Wind, could include 50 turbines spread across 32,000 acres of farmland in Goodhue County. The township wants a county ordinance with stricter setback requirements for turbines to govern the project, according to Ryan.

"Since the county won't fight it, we felt that we will," Ryan said. "Generally speaking, I would say that 80 percent of the citizens of Belle Creek wanted us to appeal, so that's probably one of the main reasons why we decided to appeal."

The turbine project has generated strong opposition from some residents, who question the effect the turbines will have on local wildlife and eagle populations.

Ryan estimates the appeal will cost the small township of 400 residents as much as $40,000. He said the town board has not decided whether it will also ask an appellate judge for a stay on the project, which could force the developer to wait to break ground on the project until the legal matter is resolved.

The long-standing controversy over the wind farm boils down to whether the state or the county regulate a project that includes 50 turbines spread across 32,000 acres of farmland in Goodhue County. Opponents of the controversial wind farm believe the county's ordinance with stricter setback requirements for the turbines should govern the project.

Under state law, counties are allowed to create their own laws on these issues, but the Public Utilities Commission has the right to override those laws for just cause. That's what the commission did earlier this year when it approved the 78-megawatt wind farm.

But earlier this month, Goodhue County commissioners voted against appealing that decision, saying it's the state's job, not the county's, to regulate large wind projects in Minnesota.

Small-town movie theater goes digital

Posted at 11:22 AM on November 11, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier (3 Comments)
Filed under: Arts, Economy, Southeast Minnesota

(MPR Photo/ Alex Kolyer)

Here's an update to a story from this summer:

It appears the JEM Theater in Harmony, Minn. will remain open -- for now.

Owners Michelle and Paul Haugerud say they've been able to raise $7,200 in donations and secure a short-term loan to buy a used digital projector for $55,000.

That's about $20,000 less than the cost of a new projector. The Haugeruds say they'll continue to raise funds for another six months and put all the money toward paying off the loan. They want to have the projector completely paid for by the end of April 2012.

"I'm happy with the opportunity to keep it open," Michelle Haugerud said. "But We still need people to attend and keep the place in business."

The Haugeruds are among the Minnesota movie theater owners confronting a digital dilemma sweeping the industry nationwide: the movie industry plans to switch to all-digital technology by 2013, rendering traditional 35 millimeter film prints obsolete.

That leap to state-of-the-art projection may please audiences, but upgrading to digital projectors is expensive and the switch might force small movie theaters, including many in Minnesota, to close their doors for good.

Caught in the middle of the squeeze are places like the JEM, a theater that can seat one fifth of the residents of the sleepy little town near the Iowa border.

The online movie website Box Office Mojo estimates there are 219 theaters in Minnesota, comprising about 1,000 screens. Some are multiplex centers like AMC and Regal. But others are family-owned and have fewer than five screens.

The JEM will play its first digital film -- Dolphin Tale -- today, Saturday and Sunday.

Mayo Clinic to take over historic Mayowood Mansion

Posted at 2:01 PM on October 27, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

(Photo by beautifulcataya posted under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license)

Members of the History Center of Olmsted County voted this week to authorize the transfer and ownership of Rochester's historic Mayowood Mansion to the Mayo Clinic.

The Mayowood Mansion is the former home and estate of one of the Mayo Clinic co-founders and is considered one of the most endangered historic places in the state in 2011, according to Preservation Alliance of Minnesota.

As part of the deal, Mayo Clinic agreed to pay a total of $3 million in costs to restore the mansion. The historical society will keep all the personal property and continue to offer tours of the mansion.

The agreement stipulates the clinic first must pay $2 million toward renovations of the mansion before the transfer is finalized.

Dr. Charles H. Mayo built the Mayowood Estate in Rochester between 1911 and 1938.

The centerpiece of the estate is a 38-room mansion that was referred to as the "Big House" by the family. The estate also includes surrounding gardens.

In 1965, the Mayo family donated the home and ten acres to the Olmsted County Historical Society. Two years later, the state Legislature declared the historic Mayowood mansion a Minnesota Historic Site. In 1970, both the mansion and landscape were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sand mining debate moves south to Winona

Posted at 11:17 AM on October 21, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Environment, Southeast Minnesota

The controversy over frac sand mining has spread to yet another pocket of southeastern Minnesota.

Dozens of people showed up for a Winona County Planning Commission meeting Thursday night, where commissioners were scheduled to discuss proposals for three sand mine operations in the Saratoga township. But the public comments went on until 1 a.m. and commissioners decided to table the proposal until their Nov. 17 meeting.

Planning commissioners asked for more time to study issues surrounding frac sand mining before making a recommendation to the county board, according to Winona County Zoning Administrator Eric Johnson.

Johnson said residents voiced concerns about road safety, as well and environmental and health issues.

Parts of southeastern Minnesota are full of "frac sand," highly sought after for its size and strength. With perfectly round grains that look like brown sugar crystals, the sand is ideal for the oil and natural gas exploration, which uses it to extract fuel from underground rock in a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The sand in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois is considered some of the best frac sand in North America because it's chemically inert and can withstand intense pressure needed to break rock.

But in some areas of southeastern Minnesota, the sand is buried deep in the ground and the process of extracting that sand has met with environmental and health concerns. Earlier this year, Goodhue and Wabasha counties put a moratorium on sand mining mines.

The natural gas industry denies widespread problems. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a national study to evaluate the environmental contamination in gas drilling areas around the country and expects to release its findings sometime next year.

Rochester landlords must learn about safety

Posted at 3:04 PM on October 14, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier (1 Comments)
Filed under: Government, Law enforcement, Southeast Minnesota

Rochester landlords have until Oct. 31 to comply with a new city law that requires them to attend a public safety and crime training seminar.

Earlier this year, the Rochester City Council passed a controversial ordinance that requires rental property owners to take a day-long class to specialize in tenant/landlord issues, including leases, evictions, building and safety, gangs and street crime.

The next safety seminar will be held tomorrow. Landowners also have the option to complete a take-home DVD seminar and test.

If they fail to attend the class or take the test, rental property owners will lose their rental certificate and will not be able to rent their properties until they comply with the requirement, according to Darrel Hildebrandt, a crime prevention specialist with the Rochester Police Department.

Hildebrandt said many of the city's roughly 1,000 landowners have expressed apprehension and doubt before complying with the requirement, but walk away from the training with useful information.

"I think it's an eye-opener for a lot of people," he said. "A lot of people are still stuck in the 60s and 70s-style of renting and we're getting a lot of problem tenants coming in from out of state and out of city."

