Spotlight on access – physical and virtual – at the 2014 Great Minnesota Get-Together!

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The healthy being craves an occasional wildness, a jolt form normality, a sharpening of the edge of appetite, his own little festival of Saturnalia, a brief excursion from his way of life. – Robert MacIver, sociologist

It’s State Fair time — when new taste treats compete with cheese curds for olfactory prominence, military issue 4-H dorms house weary teens demo-ing the latest in control of frac-sand or groundwater pollution, research-in-progress shares space with Goldie Gopher at the aU of M show-and-tell. Still, as J.V. Bailey (for whom the building that now houses the Minnesota State Fair Foundation is named) observed the “the State Fair approaches in scope and effort an institution of learning.” Continue Reading

Consider the humble — but ever nimble — bus!

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On the Monday after the blast-off of the Green Line I stopped at a bus shelter for a quick transfer, rejoicing that I was making my way across town – by bus – in record time. As I waited on that sun-drenched morning an elderly gentleman stopped by the shelter to check the new bus route routes and schedules. After a quick perusal of his expanded transit options he declared, “I’m just going to ride ALL of those new routes, just to see where they really do go!” Continue Reading

National Farmers Market Week — Fresh veggies, friendly farmers, and something for the philatelist!

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As we all know, everything’s coming in a little late this year – including the news that this very week, August 3-9, 2014 is National Farmers Market Week! Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack thus declared the fifteenth annual observation in an official proclamation. The USDA is quick to remind us that there are “Thousands of Reasons to Celebrate National Farmers Market Week” — but we already knew that…. [http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/08/04/thousands-of-reasons-to-celebrate-national-farmers-market-week/] Continue Reading

Independence Day birthday greetings and a public spotlight on FOIA at 48

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On my first day working in the DC office of OpenTheGovernment.org I was introduced to the security system, access code 7466. Colleagues seem bemused that I did not immediately recognize this as July 4, 1966, date of the initial passage of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Since then the code has changed and I have learned more than I ever expected to know about FOIA. Truth to tell, I have come to have enormous respect for this fundamental legislation, the bulwark of our nation’s protection of the people’s right to know. Continue Reading

Toxic Tater Coalition spreads the word, NOT the fungicides

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They had me with their branding – the Toxic Taters Coalition. In my world potatoes are equated with manna from heaven. And any pesticide that comes between me and potatoes is toxic by definition! So when I heard that the Toxic Taters Coalition will be visiting Minneapolis on Wednesday, June 4, it was a call to action. It didn’t take long for me to discover I had much to learn. Continue Reading

Eileen Cooke: A National Library Week tribute to Minnesota’s champion of libraries

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With a firm hand and a smile that could charm the toughest solon, Minnesota native Eileen Delores Cooke (1928-2000) shaped and steered the legislative agenda of America’s libraries. She anticipated the role of telecommunications technology, held firm to the principle of freedom of information, and saw to it that the there are public libraries in small towns throughout the nation. Continue Reading