Hildebrandt said the police department wants to encourage landowners to do the criminal background checks on prospective tenants, including national checks.

"We have a lot of [tenants] coming in from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and they're bringing in all of their baggage with them," Hildebrandt said.

To register for the class, call Hildebrandt at 507-328-6890 or email him at dhildebrandt@rochestermn.gov. DVDs are also available to check for a two-week period from the Rochester Building Safety office.

Trifecta of the arts coming to Lake Pepin area

Posted at 1:16 PM on October 7, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Arts, Southeast Minnesota

Fall is here and festivals are in full swing in southeastern Minnesota.

In the Lake Pepin area, three popular festivals are lined up in October, starting this weekend with the Fresh Art Fall Tour and the Red Wing Festival of the Arts. Later in the month, the towns of Pepin and Stockholm, Wisconsin will host the Flyway Film Festival.

Here's a look at the events:

Fresh Art Fall Tour
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Oct. 7, 8 & 9
The annual show takes place along the shores of Lake Pepin and through the scenic countryside of the Lake Pepin and Chippewa River valley. Visitors guide themselves along a tour of 17 artist studios and galleries--all while enjoying peak fall colors along the lake. Organizers expect thousands of visitors will wind through the roads that straddle Lake Pepin to visit artists and their studios. The tour is in its 14th year. For more information, visit Fresh Art Tour.

Red Wing Fall Festival
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 8
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 9
More than 100 artisans and crafters will gather in historic Red Wing for the 45th annual fair. The weekend will feature music, entertainment, outdoor dining and children's activities. It's sponsored by the Red Wing Arts Association. Artists will feature work in a variety of mediums. The National Trust for Historic Preservation placed Red Wing in its distinctive destinations list. For more information, visit the Red Wing Arts Association.

Flyway Film Festival
October 20, 21, 22 and 23
In its fourth year, the Flyway Film Festival will showcase new local, regional American and international films. The festival takes places in Pepin and Stockholm, Wisconsin. The festival will feature more than 50 films, 30 visiting filmmakers, panel discussions and other workshops and events. For more information, visit the Flyway Film Festival.

State officials to host meetings on ash borer

Posted at 3:30 PM on September 27, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

(On Sept. 23, 2010, Minnesota Department of Agriculture officials released stingless wasps as a biological control for emerald ash borer in rural Houston County. The release site, Blackhawk Park, is located 30 miles south of La Crosse, Wis. MPR Photo/ Nate Howard)

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources will host three open houses to discuss the discovery of new emerald ash borer in southeastern Minnesota.

The open houses will be held in La Crescent, Dakota and Winona. Officials will offer area residents information about the ash borer and discuss the state's efforts to slow the bug's spread.

Residents will also have an opportunity to comment on an emergency quarantine placed on ash products in Winona County.

On August 25, state agriculture officials confirmed two new ash borer infestations in the southeastern part of the state. A beetle was found in a purple monitoring trap in Veterans Park in La Crescent. Another one was found in a trap in Great River Bluffs State Park, 17 miles south of Winona.

Since the discoveries, the two departments have released stingless wasps in the state park to control the bug. The wasps are a natural predator of the emerald ash borer and prey on its larvae and eggs.

The emerald ash borer is so worrisome because of the sheer number of ash trees -- about nine million statewide. Emerald ash borer is one of America's most destructive tree pests. Its larvae kill ash trees by tunneling into the wood and feeding on the tree's nutrients.

Since its accidental introduction into North America, the emerald ash borer has killed millions of ash trees in 15 states. The bug was first discovered in Minnesota in May 2009 in St. Paul. Since that time, it has been found in Minneapolis, Falcon Heights, Shoreview, rural Houston County, and now La Crescent and rural Winona County.

The open houses will take place:

- 5:30 to 7 p.m., Wed., Sept. 28 at the La Crescent City Hall, 315 Main Street, La Crescent;
- 6:30 to 8 p.m., Thurs., Oct. 6 at 220 Golden Rule Rd., Dakota;
- 6:30 to 8 p.m., Mon., Oct. 10 at Winona City Hall, 207 Lafayette St., Winona.

For more information, visit the MDA's website or call 1-800-967-2474.

Minn. Children's Museum to open in Rochester

Posted at 7:30 AM on September 20, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Around MN, Arts, Southeast Minnesota

(Photo courtesy Minnesota Children's Museum)

The Minnesota Children's Museum has announced it will open a satellite museum in Rochester in early 2012.

The opening will make the MCM one of the few children's museums in the country to open a second location, according to museum officials.

"Opening a second museum in Rochester will allow MCM to fuel imagination, creativity and love of learning in more of Minnesota's children," Dianne Krizan, president of Minnesota Children's Museum, said in a statement. "With a large number of young families and a growing demand for learning experiences for children, Rochester is the ideal location to expand our footprint. We're energized by the positive response and support we've received from the community."

In January 2010, the MCM signed a memorandum of understanding with the non-profit Children's Museum of Rochester (CMR) to explore the feasibility of developing and operating a children's museum in Rochester.

A Minneapolis consulting firm recently completed the operational feasibility study to evaluate the various partnership and operational models for the new museum. The study supported MCM's strategy to open a small, temporary site and move forward with a well-developed plan for funding and operating a larger site over the next two to five years.

As part of the acquisition, CMR has officially dissolved as an independent nonprofit.

A new Rochester Advisory Board reporting to MCM's Board of Directors has been formed. The current members of CMR's board have been elected as the first members of the Advisory Board. Currently, MCM is searching for a director and an approximately 5,000-square-foot location to open the museum.

In July, MCM received a $1,000,000 appropriation from the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund of the Legacy Amendment. The appropriation includes support for the start-up and operations of an approximately 5,000-square-foot museum in Rochester.

Museum officials estimate the new museum will welcome approximately 30,000 visitors annually during its first few years of operation.

"CMR's collaboration with MCM is a win-win for everyone," Melissa Brinkman, former CMR president and current Advisory Board chair for Minnesota Children's Museum of Rochester, said in a statement. "MCM is the ideal partner to transform the concept of a children's museum in Rochester into reality."

Glow-in-the-dark cats help with AIDS research

Posted at 2:46 PM on September 12, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Healthcare, Research, Southeast Minnesota

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester are using glow-in-the-dark cats in the fight against AIDS.

The clinic announced Sunday that researchers have developed a genome-based immunization strategy to fight feline AIDS and find ways to combat human HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Researchers said the goal is to create cats with intrinsic immunity to the feline AIDS virus. The findings appear in the current online issue of Nature Methods.

"One of the best things about this biomedical research is that it is aimed at benefiting both human and feline health," said Eric Poeschla, M.D., a Mayo molecular biologist and leader of the international study, in a statement. "It can help cats as much as people."

Mayo researchers paired a gene from a fluorescent jellyfish to track another gene, called rhesus macaque restriction factor. The former gene makes the offspring cats glow green and the latter is known to resist the development of the feline AIDS virus.

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) causes AIDS in cats as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does in people: by depleting the body's infection-fighting T-cells. This was the first time this method succeeded in a carnivore, according to Mayo.

Researchers aimed to mimic the way evolution normally gives rise over vast time spans to protective protein versions.

The method for inserting genes into the feline genome is highly efficient, so that virtually all offspring have the genes, according to Mayo. And the defense proteins are made throughout the cat's body. Mayo officials said the cats with the protective genes are thriving and have produced kittens whose cells make the proteins, thus proving that the inserted genes remain active in successive generations.

Mayo receives $20 million to evaluate health care delivery

Posted at 12:45 PM on September 8, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier (1 Comments)
Filed under: Healthcare, Research, Southeast Minnesota

Two longtime Mayo Clinic benefactors have donated $20 million to help launch the Clinic's new Center for Science of Health Care Delivery.

The donation came from Robert and Patricia Kern, a Wisconsin couple who has visited the Rochester Clinic since 1930.

Their contribution will jump start the new center that will focus on creating, evaluating and implementing approaches to deliver high-value care.

Robert Kern is the founder and owner of Generac Power Systems, a generator manufacturer based in Waukesha, Wis. The company produces industrial, commercial and residential power generators.

In a statement, Robert Kern said Mayo has been an important part of his family for many decades.

"We admire their culture of putting the needs of the patient first, and we are honored to join with them to lead the transformation of health care," Kern said.

The $20 million donation will be used to hire staff, build space and help open the Center for of Health Care Delivery, according to Clinic officials.

The goal of the center will be to identify the most efficient and effective best practices in the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients.

The center will be located in the Harwick Building on Mayo Clinic's downtown Rochester campus.

Goodhue advisory panel rejects sand mining moratorium

Posted at 7:00 AM on July 22, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Environment, Southeast Minnesota

(MPR Photo/ Elizabeth Baier)

The Goodhue County Planning Advisory commission has recommended that county commissioners deny a moratorium on silica sand mining, despite resident opposition to the method.

The issue came up earlier this year when Windsor Permian, a division of Oklahoma-based Windsor Energy, bought 155 acres near Red Wing for $2.6 million.

Although the company indicated it would used the land as a "sand pit," Goodhue County officials have not received any permit applications from them.

Residents have been pushing county commissioners to call a moratorium on any further mining before Windsor Permian applies for any permits. The moratorium would prevent sand mines from being established for a year.

The County Board of Commissioners will consider the advisory commission's recommendations before making its final decision on the moratorium. That meeting has not yet been scheduled.

Parts of southeastern Minnesota are full of "frac sand," highly sought after for its size and strength. With perfectly round grains that look like brown sugar crystals, the sand is ideal for the oil and natural gas exploration, which uses it to extract fuel from underground rock in a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The sand in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois is considered some of the best frac sand in North America because it's chemically inert and can withstand intense pressure needed to break rock.

There are already a handful of frac sand mine operations around the region.

But in some areas of southeastern Minnesota, the sand is buried deep in the ground and the process of extracting that sand has met with environmental and health concerns.

The natural gas industry denies widespread problems. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a national study to evaluate the environmental contamination in gas drilling areas around the country and expects to release its findings sometime next year.

Mayo Clinic launches social network

Posted at 10:20 AM on July 7, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier (4 Comments)
Filed under: Healthcare, Southeast Minnesota

(Photo courtesy of Mayo Clinic)

For years, the Rochester-based Mayo Clinic has been at the forefront of using social media, with a popular YouTube channel, a Twitter account, and more than 53,000 connections on Facebook.

The Clinic also produces its own podcast and blog, and in 2010, created the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media to help the clinic and other health care providers adopt social media tools.

Now, officials at the clinic have created their very own social media community. Clinic officials believe the Mayo clinic online community is the first such online community created by a medical provider group or hospital system.

The goal of the online community is to connect people who have already been through the Mayo Clinic with future patients facing similar health concerns. It's meant to be a place for community members to share information, support and encouragement.

According to the Clinic, more than 500,000 unique patients from every U.S. state and nearly 150 countries visit one of the Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida or Minnesota for diagnosis and treatment each year.

The Mayo Clinic online community is comprised of content from various Mayo Clinic blogs, health and medical videos, and links to news articles about Mayo Clinic research and treatment advances. It also features a discussion forum where members can connect with others who have similar interests or concerns.

The community is free and is open for anyone to join.

Great Mississippi River Cleanup kicks off

Posted at 2:15 PM on June 10, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Environment, Southeast Minnesota

(Photo courtesy of Living Lands & Waters)

Thousands of volunteers are expected to descend on the banks of the Mississippi River this weekend for the Great Mississippi River Cleanup.

The cleanup, organized by Living Lands and Waters, begins tomorrow and has now expanded to 30 cities around the Midwest. In the Upper Midwest, the cleanup will run from St. Paul, Minn. to Prairie Du Chien, Wis.

Other Minnesota cities joining this northernmost leg of the cleanup include Red Wing, Wabasha, and Winona.

In Wisconsin, volunteers will participate in Alma, Buffalo City, and LaCrosse.

As many as 1,500 volunteers are expected to take part in this year's clean-up of the iconic waterway.

Later this summer, volunteers will also gather at other cleanup sites, including:

• July 9th, Guttenberg to Clinton, IA

• August 13th, Quad-Cities to Keokuk, IA

• September 17th, Canton, MO through St. Louis, MO.

"Doing the clean up in phases will help bring our important message to more people," Living Lands & Waters Founder and President Chad Pregracke said in a statement. "And that's part of what Living Lands & Waters is all about: bringing the health of our rivers to the attention of everyone who depends upon them, and then working to improve it."

According to Living Lands & Waters, the organization has removed more than six million pounds of trash through cleanup efforts along the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Potomac Rivers since its launch more than 12 years ago.

The group has also coordinated flood relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina and the historic floods in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Lake Delton, Wis., in 2008.

Four years after deluge, Rushford pipe organ restored

Posted at 1:05 PM on June 1, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier (2 Comments)
Filed under: Flooding, Southeast Minnesota

Heavy rain and flash floods destroyed more than half of the 700 homes and businesses in the southeastern Minnesota community of Rushford in 2007.

For weeks after the deluge, most of the town's businesses remained closed and nearly all the damaged homes empty. The rain washed away homes, destroyed infrastructure and killed seven people.

Among the losses: the historic pipe organ inside Rushford's stone-built Emmanuel Episcopal Church.

But slowly, the town rebuilt.

Nearly four years later, residents of Rushford and congregants of this small church will gather this weekend for a dedication ceremony in honor of the restored pipe organ.

This is a big deal for this small community. The rebuilt organ has been expanded from nine ranks to ten ranks with a solid state switching system. The console has been rebuilt and updated as well as the blower. And the wind chest and pipes--not damaged in the flood--are the originals.

Brian Williams, director of music and the arts at Calvary Episcopal Church in Rochester, will direct the Motet Choir from Calvary at the dedication. Mayo Clinic Carilloneur Jeffrey Daehn will also be on hand to give instrument demonstrations.

The dedication will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 217 West Jessie Street in Rushford. A reception will follow. The public is welcome to join in the celebration in honor of the restored pipe organ.

For more information, email Ben Scott at sbscott@kmtel.com.

Mayowood district on list of endangered historic places

Posted at 1:20 PM on May 13, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

(Photo by beautifulcataya posted under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license)

The former home and estate of one of the Mayo Clinic co-founders was chosen as one of the most endangered historic places in the state in 2011, according to the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota.

Each year, the alliance releases its top historic sites and resources in need of preservation and advocacy.

Dr. Charles H. Mayo created the Mayowood Estate in Rochester between 1911 and 1938.

The centerpiece of the estate is a 38-room mansion that was referred to as the "Big House" by the family. The estate also includes surrounding gardens.

In 1965, the Mayo family donated the home and ten acres to the Olmsted County Historical Society. Two years later, the state Legislature declared the historic Mayowood mansion a Minnesota Historic Site. In 1970, both the mansion and landscape were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

James Lundgren, executive director of the History Center of Olmsted County, told the Post-Bulletin that being on the list will support the center's efforts to restore resources in the Mayowood district.

Other historic places to make the list include: the Jackson Street Water Tower in Elk River; the Dredge William A. Thompson near Winona; Howe School in Minneapolis; Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center in Fergus Falls; Johnston Hall in Faribault; Mitchell Yards in Hibbing; the Pillsbury "A" Mill Complex in Minneapolis; Porky's Drive-In in Saint Paul; and St. Peter's Church in Duluth.

Rochester film festival turns 16

Posted at 1:30 PM on April 29, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Arts, Southeast Minnesota

(Photo courtesy of connectedthefilm.com)

The Rochester International Film Festival kicks off its 16th season today.

Films include: Connected, an official selection at Sundance Film Festival and winner of the Women in Film Award from National Geographic. In it, award-winning filmmaker and founder of the Webby Awards Tiffany Shlain explores the visible and invisible connections linking the major environmental and technological concerns of our time.

Earlier this year, Shlain told the San Francisco Chronicle the film was originally meant to explore the connectedness from an intellectual space, but that changed as she worked on the film.

"We're all connected on every level, as a species on the planet, as parents of children, it's so intrinsic to who we are," Shalin told the newspaper. "I think that if we start looking at the links more and how we're interdependent, only good can come from it."

Also featured at the Rochester festival is Lutefisk Wars, a mock documentary depicting rural life in the Midwest after a home-delivery grocery driver comes across an ancient lutefisk recipe. The film is a tribute to small town America and Scandinavian culture, and an expected southeastern Minnesota crowd-pleaser.

International selections include films from France, Poland, Italy, Germany, Bolivia, South Korea and Greece, among others.

All the screenings for the festival will be held at Wehrenberg Rochester Galaxy 14 Cine, 4340 Maine Ave SE, Rochester, MN. The festival runs through May 5.

The Rochester festival coincides with the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, produced by The Film Society of Minneapolis-St. Paul

According to its website, the Film Society of Minneapolis-St. Paul (formerly Minnesota Film Arts) is one of the most diversified film-arts organizations in the country and is the largest exhibitor of artistic and international films in the Upper Midwest. The Twin Cites' festival features about 400 titles annually, and an audience of more than 100,000. That festival also runs through May 5.

Healthy living center at Mayo set to expand

Posted at 1:00 PM on March 30, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier (1 Comments)
Filed under: Healthcare, Southeast Minnesota

(Photo courtesy of Mayo Clinic)

A new building is coming to downtown Rochester.

The Mayo Clinic announced it will double the size of the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center. The four-story expansion will give selected patients access to the wellness facility, that currently is open only to Mayo Clinic employees and their families.

In a statement, Patricia Barrier, medical director of Mayo Clinic's Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, said the clinic is committed to improving the overall health and wellness of its patients as well as diagnosing and treating illness and disease.

"This expansion will contribute to Mayo's quest to comprehensively serve the needs of each patient," Barrier said.

At the new center, patients will get highly individualized healthy living guidance tailored to their particular illness or disease. The center also will provide ongoing support aimed at preventing future disease.

The expansion is made possible by the financial generosity of Dan Abraham, a longtime Mayo patient and founder of SlimFast International. Mayo Clinic officials did not release the amount of Abraham's financial gift.

"The generous support by Mr. Abraham has improved the lives of our employees through the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center. Now, his same spirit of generosity and commitment to Mayo Clinic will more broadly touch all our patients," John Noseworthy, M.D., Mayo Clinic president and CEO, said in a statement.

Clinic officials said the existing floors of the healthy living center will continue to be for Mayo employees and their dependents. The new floors will have a separate entrance for patients.

Officials did not immediately release a timeline for construction of the project.

Grant helps promote dental hygiene for poor, rural Minnesotans

Posted at 2:30 PM on March 24, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Healthcare, Southeast Minnesota

Finding a dentist can be tough, especially if you're poor and live in a rural area. And the lack of proper dental care can lead to more serious health issues down the line.

To help address the need, Minnesota State University Mankato will use a recent grant from AgStar Financial Services to offer scholarships to low-income, rural Minnesotans who can't afford dental care.

MSU recently received a $5,000 grant from AgStar to support scholarships for rural community members to maintain and improve their dental health at the university's dental clinic.

Throughout the year, MSU students in the dental hygiene program staff the dental lab, where they do basic dental cleaning, fluoride treatment, dental x-rays and other oral hygiene inspections. The dental lab is open to the public for a $40 fee.

The AgStar grant will help fund $40 scholarships for people who can't afford the fee. Officials with the university say the clinic will offer the scholarships on a first-come, first served basis.

For more information on the dental hygiene program and the dental health clinic at MSU, visit www.ahn.mnsu.edu/dental.

Rochester schools seek input on new superintendent

Posted at 12:59 PM on March 11, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Education, Southeast Minnesota

Rochester Public Schools officials want your help.

As they develop a profile for the next superintendent, school officials are holding several sessions to get the community's input on what they'd like to see in the new leader.

The next session will be Monday, March 14. Residents, parents and students are encouraged to attend.

Officials with School Exec Connect, a superintendent search firm, will assist with the meeting and the overall search to find a superintendent.

The meeting begins at 4 p.m. at Century High School. Similar community input sessions have been held recently at other Rochester schools.

Earlier this year, the Rochester School Board selected veteran education administrator Jackie Silver to temporarily replace Superintendent Romain Dallemand, who left the district in January. Silver is expected to serve approximately six months until the district hires a permanent replacement.

Dallemand left Rochester to become the superintendent of Bibb County Schools in Macon, Ga. He became superintendent of the Rochester Public Schools in 2007 after working as a school administrator in Connecticut and Florida.

As the search continues, school officials are encouraging residents to fill out a survey about what the community wants the superintendent to be.

Officials will post a summary of the survey results on the district's website after March 14.

School board members and School Exec Connect officials will interview candidates in early May and hold a special session on May 24 to vote on the new superintendent's contract.

The new superintendent is expected to start July 1.

Election to fill late Olmsted County commissioner's seat

Posted at 4:31 PM on March 8, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Government, Southeast Minnesota

Olmsted County officials have set the date for an Aug. 9 special election to fill the seat of longtime County Commissioner Mike Podulke, who died suddenly in February. He was 67.

Filing for the District 1 seat begins on March 15 and runs through 5 p.m. March 29. If three or more candidates file, officials will hold a primary election on June 7 to narrow the candidates to two before the general election, according to Olmsted County Elections Administrator Pam Fuller.

The August election will cost approximately $25,000. If a primary election is needed, it will cost an additional $25,000, Fuller said.

Podulke was first elected in 1988. Ambulance crews found him dead in his car near a mall in Rochester on Feb. 23. News of his death stunned local officials, community advocates and longtime residents.

Jerry Katzmann, one of his longtime friends, told the Post-Bulletin Podulke was "a trickster, a punster, a poet, a craftsman and the best gift-giver" he'd ever known.

For more information about the special election, visit the Olmsted County Election Department, or call 507-328-7650.

(Photo courtesy of Olmsted County)

Weather service to train storm spotters in three states

Posted at 3:01 PM on March 3, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Environment, Southeast Minnesota, Weather

MPR Photo/ Elizabeth Baier

Blue tarps blanketed roofs and sheets of plywood covered broken windows in neighborhoods and communities around Minnesota in 2010, a record year for tornadoes in the state.

In all, 104 tornadoes touched ground in Minnesota in 2010.

Now, officials with the National Weather Service in La Crosse are looking for a few good volunteers to help spot some of that severe weather when it hits this year.

The weather service recently released the Severe Weather Spotter Training Schedule for 2011.

Training sessions will be held across starting March 10. Minnesota locations include Austin, Rochester, St. Charles and Stewartville. Wisconsin training will take place in Fort McCoy, Arcadia, Medford and La Crosse. In Iowa, sessions will be held in Monona, Fayette and Osage.

The weather service relies on volunteer storm spotters to report severe weather, including tornadoes and flooding.

Spotters are typically volunteer fire fighters, police officers and amateur radio operators, but individual spotters can still participate.

The service says spotters are vital in reporting severe weather, especially in spring and summer months when activity picks up.

In the past 11 years, Minnesota has seen an average 48 tornadoes per year. The top two tornado years on record in the past decade.

DNR to discuss chronic wasting disease in Pine Island

Posted at 8:00 AM on February 14, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Environment, Minnesota Today RSS Feeds, Southeast Minnesota

Officials with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will hold a public meeting tonight in Pine Island to discuss Chronic Wasting Disease in wild deer.

Officials will answer questions from landowners about the agency's efforts to manage the disease, commonly known as CWD. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Pine Island High School cafeteria.

Lou Cornicelli, big game coordinator for the DNR, said department staff will update residents on the latest CWD information but will not issue hunting permits to individual landowners at the meeting.

"We're not going to be issuing shooting permits because they take time because you have to explain laws and what they can and can't do," Cornicelli said. "We'll have a mechanism to get names and follow up with those folks really quickly."

DNR officials have been issuing special hunting permits to some southeastern Minnesota landowners as part of the special harvest to test for the disease. As of Feb. 10, the DNR had issued 125 permits and tested 41 deer, all of which tested negative for the disease.

The permits allow landowners to shoot as many whitetail deer as they want on their property. They also allow landowners to authorize other individuals to hunt on their land.

DNR officials are removing lymph nodes from the deer carcasses to test for CWD. If the tests come back negative, hunters can keep the deer and process the meat. If they're positive, the DNR will dispose of the carcass.

A deer-feeding ban also begins Monday to reduce the spread from deer-to-deer, according to Cornicelli. CWD doesn't pose a risk to humans, but the disease is progressively fatal for deer, elk and moose.

Officials from a number of the other agencies, including the Minnesota Board of Animal Health and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association also will be present to answer questions.

Hormel fights global hunger with 'Spammy' meat spread

Posted at 9:04 AM on February 1, 2011 by Michael Olson
Filed under: Food, Southeast Minnesota

Fresh off of a plum 2010 and reported sales of more than $7.2 billion Austin-based Hormel announced plans to expand its corporate headquarters in southern Minnesota and a new global anti-hunger campaign.

The Austin Daily Herald reports that Hormel launched a new product -- a "high-protein meat spread" called "Spammy."

The Herald explains that Spammy, "only intended for the use of the anti-hunger program, is a turkey-based spread, fortified with vitamins and minerals. The high protein composition of the treat was specifically created to provide nourishment to those experiences [sic] the effects of malnourishment."

Hormel will have local support in Guatemala with its Spammy initiative from the non-profit organization Caritas. Food for the Poor is also providing assistance.

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a "state of public calamity" in 2009 as part of an effort to attract international assistance and attention to the country's food shortages.

Crime worries Rochester residents, despite facts

Posted at 12:02 PM on January 31, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier (3 Comments)
Filed under: Law enforcement, Southeast Minnesota

(Photo courtesy of the Post-Bulletin)

Crime is a hot topic in Rochester these days, even though the city's crime rate has dropped in the past decade. While the population is up 21 percent, most individual crime reporting categories have remained virtually static. But city and police officials say the perception of crime in Rochester is actually getting worse.

Much of that has to do with much-publicized violent crime. In 2009, 24 of the 142 assaults in Rochester involved someone pulling a trigger. The record number of shootings killed one person and injured 23.

Today on the MPR News program All Things Considered, we'll address how people in Rochester feel about crime and explore how that compares with official statistics.

On Tuesday, MPR News and the Post-Bulletin will host a community meeting in Rochester on crime and the perception of crime in the community.

The event will begin with a reception at 6 p.m. at the Mayo Civic Center's Grand Ballroom.

Community leaders, law enforcement and criminal justice officials and residents will join us for the conversation.

Residents like Todd Hager are concerned about how the community has changed since the record number of shootings a couple years ago.

Like other residents, Hager wants outsiders to know that overall, Rochester remains a very safe city -- one consistently ranked among the best places to live in the United States.

But he laments that the graffiti, drugs and gangs present in Rochester are quickly transforming their way of life.

"Sometimes I think I have a very big gap between reality and my perception," Hager said. "I perceive a greater danger than there probably really is."

Rochester and Olmsted County have changed significantly since 2000. The city grew by 21 percent in the last decade to 103,000 residents. Rochester also is much more racially and ethnically diverse.

Demographic estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that 10.4 percent of Olmsted County residents do not speak English as their primary language at home. That's up six percent since 2000. Olmsted County is among the eight most diverse counties in the state.

Police records show Rochester's overall crime rate has gone down for 15 years. In fact, violent crime alone declined 7 percent during the first seven months of 2010.

Police Chief Roger Peterson said when people think about crime in Rochester, two factors play a major role: growth and race.

"We're not going to be a small town any more and we're never going to be an all-white town anymore like we were 35 years ago," he said.

But while the overall number of crimes has held steady, the city's increasing population and racial diversity have changed how people perceive crime. And for some Rochester residents, the numbers aren't nearly as important how they feel.

Walz to hold 'Congress on your Corner' stop

Posted at 3:42 PM on January 13, 2011 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Government, Southeast Minnesota, Southwest Minnesota

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz will host a "Congress on your Corner" stop in Mankato on Friday, less than a week after a shooting rampage in Tuscon that killed six and injured 15, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Walz, a Democrat from Mankato, announced the stop as a way to show his office will continue to host open forums with public access, despite growing concern from lawmakers on security issues.

"Hearing the thoughts and ideas of southern Minnesotans is the cornerstone of our representative democracy," Walz said in a statement. "I am looking forward to the opportunity to hear from folks."

Since the shooting, the discussion over safety has re-emerged among politicians, who are struggling to balance their own safety concerns with an open democracy. Members of Congress were also briefed on security measures by the FBI and the Capitol Police.

Earlier this week, Walz told the Mankato Free Press he was shaken by the attack on his friend.

Walz's meeting will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at Mocol's Super Market, 1001 N Broad Street in Mankato.

Dispatch from southeast Minnesota

Posted at 10:38 AM on December 1, 2010 by David Cazares
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

Elizabeth Baier, who covers Southeast Minnesota for Minnesota Public Radio News, reviews stories on her beat during Morning Edition with Cathy Wurzer.

Elizabeth discussed efforts in Rochester to imitate the popular Uptown entertainment district near downtown Minneapolis; the Elk Run bio-business center project underway in Pine Island; and the $8.8 million Minnesota will receive from the federal government to help water quality in the Mississippi River.

Listen

DNR seeks input on Parks and Trails Legacy Plan

Posted at 8:23 PM on November 26, 2010 by Tom Robertson
Filed under: Arrowhead, Central Minnesota, Environment, Government, Northwest Minnesota, Southeast Minnesota, Southwest Minnesota, Sports & Recreation, Twin Cities

MPR Photo/Tom Robertson

You'll soon have a chance to weigh in on the DNR's draft plan to guide state and regional parks and trails Legacy Amendment funding for the next quarter century. The plan will be available for review and public comment starting early next month.

The plan is mandated by the Legislature and is designed to establish a 25-year vision for the parks and trails effort in Minnesota, especially as it pertains to funding generated by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment passed by voters in 2008.

The amendment created a three-eighths percent sales tax increase for natural resources and the arts. Of the money generated, 14.25 percent goes toward state parks and trails projects.

Minnesota residents are asked to comment on recommendations on how parks and trails connect people with the outdoors and how the state takes care of existing recreational resources.

The DNR also wants feedback on their proposed strategy for land acquisition and on developing new parks and trails to meet future needs.

You can comment on the plan online, or attend one of several workshops around the state:

-- Thursday, Dec. 2, 7-9 p.m., Country Inn and Suites, 1900 Premier Dr., Mankato
-- Monday, Dec. 6, 7-9 p.m., Holiday Inn -- downtown waterfront, 200 W. First St., Duluth
-- Tuesday, Dec. 7, 7-9 p.m., Hampton Inn and Suites, 1019 Paul Bunyan Dr. S., Bemidji
-- Wednesday, Dec. 8, 7-9 p.m., University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center, 1890 Buford Ave., St. Paul.

New MnDOT center open in Mankato

Posted at 10:45 AM on November 8, 2010 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Government, Southeast Minnesota, Southwest Minnesota

Photo courtesy of Minnesota Department of Transportation

Officials with the Minnesota Department of Transportation invite the public to see the new multi-transportation center in Mankato this week.

An open house is set for 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. The building is located at 2151 Bassett Drive, east of Hwy 22 in Mankato.

The new multi-transportation facility houses the regional offices of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Minnesota State Patrol and Driver and Vehicle Services.

MnDOT started site work on the $24 million, 163,000 square-foot facility in 2008. It sits on 32-acre site adjacent to major highways.

Visitors will have a chance to:

- Tour any or all three state offices and visit with State Patrol officials;
- Watch a Minnesota Teen crash/driving 15-minute video (show times at 3:30 p.m., 4:15 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.);
- Take a drivers license test;
- Visit a snowplow and heavy equipment display;
- Visit with experts in the laboratory for road material testing and learn about survey technology and highway designs.

The open house coincides with Winter Hazard Awareness Week, which runs from Nov. 8 - 12.

Dispatch from Southeast Minnesota

Posted at 11:30 AM on October 27, 2010 by David Cazares
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

Elizabeth Baier, who covers Southeast Minnesota for Minnesota Public Radio News, reviews stories on her beat during Morning Edition with Cathy Wurzer.

Elizabeth discussed the contest between Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz and his Republican challenger Randy Demmer in Minnesota's 1st District.

She also talked about the potential loss of Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Romain Dallemand to a district in Macon, Ga., and a curfew for minors in Rochester that expired Sept. 30.

Rochester superintendent finalist for Macon, Ga. job

Posted at 1:44 PM on October 22, 2010 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

The head of Rochester's public school system has been named a finalist for the top positions in Macon, Ga.

Rochester Superintendent Romain Dallemand will travel to Georgia this weekend for a final round of interviews, according to local television reports.

Dallemand is one of two finalists for the Bibb County school board position. The other is James E. Benfield, the current superintendent of Yadkin County Schools in North Carolina, according to an article in a Macon newspaper.

Dallemand became superintendent of the Rochester Public School District in 2007. He's also worked in school administrative positions in Connecticut and Florida.

After he arrived in Rochester, the school district developed a five-year plan to close the academic achievement gap. The program is based on the assumption that students can be taught to be successful in any area.

In 2008, Dallemand told MPR that by 2013, all students in the district will be proficient in reading, math and science, and all will be prepared for careers after high school.

"I always like to say that in Rochester we have a very good school district. However, 22 percent of our students are not proficient in reading and in math" Dallemand said.

Officials with the Macon School District have told various media outlets they will announce the new superintendent as early as Nov. 4.

Saudi royal family pumps millions into Rochester

Posted at 3:40 PM on October 21, 2010 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

When members of the Saudi Arabian royal family fly half way around the world to visit the Med City, lots of people notice.

This month's visit -- presumably for medical evaluations and treatment at the Mayo Clinic -- was no exception.

Officials with the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau estimate the recent visit of more than 100 people with ties to the royal family pumped $1.3 million into local coffers, according to an article in the Rochester Post-Bulletin.

The newspaper reports that the Saudi group arrived in Rochester sometime in early October. Rows of Mercedes Benz sedans and U-Haul trucks were seen in downtown Rochester, near the Mayo Clinic. And downtown shop owners reported some big ticket sales in recent weeks.

It's not the first time Saudi royalty comes to town.

In late 2008, Saudi Arabian royalty spent more than $1.5 million in town in a week on luxury hotels and car rentals.

Obesity expert, 'Treadmill desk' inventor to leave Mayo

Posted at 9:50 AM on October 14, 2010 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

The man who got the world excited about walking while working is leaving the Mayo Clinic.

James Levine, a physician and researcher at the clinic's main campus in Rochester, is heading to The Cleveland Project for University Hospitals Case Medical Center. It's a new initiative promoting healthy living in Cleveland, according to the Rochester Post-Bulletin.

Levine is credited with creating the Office of the Future. In 2005, he proposed stationary computers at treadmills to increase workers' exercise opportunities. He also led researchers of NEAT-- short for "non-exercise activity thermogenesis" -- at Mayo.

In 2006, he took his idea into Rochester Public Schools. At the time, he told MPR that classrooms need to be redesigned so children and machines can move.

It turns out his idea was a big hit. Workers around the country abandoned their ergonomically-correct chairs for walking, or simply standing, at their workstations. And teachers designed stand-up desks to get kids to moving in classrooms, too.

This is exactly the kind of activity Levine has long advocated for. Over the past decade, obesity has become recognized as a national health threat and a major public health challenge. In 2007 and 2008, approximately 72.5 million adults in the were obese, based on measured weights and heights, according to the Center for Disease Control.

Levine will soon bid farewell to Minnesota. But the man who introduced the standing phenomenon to the world says his mission to get people moving and healthy will continue.

Mayo Clinic pledges $300,000 for flood recovery

Posted at 1:43 PM on October 7, 2010 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

The Mayo Clinic today pledged $300,000 to help with cleanup and recovery efforts in flood-damaged areas of southeastern Minnesota.

The donation was distributed equally to the Southeast Minnesota Chapter of the Red Cross, the Salvation Army of Rochester, and the United Way of Olmsted County for flood relief efforts.

"This natural disaster has substantially affected the communities in which we live and work," Mayo Clinic CEO John Noseworthy said in a statement. "Many people, including our colleagues, our patients and our neighbors suffered losses and property damage. It's important that we do everything we can to help these individuals and communities recover as quickly as possible."

Mayo officials have also put out a call to employees to volunteer with clean up and recovery efforts.

Preliminary damage assessment reports indicate that 5,326 homes were affected by flooding in 17 counties.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has tentatively scheduled a special legislative session for Oct. 11 to ensure that state funding is available to help southern Minnesota residents clean up from last month's flooding.

The governor's office says a preliminary damage estimate from the September 22 flooding is $64.1 million. If a disaster declaration is made, the federal government will pick up 75 percent of the cost. Pawlenty and legislative leaders have pledged that the state will pick up the rest of the tab.

State officials warn flood victims of contractor claims

Posted at 1:52 PM on September 29, 2010 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Government, Southeast Minnesota

As residents in southeastern Minnesota continue to clean up after record floods, officials are telling homeowners to be wary of contractors claiming to be approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA officials say the agency neither certifies nor endorses any private-sector contractors.

Homeowners who are contacted by contractors claiming to represent FEMA, or who say they are endorsed by FEMA, should get as much information as possible from the contractor and contact state authorities.

State officials encourage flood victims to call the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry to verify contractors are licensed and to learn if there is a history of disciplinary action with that contractor.

Homeowners can also verify the status of a contractor's license online at DLI's Licensing/Certificate website.

Other tips from the state Department of Labor include:

- Do not to sign anything presented by a contractor unless you read the document very carefully and have made a firm decision to hire that contractor;

- Ask for the contractor's license number and contact the Department of Labor and Industry at 651-284-5069 or 1-800-342-5354 to verify the builder is currently licensed and to find out if they have a disciplinary history;

- Ask the contractor how long and where they have been in business;

Ask for references and check with former customers to see if they were satisfied with the work;

Ask for a Minnesota business address other than a post office box and a local phone number;

Officials also recommend homeowners avoid contractors who arrive in unmarked cars, ask you to sign an estimate or authorization before you have decided to actually hire them or appear to be willing to do the job at an unusually low price. Homeowners also should steer clear of contractors who require full or substantial payment before work begin, refuse to provide a written estimate or contract; or refuse to provide a license number issued by the state of Minnesota.

Falcons, Griffins or Raptors? U of M Rochester to reveal mascot

Posted at 3:41 PM on September 7, 2010 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Education, Southeast Minnesota

Heads up, Med City residents.

The University of Minnesota-Rochester may not have a football team or cheerleading squad in its cards for the near future, but it will have a mascot by the end of the week.

The big question looming on students' minds: Will they be cheering for the Falcons, the Griffins, or the Raptors?

UMR officials will reveal the winner at a free event that starts at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the downtown Rochester Peace Plaza.

There will be music, comedy acts, food and prizes for the first 500 people dressed in maroon and gold.

The timing is just right. About 125 aspiring health care professionals arrived in Rochester this week as the still-infant campus' second freshman class. Last spring, about 50 students wrapped up their inaugural year as the school's first undergraduate class.

MayoClinic.com named one of 50 best sites of 2010

Posted at 2:50 PM on September 2, 2010 by Elizabeth Baier
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

MayoClinic.com was recently named one of the top websites of the year, according to editors at TIME.com.

The complete list includes everything from the helpful to the distracting, the big hitters to the unknowns.

Other top picks include the personal finance website Mint, the video sharing site Vimeo, and up-and-coming blogging platform Tumblr.

According to TIME.com:

"The renowned Mayo Clinic's website keeps its tips legitimate, combining ease of use with sound medical advice. The site offers an encyclopedic index of diseases and a symptom checker to see what that forehead pain could mean. With an editorial staff full of M.D.s, you'll be sure to get your information from expert sources, though nothing can replace an actual doctor."

MayoClinic.com is produced and managed by Mayo Clinic Global Products and Services (GPS). The website began in 1995 and now gets more than 17 million visits per month worldwide, according to clinic officials.

"We're extremely proud to be the trusted source of medical information for people everywhere," Roger Harms, medical editor-in-chief of MayoClinic.com, said in a statement. "We are honored to be recognized in our quest to deliver credible health and wellness information that is timely, relevant and accurate."

The site offers health information, self-improvement and disease management tools to empower people to manage their health. It's produced by a team of web professionals and medical experts working side by side.

Minnesota sheriff's typo lands on Leno

Posted at 11:21 AM on August 31, 2010 by Bob Ingrassia
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

Does he fight crime or weeds? Freeborn County Sheriff Mark Harig put out some campaign literature with a little typo that changed his meaning in a big way. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno thought it was hilarious.

Hat tip on the sheriff's foibles to the Albert Lea Tribune.

The Harig bit starts about one minute into the video below.

Wind turbine or the Foshay Tower: Which is taller?

Posted at 10:51 AM on July 22, 2010 by Bob Ingrassia (2 Comments)
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

A rendering of Goodhue Wind turbines from a vantage point in Goodhue. (Image courtesy HDR Engineering and Goodhue Wind)

Residents and public officials in Goodhue County took a detailed look this week at plans for a big wind farm -- including the size, number and locations of the proposed turbines.

Goodhue Wind unveiled a site plan for 50 wind turbines that would be spread over 32,000 acres in southeast Minnesota. The turbines would generate 78 megawatts of electricity.

The turbines would be about 400 feet tall. Some residents have expressed concerns about the impact of the turbines, saying they fear the structures will dominate the landscape and create a lot of noise.

Officials in Zumbrota and Goodhue also say the towers will hem in their cities, stunting their plans for business and residential growth.

No question the turbines are tall structures. Here's a look at how they'd compare with notable Minnesota landmarks, including the IDS Tower, the Foshay Tower, the State Fair Space Tower and the Minnesota State Capitol. This chart isn't to perfect scale, but it gives you an idea of the relative heights.

MPR graphic by Steve Mullis

St. Thomas pieces together a Frank Gehry masterpiece

Posted at 12:44 PM on July 12, 2010 by Bob Ingrassia (1 Comments)
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

Workers shore up portions of the overturned cone section of the Gehry house July 6 at the Daniel C. Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna. (Mike Ekern/University of St. Thomas)

A real estate developer donated an architectural gem to the University of St. Thomas a few years ago.

The only catch was that the college had to move the building from its original location on Lake Minnetonka in Orono.

As it turns out, it's no easy task to take apart a guest house designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, ship it piece-by-piece about 75 miles and then put it back together.

But crews are making progress. St. Thomas expects the reassembled building to open this fall. The university is turning the structure into a Gehry exhibition space at the Daniel C. Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna.

Gehry designed the guest house for Mike and Penny Winton in 1987.

Dealing with a one-of-a-kind Gehry building has been a challenge for the project's designers and movers. Gehry, the mastermind behind the University of Minnesota's shiny Weisman Art Museum on the East Bank campus, is a notoriously unconventional architect known for using nontraditional materials and designs.

Some of the challenges: One part of the structure's cladding is an enormous piece of sheet medal that could not be taken apart into smaller bits. A bedroom made of stone weighs 50 tons.

It's been two years since developer Kirt Woodhouse donated the building. So we know how long it's taking St. Thomas to complete the project. What we don't know is the cost. St. Thomas, a private university, declined to say how much it is spending to move the building.

The St. Thomas Bulletin provides an update on the project:

The guest house, so architecturally innovative that it once was featured as Time magazine's House of the Year, was donated to St. Thomas by real estate developer Kirt Woodhouse, who purchased the property from the Wintons.

Los Angeles-based Frank Gehry is considered to be one of the world's greatest living architects. His designs are known for their use of unconventional materials, such as chain-link fence and metal, both of which are used in the guest house.

The Gehry house tentatively is scheduled to open in October as a "'house museum' where people can experience Frank Gehry," Marlene Levine, director of the Gainey Center, said. The St. Thomas Art History Department and Greg Hennes, a 1985 alumnus who owns a Minneapolis art gallery, are leading the work on an exhibition about the Wintons, Gehry and the relocation of the house to be installed inside the building. The house will be open seasonally and will host open drop-in dates for the public. It also will be available for small-group tours by reservation through the Gainey Center.

Sections of the Gehry house sit on the grounds of the Daniel C. Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna. (Mike Ekern/University of St. Thomas)

A section of the Gehry house sits on the grounds of the Daniel C. Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna. (Mike Ekern/University of St. Thomas)

The famous Winton guest house was designed by architect Frank Gehry and is on the move. Once Time magazine's "House of the Year," the structure has been donated to the University of St. Thomas.

In a painfully slow process, part of the guest house is headed downhill on a trailer bed.

"It barely moves," laughed Dr. Victoria Young of the University of St. Thomas.

"It barely moves and it makes you think why should this even be moving, but it has to go to Owatonna."

Dispatch from southeast Minnesota

Posted at 7:05 AM on July 7, 2010 by Bob Ingrassia
Filed under: Southeast Minnesota

Cathy Wurzer gets all the news from southeast Minnesota. She talked to reporter Liz Baier about panhandling licenses, registration for same-sex couples and fixing the tornado warning system.